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&c.; 4th, then say how long it is since our last confession, whether we were absolved or not, and then we must accuse ourselves of all our sins since our last confession.

Q. And what must you do after having confess. ed your sins?

A. After having confessed our sins, we must add," For these and all the other sins of my life, I am heartily sorry, humbly beg pardon of God, penance and absolution of you, my Father." We must then conclude the Confiteor, and listen with attention and respect to the exhortation of the priest, and be careful to bear in mind the penance he imposes.

Q. What must we do after leaving the confessional?

A. After having received our penance and retired from the confessional, we must first return thanks to Almighty God, and promise that we will carefully avoid offending him again; and 2nd, we must perform the penance enjoined. Q. What is Extreme Unction?

A. Extreme Unction is a Sacrament instituted for the spiritual and corporal relief of the faithful, who are dangerously ill.

Q. What is Holy Order?

A. Holy Order is a Sacrament which gives to ecclesiastics the power to perform their functions, and the grace to perform them well. Q. What is Matrimony?

A. Matrimony is a Sacrament which sanctifies the lawful union contracted between man and wife.

Q. Who instituted marriage?

A. Almighty God instituted marriage at the commencement of the world, and Jesus Christ raised it to the dignity of a Sacrament.

Q. What is the object of the Sacraments?

A. To give us grace, so that we may be able to live in a manner pleasing to Almighty God.

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CHAPTER XXVI.

ON FASTS AND FESTIVALS.

Q. How many kinds of festivals are there?

A. There are two kinds of festivals, 1st, those which are intended solely to honour Almighty God; such as the Feast of the Holy Trinity, the Feast of the Holy Ghost, or Pentecost, and the Feasts of our Lord. 2ndly, those feasts in which, whilst rendering to Almighty God the worship of adoration and of love, we also render honour to the Blessed Virgin, and other saints.

Q. What is Advent?

A. It is a time appointed by the Church, during which we are to dispose ourselves to celebrate with piety the Feast of Christmas, or the Birth of the Son of God.

Q. What is Lent?

A. Lent is a fast of forty days, observed by the Catholic Church throughout the world, since the time of the Apostles.

Q. Why was Lent established?

A. 1st, To imitate the fast of Christ in the desert; 2nd, that by fasting we may do penance for our sins; 3rd, to dispose us piously to celebrate the Feast of Easter.

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