God in some religious
community and thus prove their greater love for Him. The love we have
for God is intellectual rather than sentimental; and since it is not
measured by the intensity of our feelings, how are we to know that we
love Him best? By our determination never to offend Him for any person
or thing in the world, however dear to us, and by our readiness to obey
and serve Him before all others.

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.

"Catholic Church" in this answer means the Pope, councils, bishops, and
priests who teach in the Church.

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

"Chief," because the Apostles' Creed does not contain in an explicit
manner all the truths we must believe. For example, there is nothing in
the Apostles' Creed about the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, about the
Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin, or the infallibility of the
Pope; and yet we must believe these and other articles of faith not in
the Apostles' Creed. It contains only the "chief" and not all the
truths.

12 Q. Say the Apostles' Creed.
A. 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.

"Descend" means to go down, and "ascend" to go up.

Lesson 2
ON GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS

A "perfection" means a good quality. We say a thing is perfect when it
has all the good qualities it should have.

13 Q. What is God?
A. God is a spirit infinitely perfect.

"A spirit" is a living, intelligent, invisible being. It really exists,
though we cannot see it with the eyes of our body. It has intelligence
and can therefore think, understand, etc. It is not because we cannot
see it that we cal