could not occur except through the goodness, wisdom, and the power of God. Q. Does God watch over all men by his Providence? A. Yes, God watches over all men by his Providence. * Q. How do you know this? A. I know it because God is wise, good, and just. Q. God would not then be wise if he did not watch over all men? A. No, God would not be wise; since, if he takes care of the flowers of the field, and the birds of the air, he has greater reason to take care of men who are more perfect than either flowers or birds. * Q. Would not God be good if he did not watch over all men? A. No, God would not be good, since, if he requires of parents to watch over their children, and to love them, he himself should also watch over and love men, since they are his children. Q. Would not God be just if he did not watch over men? A. God would not be just, for to be just, God must recompense the good, and punish the wicked, this he could not do if he did not watch over all men by his Providence. * Q. If God governs the world by his Providence, why are the seasons sometimes unfavourable, and why do other disorders occur in nature? A. God premits unfavourable seasons, and other disorders in nature, to punish the sins of men, and to teach us that we must not place our affections on the goods of this world; also for other reasons worthy of his infinite wisdom. Q. Why does God sometimes permit the good to be unfortunate, and the wicked to be prosperous? A. God permits this, 1st, that the just may, by resignation to these trials, expiate their faults, and that the wicked may have a recompense for mere human virtues; 2ndly, because there is another world, where the good will be rewarded, and the wicked punished. Q. Does God govern men as he governs the sun, which he causes to rise every morning and to set every evening? A. No, God does not govern men as he governs the sun: the sun always obeys him, as a ball obeys the hand that propels it. Q. Have men power to disobey God? A. Yes, men can disobey God, as a wicked child sometimes disobeys its father; they can also obey him as a good child, who is submissive to its parents. Q. What right has God to govern men? A. God has a right to govern men, because he has created their souls from nothing, and because he knows all their thoughts and wishes, much better than a father can know the thoughts and wishes of his children. LESSON VI. ON THE HOLY TRINITY. Q. Are there many Gods? Q. How many persons are there in God? Q. Which are the three persons? A. The three persons are, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, which we term the Holy Trinity. Q. Why is the first of these persons called Father? A. The first of these three persons is called Father, because he has a Son, begotten from all eternity, and equal to him in all perfections. Q. Do the Father and the Son produce the Holy Ghost? A. Yes, the Father and the Son produce the Holy Ghost, who from all eternity proceeds from both. Q. Is each of these three persons God? A. Yes, each of these three persous is God. A. Yes, the Father is God. Q. And the Holy Ghost is God? A. No, there are three distinct persons, but only one God. The Father is not the Son. The Father and Son are not the Holy Ghost. Q. Why then are these three persons only one God? A. These three persons are only one God, because they have but one and the same Divinity. Q. Then is not one more ancient, wiser, or more powerful than the other two? A. No, they have the same eternity, are equally great, wise, and powerful. Q. When you say the Father Almighty, do you mean to say that the Son and the Holy Ghost are not Almighty? A. No, but I say the Father Almighty, because the Father being the principal of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, he communicates to them, throughout eternity, his Almighty power. Q. Can you give me an example which has reference to the Blessed Trinity? A. Yes, I can offer as an example our souls, which are created to the likeness of God. Q. In what is the soul like to God? A. The soul is a likeness of God inasmuch as it exists, and has understanding and free-will. Q. Could the soul have understanding if it had not existence? A. No, the soul could not have understanding if it had not existence. * Q. Without understanding could it have free will? A. No, because we could not will anything if we did not know it by our understanding. Q. Is understanding older than free-will? A. No, these two powers existed as soon as the soul was created. * Q. How do you know that you have existence? A. Because I feel that I exist. Q. How do you know that you have understanding? A. Because I comprehend certain things, for example, I know that a statue could not form itself, and that the same may be said of the universe. I also know that I must not act towards others as I would not wish them to act towards me. * Q. How do you know that you have free-will? A. Because I feel that I wish to do certain things, for example, to study, to become wise, to pray to the good God. Q. Do you understand how existence, understanding, and free-will, form only one soul? A. No, I do not understand it, and yet I am certain that I have but one soul, and that there is in this soul existence, understanding, and freewill. Q. In believing in the existence of your soul, and in its understanding and free-will, may you not deceive yourself? A. No, because I feel them, and that feeling cannot deceive me. * Q. What do you call those truths in mankind and nature, which you cannot understand? A. Those truths which I cannot understand in mankind, and in nature, I call the mysteries of man, and the mysteries of nature. * Q. Are there may mysteries? A. Yes, there is a multitude of these mysteries. Q. Do you understand how these divine persons can form only one God? A. No. I do not understand it. Q. Why then do you believe it? A. Because God has revealed it, and he cannot deceive me. Q. What do you call those truths which God has revealed, and which you believe, although you cannot understand them? A. I call those truths which God has revealed, and which I cannot understand, the mysteries of Faith. Q. What do you call the mystery of one God in three persons? A. I call the mystery of one God in three persons, the mystery of the Holy Trinity. LESSON VII. ON THE CREATION OF ANGELS, AND OF THEIR FALL. Q. Which are the most perfect creatures of God? A. The most perfect of God's creatures are the angels and men. Q. What is an angel? A. An angel is a pure spirit, whom God created in justice and holiness, to be faithful to, and eternally happy with him. Q. Were all the angels faithful to God? A. No, some remained faithful, and others rebelled. Q. What do you call the angels who remained faithful? |