The Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
A Catholic Prayer Book and Study Guide
PART II
- 1. To gain the happiness of heaven we must know, love, and serve God
in this world. Man must know, love and serve God in a supernatural manner in order to gain happiness of heaven. Man is raised to the supernatural order only be grace, a free gift of God.
- 2. We learn to know, love, and serve God from Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, who teaches us through the Catholic Church.
- 3. In order to be saved, all persons who have attained the use of reason must believe explicitly that God exist and that he rewards the good and punishes the wicked; in practice they must also believe in the mysteries of the Blessed Trinity and the Incarnation.
- 4. By the Blessed Trinity we mean one and the same God in three divine persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
- 5. By the Incarnation is meant that the Son of God, retaining His divine nature, took to Himself a human nature, that is, a body and soul like ours.
- 6. The Church is the congregation of all baptized persons united in the same true faith, the same sacrifice, and the same sacraments, under the authority of the Sovereign Pontiff and the bishops in communion with him.
- 7. We find the chief truths taught by Jesus Christ through the Catholic Church in the Apostles' Creed.
Besides believing what God has revealed, we must keep His law.
THE TWO GREAT COMMANDMENTS that contain the whole law of God are:
You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with your whole mind, and with your whole strength; you shall love your neighbour as yourself.
To love God, our neighbour, and ourselves, we must keep the commandments of God and of the Church, and perform the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.
- 1. I am the Lord your God; you shall not have strange gods before me.
- 2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
- 3. Remember to keep holy the Lord's day
- 4. Honour your father and your mother.
- 5. You shall not kill.
- 6. You shall not commit adultery.
- 7. You shall not steal.
- 8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
- 9. You shall not covet your neighbours wife.
- 10. You shall not covet you neighbours goods.
- 1. To assist at Mass on all Sundays and holy days of obligation.
- 2. To fast and abstain on the days appointed.
- 3. To confess our sins at least once a year.
- 4. To receive Holy Communion during the Easter time.
- 5. To contribute to the support of the Church.
- 6. To observe the laws of the Church concerning marriage.
- 1. Willful murder (including abortion)
- 2. The sin of Sodom.
- 3. Oppression of the poor.
- 4. Defrauding labourers of their wages.
- 1. Presumption of God's mercy.
- 2. Despair.
- 3. Impugning the known truth.
- 4. Envy at another's spiritual good.
- 5. Obstinacy in sin.
- 6. Final impenitence.
- 1. By counsel.
- 2. By command.
- 3. By consent.
- 4. By provocation.
- 5. By praise or flattery.
- 6. By concealment.
- 7. By partaking.
- 8. By silence.
- 9. By defence of the ill done.
Pride, Covetousness, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Envy and Sloth.
We should not be satisfied merely to keep the commandments of God, but should always be ready to do good deeds, even when they are not commanded. The commandments of God state the minimum requirements for salvation. They should be kept not merely according to the letter, but also according to the spirit, which obliges us to strive for greater perfection.
- 1. To feed the hungry.
- 2. To give drink to the thirsty.
- 3. To clothe the naked.
- 4. To visit the imprisoned.
- 5. To shelter the homeless.
- 6. To visit the sick.
- 7. To bury the dead.
1. Man must know, love, and serve God in a supernatural manner in order to gain the happiness of heaven. Man is raised to the supernatural order only by grace, a free gift of God.
2. The principal ways of obtaining grace are prayer and the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist. The sacraments of Baptism and Penance were instituted chiefly to give grace to those who do not possess it; the other sacraments, to increase it in those who are already in the state of grace.
3. A sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace. There are seven sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony.
4. Prayer is the lifting up of our minds to God.
5. We pray:
- A) to adore God, expressing to Him our love and loyalty;
- B) to thank Him for his favours;
- C) to obtain from Him the pardon of our sins and the remission of their punishment;
- D) to ask for graces and blessings for ourselves and others.
6. We should pray especially for ourselves, for our parents, relatives, friends, and enemies, for sinners, for the souls in purgatory, for the Pope, bishops, and priest of the Church, and for the officials of our country.
7. We know that God always hears our prayers if we pray properly, because Our Lord has promised: "If you ask the Father anything in My name, He will give it to you."
8. We do not always obtain what we pray for, either because we have not prayed properly or because God sees that what we are asking for would not be for our good.
9. Distractions in our prayers are not displeasing to God, unless they are willful.
10. Mental prayer is that prayer by which we unite our hearts with God while thinking of His holy truths.
11. Vocal prayer is that prayer which comes from the mind and the heart and is spoken by the lips.
Return to Prayer Book Contents