Baltimore Catechism No. 2 – Lesson First on the End of Man

Q1: Who made the world?

A1: God made the world.

Q2: Who is God?

A2: God is the Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things.

Q3: What is man?

A3: Man is a creature composed of body and soul, and made to the image and likeness of God.

Q4: Is this likeness in the body or in the soul?

A4: This likeness is chiefly in the soul.

Q5: How is the soul like to God?

A5: The soul is like God because it is a spirit that will never die, and has understanding and free will.

Q6: Why did God make you?

A6: God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.

Q7: Of which must we take more care, our soul or our body?

A7: We must take more care of our soul than of our body.

Q8: Why must we take more care of our soul than of our body?

A8: We must take more care of our soul than of our body, because in losing our soul we lose God and everlasting happiness.

Q9: What must we do to save our souls?

A9: To save our souls we must worship God by faith, hope, and charity; that is, we must believe in Him, hope in Him, and love Him with all our heart.

Q10: How shall we know the things which we are to believe?

A10: We shall know the things which we are to believe from the Catholic Church, through which God speaks to us.

Q11: Where shall we find the chief truths which the Church teaches?

A11: We shall find the chief truths which the Church teaches in the Apostles’ Creed.

Q12: Say the Apostles’ Creed.

A12: I 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, and 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.