Baltimore Catechism No. 4 (of 4) by Thomas L. Kinkead

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An
Explanation
Of The
Baltimore Catechism
of Christian Doctrine

For The Use of
Sunday-School Teachers and Advanced Classes

(Also known as Baltimore Catechism No. 4)

by
Rev. Thomas L. Kinkead

Nihil Obstat:
D. J. McMahon
Censor Librorum

Imprimatur:
+ Michael Augustine
Archbishop of New York
New York, September 5, 1891

Nihil Obstat:
Arthur J. Scanlan, S.T.D.
Censor Librorum

Imprimatur:
+ Patrick J. Hayes, D.D.
Archbishop of New York
New York, June 29, 1921

{Transcriber's Note: This book is commonly known as "The Baltimore
Catechism No. 4" and is the last part of a four volume e-text
collection. See the author's note to Baltimore Catechism No. 3 for the
background and purpose of the series. This e-text collection is
substantially based on files generously provided by
http://www.catholic.net/ with some missing material transcribed and
added for this release. Transcriber's notes in this series are placed
within braces, and usually prefixed "T.N.:".}

APPROBATIONS

His Eminence Cardinal Gibbons:
"I thank you for the copy of The Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism
which has just reached me. A Religious spoke to me in very high terms of
your book. I regard the opinion as of great value."

Most Rev. M. A. Corrigan, D.D., Archbishop of New York:
"I congratulate you on the good which it is likely to do."

Most Rev. William Henry Elder, D.D., Archbishop of Cincinnati:
"I think the work will be a very serviceable one. I hope it will meet
with great success."

Most Rev. Thomas L. Grace, D.D., Archbishop of Siunia:
"Your book entitled An Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism supplies a
want which is generally felt by the clergy and others engaged in
teaching Catechism. Apart from the very satisfactory development of the
answers to the questions and apt illustrations of the subjects treated,
the additional questions inserted in your book give it a special value."

Most Rev. P. J. Ryan, D.D., Archbishop of Philadelphia:
"Your explanation of the Baltimore Catechism is excellent and must be of
very great service to teachers of Sunday schools and to all who desire a
clear exposition of Catholic doctrine, either for themselves or to
communicate it to others. We give the work our cordial approval."

Most Rev. William J. Walsh, D.D., Archbishop of Dublin, Primate of
Ireland:
"I have had a copy of your admirable work for some weeks past, and on
several points it has been of very great use to me and to the committee
[a committee of professors of theology, moral as well as dogmatic;
priests of long and of wide experience in the work of instructing
children in the Catechism; experienced examiners of children;
accomplished scholars and writers of English; members both of religious
and of secular collegiate communities; and representatives of the
missionary priesthood, secular and regular, appointed to draft a new
Catechism]."

Right Rev. D. M. Bradley, D.D., Bishop of Manchester:
"I am sure this 'Explanation' will be welcomed by the teachers in our
schools and indeed by all whose duty it may be to instruct others in the
teachings of the Church."

Right Rev. Thomas F. Brennan, D.D., Bishop of Dallas:
"I like the book very much and will not only recommend it to the priests
and good sisters of my diocese, but will also use it myself at catechism
every Sunday in the Cathedral. The list of questions and general index
render its use very easy."

Right Rev. M. E. Burke, D.D., Bishop of Cheyenne:
"Your Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism is excellent, and it
supplies a much needed means of useful and necessary catechetical
instruction for our Sunday schools. It will be found an excellent
textbook for Catholic schools and academies throughout the country and a
most useful manual for all who are engaged in the instruction of our
children."

Right Rev. L. De Goesbriand, D.D., Bishop of Burlington:
"I consider your book, the Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism, as an
admirable work. Nothing can be found more clear, more satisfactory."

Right Rev. John Foley, D.D., Bishop of Detroit:
"I congratulate you upon producing a work so useful to those having
charge of souls in such clear, concise, and instructive a style. I shall
gladly commend it to the Rev. Clergy."

Right Rev. H. Gabriels, D.D., Bishop-elect of Ogdensburg:
"Your book will furnish solid material to priests who wish to preach at
low Masses the catechetical instructions prescribed by the council of
Baltimore. A rapid perusal of some of its pages has convinced me that it
is just what was often looked for in vain in this important branch of
the holy ministry."

