DOCTRINE IS ALL CHURCH TEACHING IN MATTERS OF FAITH AND MORALS.  THIS IS WRITTEN BY THE CATHOLIC CHRUCH BUT THE OTHER CHRISTIANS AGREE WITH THE VAST MAJORITY OF THESE CONCEPTS.

DOGMA IS MORE NARROWLY DEFINED AS THAT PART OF DOCTRINE WHICH HAS BEEN DIVINELY REVEALED AND WHICH THE CHURCH HAS FORMALLY DEFINED AND DECLARED TO BE BELIEVED AS REVEALED.

OFFICIAL CATHOLIC DOGMA

There is, then, no place for “pick and choose” in the truths proposed to the Faith of Christians by the Infallible Teaching Church for they are bound in Heaven by God Himself. If something is decreed on earth and is also bound in Heaven, that thing must be the truth. Otherwise, God is no longer the Truth, which is contrary to the Gospel:

• Matthew 16:19. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in Heaven.

The Catholic Church is infallible because it is :

• 1 Tim 3:15. the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of the truth.

If a baptized person deliberately denies or contradicts a dogma, he or she is guilty of sin of heresy and automatically becomes subject to the punishment of excommunication.

From the work of Dr. Ludwig Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, published by the Mercier Press Ltd., Cork, Ireland, 1955. With Imprimatur of Cornelius, Bishop. Reprinted in U.S.A. by Tan Books and Publishers, Rockford, Illinois, 1974. 

I. THE UNITY AND TRINITY OF GOD

1. God, our Creator and Lord, can be known with certainty, by the natural light of reason from created things.
2. God’s existence is not merely an object of rational knowledge, but also an object of supernatural faith.
3. God’s Nature is incomprehensible to men.
4. The blessed in Heaven possess an immediate intuitive knowledge of the Divine Essence.
5. The immediate vision of God transcends the natural power of cognition of the human soul, and is therefore supernatural.
6. The soul, for the immediate vision of God, requires the light of glory.
7. God’s Essence is also incomprehensible to the blessed in Heaven.
8. The divine attributes are really identical among themselves and with the Divine Essence.
9. God is absolutely perfect.
10. God is actually infinite in every perfection.
11. God is absolutely simple.
12. There is only one God.
13. The one God is, in the ontological sense, the true God.
14. God possesses an infinite power of cognition.
15. God is absolute veracity.
16. God is absolutely faithful.
17. God is absolute ontological goodness in Himself and in relation to others.
18. God is absolute moral goodness or holiness.
19. God is absolute benignity.
20. God is absolutely immutable.
21. God is eternal.
22. God is immense or absolutely immeasurable.
23. God is everywhere present in created space.
24. God’s knowledge is infinite.
25. God’s knowledge is purely and simply actual.
26. God’s knowledge is subsistent.
27. God knows all that is merely possible by the knowledge of simple intelligence.
28. God knows all real things in the past, the present and the future.
29. By the knowledge of vision, God also foresees the future free acts of rational creatures with infallible certainty.
30. God’s Divine Will is infinite.
31. God loves Himself of necessity, but loves and wills the creation of extra-divine things, on the other hand, with freedom.
32. God is almighty.
33. God is the Lord of the heavens and of the earth.
34. God is infinitely just.
35. God is infinitely merciful.
36. In God there are three Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Each of the three Persons possesses the one (numerical) Divine Essence.
37. In God there are two internal divine processions.
38. The Divine Persons, not the Divine Nature, are the subject of the internal divine processions (in the active and in the passive sense).
39. The Second Divine Person proceeds from the First Divine Person by generation, and therefore is related to Him as Son to Father.
40. The Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and from the Son as from a single principle through a single spiration.
41. The Holy Ghost does not proceed through generation but through spiration.
42. The relations in God are really identical with the Divine Nature.
43. The Three Divine Persons are in one another.
44. All the ad extra activities of God are common to the three Persons.

