The Ten Commandments (Catechism of Pius X)

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On the Commandments of God and of the Church

The Commandments of God in General

1 Q. What is treated of in the third part of Christian Doctrine?
A. The Commandments of God and of the Church are treated of in the third part of Christian Doctrine.

2 Q. How many Commandments of God's Law are there?
A. There are Ten Commandments of God's Law:

I am the Lord thy God:

   
• Thou shalt not have strange gods before Me;
• Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain;
• Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath Day;
• Honour thy Father and thy Mother,
• Thou shalt not kill;
• Thou shalt not commit adultery;
• Thou shalt not steal;
• Thou shalt not bear false witness;
• Thou shalt not covet another's wife;
• Thou shalt not covet another's goods.

3 Q. Why are the Commandments of God so named?
A. The Commandments of God are so named because God Himself has stamped them on the soul of every man; promulgated them, engraved on two tables of stone, on Mount Sinai, in the Old Law; and Jesus Christ has confirmed them in the New Law.

4 Q. Which are the Commandments of the first table?
A. The Commandments of the first table are the first three, which directly regard God and our duties towards Him.

5 Q. Which are the Commandments of the second table?
A. The Commandments of the second table are the last seven, which regard our neighbour, and our duties towards him.

6 Q. Are we bound to observe the Commandments?
A. Yes, we are bound to observe the Commandments, because we are all bound to live according to the will of God who created us, and because a serious transgression against even one of them is enough to merit hell.

7 Q. Are we able to observe the Commandments?
A. Yes, without doubt we are able to observe God's Commandments, because God never commands anything that is impossible, and because He gives grace to observe them to those who ask it as they should.

8 Q. What, in a general way, should we consider in each of the Commandments?
A. In each of the Commandments we should consider its positive part and its negative part, that is, what it commands and what it forbids.

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The First Commandment

1 Q. Why is it said at the commencement of the Commandments: I am the Lord thy God?
A. It is said at the commencement of the Commandments: I am the Lord thy God, to show us that God being our Creator and Lord, can command whatever He wills, and that we, being His creatures, are bound to obey Him.

2 Q. In the words of the First Commandment: Thou shalt not have strange gods before Me, what does God command us?
A. By the words of the First Commandment: Thou shalt not have strange gods before Me, He commands us to acknowledge, adore, love and serve Him alone as our Sovereign Lord.

3 Q. How do we fulfil the First Commandment?
A. We fulfil the First Commandment by the practice of internal and external worship.

4 Q. What is internal worship?
A. Internal worship is the honour which is given to God with the faculties of the soul alone, that is with the intellect and the will.

5 Q. What is external worship?
A. External worship is the homage that is given to God by means of outward acts and of sensible objects.

6 Q. Is it not enough internally to adore God with the heart alone?
A. No, it is not enough internally to adore God with the heart alone; we must also adore Him externally with both soul and body, because He is the Creator and absolute Lord of both.

7 Q. Can there be external worship without internal worship?
A. No, in no way can there be external worship without internal, because unless external worship is accompanied by internal, it is destitute of life, of merit, and of efficacy, like a body without a soul

8 Q. What is forbidden by the First Commandment?
A. The First Commandment forbids idolatry, superstition, sacrilege, heresy, and every other sin against religion.

9 Q. What is idolatry?
A. Idolatry is the giving to any creature, for example, to a statue, to an image, or to a man, the supreme worship of adoration that belongs to God alone.

10 Q. How is this prohibition expressed in Holy Scripture?
A. This prohibition is expressed in Holy Scripture in these words: Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or on the earth beneath; and thou shalt not adore them or serve them.

11 Q. Do these words forbid every kind of image?
A. Certainly not; but only those of false divinities, made to be adored, as idolaters adore them. So true is this, that God Himself commanded Moses to make images, as, for example, the two statues of the Cherubim for the Ark, and the Brazen Serpent in the desert.

12 Q. What is superstition?
A. Superstition is any devotion that is contrary to the teaching and practice of the Church; as also the ascribing to any action or any thing whatever a supernatural virtue which it does not possess.

13 Q. What is a sacrilege?
A. A sacrilege is the profanation of a place, of a person, or of a thing consecrated to God and set apart for his worship.

14 Q. What is heresy?
A. Heresy is a culpable error of the intellect by which some truth of faith is obstinately denied.

15 Q. What else does the First Commandment forbid?
A. The First Commandment also forbids all dealings with the devil, and all association with anti-Christian sects.

16 Q. If one were to have recourse to and invoke the devil, would he commit a grave sin?
A. If one were to have recourse to and invoke the devil, he would commit an enormous sin, because the devil is the most wicked enemy both of God and of man.

17 Q. Is it lawful to put questions to speaking or writing tables or in any way to consult the souls of the dead by means of spiritism?
A. All the practices of spiritism are unlawful, because they are superstitious; and often they are not free from diabolical intervention; and hence they are rightly condemned by the Church.

18 Q. Does the First Commandment forbid us to honour and invoke the Angels and Saints?
A. No, it is not forbidden to honour and invoke the Angels and Saints; on the contrary, we should do so, because it is a good and useful practice highly commended by the Church; for they are God's friends and our intercessors with Him.

