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all; He became Man and died for us on the
Cross, He resides in the tabernacles of our churches to be near us, and He wanted to reward us all
with a happiness that will never end.

On the basis of these things we are bound to love God with all our heart and soul and mind and
will, and love is diametrically opposed to disrespect, irreverence, scorn and contempt in using a
lover's name. A good mother does not have to command her children not to abuse her name; a worthy
father has never been known to have to implore his sons to speak respectfully of him. Yet such
is the perversion of human nature in regard to God that He has to make a special commandment that
His creatures may not take His name in vain.

The chief forms of irreverence against God are blasphemy, unnecessary swearing, perjury, cursing,
and profanity. The questions below deal with all these things according to the guilt they involve.

I. MORTAL SINS

1. Have I denied any of the attributes of God, e.g., saying that He is not all-powerful,
all-merciful, all-just, etc.?

2. Have I said that I did not believe in God's providence, either directly by denying that He
watches over all who love Him, or in­ directly by saying that it is necessary to sin to avoid
certain hardships?

3. Have I spoken with contempt of God, or of Christ, or of the Holy Eucharist, or of the Passion of
Christ?

4. Have I deliberately expressed the wish that there were no God, so that I could sin without fear
of punishment?

5. Have I accused God of cruelty, injustice, discrimination against me, because of some
sorrow I had to bear?

6. Have I wished evil to God - for example, that He would be forgotten by men and offended more
frequently?

7. Have I spoken slightingly or contemptuously of the Mother of God, or of the saints, or of
monks, nuns, priests as such?

8. Have I ridiculed the Sacraments or the Mass or any other holy ceremony?

9. Have I said that God did not and could not have inspired the Bible, or that there are things in
the Bible that need not be believed?

10. Have I said that Christ did not found the Church, or that He has not preserved it from error?

11. Have I said that God expects too much of an individual by imposing the ten commandments on him?

12. Have I stated that any one of the commandments of God or precepts of the Church cannot be
observed by ordinary folk?

13. Have I said that I owed nothing to God and therefore did not need to go to Church or practice
any religion?

14. Have I denied the miracles of our Lord, or attributed them to deceit or natural causes?

15. Have I sworn falsely at a public trial, deliberately telling a falsehood when I had taken an
oath to tell the truth?

16. Have I lied about important matters to which I had to swear in drawing up a statement or
answering a questionnaire, e.g., pertaining to insurance, position, taxes, etc.?

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