Right Rev. N. A. Gallagher, D.D., Bishop of Galveston:
"Having read your Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism, I wish to say
that it is in my opinion a very useful book for priests as well as for
teachers; and that it is a valuable book to place in the hands of those
who wish to become acquainted with the teachings of Holy Church. I have
just ordered ten copies from the Publishers for my own distribution."

Right Rev. Leo Haid, O.S.B., D.D., Vicar Apostolic of North Carolina:
"I am very glad you gave us such a sensible, simple, and complete
explanation of the Baltimore Catechism. I wish it were in the hands of
every teacher of Christian doctrine. In this Vicariate, where priests
are few, and often obliged to receive converts into the Church without
that thorough instruction which resident pastors can give, your book
will be hailed with joy. I will do my utmost to make it known. Please
send me one dozen copies."

Right Rev. John J. Hennessy, D.D. Bishop of Wichita:
"From what I have seen of your book I am delighted with the method which
you have adopted for explanation. It makes the Catechism easy and
interesting to both teacher and pupil. I shall heartily recommend your
book to our clergy for introduction into our schools."

Right Rev. A. Junger, D.D., Bishop of Nesqually:
"I am sure your work will not fail to obtain its object. There is not
the least doubt that it will be of the greatest and best use for Sunday
school teachers and advanced classes who will make use of it, and to
whom we highly recommend it. Such a work was needed, as our Baltimore
Catechism does not and cannot contain all the necessary explanations."

Right Rev. John J. Keane, D.D., Rector of the Catholic University,
Washington:
"The character of the work speaks for itself."

Right Rev. W. G. McCloskey, D.D., Bishop of Louisville:
"What I have already seen of it gives me the impression that it is a
meritorious work which ought to be encouraged."

Right Rev. James McGolrick, D.D., Bishop of Duluth:
"I think you have prepared a thoroughly practical work in your
Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism. You have in well selected and
plain English enabled teachers to give useful lessons from the text
itself without the need of resort to other books. Your book will find
its way to the desk of every Catholic teacher, and we hope to the home
of every Catholic family. I am glad you marked the Scripture references,
for the higher classes after Confirmation can unite their Scripture
lessons with such study of your book as to prepare themselves for
teaching. Your series of questions and good index are certainly very
useful."

Right Rev. Camillus P. Maes, D.D., Bishop of Covington:
"I have examined your Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism on some of
the most important points of doctrine and morals. I find its teachings
sound, and the manner of presenting them practical. I take pleasure in
commending your book to priests and teachers, and in congratulating you
for having bestowed so much time on the greatest of all pastoral work,
viz: giving children a thorough and sound knowledge of Holy Church and
of her divine teachings."

Right Rev. C. E. McDonnell, D.D., Bishop-elect of Brooklyn:
"I beg you to accept my hearty congratulations."

Right Rev. R. Manogue, D.D., Bishop of Sacramento:
"We have ponderous works from distinguished authors on the Catechism in
general, but yours--An Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism--is the
simplest, most concise, most natural and instructive I have yet
encountered. It is good not only for advanced pupils, teachers,
preachers and priests, but also for the sacred precincts of every
Catholic family."

Right Rev. Tobias Mullen, D.D., Bishop of Erie:
"Your book appears to me a very meritorious production. In your preface
you observe it has been designed for the use of Sunday school teachers
and that it 'should do good in any Catholic family' I think you might
have added that any clergyman having the care of souls, whether giving
private instructions or preparing for the pulpit, would derive great
benefits from its perusal."

Right Rev. H. P. Northrop, D.D., Bishop of Charleston:
"The Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism, plain and practical, clear
and comprehensive, was a work very much needed. From a general
examination, I think you have done your work well, and you deserve the
thanks of all teachers of catechism and those who have charge of our
schools. You have simplified the work of the teacher by putting in his
hand such a ready handbook and commentary on the text he is supposed to
explain. If they do what they expect their pupils to do--study the
lesson--with such a help as you have furnished them, the work of the
Sunday school will be much more satisfactory. I hope the hearty
appreciation of those for whom you have labored will crown your work
with abundant success."

Right Rev. Henry Joseph Richter, D.D., Bishop of Grand Rapids:
"The aim of your book is excellent. To judge from the portions which I
have read, your labor has been successful. I recommend the book to all
Catholic adults, but especially to teachers and converts, as a
convenient handbook of appropriate, plain, and solid instructions on the
doctrine of the Catholic Church."