II. GOD THE CREATOR

1. All that exists outside God was, in its whole substance, produced out of nothing by God.
2. God was moved by His goodness to create the world.
3. The world was created for the glorification of God.
4. The Three Divine Persons are one single, common principle of creation.
5. God created the world free from exterior compulsion and inner necessity.
6. God has created a good world.
7. The world had a beginning in time.
8. God alone created the world.
9. God keeps all created things in existence.
10. God, through His Providence, protects and guides all that He has created.
11. The first man was created by God.
12. Man consists of two essential parts – a material body and a spiritual soul.
13. The rational soul per se is the essential form of the body.
14. Every human being possesses an individual soul.
15. God has conferred on man a supernatural destiny.
16. Our first parents, before the fall, were endowed with sanctifying grace.
17. In addition to sanctifying grace, our first parents were endowed with the preternatural gift of bodily immortality.
18. Our first parents in Paradise sinned grievously through transgression of the Divine probationary commandment.
19. Through sin our first parents lost sanctifying grace and provoked the anger and the indignation of God.
20. Our first parents became subject to death and to the dominion of the devil.
21. Adam’s sin is transmitted to his posterity, not by imitation but by descent.
22. Original sin is transmitted by natural generation.
23. In the state of original sin man is deprived of sanctifying grace and all that this implies, as well as of the preternatural gifts of integrity.
24. Souls who depart this life in the state of original sin are excluded from the Beatific Vision of God.
25. In the beginning of time God created spiritual essences (angels) out of nothing.
26. The nature of angels is spiritual.
27. The evil spirits (demons) were created good by God; they became evil through their own fault.
28. The secondary task of the good angels is the protection of men and care for their salvation.
29. The devil possesses a certain dominion over mankind by reason of Adam’s sin.

III. GOD THE REDEEMER

1. Jesus Christ is true God and true Son of God.
2. Christ assumed a real body, not an apparent body.
3. Christ assumed not only a body but also a rational soul.
4. Christ was truly generated and born of a daughter of Adam, the Virgin Mary.
5. The Divine and human natures are united hypostatically in Christ, that is, joined to each other in one Person.
6. In the hypostatic union each of the two natures of Christ continues unimpaired, untransformed, and unmixed with each other.
7. Each of the two natures in Christ possesses its own natural will and its own natural mode of operation.
8. The hypostatic union of Christ’s human nature with the Divine Logos took place at the moment of conception.
9. The hypostatic union was effected by the three Divine Persons acting in common.
10. Only the second Divine Person became Man.
11. Not only as God but also as man Jesus Christ is the natural Son of God.
12. The God-Man Jesus Christ is to be venerated with one single mode of worship, the absolute worship of latria which is due to God alone.
13. Christ’s Divine and human characteristics and activities are to be predicated of the one Word Incarnate.
14. Christ was free from all sin, from original sin as well as from all personal sin.
15. Christ’s human nature was passable.
16. The Son of God became man in order to redeem men.
17. Fallen man cannot redeem himself.
18. The God-man Jesus Christ is a high priest.
19. Christ offered Himself on the Cross as a true and proper sacrifice.
20. Christ by His sacrifice on the Cross has ransomed us and reconciled us with God.
21. Christ, through His passion and death, merited award from God.
22. After His death, Christ’s Soul, which was separated from His Body, descended into the underworld.
23. On the third day after His death, Christ rose gloriously from the dead.
24. Christ ascended body and soul into Heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. 

IV. THE MOTHER OF THE REDEEMER

1. Mary is truly the Mother of God.
2. Mary was conceived without the stain of original sin.
   Mary is the Immaculate Conception.
3. Mary conceived by the Holy Ghost without the cooperation of man.
4. Mary bore her Son without any violation of her virginal integrity.
5. After the birth of Jesus, Mary remained a Virgin.
6. Mary was assumed body and soul into Heaven.

