Q. 1147.  What is the honor which belongs to God alone?  A. The honor which belongs to God alone is a divine honor, in which we offer Him sacrifice, incense or prayer, solely for His own sake and for His own glory.  To give such honor to any creature, however holy, would be idolatry.

Q. 1148.  How do we offer God false worship?  A. We offer God false worship by rejecting the religion He has instituted and following one pleasing to ourselves, with a form of worship He has never authorized, approved or sanctioned.

Q. 1149.  Why must we serve God in the form of religion He has instituted and in no other?  A. We must serve God in the form of religion He has instituted and in no other, because heaven is not a right, but a promised reward, a free gift of God, which we must merit in the manner He directs and pleases.

Q. 1150.  When do we attribute to a creature a perfection which belongs to God alone?  A. We attribute to a creature a perfection which belongs to God alone when we believe it possesses knowledge or power independently of God, so that it may, without His aid, make known the future or perform miracles.

Q. 1151. {319} Do those who make use of spells and charms, or who believe in dreams, in mediums, spiritists, fortune-tellers, and the like, sin against the first Commandment?  A. Those who make use of spells and charms, or who believe in dreams, in mediums, spiritists, fortune-tellers, and the like, sin against the first Commandment, because they attribute to creatures perfections which belong to God alone.

Q. 1152.  What are spells and charms?  A. Spells and charms are certain words, by the saying of which superstitious persons believe they can avert evil, bring good fortune or produce some supernatural or wonderful effect.  They may be also objects or articles worn about the body for the same purpose.

Q. 1153.  Are not Agnus Deis, medals, scapulars, &c., which we wear about our bodies also charms?  A. Agnus Deis, medals, scapulars, &c., which we wear about our bodies, are not charms, for we do not expect any help from these things themselves, but, through the blessing they have received from the Church, we expect help from God, the Blessed Mother, or the Saint in whose honor we wear them.  On the contrary, they who wear charms expect help from the charms themselves, or from some evil spirit.

Q. 1154.  What must we carefully guard against in all our devotions and religious practices?  A. In all our devotions and religious practices we must carefully guard against expecting God to perform miracles when natural causes may bring about what we hope for.  God will sometimes miraculously help us, but, as a rule, only when all natural means have failed.

Q. 1155.  What are dreams and why is it forbidden to believe in them?  A. Dreams are the thoughts we have in sleep, when our will is unable to guide them.  It is forbidden to believe in them, because they are often ridiculous, unreasonable, or wicked, and are not governed by either reason or faith.