ny Thee." Instead of begging
Our Lord's help and grace, he trusted to himself and fell miserably into
sin. He went into dangerous company and that was another cause of his
fall. But afterwards he saw his sin and folly and never ceased to repent
of it.

329 Q. What is despair?
A. Despair is the loss of hope in God's mercy.

Despair is a sin because by it you deny that God is infinitely
merciful--that He is merciful enough to forgive even your many and great
sins if you are truly sorry for them. Judas committed the sin of
despair. After he had betrayed Our Lord, he went and hanged himself,
thus committing, besides the sin of betraying his divine Master, two
other great sins; namely, despair in God's mercy and suicide. If he had
gone to Our Lord and confessed his sin, and implored pardon and promised
penance, can we doubt that He would have forgiven even Judas, as He
forgave Peter, and those that crucified Him, praying that His Father
might not punish them for their sins? Therefore, no matter what sins you
have committed, never lose confidence in God's mercy. See how Our Lord
pardoned the thief on the cross and Mary Magdalen and other sinners. Be
sorry for your sins, and God will hear your prayers. Call upon the
Blessed Virgin, your patron saint, and guardian angel to help you, and
ask others, especially good persons, to pray for you.

*330 Q. How do we sin against the love of God?
A. We sin against the love of God by all sin, but particularly by mortal
sin.

Lesson 31
THE FIRST COMMANDMENT--ON THE HONOR AND INVOCATION OF SAINTS

331 Q. Does the First Commandment forbid the honoring of the saints?
A. The First Commandment does not forbid the honoring of the saints, but
rather approves of it; because by honoring the saints, who are the
chosen friends of God, we honor God Himself.

Think of the many helps God gives us to save our souls: an angel to be
always with us upon earth; a saint always praying for us in Heaven, and
besides these all the graces, the Sacraments, the Masses, the prayers,
etc. If then we lose our soul, surely we cannot say, God did not give us
sufficient help. "Invocation" means calling upon them to help us.
Everyone is pleased when his friends are honored. Who is not glad to
hear his parents praised or see them respected? By praying to the
saints, instead of dishonoring God--as Protestants say we do--we really
honor Him more than by praying directly to Himself We show that we
believe in Hi