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 shewing 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 labour, 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. Honour thy father and thy mother, that thou mayest be long-lived upon the land which the Lord thy God wil! 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 neighbour. 9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife. 10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour'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 holidays 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. The Four Cardinal Virtues. Prudence--Justice-Fortitude-and Temperance, The Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost.-Isa. xi. 2, 3. 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 opposi'e Virtues. Presumption of God's mercy-Despair-Impugning the known truth-Envy at another's spiritual goodObstinacy in sin-Final impenitence. Sins crying to Heaven for Vengeance. Wilful murder-The sin of Sodom-Oppression of the poor-Defrauding labourers 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 par taking-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. Plenary Indulgences. I. Christmas-day, and the twelve days following, to the day of the Epiphany, inclusively. II. The first week of Lent, beginning with the first Sunday, and ending with the second Sunday, inclusively. III. Easter, i. e. from Palm-Sunday, inclusively, to Low Sunday, inclusively. IV. From Whit-Sunday, inclusively, to the end of the Octave of Corpus Christi. V. The Feast of SS. Peter and Paul, and during the Octave. VI. From the Sunday, inclusively, preceding the Festival of the Assumption of the B. V. Mary, to the 22d day of August, inclusively. But if the Festival of the Assumption fall on a Sunday, the Indulgence begins on that day. VII. From the Sunday, inclusively, preceding the Festival of St. Michael, to the Sunday following, inclusively. But if the Festival of St. Michael fall on a Sunday, the Indulgence begins on that day. VIII. From the Sunday, inclusively, preceding the Festival of All Saints, to the 8th day of November, inclusively. But if the Feast of All Saints fall on a Sunday, the Indulgence begins on that day. The Conditions of II. IV. and VIII. are,— 1. That the faithful confess their sins, with sincere repentance, to a Priest approved by the Bishop. 2. That they worthily receive the holy communion. 3. That if their state and condition allow it, they give some alms to the poor, either on the eve or on the day of their communion. 4. That on the day of their communion, they offer up some prayers to God for the whole state of the Catholic Church throughout the world; for bringing back all straying souls to the fold of Christ; for the general peace of Christendom; and for the blessing of God upon this nation. |