Right Rev. S. V. Ryan, D.D., Bishop of Buffalo:
"I think your work fully meets all you claim for it. It will serve as a
good textbook for an advanced catechism class, and a very useful
handbook for catechists in instructing converts or our own people what
they should know and what they are bound to believe in regard to our
holy faith. The book will, I think, do good in any Catholic family."

Right Rev. L. Scanlan, D.D., Bishop of Salt Lake:
"I consider it a most useful if not necessary book, not only for Sunday
school teachers and for advanced classes, but for all who may desire to
have a clear, definite knowledge of Christian doctrine."

CONTENTS

PRAYERS

The Lord's Prayer
The Angelical Salutation
The Apostles' Creed
The Confiteor
An Act of Faith
An Act of Hope
An Act of Love
An Act of Contrition
The Blessing before Meals
Grace after Meals
The Manner in Which a Lay Person Is to Baptize in Case of Necessity

CATECHISM

Lesson 1--On the End of Man
Lesson 2--On God and His Perfections
Lesson 3--On the Unity and Trinity of God
Lesson 4--On Creation
Lesson 5--On Our First Parents and the Fall
Lesson 6--On Sin and Its Kinds
Lesson 7--On the Incarnation and Redemption
Lesson 8--On Our Lord's Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension
Lesson 9--On the Holy Ghost and His Descent upon the Apostles
Lesson 10--On the Effects of the Redemption
Lesson 11--On the Church
Lesson 12--On the Attributes and Marks of the Church
Lesson 13--On the Sacraments in General
Lesson 14--On Baptism
Lesson 15--On Confirmation
Lesson 16--On the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Ghost
Lesson 17--On the Sacrament of Penance
Lesson 18--On Contrition
Lesson 19--On Confession
Lesson 20--On the Manner of Making a Good Confession
Lesson 21--On Indulgences
Lesson 22--On the Holy Eucharist
Lesson 23--On the Ends for which the Holy Eucharist Was Instituted
Lesson 24--On the Sacrifice of the Mass
Lesson 25--On Extreme Unction and Holy Orders
Lesson 26--On Matrimony
Lesson 27--On the Sacramentals
Lesson 28--On Prayer
Lesson 29--On the Commandments of God
Lesson 30--On the First Commandment
Lesson 31--The First Commandment--On the Honor and Invocation of the
Saints
Lesson 32--From the Second to the Fourth Commandment
Lesson 33--From the Fourth to the Seventh Commandment
Lesson 34--From the Seventh to the Tenth Commandment
Lesson 35--On the First and Second Commandments of the Church
Lesson 36--On the Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Commandments of the
Church
Lesson 37--On the Last Judgment and Resurrection, Hell, Purgatory and
Heaven

PREFACE

It must be evident to all who have had experience in the work of our
Sunday schools that much time is wasted in the classes. Many teachers do
little more than mark the attendance and hear the lessons; this being
done, time hangs heavily on their hands till the school is dismissed.
They do not or cannot explain what they are teaching, and the children
have no interest in the study.

The Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism is intended for their use.
The explanations are full and simple. The examples are taken from Holy
Scripture, from the parables of Our Lord, from incidents in His life,
and from the customs and manners of the people of His time. These are
made applicable to our daily lives in reflections and exhortations.

The plan of the book makes it very simple and handy. The Catechism is
complete and distinct in itself, and may be used with or without the
explanations. The teacher is supposed, after hearing the lesson, to read
the explanation of the new lesson as far as time will allow. It may be
read just as it is, or may be learned by the teacher and given to the
children in substance.

The Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism will be found very useful
also for the instruction of adults and converts. The priest on the
mission is often called upon to instruct persons who can come to him but
seldom, and only for a short time; and who, moreover, are incapable of
using with profit such books as The Faith of Our Fathers, Catholic
Belief, or works of controversy. They are simply able to use the Child's
Catechism when explained to them. If the Explanation of the Baltimore
Catechism is in their hands, they may read the explanations and study
the Catechism with pleasure.

Indeed the book should do good in any Catholic family. The majority of
our people are children as far as their religious knowledge goes. They
may, it is true, have books on particular subjects, such as the Duties
of Parents to Their Children, The Sure Way to a Happy Marriage, etc.;
but a book that explains to them in the simplest manner all the truths
of their religion, and applies the same to their daily lives, ought to
be useful.

