Q. Why is she called the "Mother of God"?
A. Because her Son, Jesus Christ, is God.
Q. Had she ever been married when she be-
came the mother of our Saviour?
A. No; she had only been espoused to S.
Joseph.

Q. Who was S. Joseph?

A. He was a holy man, of the family of David, a carpenter by trade, and fosterfather to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Q. Did our Saviour obey S. Joseph as a father?

A. Yes; Jesus was subject unto His parents.

Q. For what great reasons did our Lord come amongst us in the flesh?

A. 1. To suffer for us in the flesh. 2. To feed us with the spiritual food of His Flesh. 3. That we might be one flesh with Him. (Heb. ii. 14–18; Jno. vi. 53– 58; Eph. v. 30-32)

Q. Is not this a great Mystery?

A. Yes; it is the Second great Mystery of the Faith the Mystery of the Holy Incarnation.

Q. Where was Christ born?

A. In Bethlehem of Judæa.

Q. On what day was Christ born?
A. Christ was born on Christmas Day.

PART 6.-APOSTLES' CREED, 4TH ARTICLE. Q. What is the Fourth Article of the Creed? A. Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried.

Q. Who is it that suffered?

A. Jesus Christ, God the Son made Man.
Q. How did Jesus Christ suffer?

A. In His Body and in His Soul.
Q. Was Jesus obliged to suffer?

A. No; Jesus suffered of His own free will (Jno. x. 15-18; Lu. xxiii. 46; Matt. xxvi. 53, 54).

Q. Why did Jesus consent to suffer?

A. Because it was His Father's will, and out of love to man.

Q. Was the Will of the Father opposed to the Will of the Son in this Mystery of our Redemption?

A. No; not for a moment. Christ says: "I and My Father are one" (Jno. x. 30).

Q. Why is no notice taken in the Creed of the years between Christ's Birth and Death?

A. Because Christ took our nature expressly in order to die for us. *

Q. Did Jesus suffer before he suffered under Pontius Pilate?

*See Note C, below p. 110.

66

A. Yes; all his life He was a Man of Sor39 rows (Is. liii. 3).

Q. Mention some of His earlier sufferings for us.

A. The pain of circumcision; poverty, cold,

hunger, weariness; contempt (Lu. xvi. 14; Jno. viii. 48); unbelief (Jno. vii. 5; i. 11; Lu. xix. 41-44); temptations of Satan (Matt. iv. 1; Heb. ii. 18).

Q. Mention some of His sufferings just before His Crucifixion.

A. His bloody sweat; scourging; crowning with thorns; carrying the cross.

Q. Did Jesus suffer cruel pain at His Crucifixion?

A. Yes; more cruel pain cannot be imagined. He was nailed by His Hands and Feet to the cross, which was then raised up and driven into the ground with wedges, while our Saviour hung on it. Q. How did our Saviour suffer also in His Soul?

A. In His betrayal by Judas, denial by S. Peter, and in the insults heaped on Him; in fear; in unknown sorrows; in the Agony which caused His bloody

sweat.

Q. Did Jesus suffer more than any man?
A. Yes; there has been no sorrow like unto
His sorrow.

Q. What types of His death were there in the Old Testament?

A. Isaac carrying the wood on which he was to be sacrificed (Gen. xxii. 6-9); the brazen serpent lifted on a pole (Numb. xxi. 8-9; Jno. iii. 14-15).

Q. In what Psalm were our Lord's sufferings at His Crucifixion foretold centuries before they happened?

A. In the Twenty-Second Psalm.

Q. What is the meaning of "suffered under Pontius Pilate "?

A. Suffered at the time when Pilate was Roman Governor of the Jews.

Q. Who were the Romans?

A. A strong heathen nation, whose chief city was Rome in Italy.

Q. What had the Romans to do in Judæa? A. They had conquered the country.

Q. For what did our Lord suffer?

A. For the sins of the whole world.
Q. What, therefore, do we call His death?
A. We call it a Sacrifice, and an Atonement.
Q. What is a Sacrifice?

A. A Sacrifice is a sacred action, done for the purpose of abiding in covenanted union with Almighty God.

Q. Why is Christ's death called an Atonement?

A. Because it was to set God and man at one. Q. When did Christ's sufferings end?

A. At His death.

Q. On what day did our Saviour die?

A. Jesus died on Good Friday, at three o'clock in the afternoon.

Q. What became of Christ's Body when taken down from the Cross?

A. It was laid in a new tomb.

Q. Did Christ's Body corrupt while It lay in the grave?

A. No; the Psalmist had foretold: "Thou wilt not suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption" (Ps. xvi. 10; Acts ii. 31). Q. How long did Jesus stay in the grave? A. From six o'clock on Good Friday evening till very early on Easter morning.

PART 7.-APOSTLES' CREED, 5TH ARTICLE. Q. What is the Fifth Article of the Creed? A. He descended into Hell, the third day He rose from the dead.

Q. What is death?

A. Death is the separation of soul and body. Q. What do you mean by "He descended into Hell"?

A. As soon as Jesus died, His Soul went to a place called Hell.

Q. In how many senses is the word Hell used?

A. The word Hell is used in two senses.

Q. What is the first sense of the word Hell? A. Hell means, first, Hades, i.e., the place where departed spirits stay between death and the Resurrection.