V. GOD THE SANCTIFIER

1. There is a supernatural intervention of God in the faculties of the soul, which precedes the free act of the will.
2. There is a supernatural influence of God in the faculties of the soul which coincides in time with man’s free act of will.
3. For every salutary act, internal supernatural grace of God (gratia elevans) is absolutely necessary.
4. Internal supernatural grace is absolutely necessary for the beginning of faith and salvation.
5. Without the special help of God, the justified cannot persevere to the end in justification.
6. The justified person is not able for his whole life long to avoid sins, even venial sins, without the special privilege of the grace of God.
7. Even in the fallen state, man can, by his natural intellectual power, know religious and moral truths.
8. For the performance of a morally good action, sanctifying grace is not required.
9. In the state of fallen nature, it is morally impossible for man without supernatural Revelation, to know easily, with absolute certainty, and without admixture of error, all religious and moral truths of the natural order.
10. Grace cannot be merited by natural works either de condigno or de congruo.
11. God gives all the just sufficient grace for the observation of the divine commandments.
12. God, by His eternal resolve of Will, has predetermined certain men to eternal blessedness.
13. God, by an eternal resolve of His Will, predestines certain men, on account of their foreseen sins, to eternal rejection.
14. The human will remains free under the influence of efficacious grace, which is not irresistible.
15. There is grace which is truly sufficient and yet remains inefficacious.
16. The causes of Justification. (Defined by the Council of Trent) :
    1. The final cause is the honour of God and of Christ and the eternal life of men.
    2. The efficient cause is the mercy of God.
    3. The meritorious cause is Jesus Christ, who as mediator between God and men, has made atonement for us and merited the grace by which we are justified.
    4. The instrumental cause of the first justification is the Sacrament of Baptism. Thus it defines that Faith is a necessary precondition for justification (of adults).
    5. The formal cause is God’s Justice, not by which He Himself is just, but which He makes us just, that is, Sanctifying Grace.
17. The sinner can and must prepare himself by the help of actual grace for the reception of the grace by which he is justified.
18. The justification of an adult is not possible without faith.
19. Besides faith, further acts of disposition must be present.
20. Sanctifying grace sanctifies the soul.
21. Sanctifying grace makes the just man a friend of God.
22. Sanctifying grace makes the just man a child of God and gives him a claim to the inheritance of heaven.
23. The three Divine or theological virtues of faith, hope and charity are infused with sanctifying grace.
24. Without special Divine Revelation no one can know with the certainty of faith, if he be in the state of grace.
25. The degree of justifying grace is not identical in all the just.
26. Grace can be increased by good works.
27. The grace by which we are justified may be lost, and is lost by every grievous sin.
28. By his good works, the justified man really acquires a claim to supernatural reward from God.
29. A just man merits for himself through each good work an increase of sanctifying grace, eternal life (if death finds him in the state of grace) and an increase in heavenly glory.

VI. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

1. The Catholic Church was founded by the God-Man Jesus Christ.
2. Christ founded the Catholic Church in order to continue His work of redemption for all time.
3. Christ gave His Church a hierarchical constitution.
4. The powers bestowed on the Apostles have descended to the Bishops.
5. Christ appointed the Apostle Peter to be the first of all the Apostles and to be the visible Head of the whole Catholic Church, by appointing him immediately and personally to the primacy of jurisdiction.
6. According to Christ’s ordinance, Peter is to have successors in his Primacy over the whole Catholic Church and for all time.
7. The successors of Peter in the Primacy are the Bishops of Rome.
8. The Pope possesses full and supreme power of jurisdiction over the whole Catholic Church, not merely in matters of faith and morals, but also in Church discipline and in the government of the Church.
9. The Pope is infallible when he speaks ex cathedra.
10. By virtue of Divine right, the bishops possess an ordinary power of government over their dioceses.
11. Christ founded the Catholic Church.
12. Christ is the Head of the Catholic Church.
13. In the final decision on doctrines concerning faith and morals, the Catholic Church is infallible.
14. The primary object of the Infallibility is the formally revealed truths of Christian Doctrine concerning faith and morals.
15. The totality of the Bishops is infallible, when they, either assembled in general council or scattered over the earth propose a teaching of faith or morals as one to he held by all the faithful.
16. The Church founded by Christ is unique and one.
17. The Church founded by Christ is holy.
18. The Church founded by Christ is catholic.
19. The Church founded by Christ is apostolic.
20. Membership of the Catholic Church is necessary for all men for salvation.

