Father Carota, God Bless him, has a very good collection of traditional Catholic learning materials on-line, the most basic of which is a Baltimore Catechism from 1891.  I don’t know what changes were made to the American dogma, if any, or if anything has been omitted or changed on this PDF, it’s all I have at the moment. If I ever find an older one, I will post it, but it will probably be in French.

Catholic traditional religious books should be preserved and reprinted.  Please download and print for your personal library, have it bound for friends as a gift, and please pass on the link.

Click to access The-Baltimore-Catechism-A-Catechism-of-Christian-Doctrine1891.pdf

 

 

CATECHISM No. 1
LESSON FIRST: ON THE END OF MAN

1. Q. Who made the world? A. God made the world.

2. Q. Who is God? A. God is the Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things.

3. Q. What is man? A. Man is a creature composed of body and soul, and made to the image and likeness of God.

6. Q. Why did God make you? A. God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him for ever in heaven.

9. Q. What must we do to save our souls? A. 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.

10. Q. How shall we know the things which we are to believe? A. We shall know the things which we are to believe from the Catholic Church, through which God speaks to us.

11. Q. Where shall we find the chief truths which the Church teaches? A. We shall find the chief truths which the Church teaches in the Apostles’ Creed.

12. Q. Say the Apostles’ Creed.
Answer:

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.

LESSON SECOND: ON GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS

13. Q. What is God? A. God is a spirit infinitely perfect.
14. Q. Had God a beginning A. God had no beginning; He always was and He always will be.
15. Q. Where is God? A. God is everywhere.
16. Q. If God is everywhere, why do we not see Him? A. We do not see God, because He is a pure spirit and cannot be seen with bodily eyes.
17. Q. Does God see us? A. God sees us and watches over us.
18. Q. Does God know all things? A. God knows all things, even our most secret thoughts, words, and actions.
10
19. Q. Can God do all things? A. God can do all things, and nothing is hard or impossible to Him.
20. Q. Is God just, holy, and merciful? A. God is all just, all holy, all merciful, as He is infinitely perfect.

LESSON THIRD: ON THE UNITY AND TRINITY OF GOD

21. Q. Is there but one God? A. Yes; there is but one God.
22. Q. Why can there be but one God? A. There can be but one God, because God, being supreme and infinite, cannot have an equal.
23. Q. How many Persons are there in God? A. In God there are three Divine Persons, really distinct, and equal in all things-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
24. Q. Is the Father God? A. The Father is God and the first Person of the Blessed Trinity.
25. Q. Is the Son God? A. The Son is God and the second Person of the Blessed Trinity.
26. Q. Is the Holy Ghost God? A. The Holy Ghost is God and the third Person of the Blessed Trinity.

27. Q. What is the Blessed Trinity? A. The Blessed Trinity is one God in three Divine Persons.
29. Q. Are the three Divine Persons one and the same God? A. The three Divine Persons are one and the same God, having one and the same Divine nature.

LESSON 36: MARRIAGE

Q. 1360. What is the meaning of the commandment not to marry within the third degree of kindred?  [I have read that this had always been the seventh degree of kinship, so this is a discrepancy]
A. The meaning of the commandment not to marry within the third degree of kindred is that no one is allowed to marry another within the third degree of blood relationship.

Q. 1361. Who are in the third degree of blood relationship?
A. Second cousins are in the third degree of blood relationship, and persons whose relationship is
nearer than second cousins are in closer degrees of kindred. It is unlawful for persons thus
related to marry without a dispensation or special permission of the Church.

Q. 1362. Are there other relationships besides blood relationship that render marriage
unlawful without a dispensation?
A. There are other relationships besides blood relationship that render marriage unlawful without a dispensation, namely, the relationships contracted by marriage, which are called degrees of affinity, and the relationship contracted by being sponsors at Baptism, which is called spiritual affinity.
Q. 1363. What should persons about to marry do, if they suspect they are related to each other?
A. Persons about to marry, if they suspect they are related to each other, should make known the facts to the priest, that he may examine the degree of relationship and procure a dispensation if necessary.
Q. 1364. What is the meaning of the command not to marry privately?

A. The command not to marry privately means that none should marry without the blessing of God’s priests or without witnesses.

Q. 1365. What sin is it for Catholics to be married before the minister of another religion?

A. It is a mortal sin for Catholics to be married before the minister of another religion, and they who attempt to do so incur excommunication, and absolution from their sin is reserved to the bishop.

Q. 1366. What is the meaning of the precept not to solemnize marriage at forbidden times?
A. The meaning of the precept not to solemnize marriage at forbidden times is that during Lent
and Advent the marriage ceremony should not be performed with pomp or a nuptial Mass.
Q. 1367. What is the nuptial Mass?
A. The nuptial Mass is a Mass appointed by the Church to invoke a special blessing upon the married couple.
Q. 1368. Should Catholics be married at a nuptial Mass?
A. Catholics should be married at a nuptial Mass, because they thereby show greater reverence for the holy Sacrament and bring richer blessings upon their wedded life.

Q. 1369. What restrictions does the Church place on the ceremonies of marriage when one of the persons is not a Catholic?
A. The Church places several restrictions on the ceremonies of marriage when one of the persons is not a Catholic. The marriage cannot take place in the church; the priest cannot wear his sacred vestments nor use holy water nor bless the ring nor the marriage itself. The Church places these restrictions to show her dislike for such marriages, commonly called mixed marriages.

