The Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine

The Ten Commandments

The First Commandment

What is the First Commandment?: The First Commandment is: I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt not have strange gods before Me.
What does the First Commandment command?: The First Commandment commands us to worship God by acts of faith, hope and charity; by prayer and sacrifice.
What does the First Commandment forbid?: The First Commandment forbids especially Idolatry, False Worship, Superstition, Neglect of prayer, all dealings with devils, spirit-mediums, and fortune-tellers, and all sins against Faith, Hope and Charity.
Which are the chief sins against Faith?: The chief sins against Faith are:

1) Willful religious ignorance;

2) Willful Religious Indifference;

3) Maliciously to deny God;

4) Obstinately to refuse to believe His Revelation;

5) Not to profess the Faith openly when circumstances require it.
What leads to a loss of Faith?: A godless education, reading irreligious and immoral books, attending false worship, membership in un-Catholic societies, immorality, and intimate association with godless and immoral persons lead to a loss of Faith.
What are the sins against Hope?: The sins against Hope are presumption and despair.
Which sins offend against the love of God?: All sins offend against the love of God, but especially hatred of God and holy things.
Do transgressions against the First Commandment constitute a grievous matter?: Transgressions against the First Commandment generally constitute a grievous matter.
What is the Second Commandment?: The Second Commandment is: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
What does the Second Commandment command?: The Second Commandment commands us

1) To use the name of God reverently;

2) To speak with respect of God, holy persons, and holy things;

3) To keep our lawful oaths and vows.
What does the Second Commandment forbid?: The Second Commandment forbids the taking of God's name in vain, profane words, blasphemy, cursing, false and unjust oaths.
Do transgressions against the Second Commandment constitute a light or a grievous matter?: Blasphemy, cursing and perjury constitute a grievous matter. Taking God's name in vain and profane words are ordinarily a light matter.
What is the Third Commandment?: The Third Commandment is: Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day.
Which is the Sabbath day?: Saturday is the Sabbath day.
Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?: We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea (A.D. 336), transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.
Why did the Catholic Church substitute Sunday for Saturday?: The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday, because Christ rose from the dead on a Sunday, and the Holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles on a Sunday.
By what authority did the Church substitute Sunday for Saturday?: The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday by the plenitude of that divine power which Jesus Christ bestowed upon her.
What does the Third Commandment command?: The Third Commandment commands us to sanctify Sunday as the Lord's Day.
What does the Third Commandment forbid?: The Third Commandment forbids

1) The omission of prayer and divine worship;

2) All unnecessary servile work;

3) Whatever hinders the keeping of the Lord's Day holy.
Is the desecration of the Lord's Day a grievous matter?: The desecration of the Lord's Day is a grievous matter in itself, though it admits of light matter.
What is the Fourth Commandment?: The Fourth Commandment is: Honor thy father and thy mother.
What does the Fourth Commandment command?: The Fourth Commandment commands,

1) Children to love, honor, and obey their Parents;

2) Parents to provide for the temporal welfare of their children and give them a Religious Education;

3) It defines the duties of Subjects and Superiors.
What reward did God promise to obedient children?: God has promised a long and happy life to obedient children.
What does the Fourth Commandment forbid?: The Fourth Commandment forbids,

1) All disobedience, ill-will, and contempt of parents, and other lawful superiors;

2) All neglect of duty in parents and other superiors.
Is a transgression against the Fourth Commandment a grievous or a light matter?: A transgression against the Fourth Commandment may be either a grievous or a light matter.
What is the Fifth Commandment?: The Fifth Commandment is: Thou shalt not kill.
What does the Fifth Commandment command?: The Fifth Commandment commands us to respect our neighbor's right to life, liberty and heaven, and to consult our own temporal and spiritual welfare.
What does the Fifth Commandment forbid?: The Fifth Commandment forbids

1) the injury of our neighbor's life and liberty, as hatred, revenge, angry and contemptuous words, blows, murder;

2) Injury to our neighbor's soul, by scandal, leading him into sin or cooperating in his sin;

3) All abuse of our own life and liberty, by excess in eating and drinking, or otherwise injuring our health, and suicide.
Is a transgression against the Fifth Commandment a grievous or a light matter?: A transgression against the Fifth Commandment may be either a grievous or a light matter.
What is the Sixth Commandment?: The Sixth Commandment is: Thou shalt not commit adultery.
What is the Ninth Commandment?: The Ninth Commandment is: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife.
What do the Sixth and the Ninth Commandments command?: The Sixth and Ninth Commandments command us to be chaste in thought, desire, words, and actions.
What does the Sixth and Ninth Commandments forbid?: The Sixth and Ninth Commandments for bid all immodesty in thoughts, desires, words and actions.
Is a transgression against the Sixth and Ninth Commandments a grievous matter?: A direct transgression against the Sixth and Ninth Commandments is always a grievous matter.
What is the Seventh Commandment?: The Seventh Commandment is: Thou shall not steal.
What is the Tenth Commandment?: The Tenth Commandment is: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods.
What do the Seventh and Tenth Commandments command?: The Seventh and Tenth Commandments command us to respect our neighbor's right to his property in desire and in action.
What do the Seventh and Tenth Commandments forbid?: The Seventh and Tenth Commandments forbid to desire, take, keep, or damage our neighbor's goods.
What must he do who has willfully wronged his neighbor's right to his property?: He who has willfully wronged his neighbor's right to his property must make Restitution as soon as possible.
Is a transgression against the Seventh and Tenth Commandments a grievous or a light matter?: A transgression against the Seventh and Tenth Commandments may be either a grievous or a light matter.
What is the Eighth Commandment?: The Eighth Commandment is: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
What does the Eighth Commandment command?: The Eighth Commandment commands us to tell the truth and to be charitable in our words.
What does the Eighth Commandment forbid?: The Eighth Commandment forbids us to lie to our neighbor, or to injure him by calumnies, detractions, violations of secrecy, unjust suspicions, rash judgments, or unkind words.
What must he do who has injured his neighbor's good name?: He who has injured his neighbor's good name must undo the harm as soon as possible.
Is a transgression against the Eighth Commandment a grievous or a light matter?: A transgression against the Eighth Commandment may be either a grievous or a light matter.

The Ten Commandments

The First Commandment

The Second Commandment

The Third Commandment

The Fourth Commandment

The Fifth Commandment

The Sixth and the Ninth Commandments

The Seventh and Tenth Commandments

The Eighth Commandment