Haus Jakob

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF GOD

1.) I am the Lord thy God, Who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, and out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt not have strange Gods before Me. Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth. Thou shalt not adore them nor serve them: I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon their children unto the third and fourth generation of those that hate Me; and showing mercy unto thousands of those that love Me and keep My commandments.

EXAMINATION: Have you doubted in matters of faith?—Murmured against God at your adversity or at the prosperity of others?—Despaired of His mercy?—Believed in fortune-tellers or consulted them?—Gone to places of worship belonging to other denominations?—Not recommended yourself daily to God?

2.) Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that shall take the name of the Lord his God in vain.

EXAMINATION: Taken the name of God in vain?—Spoken irreverently of holy things, or profaned anything relating to religion?—Sworn falsely, rashly, or in slight and trivial matters?—Cursed yourself, or others, or any creature?—Angered others so far as to make them swear, or blaspheme God?

3.) Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day. Six days shalt thou labor, and shalt do all thy works; but on the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; thou shalt do no work on it, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them, and rested on the seventh day, therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.

EXAMINATION: Have you kept holy the Lord’s Day, and all other days commanded to be kept holy?—Bought or sold things, not of necessity, on that day?—Done or commanded some servile work not of necessity?—Missed Mass or been willfully distracted during Mass?—Talked, gazed, or laughed in church?—Profaned the day by dancing, drinking, gambling, etc.?

4.) Honor thy father and thy mother, that thou mayest be long-lived upon the land which the Lord thy God will give thee.

EXAMINATION: Have you honored your parents, superiors, masters, according to your just duty?—Deceived them, disobeyed them?—Failed in due reverence to aged persons?

5.) Thou shalt not kill.

EXAMINATION: Procured, desired, or hastened the death of anyone?—Borne hatred; oppressed anyones; desired revenge; not forgiven; refused to speak to others; used provoking language; threatened or struck others not under your charge; made others fall out?

6.) Thou shalt not commit adultery.

EXAMINATION: Have you been guilty of lascivious dressing or make-up; lewd company; have you read immodest books; been guilty of unchaste songs, discourses, words, looks, or actions with yourself or others?—Willfully entertained impure thoughts or desires?

7.) Thou shalt not steal.

EXAMINATION: Stealing; deceit in gaming, reckoning, buying or selling, in wares, prices, weights or measures; bought of such as could not sell; willfully damaged another man’s goods, or negligently spoiled them; run into debt carelessly, beyond your power of payment?

8.) Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbors.

EXAMINATION: Borne false witness, called injurious names; revealed another’s sins; flattered yourself or others; opened the letters of others; judged rashly; falsely suspected?

9.) Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.

EXAMINATION: Same as 6.)

10.) Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, nor his servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is his.

EXAMINATION: Coveted unjustly anything that belonged to another?

THE SIX PRECEPTS OF THE CHURCH

1.) To hear Mass on Sundays and holydays of obligation.
2.) To fast and abstain on the days commanded.
3.) To confess our sins at least once a year.
4.) To receive the Blessed Eucharist at Easter or within the time appointed.
5.) To contribute to the support of our Pastors.
6.) Not to solemnize marriage at the forbidden times; nor to marry persons within the forbidden degrees of kindred, or otherwise prohibited by the Church, nor secretly.

EXAMINATION: Have you gone to confession at least once a year?—Received Holy Communion during Eastertide?
Have you violated the fasts of the Church, or eaten flesh-meat on prohibited days?

THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS

Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, Matrimony.

THE THREE THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES

Faith, Hope, and Charity.

THE FOUR CARDINAL VIRTUES

Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance.

THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY GHOST

Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and the Fear of the Lord.

THE TWELVE FRUITS Of THE HOLY GHOST

Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience, Longanimity, Goodness, Benignity, Mildness, Fidelity, Modesty, Continence, and Chastity.

THE SPIRITUAL WORKS OF MERCY

To give counsel to the doubtful.—To instruct the ignorant.—To admonish sinners.—To comfort the afflicted.—To forgive offences.—To bear patiently the troublesome.—To pray for the living and the dead.

THE CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY

To feed the hungry.—To give drink to the thirsty.—To clothe the naked.—To shelter the needy.—To visit the sick.—To visit the imprisoned.—To bury the dead.

THE EIGHT BEATITUDES

1.) Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
2.) Blessed are the meek; for they shall possess the land.
3.) Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.
4.) Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice; for they shall be filled.
5.) Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.
6.) Blessed are the clean of heart; for they shall see God.
7.) Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God.
8.) Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS

Pride.—Covetousness.—Lust.—Anger.—Gluttony.—Envy.—Sloth.

CONTRARY VIRTUES

Humility.—Liberality.—Chastity.—Meekness.—Temperance.—Brotherly Love.—Diligence.

SINS AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST

Presumption upon God’s mercy.—Despair.—Impugning the known truth.—Envy of another’s spiritual good.—Obstinacy in sin.—Final impenitence.

SINS CRYING TO HEAVEN FOR VENGEANCE

Willful murder.—The sin of Sodom.—Oppression of the poor.—Defrauding laborers of their wages.

NINE WAYS OF BEING ACCESSORY TO ANOTHER’S SIN

By counsel.—By command.—By consent.—By provocation.—By praise or flattery.—By concealment.—By partaking.—By silence.—By defense of the ill done.

THREE EMINENTLY GOOD WORKS

Alms-deeds, or works of mercy, Prayer, and Fasting.

THREE EVANGELICAL COUNSELS

Voluntary Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience.

SUBJECTS FOR DAILY MEDITATION

Remember, Christian soul, that thou hast this day, and every day of thy life:

Among the truths which faith teaches us, there are several which all ought to know and to believe explicitly, namely, 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, by the express command either of God or of the Church. These things are: 1.) The three most ordinary Catholic prayers, namely, the Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the Apostles’ Creed; and also, at least in substance, 2.) The Commandments of God; 3.) The Precepts of the Church; 4.) The Doctrine of the Sacraments, and especially of these three which are necessary to everyone, namely, Baptism, Penance, and the Holy Eucharist; 5.) The duties and obligations of one’s state of life.

It is a mortal sin for a Catholic to be ignorant of these things, if it be through his own willfulness or neglect.

SOURCE: Roman Catholic Daily Missal (1962) 2004, Angelus Press, Saint Marys, Kansas, pp. 25-28, 66, 67.