VII. THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

1. It is permissible and profitable to venerate the Saints in Heaven, and to invoke their intercession.
2. It is permissible and profitable to venerate the relics of the Saints.
3. It is permissible and profitable to venerate images of the Saints.
4. The living faithful can come to the assistance of the souls in Purgatory by their intercessions.

VIII. THE SACRAMENTS

1. The Sacraments of the New Covenant contain the grace which they signify, and bestow it on those who do not hinder it.
2. The Sacraments work ex opere operato, that is, the sacraments operate by the power of the completed sacramental rite.
3. All the Sacraments of the New Covenant confer sanctifying grace on the receivers.
4. Three Sacraments, Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders, imprint a character, that is an indelible spiritual mark, and, for this reason, cannot be repeated.
5. The sacramental character is a spiritual mark imprinted on the soul.
6. The sacramental character continues at least until the death of the bearer.
7. All Sacraments of the New Covenant were instituted by Jesus Christ.
8. There are seven Sacraments of the New Law.
9. The Sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for the salvation of mankind.
10. The validity and efficacy of the Sacrament is independent of the minister’s orthodoxy and state of grace.
11. For the valid dispensing of the Sacraments it is necessary that the minister accomplish the Sacramental sign in the proper manner.
12. The minister must have the intention of at least doing what the Church does.
13. In the case of adult recipients moral worthiness is necessary for the worthy or fruitful reception of the Sacraments.

IX. BAPTISM

1. Baptism is a true Sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ.
2. The materia remota of the Sacrament of Baptism is true and natural water.
3. Baptism confers the grace of justification.
4. Baptism effects the remission of all punishments of sin, both eternal and temporal.
5. Even if it be unworthily received, valid Baptism imprints on the soul of the recipient an indelible spiritual mark, the Baptismal Character, and for this reason, the Sacrament cannot be repeated.
6. Baptism by water (Baptismus fluminis) is, since the promulgation of the Gospel, necessary for all men without exception for salvation.
7. Baptism can be validly administered by anyone.
8. Baptism can be received by any person in the wayfaring state who is not already baptised.
9. The Baptism of young children is valid and licit.

X. CONFIRMATION

1. Confirmation is a true Sacrament properly so-called.
2. Confirmation imprints on the soul an indelible spiritual mark, and for this reason, cannot be repeated.
3. The ordinary minister of Confirmation is the Bishop alone.

XI. HOLY EUCHARIST

1. The Body and Blood of Jesus Christ are truly, really, and substantially present in the Eucharist.
2. Christ becomes present in the Sacrament of the Altar by the transformation of the whole substance of the bread into His Body and of the whole substance of the wine into His Blood.
3. The accidents of bread and wine continue after the change of the substance.
4. The Body and Blood of Christ together with His Soul and Divinity and therefore, the whole Christ, are truly present in the Eucharist.
5. The Whole Christ is present under each of the two Species.
6. When either consecrated Species is divided, the Whole Christ is present in each part of the Species.
7. After the Consecration has been completed the Body and Blood are permanently present in the Eucharist.
8. The Worship of Adoration (latria) must be given to Christ present in the Eucharist.
9. The Eucharist is a true Sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ.
10. The matter for the consummation of the Eucharist is bread and wine.
11. For children before the age of reason, the reception of the Eucharist is not necessary for salvation.
12. Communion under two forms is not necessary for any individual members of the Faithful, either by reason of Divine precept or as a means of salvation.
13. The power of consecration resides in a validly consecrated priest only .
14. The Sacrament of the Eucharist can be validly received by every baptised person in the wayfaring state, including young children.
15. For the worthy reception of the Eucharist, the state of grace as well as the proper and pious disposition are necessary.
16. The Holy Mass is a true and proper Sacrifice.
17. In the Sacrifice of the Mass, Christ’s Sacrifice on the Cross is made present, its memory celebrated, and its saving power applied.
18. In the Sacrifice of the Mass and in the Sacrifice of the Cross the Sacrificial Gift and the Primary Sacrificing Priest are identical; only the nature and the mode of the offering are different.
19. The Sacrifice of the Mass is not merely a sacrifice of praise and thanks-giving, but also a sacrifice of expiation and impetration.

