Baltimore Catechism No. 1 (of 4) | Page 2

myself for the love of Thee. I forgive all who have injured me, and ask
pardon of all whom I have injured.
AN ACT OF CONTRITION
O my God! I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest

all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but
most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all-good and
deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace,
to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life.
THE BLESSING BEFORE MEALS
+ Bless us, O Lord! and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive
from Thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
GRACE AFTER MEALS
+ We give Thee thanks for all Thy benefits, O Almighty God, who
livest and reignest forever, and may the souls of the faithful departed
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
THE MANNER IN WHICH A LAY PERSON IS TO BAPTIZE IN
CASE OF NECESSITY
Pour common water on the head or face of the person to be baptized,
and say while pouring it:
"I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost."
N.B. Any person of either sex who has reached the use of reason can
baptize in case of necessity, but the same person must say the words
while pouring the water.

CATECHISM

LESSON FIRST ON THE END OF MAN
1. Q. Who made the world? A. God made the world.
2. Q. Who is God? A. God is the Creator of heaven and earth, and of all
things.
3. Q. What is man? A. Man is a creature composed of body and soul,
and made to the image and likeness of God.
6. Q. Why did God make you? A. God made me to know Him, to love
Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever
in the next.
9. Q. What must we do to save our souls? A. To save our souls, we
must worship God by faith, hope, and charity; that is, we must believe
in Him, hope in Him, and love Him with all our heart.
10. Q. How shall we know the things which we are to believe? A. We
shall know the things which we are to believe from the Catholic Church,

through which God speaks to us.
11. Q. Where shall we find the chief truths which the Church teaches?
A. We shall find the chief truths which the Church teaches in the
Apostles' Creed.
12. Q. Say the Apostles' Creed. A. I believe in God, the Father
Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only
Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the
Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified; died, and
was buried. He descended into hell: the third day He arose again from
the dead: He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God,
the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and
the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the
communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the
body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

LESSON SECOND ON GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS
13. Q. What is God? A. God is a spirit infinitely perfect.
14. Q. Had God a beginning? A. God had no beginning; He always was
and He always will be.
15. Q. Where is God? A. God is everywhere.
16. Q. If God is everywhere, why do we not see Him? A. We do not see
God, because He is a pure spirit and cannot be seen with bodily eyes.
17. Q. Does God see us? A. God sees us and watches over us.
18. Q. Does God know all things? A. God knows all things, even our
most secret thoughts, words, and actions.
19. Q. Can God do all things? A. God can do all things, and nothing is
hard or impossible to Him.
20. Q. Is God just, holy, and merciful? A. God is all just, all holy, all
merciful, as He is infinitely perfect.

LESSON THIRD ON THE UNITY AND TRINITY OF GOD
21. Q. Is there but one God? A. Yes; there is but one God.
22. Q. Why can there be but one God? A. There can be but one God,
because God, being supreme and infinite, cannot have an equal.
23. Q. How many Persons are there in God? A. In God there are three
Divine Persons, really distinct, and equal in all things--the Father, the

Son, and the Holy Ghost.
24. Q. Is the Father God? A.