315.  Q. What is the first Commandment?  A. The first Commandment is:  I am the Lord thy God:  thou shalt not have strange gods before Me.

317.  Q. How do we adore God?  A. We adore God by faith, hope, and love, by prayer and sacrifice.

318.  Q. How may the first Commandment be broken?  A. The first Commandment may be broken by giving to a creature the honor which belongs to God alone; by false worship; and by attributing to a creature a perfection which belongs to God alone.

320.  Q. Are sins against faith, hope, and charity also sins against the first Commandment?  A. Sins against faith, hope, and charity are also sins against the first Commandment.

321.  Q. How does a person sin against faith?  A. A person sins against faith:  1st, by not trying to know what God has taught; 2d, by refusing to believe all that God has taught; 3d, by neglecting to profess his belief in what God has taught.

326.  Q. Are we obliged to make open profession of our faith?  A. We are obliged to make open profession of our faith as often as God’s honor, our neighbor’s spiritual good, or our own requires it.

327.  Q. Which are the sins against hope?  A. The sins against hope are presumption and despair.

328.  Q. What is presumption?  A. Presumption is a rash expectation of salvation without making proper use of the necessary means to obtain it.

329.  Q. What is despair?  A. Despair is the loss of hope in God’s mercy.

LESSON TWENTY-SEVENTH THE FIRST COMMANDMENT—­ON THE HONOR AND INVOCATION OF SAINTS

331.  Q. Does the first Commandment forbid the honoring of the saints?  A. The first Commandment does not forbid the honoring of the saints, but rather approves of it, because by honoring the saints, who are the chosen friends of God, we honor God Himself.

332.  Q. Does the first Commandment forbid us to pray to the saints?  A. The first Commandment does not forbid us to pray to the saints.

333.  Q. What do we mean by praying to the saints?  A. By praying to the saints we mean the asking of their help and prayers.

340.  Q. Does the first Commandment forbid us to honor relics?  A. The first Commandment does not forbid us to honor relics, because relics are the bodies of the saints or objects directly connected with them or with our Lord.

341.  Q. Does the first Commandment forbid the making of images?  A. The first Commandment does forbid the making of images if they are made to be adored as gods, but it does not forbid the making of them to put us in mind of Jesus Christ, His Blessed Mother, and the saints.

342.  Q. Is it right to show respect to the pictures and images of Christ and His saints?  A. It is right to show respect to the pictures and images of Christ and His saints, because they are the representations and memorials of them.

343.  Q. Is it allowed to pray to the crucifix or to the images and relics of the saints?  A. It is not allowed to pray to the crucifix or images and relics of the saints, for they have no life, nor power to help us, nor sense to hear us.