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Church Doctrine
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 • Bible Knowledge Tests

• Question 1: Name the five precepts of the Catholic Church—the five minimum spiritual commitments required of every professed Catholic in communion with the Church.
  
  • Answer: The Precepts of the Church and are found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, citations 2041-43.
    
    1. To attend Mass on Sundays and on the holy days of obligation and to rest from servile labor at these times.  The faithful are required to attend the celebration of the Eucharist every Lord's Day (Saturday vigil or Sunday Mass) and the holy days of obligation as established by the Bishops in the liturgical calendar, unless excused for a serious reason [i.e. illness or the care of infants] (CCC 1388-9, 2042, 2043, 2177, 2180, 2185; 2187-8; 2192-3).
    2. To shall confess your sins at least once a year (CCC 1457; 2042).
    3. To receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season (CCC 1389, 2042).
    4. To observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church (CCC 2177, 2043).
    5. To help to provide for the needs of the Church (CCC 1387, 1438, 2043).
  
  
  
• Question 2: What is the foremost of these precepts?
  
  • Answer: The Eucharistic sacrifice (CCC# 2177): The Sunday celebration of the Lord's Day and his Eucharist is the heart of the Church's life.  "Sunday is the day on which the paschal mystery is celebrated in light of the apostolic tradition and is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church" [quotation from Canon Law: Codex Iuris Canonici, can.1246, art. 1].
  
  
  
• Question 3: What is a solemnity?
  
  • Answer: A solemnity is the highest liturgical rank of a feast in the ecclesiastical calendar.
  
  
  
• Question 4: How many solemnities are celebrated in the universal Roman Catholic Church?
  
  1. seven
  2. ten
  3. fourteen
  • Answer: Answer: C, there are fourteen.
  
  
  
• Question 5: Can you name the different feasts that are declared solemnities?
  
  • Answer: In addition to the movable feasts like Easter and the Feast of Pentecost, fourteen solemnities are celebrated in the universal Roman Catholic Church.  These fourteen solemnities include: Feast of the Mother of God (January 1^st), Epiphany (January 6^th), Feast of St. Joseph ( March 19^th ), Feast of the Annunciation (March 25^th), Trinity Sunday (first Sunday after Pentecost), Feast of the Body and Blood of the Lord/ Corpus Christi (the Thursday after Trinity Sunday now moved in the USA to the next Sunday), Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (the Friday after the second Sunday after Pentecost), Feast of St. John the Baptist (June 24^th), Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul (June 29^th), Assumption of the Blessed Virgin (August 15^th), Feast of All Saints (November 1^st), Feast of Christ the King (last Sunday of the ecclesiastical year), Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary (December 8^th), and the Feast of the Nativity of the Savior/ the Christ Mass (December 25^th). In addition to these solemnities of the universal Church, many Catholic parishes across the world now include the optional observance of the Feast of Divine Mercy on the first Sunday after Easter as part of the local liturgical calendar.
    
    The Holy Days of Obligation are those feasts among the solemn feasts which are to be observed by the faithful by attendance at Mass and to rest as far as possible from unnecessary work.  The number and dates of the holy days of obligation vary among the different Catholic nations of the world.  On these special solemnities every parish pastor is required to offer a special Mass for the parishioners in honor of the feast day (see CCC# 2043; 2177; 2180; 2185; 2187-8; 2192-3). The conference of Bishops can abolish certain holy days of obligation or transfer them to a Sunday with prior approval of the Apostolic See.  Under these rules certain holy days observed in the United States have been moved to the next Sunday while others have been eliminated as required holy days.
  
  
  
• Question 6: What days are established as Holy Days of Obligation in the United States by the American Council of Bishops?
  
  • Answer: There are seven Holy Days in the liturgical calendar of the United States.  In addition to the Sunday obligation to worship on the Lord's Day there are currently six other annual holy days of obligation celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States (2013 AD).  It is a serious sin to purposely neglect the celebration of any one of these feasts (see Church Precept #1 listed above).
    

