Little Gems No.1

KDM has several leather-bond, old fashioned prayer books which he received as Confirmation or graduation presents from his parents and relatives, some bearing inscriptions. Since I became Catholic, I've effectively appropriated this lot of his personal treasure. One of these is a little book of no bigger than 2"x3", with loose spine and missing pages, called "The Vest-Pocket Gems of Devotion: A Manual of Approved Prayers for Catholics," published in 1891, New York.

A gem it truly is. In the first ten to fifteen pages, it lays out the essential teachings of the Church in a nut shell called "An Abridgment of Christian Doctrine." *The following list should give you a taste of the no-nonsense style:

• Ten Commandments

  Six Precepts of the Church

  Seven Sacraments

  Three Theological Virtues

  Four Cardinal Virtues

  Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit

  Twelve Fruits of the Holy Spirit

  The Spiritual Works of Mercy

  The Corporal Works of Mercy

  Eight Beatitudes

  Seven Deadly Sins and Contrary Virtues

  Sins Against the Holy Spirit

  Sins Crying to Heaven for Vengeance

  Nine Ways of Being Accessory to Another's Sin

  Three Eminently Good Works

  Three Evangelical Counsels

*I will post the detailing following each on the list in later posts at allotted times for blogging: I'm sick of being a perennially lousy time manager, and I'm trying out a new time-management scheme. Like fasting, it won't be easy, but self-discipline is the only hope I have.