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by Joe Paprocki

Here is a quick way to see how much you know about your Catholic faith. Circle the letter next to the word or phrase that correctly completes each statement. Then check your answers with the answer key that follows.

You, your students, and your students’ families can always learn more about your faith. This multiple-choice exercise is a fun way to do that. Circle the letter next to the word or phrase that correctly completes each statement. Then check your answers with the answer key below the exercise.

1. Jeremiah responded to God’s call by saying, “I am too ____.”
(a) old; (b) young; (c) poor; (d) fat

2. Which of the following is not one of the ten plagues mentioned in Exodus?
(a) water turned to blood; (b) hail; (c) snakes; (d) locusts

3. The Gloria is sung on Sundays except for the seasons of
(a) Advent and Lent; (b) winter and spring; (c) Easter and Christmas; (d) winter Ordinary Time and summer Ordinary Time

4. In the sixth century A.D., Columban left Ireland to preach the Gospel in ____.
(a) Germany; (b) France; (c) the New World; (d) Australia

5. The catechism approved by the United States bishops in 1885 came to be known as the____.
(a) Catechism of the Catholic Church; (b) United States Catholic Catechism; (c) Idiot’s Guide to the Catholic Faith; (d) Baltimore Catechism

6. This martyr’s name means “gift of God.”
(a) Dorothy; (b) Veronica; (c) Lucy; (d) Mabel

7. The liturgy of the Church celebrates Mary as the “Ever-____.”
(a) lasting; (b) after; (c) and-ever; (d) virgin

8. Exorcisms are a part of which sacrament?
(a) Holy Orders; (b) Confirmation; (c) Baptism; (d) Anointing of the Sick

9. To make remarks that are contrary to the truth in order to harm the reputation of another is to commit the sin of
(a) calumny; (b) detraction; (c) acedia; (d) libel

10. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which of the following are the principal difficulties in the practice of prayer?
(a) TV and the internet; (b) distraction and dryness; (c) busyness and laziness; (d) stress and anxiety

11. In which Marian prayer are found the words “mourning and weeping in this vale of tears?”
(a) Magnificat; (b) Vale de Tearissimo; (c) Memorare; (d) Hail, Holy Queen

12. Which feast is celebrated on February 3?
(a) St. Blaise; (b) Ground Hog’s Day; (c) the Presentation of the Lord; (d) St. Turibius

13. Which of the following lines is not found in the hymn “Come, Holy Ghost”?
(a) and in our hearts take up thy rest; (b) thou font of life and fire of love; (c) the gifts that from the Spirit flow; (d) that mourns in lowly exile here

14. The Year of St. Paul will come to a conclusion on which date?
(a) June 29, 2009; (b) July 4, 2009; (c) December 31, 2009; (d) January 1, 2010

15. What is the name of the vestment that a deacon wears over the alb and stole?
(a) dalmation; (b) chasuble; (c) dalmatic; (d) cincture

16. On which feast day do Catholics traditionally bring candles to church to be blessed?
(a) the Annunciation; (b) the Visitation; (c) the Presentation; (d) the Enlightenment

17. Which religious community did Catherine McAuley found?
(a) the Sisters of Mercy; (b) the Felicians; (c) the Little Sisters of the Poor; (d) the Daughters of St. Paul

18. Hoc est enim corpus is Latin for
(a) Peace be with you; (b) The Mass is ended; (c) This is my body; (d) The Lord be with you

19. Catholics are encouraged to abstain voluntarily from meat on which day of the week?
(a) Sunday; (b) Wednesday; (c) Saturday; (d) Friday

20. Which of the following is a Luminous Mystery of the Rosary?
(a) the Birth of Jesus; (b) the Transfiguration of Jesus; (c) Jesus Carries His Cross; (d) the Assumption of Mary

Joe Paprocki, D.Min., is National Consultant for Faith Formation at Loyola Press in Chicago, Illinois. He is the author of many books including A Well-Built Faith, The Catechist’s Toolbox, God’s Library, Living the Mass (Loyola Press) and Bringing Catechesis and Liturgy Together (Twenty-Third Publications). Joe writes from Evergreen Park, Illinois, where he lives with his wife and serves as an eighth-grade catechist.

Answer Key

1. (b) We learn of Jeremiah’s reluctance in Jeremiah 1:6.
2. (c) Snakes (serpents) are mentioned several times in the Book of Exodus, but not as one of the ten plagues.
3. (a) We omit the Gloria during Advent and Lent in order to bring more attention to the penitential spirit of those seasons.
4. (b) Columban founded monasteries in France, Switzerland, and Italy.
5. (d) The Baltimore Catechism was a result of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore (1884).
6. (a) Saint Dorothy, martyred in 311 A.D., is the patron saint of brides, florists, and gardeners. Her feast day is February 6.
7. (d) The Catechism of the Catholic Church (no. 499) tells us that “the Church celebrates Mary as Aeiparthenos, the ‘Ever-virgin.’”
8. (c) Minor exorcisms, prayers of deliverance from evil, are part of the Rite of Baptism.
9. (a) Calumny is a sin against the Eighth Commandment.
10. (b) The Catechism teaches that the remedies for these difficulties in prayer are faith, conversion, and vigilance of heart (no. 2754).
11. (d) The Hail, Holy Queen is also referred to as the Salve Regina.
12. (a) On the Feast of St. Blaise, Catholics receive a blessing of the throat.
13. (d) The words “that mourns in lowly exile here” are from the hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”
14. (a) June 29 is the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles.
15. (c) Unlike a chasuble, which is open from the hands to the floor, a dalmatic has sleeves.
16. (c) February 2, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, is also known as Candlemas.
17. (a) The Sisters of Mercy were founded by Catherine McAuley in 1831in Dublin, Ireland.
18. (c) These Latin words of consecration were mocked by magicians who used the words hocus pocus to perform magic tricks.
19. (d) Catholics perform works of penance on Fridays in recognition of the death of Jesus on Good Friday.
20. (b) Pope John Paul II introduced the Luminous Mysteries (Mysteries of Light) in 2002.

Source: CATECHIST Magazine, January 2009

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