Blessed be God/Brief Statement Of Christian Doctrine
A BRIEF STATEMENT OF
CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE
The Ten Commandments of God — Exodus xx
1. I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, and out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt not have strange gods before me. Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth. Thou shalt not adore them nor serve them: I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of fathers upon their children, unto the third and fourth generation of those that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of those that love me, and keep my commandments.
2. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that shall take the name of the Lord his God in vain.
3. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath-day. Six days shalt thou labor, and shalt do all thy works; but on the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work on it, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.
4. Honor thy father and thy mother, that thou mayest be long-lived upon the land which the Lord thy God will give thee.
5. Thou shalt not kill.
6. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
7. Thou shalt not steal.
8. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, nor his servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his.
The Six Precepts of the Church
1. To hear Mass on Sundays, and all holydays of obligation.
2. To fast and abstain on the days commanded.
3. To confess our sins at least once a year,
4. To receive the blessed Eucharist at Easter.
5. To contribute to the support of our pastors.
6. Not to solemnise marriage at the forbidden times; nor to marry persons within the forbidden degrees of kindred, or otherwise prohibited by the Church; nor clandestinely.
Seven Sacraments
Baptism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
Matt. xxviii. 19. | |
Confirmation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
Acts viii. 17. | |
Eucharist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
Matt. xvi. 26. | |
Penance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
John xx. 23. | |
Extreme Unction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
James v. 14. | |
Holy Orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
Luke xxii. 19. | |
Matrimony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
Matt. xix. 6. | |
The Three Theological Virtues
Faith — Hope — and Charity
The Four Cardinal Virtues
Prudence — Justice — Fortitude — and Temperance
The Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost — Isa. xi. 2, 3
| Wisdom, | Fortitude, | Piety, |
| Understanding, | Knowledge, | The fear of the Lord. |
| Counsel, |
The Twelve Fruits of the Holy Ghost
| Charity, | Longanimity, | Fidelity, |
| Joy, | Goodness, | Modesty, |
| Peace, | Benignity, | Continency, |
| Patience, | Mildness, | Chastity. |
The Spiritual Works of Mercy
| To counsel the doubtful, | To forgive offenses, |
| To instruct the ignorant, | To bear wrongs patiently, |
| To admonish sinners, | To pray for the living and |
| To comfort the afflicted, | the dead. |
The Corporal Works of Mercy
| To feed the hungry, | To visit the sick, |
| To give drink to the thirsty, | To visit the captive, |
| To clothe the naked, | and |
| To harbor the harborless, | To bury the dead. |
The Eight Beatitudes — Matt. v
1. Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
2. Blessed are the meek; for they shall possess the land.
3. Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.
4. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice; for they shall be filled.
5. Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.
6. Blessed are the clean of heart; for they shall see God.
7. Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God.
8. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The Seven Deadly Sins, and the opposite Virtues
| Pride, | Contrary Virtues. | Humility. | |||
| Covetousness, | Liberality. | ||||
| Lust, | Chastity. | ||||
| Anger, | Meekness. | ||||
| Gluttony, | Temperance. | ||||
| Envy, | Brotherly love. | ||||
| Sloth, | Diligence. |
Sins against the Holy Ghost
Presumption of God’s mercy —Despair — Impugning the known truth — Envy at another’s spiritual good — Obstinacy in sin — Final impenitence.
Sins crying to Heaven for Vengeance
Wilful murder — The sin of Sodom — Oppression of the poor — Defrauding laborers of their wages.
Nine Ways of being accessory to another’s Sin
By counsel— By command — By consent — By provocation — By praise or flattery — By concealment — By partaking — By silence — By defence of the ill done.
Three Eminent Good Works
Alms-deeds, or works of mercy — Prayer — and Fasting.
The Evangelical Counsels
Voluntary poverty — Chastity — and Obedience
The Four Last Things to be Remembered
Death — Judgment — Hell — and Heaven.