CATECHISM

Q. What is the fifth article of the Creed?
A. The fifth article of the Creed is, ‘he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the
dead’.
Descend. To go down.
 
Q. What do you mean by the words, ‘he descended into hell’?
A. By the words, ‘he descended into hell’, I mean that, as soon as Christ was dead, his blessed Soul
went down into that part of hell called Limbo.
Hell. Now this always refers to the place where the devils and lost souls are punished.
 
Q. What do you mean by Limbo?
A. By Limbo I mean a place of rest, where the souls of the just who died before Christ were
detained.
Detained. Held back, kept shut in, not being able to leave.
 
Q. Why were the souls of the just detained in Limbo?
A. The souls of the just were detained in Limbo because they could not go up to the kingdom of
heaven till Christ had opened it for them.
 
Q. What do you mean by the words, ‘the third day he rose again from the dead’?
A. By the words, ‘the third day he rose again from the dead,’ I mean that, after Christ had been
dead and buried part of three days, he raised his blessed Body to life again on the third day.
 
He raised His blessed Body, etc. By His own divine power our Lord raised His Body from
death to life, thus proving that He was God, and that He had gained the victory over sin
and death. Our Lord kept His five sacred wounds:
1. that they might be proofs of His Resurrection;
2. that He might present them to His heavenly Father as everlasting memorials of
His Passion;
3. that we might meditate on them as the sources of grace and the refuge of sinners.

Q. On what day did Christ rise again from the dead?
A. Christ rose again from the dead on Easter Sunday.
Easter Sunday. On this day Christians commemorate their deliverance from the slavery
of sin and the devil through the Resurrection of their Saviour. The Resurrection of Jesus
Christ is the foundation of our faith and our hope. This festival is therefore celebrated
with great pomp and ceremony.