LESSON 30 - ON THE FIRST COMMANDMENT
Q. 1140. What is the first Commandment?
A. The first Commandment is: I am the Lord thy God: thou shalt not have strange gods before me.
Q. 1141. What does the commandment mean by "strange gods"?
A. By strange gods the commandment means idols or false gods, which the Israelites frequently worshipped when, through their sins, they had abandoned the true God.
Q. 1142. How may we, in a sense, worship strange gods?
A. We, in a sense, may worship strange gods by giving up the salvation of our souls for wealth, honors, society, worldly pleasures, etc., so that we would offend God, renounce our faith or give up the practice of our religion for their sake.
Q. 1143. How does the first Commandment help us to keep the great Commandment of the love of God?
A. The first Commandment helps us to keep the great Commandment of the love of God because it commands us to adore God alone.
Q. 1144. How do we adore God?
A. We adore God by faith, hope, and charity, by prayer and sacrifice.
Q. 1145. By what prayers do we adore God?
A. We adore God by all our prayers, but in particular by the public prayers of the Church, and, above all, by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Q. 1146. How may the first Commandment be broken?
A. The first Commandment make be broken by giving to a creature the honor which belongs to God alone; by false worship; and by attributing to a creature a perfection which belongs to God alone.
Q. 1147. What is the honor which belongs to God alone?
A. The honor which belongs to God alone is a divine honor, in which we offer Him sacrifice, incense or prayer, solely for His own sake and for His own glory. To give such honor to any creature, however holy, would be idolatry.
Q. 1148. How do we offer God false worship?
A. We offer God false worship by rejecting the religion He has instituted and following one pleasing to ourselves, with a form of worship He has never authorized, approved or sanctioned.
Q. 1149. Why must we serve God in the form of religion He has instituted and in no other?
A. We must serve God in the form of religion He has instituted and in no other, because heaven is not a right, but a promised reward, a free gift of God, which we must merit in the manner He directs and pleases.
Q. 1150. When do we attribute to a creature a perfection which belongs to God alone?
A. We attribute to a creature a perfection which belongs to God alone when we believe it possesses knowledge or power independently of God, so that it may, without His aid, make known the future or perform miracles.
Q. 1151. Do those who make use of spells and charms, or who believe in dreams, in mediums, spiritists, fortune-tellers, and the like, sin against the first Commandment?
A. Those who make use of spells and charms, or who believe in dreams, in mediums, spiritists, fortune-tellers, and the like, sin against the first Commandment, because they attribute to creatures perfections which belong to God alone.
Q. 1152. What are spells and charms?
A. Spells and charms are certain words, by the saying of which superstitious persons believe they can avert evil, bring good fortune or produce some supernatural or wonderful effect. They may be also objects or articles worn about the body for the same purpose.
Q. 1155. What are dreams and why is it forbidden to believe in them?
A. Dreams are the thoughts we have in sleep, when our will is unable to guide them. It is forbidden to believe in them, because they are often ridiculous, unreasonable, or wicked, and are not governed by either reason or faith.
Q. 1156. Are bad dreams sinful in themselves?
A. Bad dreams are not sinful in themselves, because we cannot prevent them, but we may make them sinful: 1.(1) By taking pleasure in them when we awake, and 2.(2) By bad reading or immodest looks, thoughts, word or actions before going to sleep; for by any of these things we may make ourselves responsible for the bad dreams.
Q. 1157. Did not God frequently in the Old Law make use of dreams as a means of making known His will?
A. God did frequently in the Old Law make use of dreams as a means of making known His Will; but on such occasions He always gave proof that what He made known was not a mere dream, but rather a revelation or inspiration. He no longer makes use of such means, for He now makes known His will through the inspiration of His Church.
Q. 1158. What are mediums and spiritists?
A. Mediums and spiritists are persons who pretend to converse with the dead or with spirits of the other world. They pretend also to give this power to others, that they may know what is going on in heaven, purgatory or hell.
Q. 1159. What other practice is very dangerous to faith and morals?
A. Another practice very dangerous to faith and morals is the use of mesmerism or hypnotism, because it is liable to sinful abuses, for it deprives a person for a time of the control of his reason and will and places his body and mind entirely in the power of another.
Q. 1160. What are fortune tellers?
A. Fortune tellers are imposters who, learning the past, or guessing at it, pretend to know also the future and to be able to reveal it to anyone who pays for the knowledge. They pretend also to know whatever concerns things lost or stolen, and the secret thoughts, actions or intentions of others.
Q. 1161. How do we, by believing in spells, charms, mediums, spiritists and fortune tellers, attribute to creatures the perfections of God?
A. By believing in spells, charms, mediums, spiritists and fortune tellers we attribute to creatures the perfections of God because we expect these creatures to perform miracles, reveal the hidden judgments of God, and make known His designs for the future with regard to His creatures, things that only God Himself may do.
Q. 1162. Is it sinful to consult mediums, spiritists, fortune tellers and the like when we do not believe in them, but through mere curiosity to hear what they may say?
A. It is sinful to consult mediums, spiritists, fortune tellers and the like even when we do not believe in them, but through mere curiosity, to hear what they may say:
1. Because it is wrong to expose ourselves to the danger of sinning even though we do not sin;
2. Because we may give scandal to others who are not certain that we go through mere curiosity;
3. Because by our pretended belief we encourage these impostors to continue their wicked practices.
Q. 1163. Are sins against faith, hope, and charity also sins against the first Commandment?
A. Sins against faith, hope and charity are also sins against the first Commandment.
Q. 1164. How does a person sin against faith?
A. A person sins against faith:
1. By not trying to know what God has taught;
2. By refusing to believe all that God has taught;
3. By neglecting to profess his belief in what God has taught.
. 1217. What is the second Commandment?
