NIHIL OBSTAT
IMPRIMATUR
What are they and why don’t we have them?
These declarations are stamps of approval given from
“official” Catholics.
Nihil Obstat translates to “nothing stands in the way” and is
obtained from the diocesan Censor. If a book meets the
approval of the Censor then it is passed on to the bishop.
Imprimatur translates to “let it be printed” and is obtained
from the bishop.
Neither stamp means anything anymore (if they ever did)
other than that the author went through the trouble of
submitting his work to the Censor and that the Censor and
Bishop gave the work the go ahead. There is no guarantee that
the Censor and the Bishop took the task seriously, acted in
good faith or that they are even Catholic. The authors of this
book did not bother submitting this work for the following
reasons:
- We don’t care what the Censor or the Bishop or even you
think of this book. We write it to further the chance of our
own salvation. God is our audience. If you happen to
benefit from this work then that is a bonus.
- This is a work in progress with several revisions per year.
By the time it got approved we would be on a new version.
Copyright (c) 2003-2009
www.CatholicWarrior.com
All rights reserved.
The Catholic Warrior’s Handbook
The Creed of the Catholic Warrior
I live to bear witness to the truth,
I will to protect you from evil,
I want to bear your burden,
I love to show you joy.
Published By
www.CatholicWarrior.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction!............................................. 1
The Seven Corporal Works of Mercy!..... 3
The Seven Spiritual Works of Mercy!......3
Evangelical Counsels!.............................. 4
Holy Days of Obligation!......................... 5
Law of Fast and Abstinence!.................... 6
Sacraments!.............................................. 9
! Baptism!..............................................9
! Confession!....................................... 10
! ! Examination of Conscience!.......... 12
! ! Prayers Before Confession!............ 19
! ! Form of confession!........................21
! ! Prayers After Confession!.............. 22
! Eucharist!.......................................... 23
! ! Prayers Before Eucharist!............... 24
! ! Prayers After Eucharist!................. 29
! Confirmation!....................................34
! Marriage!.......................................... 34
! Holy Orders!..................................... 34
! Extreme Unction!..............................35
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Prayers!.................................................. 36
! Basic!................................................ 36
! Creeds!.............................................. 42
! Marian Prayers!................................. 48
Notes on Posture!................................... 56
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass!............. 59
! Introductory Rites!............................ 60
! Liturgy of the Word!......................... 63
! Liturgy of the Eucharist!................... 67
! Concluding Rite!............................... 73
! Prayers After Mass!.......................... 74
Devotions!.............................................. 77
! The Way of the Cross!...................... 77
! The Holy Rosary!..............................89
! First Saturday!.................................. 93
! The Brown Scapular!........................ 94
! Saint Benedict Medal!....................... 98
1
INTRODUCTION
! The aim of this handbook is to give the
Catholic warrior a tool. The advantage of a
tool is leverage. The goal of the use of this
tool is to save the soul. CatholicWarrior.com
is devoted to this mission not for you, but
for our own souls. When we get to the
judgment seat of Christ we can say we gave
Catholics a little leverage in the fight to save
their souls.
! Certainly we strive to bring Christ to the
protestants and faithless that we encounter in
our daily lives, but the most reachable
people are Catholics who are going to Mass
or praying before the Blessed Sacrament,
which is how the first of you were
introduced to this handbook.
! We encourage Catholics to give us input
on the format and content of this handbook
so that future revisions are even better.
!
2
! We at Catholicwarrior.com hope you
enjoy this publication and we encourage you
to contact us with your questions, comments
and advice.
www.CatholicWarrior.com
7813 Harwood Rd
North Richland Hills, TX 76180
(817)503-9545
[email protected]
3
The Seven Corporal Works of Mercy
1. To feed the hungry.
2. To give drink to the thirsty.
3. To clothe the naked.
4. To visit the imprisoned.
5. To shelter the homeless.
6. To visit the sick.
7. To bury the dead.
The Seven Spiritual Works of Mercy
1. To admonish the sinner.
2. To instruct the ignorant.
3. To counsel the doubtful.
4. To comfort the sorrowful.
5. To bear wrongs patiently.
6. To forgive all injuries.
7.To pray for the living and the dead.
4
Evangelical Counsels
(Or Counsels of Perfection)
Voluntary Poverty
Perpetual Chastity
Perfect Obedience
These counsels of Our Lord form the basis
for the priesthood and religious life. The
counsels are not obligatory for salvation. In
other words, the counsels are not precepts,
or laws. Rather the Evangelical Counsels
serve as a guideline for he who wishes to do
more than the minimum required for the
salvation of his soul. Acceptance of grace
and avoidance of sin (ultimately, salvation)
can be achieved no matter what your state of
life. After all, Our Lord said it is difficult for
a rich man to enter Heaven (Gospel of Saint
Matthew 19:24); he did not say it is
impossible.
5
Holy Days of Obligation
Catholics are obligated to attend Holy Mass
on Holy Days of Obligation. These are also
days of rest meaning no unnecessary work is
to be performed. As of January 1, 1993, in
the United States, Holy Days of Obligation
are:
all Sundays
Solemnity of Our Lady, January 1st.
Ascension of Our Lord1, Thursday of the
sixth week after Easter.
Assumption of Our Lady, August 15th.
All Saint’s Day, November 1st.
Immaculate Conception of Our Lady,
December 8th.
Christmas, December 25th.
[Whenever the Solemnity of Our Lady, The
Assumption of Our Lady or All Saint’s Day falls on
a Saturday or Monday, the obligation to attend Mass
is lifted.]
1 Some dioceses push the obligation for Ascension to the seventh
Sunday of Easter but it is unclear if they have the authority to do this."
Canon 1246 gives the conference of bishops this authority, but in the
case of the Ascension, the US conference of bishops decided to leave
it up to each Ecclesiastical Province.""Since they were not explicitly
given authority to delegate the decision, but only to decide the
matter, " Catholic Warriors attend mass on the actual Feast of the
Ascension regardless of the local Bishop's decision.
6
Law of Fast and Abstinence
Fasting: A day of fast is a day on which, in
the spirit of penance, the amount of food one
eats is limited. Currently Ash Wednesday
and Good Friday are the only required days
of fast. One full meal is allowed on these
days. Additionally, some food in the
morning and evening is allowed, the
quantity and quality of which is dictated by
approved local custom. Currently, fasting is
required of adults eighteen years and older
until the age of sixty.
Abstinence: A day of abstinence is a day on
which we are not allowed to eat meat. Eggs,
milk products and condiments made of
animal fat are allowed. Abstinence is
observed on Ash Wednesday and Fridays
throughout the year unless they are
Solemnities. Currently, abstinence is
required of those who have reached the age
of fourteen.
7
It is very popular to purport that the US
bishops “did away” with the abstinence
requirement for Fridays outside of Lent in
the 1960’s. Canon Law 1253 does, in fact,
allow for the bishops to substitute other
forms of penance for fasting and abstinence.
And there is in existence a Pastoral
Statement on Penance and Abstinence from
the US bishops dated November 18, 1966
that skirts the issue. However, the letter
does not say, “Instead of abstaining from
meat on Fridays, Catholics are now
obligated to . . .” No substitution is to be
found in the letter which carries the same
binding-under-pain-of-sin obligation among
the several fitting suggestions. This letter
not only fails to offer a clear substitute act of
penance for Fridays but it also recommends
the practice of abstinence on Fridays! Since,
no clear alternative is made obligatory in the
letter, Catholic Warriors continue to abstain
from meat on all Fridays of the year outside
of Solemnities. We invite you to repeat our
research. Both the Code of Canon Law and