The chief aim of the book is to be practical, and to teach Catholics
what they should know, and how these truths of their Catechism are
constantly coming up in the performance of their everyday duties. It is
therefore neither a book of devotion nor of controversy, though it
covers the ground of both. As in this book the explanations are
interrupted by the questions and answers of the Catechism proper, it
will, it is hoped, be read with more pleasure than a book giving solid
page after page of instructions.

Wherever a fact is mentioned as being taken from Holy Scripture, it will
generally be given in substance and not in the exact text; though the
reference will always be given, so that those wishing may read it as it
is in the Holy Scripture. The children are not supposed to memorize the
explanation as they do the Catechism itself, yet the teacher, having
once read it to them, should ask questions on it. The book may be used
as a textbook or catechism for the more advanced classes, and the
complete list of numbered questions on the explanations--given at the
end--will render it very serviceable for that purpose.

As the same subject often occurs in different parts of the Catechism,
explanations already given may sometimes be repeated. This is done
either to show the connection between the different parts of the
Catechism, or to impress the explanation more deeply on the minds of the
children, or to save the teacher the trouble of always turning back to
preceding explanations. The numbering of the questions and answers
throughout the Catechism, and the complete index of subjects and list of
questions at the end, will, it is hoped, make these comparisons and
references easy, and the book itself useful.

With the hope, then, that the Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism may
do all the good intended, I commend it to all who desire a fuller
knowledge of their holy religion that they may practice it more
faithfully.

Rev. Thomas L. Kinkead
June 21, 1891,
Feast of St. Aloysius

An
Explanation
Of The
Baltimore Catechism
of Christian Doctrine

Basic Catholic Prayers

THE LORD'S PRAYER

Our 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.

This is the most beautiful and best of all prayers, because Our Lord
Himself made it. (Matt. 6:9; Luke 11:2). One day when He was praying and
explaining to His Apostles the great advantages of prayer, one of them
said to Him: "Lord, teach us to pray." Then Jesus taught them this
prayer. It contains everything we need or could ask for. We cannot see
its full meaning at once. The more we think over it, the more clearly we
understand it. We could write whole pages on almost every word, and
still not say all that could be said about this prayer. It is called
"the Lord's," because He made it, and sometimes the "Our Father," from
the first words.

We say "Our," to show that we are all brethren, and that God is the
Father of us all, and therefore we pray not for ourselves alone but for
all God's children.

We say "Father," because God really is our Father. We do not mean here
by Father the First Person of the Blessed Trinity, but the Blessed
Trinity itself--one God. What does a father do for his children? He
gives them their natural existence, provides them with food and
clothing, teaches, protects, and loves them, shares with them all that
he has, and when he dies leaves them his possessions. Now, in all these
ways, and in a much truer sense, God is our Father. He created us and
gives us all that is necessary to sustain life. He gives light, heat,
and air, without any one of which we could not live. He provides for us
also food and clothing, and long before we need or even think of these
things God is thinking of them. Did you ever reflect upon just how much
time and trouble it costs to produce for you even one potato, of which
you think so little? About two years before you need that potato, God
puts it into the mind of the farmer to save the seed that he may plant
it the following year. In the proper season he prepares the ground with
great care and plants the seed. Then God sends His sunlight and rain to
make it grow, but the farmer's work is not yet ended: he must continue
to keep the soil in good condition and clear away the weeds. In due time
the potato is taken from the ground, brought to the market, carried to
your house, cooked and placed before you. You take it without even
thinking, perhaps, of all this trouble, or thanking God for His
goodness. This is only one article of food, and the same may be said of
all the rest. Your clothing is provided for you long before you need it.
The little lamb upon whose back the wool is growing, from which your
coat is someday to be made, is even now far away on some mountain,
growing stronger with the food God gives it till you need its wool. The
little pieces of coal, too, that you so carelessly throw upon the fire
were formed deep down in the earth hundreds of years ago. God produces
all you use, because He foresees and knows you will use it. Moreover He
protects us from danger; He teaches us by the voice of our conscience
and the ministers of His Church, our priests and bishops. He loves us
too, as we may learn from all that He does for us, and from the many
times He forgives us our sins. He shares what He possesses with us. He
has given us understanding and a free will resembling His own. He has
given us immortality, i.e., when once He has created us, we shall exist
as long as Himself--that is, forever. When Our Lord died on the Cross,
He left us His many possessions--His graces and merits, the holy
Sacraments, and Heaven itself.

It is surely, then, just and right to call God Father. Our natural
fathers give us only what they, themselves, get from God. So even what
they give us also comes from Him.

