Ascension → Pentecost
Novena to the Holy Spirit
The first novena of all. Pray Come, Holy Spirit daily, asking for one of the seven gifts each day.
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Faith
What every Catholic adult should know
The Creed we profess, the seven sacraments, the prayers we carry by heart, the Rosary, novenas and the commandments — the heart of the Catechism, gathered on one page for Knights, Dames, Friends of the Order and every seeker.
The four pillars
The Catechism of the Catholic Church rests on four pillars. Everything on this page belongs to one of them.
The Profession of Faith — the Creed, article by article: God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Church, the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
The Sacraments — the seven signs instituted by Christ through which grace is given, with the Eucharist at the centre of them all.
Life in Christ — the Commandments, the Beatitudes, the virtues and the works of mercy that shape a Christian conscience.
Christian Prayer — the Our Father above all, the Rosary, the novenas and the daily prayers a Catholic keeps by heart.
What we believe
A creed is a summary of the faith handed down from the Apostles. The Apostles’ Creed is the ancient baptismal creed of the Church of Rome; the longer Nicene Creed, professed at Sunday Mass, spells out the same faith against the errors of the fourth century.
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.
The Creed is arranged around the Holy Trinity. The first part professes faith in God the Father and creation; the second, the longest, in Jesus Christ — his incarnation, passion, death in Jerusalem, resurrection from the tomb the Order is named for, ascension and return in glory; the third in the Holy Spirit and the work he does in the Church.
Tradition counts twelve articles, one for each Apostle. Knowing them in order is the simplest way to check any question of faith: creation, the Incarnation, the Paschal Mystery, the Church, the sacraments (“the forgiveness of sins”), and the last things.
The Nicene Creed adds what the Councils of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381) made explicit: that the Son is “consubstantial with the Father” and that the Holy Spirit is “the Lord, the giver of life.” It is the Creed of the whole Church, East and West.
How we celebrate
Efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church. Three initiate us into Christian life, two heal us, and two are ordered to the service of others.
I
The gateway to life in the Spirit: it frees us from original sin, makes us children of God and members of Christ’s Body, the Church.
To know: it leaves an indelible mark and is received once. Water and the words “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
II
The seal of the Holy Spirit that completes baptismal grace and strengthens us to bear witness to Christ in word and deed.
To know: conferred by anointing with sacred chrism; the seven gifts of the Spirit — wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, fear of the Lord.
III
The source and summit of the Christian life: the true Body and Blood of Christ, offered in the Mass and received in Holy Communion.
To know: Sunday Mass is a serious obligation; receive in a state of grace, fasting one hour; Communion at least once a year, in the Easter season.
IV
Christ’s forgiveness for sins committed after Baptism, through the ministry of the priest — contrition, confession, absolution and penance.
To know: confess grave sins at least once a year; regular confession is the ordinary road to holiness. The seal of confession is absolute.
V
Strength, peace and courage — and the forgiveness of sins — for those seriously ill, weakened by age or facing surgery.
To know: it is not only for the dying. Ask for it early; it may be repeated. With Penance and Viaticum it forms the “last sacraments.”
VI
By which the mission entrusted by Christ to his Apostles continues in the Church: bishops, priests and deacons.
To know: conferred by the laying on of hands; an indelible character. Pray for vocations — the Holy Land needs shepherds.
VII
The covenant by which a man and a woman establish a lifelong partnership, ordered to their good and to the procreation and education of children.
To know: the spouses themselves are the ministers; the bond is faithful, fruitful and indissoluble, a sign of Christ’s love for his Church.
How we pray
The prayers below are the common inheritance of every Catholic. Open any of them to read, and pray, the full text.
The school of Mary
Twenty mysteries of the life of Christ, prayed with Mary. Begin with the Sign of the Cross and the Apostles’ Creed; then, for each mystery, one Our Father, ten Hail Marys and a Glory Be; end with the Hail, Holy Queen.
| Day | Mysteries |
|---|---|
| Monday & Saturday | Joyful — the Annunciation; the Visitation; the Nativity; the Presentation in the Temple; the Finding of Jesus in the Temple. |
| Tuesday & Friday | Sorrowful — the Agony in the Garden; the Scourging at the Pillar; the Crowning with Thorns; the Carrying of the Cross; the Crucifixion. |
| Wednesday & Sunday | Glorious — the Resurrection; the Ascension; the Descent of the Holy Spirit; the Assumption of Mary; the Coronation of Mary. |
| Thursday | Luminous — the Baptism in the Jordan; the Wedding at Cana; the Proclamation of the Kingdom; the Transfiguration; the Institution of the Eucharist. |
After each Glory Be: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.
Every mystery of the Rosary happened on the soil the Order serves — Nazareth, Bethlehem, the Jordan, Cana, Tabor, the Upper Room, Gethsemane, Calvary and the empty tomb. To pray it is to walk the Holy Land in the heart.
Nine days of prayer
A novena is nine consecutive days of prayer for a particular grace, after the pattern of the Apostles who waited nine days in the Upper Room between the Ascension and Pentecost. These are the ones every Catholic household can keep.
Ascension → Pentecost
The first novena of all. Pray Come, Holy Spirit daily, asking for one of the seven gifts each day.
Good Friday → Divine Mercy Sunday
Given to St Faustina: a different group of souls entrusted to God’s mercy each day, with the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.
16 – 24 December
Nine days of preparation for the Nativity, praying the great “O Antiphons” that the Church sings before the Magnificat.
Before the Sacred Heart, June
“Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine.” Ending on the Friday after the Second Sunday after Pentecost.
10 – 18 March
Guardian of the Redeemer and patron of Canada: for fathers, for work, and for a happy death.
16 – 24 October · The Order’s own
Nine days before the Order’s patronal feast on 25 October, entrusting the peace of Jerusalem and the Christians of the Holy Land to the Mother of God.
A novena is not a bargain with God but a school of perseverance: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)
How we live
The moral law is not a fence but a road. These are the lists a Catholic adult should be able to name.
In Canada the holy days of obligation, besides every Sunday, are Christmas Day and 1 January, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fasting and abstinence; Fridays are days of penance.
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: you shall love your neighbour as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37–39)
Theological: faith, hope and charity — given by God, directed to God.
Cardinal: prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance — the hinges of a good life.
Gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord.
Keep learning
Pray today’s prayer in the Prayer Garden, read the stories of witness in Faith in Action, and keep the feasts of the Order through the year.
