Lesson First of the
Baltimore Catechism No. 1 (First Communion Catechism) establishes the end, or purpose, of man.
The First Communion Catechism is an abridged version of the Baltimore Catechism No. 2 (Confirmation Catechism). This lesson contains 8 of the 12 questions and answers from Catechism No. 2. The numbering from Catechism No. 2 is used to make it easy to cross-reference the two catechisms.
For a detailed explanation of Lesson First, see the introduction to Lesson First of Catechism No. 2.
For more information and links to other resources, click on each question below.
A. God is the Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things.
A. Man is a creature composed of body and soul, and made to the image and likeness of God.
A. 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.
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.
A. We shall know the things which we are to believe from the Catholic Church, through which God speaks to us.
A. We shall find the chief truths which the Church teaches in the Apostles' Creed.
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.
