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AN ABRIDGEMENT OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE
Remember, O Soul, that you have this day, and everyday of your life:
God to glorify,
Jesus to imitate,
The Angels and Saints to invoke,
A soul to save,
A body to mortify,
Sins to expiate,
Virtues to acquire,
Hell to avoid,
Heaven to gain,
Eternity to prepare for,
Time to profit by,
Neighbors to edify,
The world to despise,
Devils to combat,
Passions to subdue,
Death perhaps to suffer,
Judgment to undergo.
Among the truths which Faith teaches us, there are several which all ought to know and to believe explicitly: the existence of one God; the Mystery of the Holy Trinity; the Mystery of the Redemption of mankind by the Incarnation and death of Jesus Christ, and the future state of reward and punishment.
There are things which every Catholic is also bound to know, the express command either of God or of the Church.
These are:
1. The three most ordinary Christian prayers: the
Our Father; the Hail Mary; the
Gloria
Patri.
2. The Articles of Faith, found in the Apostles' Creed.
3. The Decalogue or Ten Commandments.
4. The Precepts of the Church.
5. The Doctrine of the Sacraments, and especially the
three necessary to everyone:
Baptism, Penance, and Holy
Eucharist.
6. The duties and obligations of one's state of life.
It is a mortal sin for a Christian to be ignorant of these things,
if it
be through his own wilfulness and neglect.
THE MOST NECESSARY PRAYERS
The Sign of the Cross
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Ghost. Amen.
In Nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.
The Lord's Prayer
Pater noster, qui es in coelis,
Our Father, who art in heaven,
santificetur nomen tuum.
hollowed be Thy Name.
Adveniat regnum tuum.
Thy kingdom come.
Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in
Thy will be done on earth,
coelo et in terra.
As it is in heaven.
Panem nostrum quotidianum Give
us this day our daily bread.
da nobis hodie. Et demitte
And forgive us our trespasses,
nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos as we forgive
those who trespass
dimittimus, debitoribus nostris. against
us.
et ne nos inducas in tentationem: And lead us not into
temptation,
sed libera nos a malo.
But deliver us from evil.
Amen.
Amen.
The Angelical Salutation
Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee
tecum; benedicta tu in mulieribus, blessed art thou among
women,
et benedictus fructus ventris tui, and blessed
is the Fruit of thy womb,
Jesus.
Jesus.
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei,
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
ora pro nobis peccatoribus,
pray for us sinners,
nunc et in hora mortis noatrae. now and
at the hour of our death.
Amen.
Amen.
The Gloria Patri
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Glory
be to the Father, and to the Son, and
Sancto.
to the Holy Ghost.
Sicut erat in principio et nunc As
it was in the beginning, is now,
et semper et in secula secolorum. and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Amen.
The Apostles' Creed
Credo in Deum, Patrem
I believe in God the Father almighty,
omnipotentem, Creatorem
Creator of heaven and earth.
coeli and terrae. Et in Jesum
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
Christum, Filium ejus unicum,
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
Dominum nostrum; qui conceptus born of the Virgin
Mary, suffered under
est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex
Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was
Maria Virgine, passus sub Pontio buried. he
descended into hell, the third day
Pilato, crucifixus, mortuus et
He roseagain from the dead, He ascended
sepultus; descendit ad inferos;
into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of
tertia die resurrexit as coelos,
God the Father Almighty, from thence
sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris
He shall come to judge the living and
omnipotentis; inde venturus est the
dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost,
judicare vicos et mortuos. Credo the holy Catholic
Church, the communion of
in Spritum Sanctum, sanctam
Saints, the forgiveness of sins,
Ecclesiam catholicam, Santorum the resurrection
of the body,
communionem, remissionem
and life everlasting. Amen.
peccatorum, carnis resurrectionem,
vitam aeternam. Amen.
Act of Faith
O my God! I firmly believe that Thou art one God in three Divine Persons:
the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Ghost; I believe in Jesus Christ, the true and only Son of God,
who was born of the Virgin Mary, and died on the Cross for our salvation;
I also believe all the sacred truths the Catholic Church teaches, because
Thou hast revealed them, who canst neither deceive nor be deceived.
Act of Hope
O my God! relying upon Thy goodness and promises, I hope to obtain pardon for my sins, grace to serve Thee in this world, and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.
Act of Charity
O my God! I love Thee above all things, with my whole heart, with my whole soul, with my whole mind and with my whole strength, because Thou art infinitely worthy of all love; and I love my neighbor as myself for the love of Thee. I forgive all those who have offended me and ask pardon of all whom I have offended.
Act of Contrition
O my God! I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell; but most of all, because they offend Thee, my God, who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.