XII. PENANCE

1. The Church has received from Christ the power of remitting sins committed after Baptism.
2. By the Church’s Absolution sins are truly and immediately remitted.
3. The Church’s power to forgive sins extends to all sin without exception.
4. The exercise of the Church’s power to forgive sins is a judicial act.
5. The forgiveness of sins which takes place in the Tribunal of Penance is a true and proper Sacrament, which is distinct from the Sacrament of Baptism.
6. Extra-sacramental justification is effected by perfect sorrow only when it is associated with the desire for the Sacrament (votum sacramenti).
7. Contrition springing from the motive of fear is a morally good and supernatural act.
8. The Sacramental confession of sins is ordained by God and is necessary for salvation.
9. By virtue of Divine ordinance, all grievous sins according to kind and number, as well as those circumstances which alter their nature, are subject to the obligation of confession.
10. The confession of venial sins is not necessary but is permitted and is useful.
11. All temporal punishments for sin are not always remitted by God with the guilt of sin and the eternal punishment.
12. The priest has the right and duty, according to the nature of the sins and the ability of the penitent, to impose salutary and appropriate works for satisfaction.
13. Extra-sacramental penitential works, such as the performance of voluntary penitential practices and the patient bearing of trials sent by God, possess satisfactory value.
14. The form of the Sacrament of Penance consists in the words of Absolution.
15. Absolution, in association with the acts of the penitent, effects the forgiveness of sins.
16. The principal effect of the Sacrament of Penance is the reconciliation of the sinner with God.
17. The Sacrament of Penance is necessary for salvation to those who, after Baptism, fall into grievous sin.
18. The sole possessors of the Church’s Power of Absolution are the bishops and priests.
19. Absolution given by deacons, clerics or lower rank, and laymen is not Sacramental Absolution.
20. The Sacrament of Penance can be received by any baptised person who, after Baptism, has committed a grievous or a venial sin.
21. The Church possesses the power to grant Indulgences.
22. The use of Indulgences is useful and salutary to the Faithful.

XIII. HOLY ORDERS

1. Holy Order is a true and proper Sacrament which was instituted by Jesus Christ.
2. The consecration of priests is a Sacrament.
3. Bishops are superior to priests.
4. The Sacrament of Order confers sanctifying grace on the recipient.
5. The Sacrament of Order imprints a character on the recipient.
6. The Sacrament of Order confers a permanent spiritual power on the recipient.
7. The ordinary dispenser of all grades of Order, both the sacramental and the non-sacramental, is the validly consecrated Bishop alone.

XIV. MATRIMONY

1. Marriage is a true and proper Sacrament instituted by God.
2. From the sacramental contract of marriage emerges the Bond of Marriage, which binds both marriage partners to a lifelong indivisible community of life.
3. The Sacrament of Matrimony bestows sanctifying grace on the contracting parties.

XV. ANOINTING OF THE SICK

1. Extreme Unction or anointing of the sick is a true and proper Sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ.
2. The remote matter of Extreme Unction is oil.
3. The form consists in the prayer of the priest for the sick person which accomplishes the anointing.
4. Extreme Unction gives the sick person sanctifying grace in order to arouse and strengthen him.
5. Extreme Unction effects the remission of grievous sins still remaining and of venial sins.
6. Extreme Unction sometimes effects the restoration of bodily health, if this be of spiritual advantage.
7. Only Bishops and priests can validly administer Extreme Unction.
8. Extreme Unction can be received only by the Faithful who are seriously ill.

