1. Name the Ten Commandments of God.
1st. I am the Lord thy God: Thou shalt not have strange gods before Me.
2nd. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
3rd. Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath Day.
4th. Honor thy father and thy mother.
5th. Thou shalt not kill.
6th. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
7th. Thou shalt not steal.
8th. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
9th. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.
10th. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.
2. Where can I find the Ten Commandments in the Bible?
The Ten Commandments are to be found in the Book of Exodus, chapter 20, verses 1 to 17.
3. Am I bound to keep the Ten Commandments?
Yes, I am bound to keep the Ten Commandments if I want to save my soul and get to heaven.
“They are cursed who decline from Thy Commandments” (Psalm 118:21).
“If thou wilt enter into life, keep the Commandments” (Matthew 19:17).
4. What is the First Commandment?
The First Commandment is: I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt not have strange gods before Me.
5. What does the First Commandment oblige me to do?
The First Commandment obliges me to offer true worship to God.
“Adore ye Him that made heaven and earth, the sea and the fountains of waters” (Apocalypse 14:7)
6. In what way do many people sin against the First Commandment?
Many people sin against the First Commandment by never, or at least very seldom, giving worship to God.
60% of the people in the United States do not belong to any church, thinking that it is enough just to believe in God.
“Thou believeth that there is one God. Thou dost well: the devils also believe and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” (James 2:19, 20).
7. Name the mortal sins forbidden by the First Commandment.
The chief mortal sins against the First Commandment are:
1) Taking an active part in the religious services of any false church
2) Quitting the Catholic Church
3) Joining a false church
4) Denying anything taught by the Catholic Church
5) Joining the Masons, or any society forbidden by the Church
6) Joining the Communists
7) Guiding my life by fortune telling, palmistry, phrenology, crystal gazing, horoscopes, dreams, the ouija board or spiritualism
8) Guiding my life by good luck or bad luck charms
9) Reading the literature of the false religions.
8. Am I ever allowed to go to a false church?
Yes, I am allowed to go to a false church for the wedding or funeral of a close relative or friend or of a public official.
9. Am I ever allowed to take part in the religious services of a false church?
No, I am never allowed to take part in the religious services of a false religion, by singing hymns or praying aloud with the congregation.
This also means that I am forbidden to act as best man or bridesmaid at a wedding that takes place in a false church.
10. Isn’t the Catholic Church narrow-minded towards the non-Catholic churches?
No, the Catholic Church is not narrow-minded towards the non-Catholic churches, because the Catholic Church is the only true Church, and staying away from falsehood is not being narrow-minded.
“A man that is a heretic, avoid” (Titus 3:10).
11. What should be my attitude toward non-Catholics?
I should love non-Catholics as Jesus does, encourage them to take instructions, and by prayer and good example try to lead them to the True Church.
“Having your conversation good among the Gentiles (pagans): that whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by the good works which they shall behold in you, glorify God in the day of visitation (1st Peter 2:12).
12. Why does the Church condemn the Masons?
The Church condemns the Masons because Masonry is not only a secret fraternal organization but also a false religion which ignores Jesus Christ and has always been a very strong enemy of the True Church.
It is also forbidden to join the Knights of Pythias, Shriners, the Odd Fellows, the Sons of Temperance, Templars, also female societies affiliated with them, such as the Rebeccas, the Eastern Star, the Pythian Sisters.
13. Why is it a mortal sin to join the Communists?
It is a mortal sin to join the Communists because Communism denies that there is a God and seeks to wipe out Religion.
14. What happens to a Catholic who joins the Masons or the Communists?
A Catholic who knowingly and willingly joins the Masons, or the Communists is automatically excommunicated from the Catholic Church.
This means that a Catholic who has joined the Masons or the Communists willing and knowingly cannot receive any of the Sacraments or receive Catholic burial.
15. Why is it a sin to believe in fortune-telling and things like that?
It is a sin to believe in fortune-telling and the like because to do so is to attribute to a creature knowledge that belongs only to God.
Only God has knowledge of what I will do in the future. And God certainly will not reveal the future to me in silly and foolish ways, such as through tea leaves, the bumps on my head or the lines in my palm, or by cards or crystal balls.
16. Why is it a mortal sin to guide my life by dreams?
It is a mortal sin to guide my life by dreams because:
a) God forbids it
“You shall not observe dreams.” (Leviticus 19:26).
b) it is foolish and ignorant and may lead to other sins.
“Dreams have deceived many, and they have failed that put their trust in them” (Ecclesiasticus 34:7).
17. Why is it a mortal sin to attend spiritualistic meetings?
It is wrong to attend the meetings of spiritualists in which the dead are supposed to appear because both the Bible and the Church forbid it.
“Neither let there be found among you any… that consulteth soothsayers, observeth dreams and omens, or fortune-tellers or that seeketh the truth from the dead. For the Lord abhorreth all these things and for these abominations he will destroy them at the coming” (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).
18. Does God ever allow the dead to come back?
Yes, for very good reasons and always in keeping with His dignity, God, at different times, has allowed some of the Saints to appear to people.
19. Why is it a sin to read the literature of the false religions?
It is a sin to read the literature of the false religions because by reading them I expose my belief in the True Religion to danger.
The Second Commandment is: Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain.
The Second Commandment forbids me to use the Holy Name of God and of Jesus irreverently or without good reason, and to blaspheme or insult God, to curse, to swear falsely or to break an oath.
“He that blasphemeth the Name of the Lord, dying let him die” (Leviticus 24:16).
To say “hell” or “damn” or to use vulgar language usually is no sin at all unless I mean what I say or say it out of anger or impatience.
“Fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not so much as be named among you, as becometh saints, or obscenity, or foolish talking” (Ephesians 5:3, 4).
The Third Commandment is: Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath Day.
“Six days shalt thou labor, and shalt do all thy works. But on the seventh is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work on it”’ (Exodus 20:9, 10).