Q. 1370. Why does the Church dislike mixed marriages?
A. The Church dislikes mixed marriages because such marriages are frequently unhappy, give rise to many disputes, endanger the faith of the Catholic member of the family, and prevent the religious education of the children.

page 299

LESSON THIRTY-SEVENTH: On the Last Judgment and
the Resurrection, Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven
Q. 1371. When will Christ judge us?
A. Christ will judge us immediately after our death, and on the last day.

Q. 1372. What is the judgment called which we have to undergo immediately after death?
A. The judgment we have to undergo immediately after death is called the Particular Judgment.

Q. 1373. Where will the particular judgment be held?
A. The particular judgment will be held in the place where each person dies, and the soul will go immediately to its reward or punishment.
Continued…

 

 

 

Table of Contents
LESSON FOURTH: ON THE ANGELS AND OUR FIRST PARENTS…………………….11
LESSON FIFTH: ON SIN AND ITS KINDS……………………………………………………….

LESSON SIXTH: ON THE INCARNATION AND REDEMPTION………………………….13
LESSON SEVENTH: ON OUR LORD’S PASSION, DEATH, RESURRECTION, AND
ASCENSION………………………………………………..14
LESSON EIGHTH: ON THE HOLY GHOST AND HIS DESCENT UPON THE
LESSON THIRD: ON THE UNITY AND TRINITY OF GOD………………………………….18
LESSON FIFTH: ON OUR FIRST PARENTS AND THE FALL………………………………21
LESSON SIXTH: ON SIN AND ITS KINDS……………………………………………………

LESSON SEVENTH: ON THE INCARNATION AND REDEMPTION…………………….24
LESSON EIGHTH: ON OUR LORD’S PASSION, DEATH, RESURRECTION, AND
ASCENSION……….26
LESSON NINTH: ON THE HOLY GHOST AND HIS DESCENT UPON THE Apostles.

LESSON TENTH: ON THE EFFECTS OF THE REDEMPTION…………………………….30
LESSON ELEVENTH: ON THE CHURCH………………………………32
LESSON TWELFTH: ON THE ATTRIBUTES AND MARKS OF THE CHURCH…..33
LESSON THIRTEENTH: ON THE SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL…………………………35
LESSON FOURTEENTH: ON BAPTISM………………………………………………..38
LESSON FIFTEENTH: ON CONFIRMATION………………………..40
LESSON SIXTEENTH: ON THE GIFTS AND FRUITS OF THE HOLY GHOST……41
LESSON SEVENTEENTH: ON THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE……………………….43
LESSON EIGHTEENTH: ON CONTRITION…………………………45
LESSON NINETEENTH: ON CONFESSION…………………………………………………47 LESSON TWENTIETH: ON THE MANNER OF MAKING A GOOD CONFESSION….49
LESSON TWENTY-FIRST: ON INDULGENCES…………………………………50
LESSON TWENTY-SECOND: ON THE HOLY EUCHARIST…………………………………51
LESSON TWENTY-THIRD: ON THE ENDS FOR WHICH THE HOLY EUCHARIST
WAS INSTITUTED………………………………………………53
LESSON TWENTY-FOURTH: ON THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS…………………….55
LESSON TWENTY-FIFTH: ON EXTREME UNCTION AND HOLY ORDERS………57
LESSON TWENTY-SIXTH: ON MATRIMONY………………………..59
LESSON TWENTY-SEVENTH: ON THE SACRAMENTALS…………………………………6

LESSON TWENTY-EIGHTH: ON PRAYER……………………………………….62

LESSON TWENTY-NINTH: ON THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD……………………..64

LESSON THIRTIETH: ON THE FIRST COMMANDMENT……

LESSON THIRTY-FIRST: THE FIRST COMMANDMENT–ON THE HONOR AND
INVOCATION OF SAINTS………………………………………………………………….68

LESSON THIRTY-SECOND: FROM THE SECOND TO THE FOURTH
COMMANDMENT…………………………………………….7

LESSON THIRTY-THIRD: FROM THE FOURTH TO THE SEVENTH
COMMANDMENT………………………………………

LESSON THIRTY-FOURTH: FROM THE SEVENTH TO THE END OF THE TENTH
COMMANDMENT……………………………………………………………………….

LESSON THIRTY-FIFTH: ON THE FIRST AND SECOND COMMANDMENTS OF
THE CHURCH……………………………………………….76
LESSON THIRTY-SIXTH: ON THE THIRD, FOURTH, FIFTH AND SIXTH COMMANDMENTS OF THE CHURCH……………………………………………..78
THIRTY-SEVENTH: ON THE LAST JUDGMENT AND THE
SURRECTION, HELL, PURGATORY, AND HEAVEN………………………………………79
ECHISM No. 3………………………………………………….82
Prayers:…………………………………………………………………….84
The Lord’s Prayer………………………………………………………………

Salutation……………………………………………………………………………………….84

The Apostles’ Creed………………………………………………………………………………………………84

The Confiteor……………………………………………………………………………….85

An Act of Faith……………………………………………………………………………………85

An Act of Hope…………………………………………………………………85

An Act of Love………………………………………………………………………85
An Act of Contrition………………………………………………………………86
The Blessing before Meals………………………………………………………86
Grace after Meals…………………………………………………………………….86
The Manner in which a Lay Person is to Baptize in Case of Necessity:………..86