Friday, November 27, 2009

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.

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