THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT-What it forbids-First, the Unjust taking away of what belongs to another THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT-What it forbids-False Testimony, Rash Judgment, Lies, Calumny, Detrac- CATECHISM MADE EASY. FIRST INSTRUCTION. CHAPTER I.-The Creation and End of Man. Q. Who made you? A. God made me. Yes, Almighty God made you, my dear children. You did not make yourselves, nor did an angel make you; nor were you made by chance, which would be too foolish for any one to believe. It was God who made you; that Great, All-Powerful, Infinite, and Perfect Being, who made also the sun, the moon, and the stars, the earth and all that it contains, the angels themselves,-in a word, all things that are made. "All things were made by him, and without him was made nothing that was made " (John i. 3). But you were not the first beings whom God made. Before he made you, he made the world for you to live in; and before he made the world, he made the angels, who are beautiful spirits without bodies, far more wise, more powerful, and more glorious than man. And why did Almighty God make the angels? Not because he had any need of them, for he had existed from all eternity alone in the universe, and nothing was wanting to his happiness or glory. But it was his blessed Will to make them, that there might be some one to know him, love him, and honour him as he deserves, and to share in the infinite happiness which he enjoys. For this purpose he created them, that is, made them by his Almighty Power out of nothing; and having created them, he placed them in the beautiful abode of heaven, which he made to be VOL. I. A their dwelling-place for all eternity. But as God is not only a God of Goodness, but also a God of Justice (which virtue consists in giving every one his due), he could not, in accordance with his Justice, bestow upon the angels the eternal possession of the delights of heaven, before he had first tried their fidelity to him. He accordingly gave them an opportunity of meriting this happiness by an act of obedience. Sad to relate, a vast number of them, headed by Lucifer, one of the highest and most glorious of the heavenly spirits, rebelled against God, and were immediately cast down by him into the fire of hell, which he created to punish them. These wicked angels are called by the name of devils. After this unhappy fall of the bad angels, Almighty God determined to fill up the places in heaven which they had lost by sin, and for this purpose he created another being, who is called man. But first, he made the world and all that is in it, to be the dwelling-place and serve for the use of man. This great work he accomplished, as the holy Scripture tells us, in six days; though indeed he could, by his Almighty Power, have made it all in a single moment, had he so willed it. Having thus provided for the abode and subsistence of man, God, on the sixth and last day, created our first parents, Adam and Eve. CREATION OF MAN. "And God said, Let us make man to our image and likeness: and let him have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and the beasts, and the whole earth, and every creeping thing that moveth upon the earth. And God created man to his own image; to the image of God he created him, male and female he created them. The Lord God formed man of the slime of the earth, and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul. And the Lord God had planted a paradise of pleasure, wherein he placed man, whom he had formed. "And the Lord God said, It is not good for man to be alone; let us make him a help like unto himself. Then the Lord God cast a deep sleep upon Adam, and, when he was fast asleep, he took one of his ribs and filled up flesh for it. And the Lord God built the rib which he took from Adam into a woman, and brought her to Adam. And Adam said, This is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. And Adam called the name of his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living" (Gen. i., ii., iii.). Q. Why did God make you? A. God made me to know him, love him, and serve him in this world, and to be happy with him for ever in the next. Why did God make you? This is one of the most important questions that I could possibly ask you. Almighty God has made us and placed us in this world, and there is nothing more necessary for us, than to know why he has done so. For when a person makes anything, you know he has always some reason for making it, he expects some good out of it; and if what he makes does not serve the purpose for which he made it, he is disappointed, and sorry that he has spent his time and trouble to so little purpose. For example, if one of you were to make a boat out of a piece of wood, and found it would not float in the water, or to make a top and found it would not spin, would you not be disappointed and inclined to say, "This is no use; it won't do what I made it for, so I will throw it into the fire"? Let us now try to answer the question which I asked you just now, Why did God make you? The catechism tells you, that he made you to know him, love him, and serve him in this world, and to be happy with him for ever in the next. You see from this answer two things,-first, that God made you for himself, to know him, love him, and serve him; and, secondly, that your own eternal happiness depends upon your doing what he made you for, since, if you do your best to know him, love him, and serve him in this world, he promises that you shall come to be happy with him for ever in the kingdom of heaven. Do you now understand, my dear children, how great, how noble, and how excellent is the end for which God made you? Far different from his other creatures which you see about you, and which he made for your use and benefit, he has created you expressly for himself. The sun he made to warm you and give you light; the birds, the fishes, and the beasts to provide you with food and clothing; the world to be your dwelling-place; but you, like the angels, he created for himself alone, to know him, love him, and serve him here, and to come to dwell with him for ever hereafter. Well might holy David exclaim, with a heart overflowing with gratitude, "What is man that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him? Thou hast made him a little less than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honour, and hast set him over the works of thy hands" (Ps. viii. 5-7). Let us now see what we have to do in order to fulfil the great end for which God has made us, and so to obtain the eternal reward which he has promised us. Be First. We must know God, that is, we must know all about him that the Church teaches. This is what is contained in the catechism which you are about to learn. attentive, then, to the instructions which I am going to give you. Try to learn the answers of the catechism well by heart, and what is still more important, do your best to understand their meaning, and you will come to know all that is necessary about Almighty God. Secondly.-We must love God. But how are you to do this? God himself will teach you, if you ask him, and if he sees you trying to be good and obedient children. You should often, therefore, ask God to teach you to love him: "O my good God," you should say to him, “teach me to love thee." Besides, the more that you know of God and his Goodness, the more you are sure to love him; so that attention to your catechism is a great thing to help you to love God as well as to know him. Thirdly.-You must not only know and love God, but you must also serve him. This you do by keeping his commandments, and doing what you know will please him. Now, these commandments are contained and explained in your catechism, so that the catechism teaches you also how to serve God. You see from this that your catechism teaches you how to get to heaven, since it is by knowing, loving, and serving God here, that you are to come to be happy with him in the eternal kingdom of heaven. STORY OF JOSAPHAT. A prince, named Josaphat, had lost his way in a forest while hunting. Suddenly he heard some one, at a little distance, singing sweetly. Surprised to hear so lovely a voice in a lonely forest, he |