A. The second Commandment is: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Q. 1218. What do you mean by taking God's name in vain?
A. By taking God's name in vain I mean taking it without reverence, as in cursing or using in a light and careless manner, as in exclamation.
Q. 1219. What are we commanded by the second Commandment?
A. We are commanded by the second Commandment to speak with reverence of God and of the saints, and of all holy things, and to keep our lawful oaths and vows.
Q. 1220. Is it sinful to use the words of Holy Scripture in a bad or worldly sense?
A. It is sinful to use the words of Holy Scripture in a bad or worldly sense, to joke in them or ridicule their sacred meaning, or in general to give them any meaning but the one we believe God has intended them to convey.
Q. 1221. What is an oath?
A. An oath is the calling upon God to witness the truth of what we say.
Q. 1222. How is an oath usually taken?
A. An oath is usually taken by laying the hand on the Bible or by lifting the hand towards heaven as a sign that we call God to witness that what we are saying is under oath and to the best of our knowledge really true.
Q. 1223. What is perjury?
A. Perjury is the sin one commits who knowingly takes a false oath; that is, swears to the truth of what he knows to be false. Perjury is a crime against the law of our country and a mortal sin before God.
Q. 1224. Who have the right to make us take an oath?
A. All persons to whom the law of our country has given such authority have the right to make us take an oath. They are chiefly judges, magistrates and public officials, whose duty it is to enforce the laws. In religious matters bishops and others to whom authority is given have also the right to make us take an oath.
Q. 1225. When may we take an oath?
A. We may take an oath when it is ordered by lawful authority or required for God's honor or for our own or our neighbor's good.
Q. 1226. When may an oath be required for God's honor or for our own or our neighbor's good?
A. An oath may be required for God's honor or for our own or our neighbor's good when we are called upon to defend our religion against false charges; or to protect our own or our neighbor's property or good name; or when we are required to give testimony that will enable the lawful authorities to discover the guilt or innocence of a person accused.
Q. 1242. What is the third Commandment?
A. The third Commandment is: Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath day.
Q. 1243. What are we commanded by the third Commandment?
A. By the third Commandment we are commanded to keep holy the Lord's day and the holydays of obligation, on which we are to give our time to the service and worship of God.
Q. 1244. What are holydays of obligation?
A. Holydays of obligation are special feasts of the Church on which we are bound, under pain of mortal sin, to hear Mass and to keep from servile or bodily labors when it can be done without great loss or inconvenience. Whoever, on account of their circumstances, cannot give up work on holydays of obligation should make every effort to hear Mass and should also explain in confession the necessity of working on holydays.
Q. 1245. How are we to worship God on Sundays and holydays of obligation?
A. We are to worship God on Sundays and holydays of obligation by hearing Mass, by prayer, and by other good works.
Q. 1246. Name some of the good works recommended for Sunday.
A. Some of the good works recommended for Sunday are: The reading of religious books or papers, teaching Catechism, bringing relief to the poor or sick, visiting the Blessed Sacrament, attending Vespers, Rosary or other devotions in the Church; also attending the meetings of religious sodalities or societies. It is not necessary to spend the whole Sunday in such good works, but we should give some time to them, that for the love of God we may do a little more than what is strictly commanded.
Q. 1247. Is it forbidden, then, to seek any pleasure or enjoyment on Sunday?
A. It is not forbidden to seek lawful pleasure or enjoyment on Sunday, especially to those who are occupied during the week, for God did not intend the keeping of the Sunday to be a punishment, but a benefit to us. Therefore, after hearing Mass we may take such recreation as is necessary or useful for us; but we should avoid any vulgar, noisy or disgraceful amusements that turn the day of rest and prayer into a day of scandal and sin.
Q. 1248. Are the Sabbath day and the Sunday the same?
A. The Sabbath day and the Sunday are not the same. The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, and is the day which was kept holy in the old law; the Sunday is the first day of the week, and is the day which is kept holy in the new law.
Q. 1249. What is meant by the Old and New Law?
A. The Old Law means the law or religion given to the Jews; the New Law means the law or religion given to Christians.
Q. 1250. Why does the Church command us to keep the Sunday holy instead of the Sabbath?
A. The Church commands us to keep the Sunday holy instead of the Sabbath because on Sunday Christ rose from the dead, and on Sunday He sent the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles.
Q. 1251. Do we keep Sunday instead of Saturday holy for any other reason?
A. We keep Sunday instead of Saturday holy also to teach that the Old Law is not now binding upon us, but that we must keep the New Law, which takes its place.
Q. 1252. What is forbidden by the third Commandment?
A. The third Commandment forbids all unnecessary servile work and whatever else may hinder the due observance of the Lord's day.
Q. 1253. What are servile works?
A. Servile works are those which require labor rather of body than of mind.
Q. 1254. From what do servile works derive their name?
A. Servile works derive their name from the fact that such works were formerly done by slaves. Therefore, reading, writing, studying and, in general, all works that slaves did not perform are not considered servile works.
Q. 1255. Are servile works on Sunday ever lawful?
A. Servile works are lawful on Sundays when the honor of God, the good of our neighbor, or necessity requires them.
Q. 1256. Give some examples of when the honor of God, the good of our neighbor or necessity may require servile works on Sunday.
A. The honor of God, the good of our neighbor or necessity may require servile works on Sunday, in such cases as the preparation of a place for Holy Mass, the saving of property in storms or accidents, the cooking of meals and similar works.
