from the Baltimore Catechism No. 1
3. Q. What is man?A. Man is a creature composed of body and soul, and made to the image and likeness of God.
A young friend of mine in Europe told me months ago, that the Europeans were more materialistic, that is, not believing in the afterlife, but the Americans were more consumerist.
Consumerism is the great sign of the sin of idolatry in America. The richness of this country has deadened the souls of so many people. No longer do many think of their immortal souls, which are being brought either to holiness and life in heaven, or to perdition.
A. God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him for ever in heaven.
Notice, there is nothing about happiness on this earth. And, everything about happiness in the next.
9. Q. What must we do to save our souls?
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.
Look carefully at this list-first of all, true worship, which in my mind is the Tridentine Mass; second, the freeing up of the virtues through the purification of the Dark Night, which allows our hearts to be made pure.
To be continued...