Before the time of Our Lord, the people in prayer did not call God
Father. They feared Him more than they loved Him. When He spoke to
them--as He did when He gave the Commandments to Moses--it was in
thunder, lightning, and smoke. (Ex. 19). They looked upon God as a great
and terrible king who would destroy them for their sins. He sent the
deluge on account of sin, and He destroyed the wicked city of Sodom with
fire from Heaven. (Gen. 7:19). They called Him Jehovah, and were afraid
sometimes even to pronounce His name. But Our Lord taught that God,
besides being a great and powerful king--the Ruler of the universe and
Lord of all things--is also a kind and good Father, who wishes His
children not to offend Him because they love Him rather than because
they fear Him, and therefore He taught His disciples and all Christians
to call God by the sweet name of Father.

"Who art in Heaven." The Catechism says God is everywhere. Why then do
we say, "Who art in Heaven," as if He were no place else? We say so to
remind us, first, that Heaven is our true home, and that this world is
only a strange land in which we are staying for a while to do the work
that God wishes us to do here, and then return to our own home; second,
that in Heaven we shall see God face to face and as He is; third, that
Heaven is the place where God will be for all eternity with the blessed.

"Hallowed" means made holy or sacred. Halloween is the name given to the
evening before the feast of All Hallows or All Saints.

"Thy kingdom come." This petition contains a great deal more than we at
first see in it. In it we ask that God may reign in our hearts and in
the hearts of all men by His grace in this life, and that we and all men
may attain our eternal salvation, and thus be brought to reign forever
with God in Heaven--the kingdom of His glory. As the Church on earth is
frequently called the kingdom of Christ, and as all the labors of the
Church are directed to the salvation of souls, we pray also in this
petition that the Church may be extended upon earth, that the true
religion may be spread over the whole world, that all men may know and
serve the true God and cheerfully obey His holy laws; that the devil may
have no dominion over them. While saying this petition we may have it in
our minds to pray even for particular ways in which the true religion
can be spread; for example, by praying that the missionaries may meet
with success and all the missions prosper; that priests and bishops may
be ordained to preach the Gospel; that the Church may overcome all her
enemies everywhere, and the true religion triumph.

"Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." In Heaven all the angels
and saints obey God perfectly; they never offend Him; so we pray that it
may be on earth as it is in Heaven, all men doing God's will, observing
His laws and the laws of His Church, and living without sin.

"Give us this day our daily bread." In this petition "bread" means not
merely bread, but everything we need for our daily lives; such as food,
clothing, light, heat, air, and the like; also food for the soul, i.e.,
grace. If a beggar told you that he had not tasted bread for the whole
day, you would never think of asking him if he had eaten any cake,
because you would understand by his word bread all kinds of food. We say
"daily," to teach us not to be greedy or too careful about ourselves,
and not to ask for unnecessary things, but to pray for what we need for
our present wants.

"And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against
us." "Trespasses" means here our sins, our offenses against God. When we
trespass we enter places we should not, or where we are forbidden to go.
So when we sin we go where we should not go, viz., out of the path of
virtue that leads to God, and into the way of vice that leads to the
devil.

"As we forgive them." We take this to mean: we forgive others who have
offended us, and for that reason, God, You should forgive us who have
offended You. Our Lord told a beautiful parable, i.e., a story by way of
illustration, to explain this. (Matt. 18:23). A very rich man had a
servant who owed him a large sum of money. One day the master asked the
servant for the money, and the poor servant had none to give. Now the
law of the country was, that when anyone could not pay his debts, all
that he had could be sold and the money given to the one to whom it was
due, and if that was not sufficient, he and his wife and his children
could be sold as slaves. The servant, knowing this, fell on his knees
and begged his master to be patient with him, and to give him time and
he would pay all. Then his master was moved to pity, granted not only
what he asked, but freed him from the debt altogether. Afterwards when
this servant, who had just been forgiven the large sum, was going out,
he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a very small sum of
money, and taking hold of him by the throat, demanded payment. Now, this
poor servant, having nothing to give just then, implored his assailant
to be patient with him and he would pay all. But the hard-hearted
servant--though he himself had a little while before asked and obtained
the very same favor from his own master--would not listen to the request
or wait longer, but went and had his fellow servant cast into prison
till he should pay the debt. The other servants, seeing how unforgiving
this man was who had himself been forgiven, went and told all to their
master, and he, being angry at such conduct, had the unforgiving servant
brought back and cast into prison.

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