CATECHISM

Q. What is the first article of the Creed?
A. The first article of the Creed is, I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and
earth.
 
Q. What is God?
A. God is the supreme Spirit, who alone exists of himself, and is infinite in all perfections.
Supreme. Greatest, highest, above all others. There can be only one who is supreme, and
that one is God.
Exists of Himself. He depends on no one for His life or being. God is the origin of all life.
Infinite Without end or limit in any way,
Perfections. Good qualities or attributes. God alone is perfect in all things. Some of God’s
perfections are His omnipotence, or being able to do all things, His omniscience, or
knowing all things, His omnipresence, or being in all places, His eternity, or have
neither a beginning nor an end, His goodness, His mercy, His justice, etc
 

Q. Why is God called Almighty?
A. God is called ‘Almighty’ because he can do all things: ‘With God all things are possible’. Matt
19:26
Possible. That which one is able to do.
 
Q. Why is God called Creator of heaven and earth?
A. God is called ‘Creator of heaven and earth’ because he made heaven and earth, and all things,
out of nothing, by his word.
His word. God had only to command, and what He wished was done.
 
Q. Had God any beginning?
A. God had no beginning: he always was, he is, and he always will be.
 
Q. Where is God?
A. God is everywhere.

Q. Does God know and see all things?
A. God knows and sees all things, even our most secret thoughts.
 
Q. Has God any body?
A. God has no body; he is a spirit.
 
Q. Is there only one God?
A. There is only one God.
 
Q. Are there three Persons in God?
A.There are three Persons in God: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
 
Q.  Are these three Persons three Gods?
A. These three Persons are not three Gods: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all one and
the same God.
 
Q. What is the mystery of the three Persons in one God called?
A. The mystery of the three Persons in one God is called the mystery of the Blessed Trinity.
Mystery. The five chief mysteries of our faith are the Unity and Trinity of God, who
will render to every man according to his work; the Incarnation, Death, and Resurrection
of our Lord. Besides these there are many other great mysteries, as the Creation, and the
Holy Eucharist. We are bound to believe all the mysteries of our faith, because God
commands us to do so.
Mystery of the Blessed Trinity. Three Persons in one God, equal to one another in every
respect.
 
Q. What do you mean by a mystery?
A. By a mystery I mean a truth which is above reason, but revealed by God.
 
Q. Is there any likeness to the Blessed Trinity in your soul?
A. There is this likeness to the Blessed Trinity in my soul: that as in one God there are three
Persons, so in my one soul there are three powers.
 
Q. Which are the three powers of your soul?
A. The three powers of my soul are my memory, my understanding, and my will.
Memory. That power which helps us to retain or keep what we have learnt.
Understanding. That power of the soul by which it grasps the meaning of things.
Will. The power by which we determine our choice, or by which we act.