XVI. THE LAST THINGS

1. In the present order of salvation, death is a punishment for sin.
2. All human beings subject to original sin are subject to the law of death.
3. The souls of the just which in the moment of death are free from all guilt of sin and punishment for sin, enter into Heaven.
4. The bliss of Heaven lasts for all eternity.
5. The degree of perfection of the Beatific Vision granted to the just is proportioned to each one’s merit.
6. The souls of those who die in the condition of personal grievous sin enter Hell.
7. The punishment of Hell lasts for all eternity.
8. The souls of the just which, in the moment of death, are burdened with venial sins or temporal punishment due to sins, enter purgatory.
9. At the end of the world Christ will come again in glory to pronounce judgement.
10. All the dead will rise again on the last day with their bodies.
11. The dead will rise again with the same bodies as they had on earth.
12. Christ, on His second coming, will judge all men.

Priest with Nicene Creed tattoo

This “statement” was created by Constantine to condition the people.  It was intended to unify the beliefs of people into his universal one empire religion or “Catholic” religion.

The original version was adopted at the First Council of Nicaea (325). The revised version was adopted by the First Council of Constantinople (381)

“Our profession of faith begins with God, for God is the First and the Last, the beginning and the end of everything. The Credo begins with God the Father, for the Father is the first divine person of the Most Holy Trinity; our Creed begins with the creation of heaven and earth, for creation is the beginning and the foundation of all God’s works.”

—the Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 198

NICENE CREED

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father [and the Son]; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.

And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

APOSTLE’S CREED

“Peter.—1. I believe in God the Father Almighty;

“John.—2. Maker of heaven and earth;

“James.—3. And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord;

“Andrew.—4. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary;

“Philip.—5. Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried;

“Thomas.—6. He descended into hell, the third day he rose again from the dead;

“Bartholomew.—7. He ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;

“Matthew.—8. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead;

“James, the son of Alpheus.—9. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic Church;

“Simon Zelotes.—10. The communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins;

“Jude the brother of James.—11. The resurrection of the body;

“Matthias.—12. Life everlasting. Amen.”

CATHOLICS CHANGED COMMANDMENTS

It’s OK to idol worship!!!!!

CATHOLIC COMMANDMENTS

1.     I, the Lord, am your God. You shall not have other gods besides me.
2.     You shall not take the name of the Lord God in vain
3.     Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day
4.     Honor your father and your mother
5.     You shall not kill
6.     You shall not commit adultery
7.     You shall not steal
8.     You shall not bear false witness
9.     You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods

IN THE PROTESTANT CHURCHES,

they are as follows, with the differences highlighted:

1.     You shall have no other gods but me.
   2.     You shall not make unto you any graven images
3.     You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain
4.     You shall remember the Sabbath and keep it holy
5.     Honor your mother and father
6.     You shall not murder
7.     You shall not commit adultery
8.     You shall not steal
9.     You shall not bear false witness
 10. You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor

The differences are that the protestant churches forbid any graven images, the word “kill” is replaced by the word “murder”, and they lump all covetous things together, while the Catholic Church specifically adds the prohibition of coveting your neighbor’s wife.  Why the differences?  The 10 Commandments come to us from Exodus 20:2-17, which reads as follows:

I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Thou shalt not kill.

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Thou shalt not steal.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s.

From Exodus 20, one can see that either list is an abbreviated version of the prohibitions.  How they are abbreviated is the key.  The Catholic Church has had its list of 10 Commandments for around 2000 years, while the protestant churches have had their list for almost 500 years.  The highlighted portion of the text from Exodus above says that the punishment for our sins can be handed down to our children, our grandchildren, and our great grandchildren. The good news is that it also says that His mercy will be handed down to thousands of our descendants if we love Him.