    1. Celebration of the Eucharist on the Lord's Day (Sunday)	Sunday is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church (CCC 2192)
    2. Feast of the Immaculate Conception	December 8th: The conception without original sin of Mary the Mother of God.
    3. Feast of the Christ Mass	December 25th: Celebration of the birth of the Savior.
    4. Feast of Mary Mother of God	January 1st: This feast celebrates Jesus' naming, circumcision, and entrance into the Old Covenant Church on the 8th day after His birth (Leviticus 12:1-4; Luke 2:21) and honors His Virgin Mother.
    5. Feast of the Ascension	40 days from Easter Sunday as the ancients counted (Acts 1:3).  In the US this feast may be celebrated on the next closest Sunday, according to the discretion of the local bishop.
    6. Feast of the Assumption	August 15th: The Virgin Mary assumed body and soul into heaven.
    7. Feast of All Saints	November 1st: Celebration our brothers and sisters who have already entered the beatific presence of the Most Holy Trinity.
    M. Hunt © revised January 2010        www.AgapeBiblestudy.com

  
  
  
• Question 7: Is it is a mortal sin to purposely choose to neglect worshiping on Sunday (or the vigil on Saturday evening) Day?
  
  • Answer: Yes; see Ex 20:8-11; Dt 6:12-1; CCC#2181.  Jesus Christ labored for the salvation of mankind and arose from the dead on the day that Christians offer God worship since the first century AD (Acts 20:7).
  
  
  
• Question 8: What is a dogma?  What is doctrine?
  
  • Answer: The word "dogma" means "truth;" the word "doctrine" means "teaching."  Any truth taught by the Church as necessary of acceptance by the community of the faithful is doctrine.  Dogmas are those doctrines which the Church proposes for belief as formally revealed by God
  
  
  
• Question 9: What are the four Marian dogmas?
  
  • Answer:
    
    1. The perpetual virginity of Mary:  The perpetual virginity of Mary of Nazareth is expressed in 3 parts: in her virginal conception of Christ; in giving birth to Christ, and her continuing virginity after His birth (CCC 396 and 510).
    2. Mary the Mother of God:  That Mary was the mother of Jesus who is God was defined as dogma at the very city where Mary had lived for several years—at the Council of Ephesus in 431AD (CCC 495 and 509).
    3. Immaculate Conception of Mary: That Mary of Nazareth was conceived without original sin was defined as dogma by Pope Pius IX in 1854 (CCC 491-492; 508).
    4. Assumption of Mary into heaven:  That Mary's body did not experience corruption but was assumed into heaven was defined as dogma by Pope Pius XII in 1950 (see CCC 966, 974).
  
  
  
• Question 10: According to Catholic teaching, what are the four aspects of salvation?  According to the teachings of the Catholic Church is salvation a one-time event or an on-going process?
  
  • Answer: The four aspects of salvation are: justification, sanctification, redemption, and forgiveness.  Salvation is a process with many points of justification along each individual's faith journey to the gates of heaven and eternal salvation.
    The Past, Present, and Future Dimensions of Salvation

    Past	Present	Future
    Ephesians 2:5	1 Peter 1:8-9	Romans 13:11
    Ephesians 2:8	1 Corinthians  1:18	1 Corinthians 3:15
    	Philippians 2:12	1 Corinthians 5:5

    See CCC#s 588; 1256-57; 1277; 1739-42; 1889.
  
  
  
• Question 11: What are the three disciplines of the Lenten season that every Catholic Christian is to observe?
  
  • Answer: Prayer, fasting and almsgiving (CCC 540, 1095, 1438).
  
  
  
• Question 12: How long does Lent last?  What is the purpose of Lent?
  
  • Answer: Forty days (CCC 540).  Lent is a time of repentance and purification through acts of penance in preparation for the celebration of Easter.  During this time the faithful of the Church unite themselves to Christ and share in the mystery of His forty days in the wilderness and His tests of temptation by Satan (Mt 4:1-11; Mk 1:12-13; Lk 4:1-13).
  
  
  
• Question 13: Can you name the seven Sacraments instituted by Christ to sanctify believers, to build up the Body of Christ, to instruct, and to give worship to God?
  
  • Answer: (1) Baptism, (2) Confirmation/Chrismation, (3) Eucharist, (4) Reconciliation/Penance, (5) Anointing of the Sick, (6) Holy Orders, and (7) Matrimony (see CCC 1113).
  
  
  
• Question 14: Which of the Sacraments, in addition to grace, leave an indelible mark or seal by the Holy Spirit on one's soul in which the Christian shares in Christ's priesthood and is made a member of the Church according to different states and functions?
  
  • Answer: Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders (CCC 1121).
  
  
  

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