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The
New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism (Official Baltimore Catechism Series No. 2) Revised
Edition
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This Catechism retains the text of the Revised Baltimore Catechism,
Number 2, but adds abundant explanations to help children understand the difficult parts
of each lesson along with pictures to aid in understanding.
Intended for grades 6-8
Official
Baltimore Catechism Series No. 1
is also available
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3. When the Church tells you that
there is a purgatory before heaven, and the
Bible says nothing of the sort, in whom do you put your trust?
In 2 Maccabees, 12:38-46, Judas Maccabeus discovered that some
of the men who had died in battle wore idols underneath their tunics
which Biblical Law forbids. In response he offered an expiatory
sacrifice on behalf of the dead. As verses 43b-46 read: "In doing
this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had
the resurrection of the dead in view; for if he were not expecting
the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to
pray for them in death. But if he did this with a view to the
splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in
godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement
for the dead that they might be freed from this sin." This is the
basis for the Catholic understanding of purgatory, where those who
are dead are prayed for so that their sins may be atoned and their
journey to the resurrection of God hastened. Purgatory is that "way
station" where one is purged and purified before proceeding to God
the Father. In this we trust God. |