The protestants’ list forbids any graven images whatsoever, which is an extra commandment when compared to the Catholic listing, but this isn’t adhered to in a lot of protestant churches, which have crosses and stained glass windows of biblical events.  It also wasn’t adhered to by God, who told the Israelites to put graven images of 2 angels on top of the ark of the covenant, which carried the Ten Commandments,  who told Solomon to put graven images of cherubs and palm trees in his temple, and who told the Israelites in the desert to make a graven image of a bronze serpent, so that the Israelites who looked upon it (not worshipped it) would be healed.  The protestant commandment to not make any graven images whatsoever does not take into account the entire paragraph, which includes the prohibition against worshipping the graven image. The key here is that God didn’t want any more golden calf incidents, where the people actually believed that the graven image of the golden calf (an Egyptian god) was a god itself.  (An interesting observation is that there is a statue of a bull on Wall Street in New York City, where a lot of people worship money and wealth.) No Catholics actually believe that a plaster and paint statue of Jesus or Mary is a god and worship it; they only believe in what it represents, like when you look at a picture of your kids in your wallet. The image that it puts into your mind is that of your kids, and usually brings back fond memories; it doesn’t mean that you believe the photo in your wallet is actually your kid.

The protestant commandment of prohibition against murder, rather than killing, is a minor distinction.  In the Bible, both Moses and Joshua killed many non-believers, and were told to do so by God.  The Catholic Church says today that one is justified in killing if you are protecting your homeland against invaders, or are protecting yourself from someone who is trying to kill you, as long as it doesn’t occur after the person is already debilitated.

The protestant version of the tenth Commandment that lumps all coveting together is also a minor difference from the Catholic version, because that would also include coveting someone’s wife, which is the Catholic ninth Commandment.  How many people today covet everything their neighbor has, including their wives?  A lot.  And how many people fail to confess this sin in the confessional?  A lot.

And what gives God the right to tell us what not to do?  He created us.  When you buy an electronic gadget, and the instruction book says not to get it wet or use it in the shower, how stupid would we be to do what the book says not to do?  The creator of the electronic gadget knows it a lot better than we do, and we would be wise to listen to the rule book that comes along with the gadget. The same goes for us. God, who made us, knows us better than we know ourselves, and He surely doesn’t want us burning in hell for our own actions. As a loving Father, He warns us about what not do in the Ten Commandments.

The 10 Commandments from Moses, the lawgiver in the Old Testament, can be seen as God’s “stop” lights for us.  If we do not do these horrible things, then that is a great starting point for a good Christian life. However, Jesus, the lawgiver of the New Testament, gives us some mandatory “go” lights.  These include, from Matthew 25, to feed the hungry, to visit the sick and imprisoned, to give drink to the thirsty, to welcome strangers, and to clothe the naked.  In Matthew 25, the people who did not do these things did not get into heaven, but were banished instead to hell. The people who did do these things did get into heaven, because Jesus said that as often as they did these things to the least of their brother, they did it to HIM.  The big lie that many protestants believe in today is that good works are useless, and that all that is required to get into heaven is to profess your belief in Jesus Christ as your personal lord and savior, words which are not found in the bible, by the way. While this is certainly true for deathbed conversions, it is not true for those of us who are alive and well and believe in Jesus today.  Many protestants are confused about the meaning of the word “works”. The Bible does say that Jewish works of the law are indeed useless (Romans 3:28), but those are not good works, which the bible says that we have to do.  Romans 2:6 says that He will render to us ACCORDING TO OUR WORKS.  And notice that the Bible doesn’t say that works done by the government with our tax dollars get us into heaven.  What it does say is that WE personally have to do those works.  That means getting involved with our time, our talents, and our treasure, in whatever capacity suits us best.  On a practical level it means that we have to turn off the TV, and sacrifice our time and our money for the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, the hungry, and the thirsty.  A great way to do all of this is to get involved with the St. Vincent de Paul organization, but whichever organization that does all of these things is OK.

