Who is God?
God is the Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things.
Source question 2 · printed page 3748 complete numbered source answers and 9 prayers. This copy opens without internet access. Use your browser’s Find command to search its text. It is a snapshot dated 11 September 2026 and does not update itself.
God is the Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things.
Source question 2 · printed page 37Man is a creature composed of a body and soul, and made to the image and likeness of God.
Source question 3 · printed page 38The soul is like God because it is a spirit that will never die, and has understanding and free will.
Source question 5 · printed page 38God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him for ever in the next.
Source question 6 · printed page 40God is a spirit infinitely perfect.
Source question 13 · printed page 45God had no beginning; He always was and always will be.
Source question 14 · printed page 45We do not see God, because He is a pure spirit and cannot be seen with bodily eyes.
Source question 16 · printed page 46In God there are three divine persons really distinct and equal in all things—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Source question 23 · printed page 50By the Blessed Trinity I mean one God in three Divine Persons.
Source question 27 · printed page 51A mystery is a truth which we cannot fully understand.
Source question 31 · printed page 52God created heaven and earth from nothing, by His word only; that is, by a single act of His all-powerful will.
Source question 33 · printed page 54Angels are pure spirits without a body, created to adore and enjoy God in heaven.
Source question 35 · printed page 54I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity, true God and true man.
Source question 62 · printed page 80In Jesus Christ there are two natures; the nature of God and the nature of man.
Source question 65 · printed page 82By the Incarnation I mean that the Son of God was made man.
Source question 69 · printed page 82By grace I mean a supernatural gift of God bestowed on us, through the merits of Jesus Christ, for our salvation.
Source question 103 · printed page 117Sanctifying grace is that grace which makes the soul holy and pleasing to God.
Source question 105 · printed page 118Those graces or gifts of God by which we believe in Him, and hope in Him, and love Him, are called the divine virtues of faith, hope, and charity.
Source question 106 · printed page 118Faith is a divine virtue by which we firmly believe the truths which God has revealed.
Source question 107 · printed page 119Hope is a divine virtue by which we firmly trust that God will give us eternal life and the means to obtain it.
Source question 108 · printed page 120Charity is a divine virtue by which we love God above all things for His own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.
Source question 109 · printed page 120A sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace.
Source question 136 · printed page 151There are seven sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, and Matrimony.
Source question 137 · printed page 152Baptism is a sacrament which cleanses us from original sin, makes us Christians, children of God, and heirs of heaven.
Source question 152 · printed page 158Penance is a sacrament in which the sins committed after baptism are forgiven.
Source question 187 · printed page 180The Sacrament of Penance remits sin and restores the friendship of God to the soul by means of the absolution of the priest.
Source question 188 · printed page 180The priests of the Church exercise the power of forgiving sins by hearing the confession of sins, and granting pardon for them as ministers of God and in His name.
Source question 190 · printed page 182To receive the Sacrament of Penance worthily we must do five things: (1) We must examine our conscience. (2) We must have sorrow for our sins. (3) We must make a firm resolution never more to offend God. (4) We must confess our sins to the priest. (5) We must accept the penance which the priest gives us.
Source question 191 · printed page 183The chief means by which we satisfy God for the temporal punishment due to sin are: prayer, fasting, almsgiving, all spiritual and corporal works of mercy, and the patient suffering of the ills of life.
Source question 221 · printed page 208The chief spiritual works of mercy are seven: to admonish the sinner, to instruct the ignorant, to counsel the doubtful, to comfort the sorrowful, to bear wrongs patiently, to forgive all injuries, and to pray for the living and the dead.
Source question 222 · printed page 208The chief corporal works of mercy are seven: to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to ransom the captive, to harbor the harborless, to visit the sick, and to bury the dead.
Source question 223 · printed page 209The Holy Eucharist is the sacrament which contains the body and blood, soul and divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ under the appearances of bread and wine.
Source question 238 · printed page 221Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper, the night before He died.
Source question 239 · printed page 221Jesus Christ is whole and entire both under the form of bread and under the form of wine.
Source question 243 · printed page 224This change of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Our Lord is called Transubstantiation.
Source question 246 · printed page 225The bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ at the consecration in the Mass.
Source question 262 · printed page 236The Mass is the unbloody sacrifice of the body and blood of Christ.
Source question 263 · printed page 236The Mass is the same sacrifice as that of the cross because the offering and the priest are the same—Christ Our Blessed Lord: and the ends for which the sacrifice of the Mass is offered are the same as those of the sacrifice of the cross.
Source question 266 · printed page 238There is another means of obtaining God's grace, and it is prayer.
Source question 303 · printed page 276Prayer is the lifting up of our minds and hearts to God to adore Him, to thank Him for His benefits, to ask His forgiveness, and to beg of Him all the graces we need whether for soul or body.
Source question 304 · printed page 276We should pray particularly on Sundays and holy-days, every morning and night, in all dangers, temptations, and afflictions.
Source question 306 · printed page 278We should pray: first, with attention; second, with a sense of our own helplessness and dependence upon God; third, with a great desire for the graces we beg of God; fourth, with trust in God's goodness; fifth, with perseverance.
Source question 307 · printed page 278–279The prayers most recommended to us are the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, the Apostles' Creed, the Confiteor, and the Acts of Faith, Hope, Love, and Contrition.
Source question 308 · printed page 283The Commandments which contain the whole law of God are these two: first, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, with thy whole soul, with thy whole strength, and with thy whole mind; second, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
Source question 311 · printed page 285These two Commandments of the love of God and of our neighbor contain the whole law of God because all the other Commandments are given either to help us to keep these two, or to direct us how to shun what is opposed to them.
Source question 312 · printed page 286We are commanded by the fifth Commandment to live in peace and union with our neighbor, to respect his rights, to seek his spiritual and bodily welfare, and to take proper care of our own life and health.
Source question 367 · printed page 322We are commanded by the eighth Commandment to speak the truth in all things, and to be careful of the honor and reputation of every one.
Source question 379 · printed page 331By the tenth Commandment we are commanded to be content with what we have, and to rejoice in our neighbor's welfare.
Source question 387 · printed page 333Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Printed page 9Hail, Mary, full of grace! the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Printed page 14I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified; died, and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Printed page 17–18O my God! I firmly believe that Thou art one God in three divine persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; I believe that Thy divine Son became man, and died for our sins, and that He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths which the Holy Catholic Church teaches, because Thou hast revealed them, Who canst neither deceive nor be deceived.
Printed page 30O my God! relying on Thy infinite goodness and promises, I hope to obtain pardon of my sins, the help of Thy grace, and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.
Printed page 30O my God! I love Thee above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because Thou art all-good and worthy of all love. I love my neighbor as myself for the love of Thee. I forgive all who have injured me, and ask pardon of all whom I have injured.
Printed page 31O 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.
Printed page 32Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts which we are to receive from Thy bounty, through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Printed page 32We give Thee thanks for all Thy benefits, O Almighty God, Who livest and reignest forever. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
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