What is so sad today is how so many of the 10 Commandments are ignored, and how the opposite of them is thrown at us daily through the law, commercials, and the media.  Abortion, the taking of an innocent human life (the “thing” in the mother’s tummy is human, and it is growing, therefore it is a LIVE HUMAN), is now seen as a basic human right by so many evil governments.  Coveting your neighbor’s wife occurs a lot in the movies, when female beauty is shown endlessly and is the main draw to get men to watch the movie.  Every time somebody succumbs to a commercial to buy more useless stuff because our neighbor has it and we don’t, we are breaking the tenth commandment.  How many politicians lie every day in full view of us all? How many Catholics ignore the second Commandment and don’t go to Mass anymore?  A lot.  And how many people casually take the name of God in vain as an expletive?  A lot.

To sum up, by obeying the 10 Commandments we may think that we are on cruise control or autopilot to heaven. But that kind of thinking would completely ignore the entire New Testament.  Jesus says that the greatest Commandments are to love God with your whole strength and your whole soul, and to love your neighbor as yourself.  That means we have to sacrifice our time, talents, and treasures for the least among us. After all, a diamond in the mud is still a diamond; we just have to clean the mud off of it first.  The poor and destitute among us are just like that diamond in the mud.

If we all did a small share right now, the poverty problem in the world today would be solved.  That may mean not going gambling, or on a cruise, or on an expensive far-away vacation this year, but which is more important – being temporarily satisfied now, or being permanently happy in heaven later? Choose wisely! We are all called by Jesus himself to rescue that person from the mud in his life, whether it is drugs, poverty, pornography, occultism, loneliness, imprisonment, etc. Probably few who read this are called to be a Mother Teresa, but what she did with her life is what we should all be doing on a smaller scale

The “virgin Mary” is revered more than Jesus by most Catholics all around the world. They will typically have a large statute of the “Virgin” Mary in their house and no anything of Jesus. Many times they put a food offering at Virgin Mary’s feet.

The most said prayer by the Catholics is the “Hail Mary”, (NO, NO, it’s not a football pass).

ATTEND CHURCH SERVICES FOR MARY (NEW YEARS DAY, JAN 1)

Start the year out right.  All Catholics are required to attend church services (a holy day of obligation) on the first day of the year, January 1, the day set aside to honor the holy blessed virgin Mary, mother of God.  As a priest stated “We are reminded of the role that the Blessed Virgin played in the plan of our salvation. We trust in her prayers to God for us, that we might, as the years pass, become more like her. She never hesitated to do Gods will.” Earlier Christians called her Theotokos, “the God Bearer.”

For the first day of the year, Catholics are to draw inspiration from her for the balance of the new year.

AND … AGAIN FOR MARY … (ANNUNCIATION DAY)

And don’t forget to go to church services on Annunciation day, March 25 (a holy day of obligation), the day when Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told “Mary the mother of God” that she would be the mother of Jesus (God).

AND … AGAIN FOR MARY … (ASSUMPTION DAY)

And also don’t forget to attend church services on August 15, the Assumption of Mary (a holy day of obligation) , to honor and pray to the virgin Mary. Evidently assumption means the body of the virgin Mary ascended up into heaven before the body could be buried. It disappeared into the heavens.

AND … AGAIN FOR MARY … (IMMACULATE CONCEPTION DAY)

And don’t forget to go to church services on Immaculate Conception day, December 8 (a holy day of obligation), the day when Mary mother of God was miraculously impregnated by God (Mary was married at the time so it was adultery by God). Evidently Mary had a longer pregnancy than normal women since the birthday of Jesus is only 17 days later, which means her pregnancy took over a year.

It has been said by sources allegedly written as far back as 100 CE that Jesus was not born of a virgin. Ebionites agree (source=St Irenaeus, Heresies 1:26:1 2).

MARY HAS FOUR DAYS …

JESUS ONLY HAS TWO DAYS OF OBLIGATION; CHRISTMAS AND EASTER.

JESUS SAYS, “ONLY TWO FOR ME???”

“I DESERVE MORE DAYS, BECAUSE I’M WORTH IT,” SAYS THE HOLY BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, MOTHER OF GOD.