19 Q. Since Jesus Christ is our only mediator with God, why have recourse also to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin and the Saints?
A. Jesus Christ is our Mediator with God, because being true God and true man He alone in virtue of His own merits has reconciled us to God and obtains us all graces. But in virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, and through the charity which unites them to God and us, the Blessed Virgin and the Saints help us by their intercession to obtain the graces we ask. And this is one of the great benefits of the Communion of Saints.

20 Q. May we also honour the sacred images of Jesus Christ and of the Saints?
A. Yes, because the honour we give the sacred images of Jesus Christ and of the Saints is referred to their very persons.

21 Q. May the relics of the Saints be honoured?
A. Yes, we should honour the relics of the Saints, because their bodies were living members of Jesus Christ and temples of the Holy Ghost, and will rise gloriously to eternal life.

22 Q. What is the difference between the honour we give to God and the honour we give to the Saints?
A. Between the honour we give to God and the honour we give to the Saints there is this difference, that we adore God because of his infinite excellence, whereas we do not adore the Saints, but honour and venerate them as God's friends and our intercessors with Him. The honour we give to God is called Latria, that is, the worship of adoration; the honour we give to the Saints is called Dulia, that is, the veneration of the servants of God; while the special honour we give to the Blessed Virgin is called Hyperdulia, that is, a special veneration of the Mother of God.

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The Third Commandment

1 Q. What does the Third Commandment: Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath day, command us to do?
A. The Third Commandment: Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath day, commands us to honour God by acts of worship on festivals.

2 Q. What are festivals?
A. In the Old Law they were Saturdays and certain other days regarded as specially solemn by the Jews; in the New Law they are Sundays and other festivals instituted by the Church.

3 Q. Why is Sunday sanctified instead of Saturday in the New Law?
A. Sunday, which means the Lord's Day, was substituted for Saturday, because it was on that day that our Lord rose from the dead.

4 Q. What act of worship is commanded us on festivals?
A. We are commanded to assist devoutly at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

5 Q. With what other good works does a good Christian sanctify festivals?
A. A good Christian sanctifies festivals: (1) By attending Christian Doctrine, sermons, and the Divine Office; (2) By frequently and devoutly receiving the sacraments of Penance and the Blessed Eucharist; (3) By the practice of prayer and works of Christian charity.

6 Q. What does the Third Commandment forbid?
A. The Third Commandment forbids servile works and any other works that hinder the worship of God.

7 Q. What servile works are forbidden on festivals?
A. The servile works forbidden on festivals are those works called manual, that is, those material works in which the body has more part than the mind, such, for instance, as are ordinarily done by servants, labourers, and artisans.

8 Q. What sin does one commit by working on festivals?
A. One commits a mortal sin by working on festivals; brevity of time, however, will excuse from grave sin.

9 Q. Is no servile work at all permitted on festivals?
A. On festivals those works are permitted which are necessary for life, or for the service of God; as well as those done for a grave reason, with leave, when possible, from the Pastor.

10 Q. Why is servile work forbidden on festivals?
A. Servile work is forbidden on festivals in order that we may the better attend to divine worship, and to the care of our souls; And to enable us to rest from toil. Hence innocent recreation is not forbidden.

11 Q. What else above all should we avoid on festivals?
A. We should above all avoid sin and whatever leads to sin, such as dangerous diversions and dangerous places of amusement.

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The Fourth Commandment

1 Q. What does the Fourth Commandment: Honour thy father and thy mother, command?
A. The Fourth Commandment: Honour thy father and thy mother, commands us to respect our parents, obey them in all that is not sinful, and assist them in their temporal and spiritual needs.

2 Q. What does the Fourth Commandment forbid?
A. The Fourth Commandment forbids us to offend our parents by word or by deed or in any other way.

3 Q. What other persons does this Commandment include under the names of father and mother?
A. Under the names of father and mother this Commandment also includes all our superiors, both ecclesiastical and lay, whom we must consequently obey and respect.

4 Q. Whence are derived the authority of parents to command their children and the duty of children to obey their parents?
A. The authority possessed by parents to command their children and the obligation children are under to obey their parents, are derived from God who constituted and established family life in order that in it man might have the first helps that are necessary towards his spiritual and temporal well-being.

5 Q. Have parents any duties towards their children?
A. Parents are bound to love, support and maintain their children; to attend to their religious and secular education; to give them good example; to keep them from the occasions of sin; to correct their faults; and to help them to embrace the state to which God has called them.

6 Q. Has God given us an example of a perfect family?
A. God gave us an example of a perfect family in the Holy Family in which Jesus Christ lived subject to the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph until His thirtieth year, that is, until He began the Mission of preaching the Gospel entrusted to Him by His Eternal Father.

7 Q. If families were to live alone, cut off one from the other, could they provide for all their material and moral needs?
A. If families lived alone, cut off one from the other, they could not provide for their individual needs, and hence it is necessary that they be united in civil society so as mutually to aid one another for the common good and happiness.

8 Q. What is Civil Society?
A. Civil Society is the union of many families under the authority of one head for the purpose of assisting each other in securing their mutual perfection and temporal happiness.

9 Q. Whence comes the authority which rules Civil Society?
A. The authority which rules Civil Society comes from God, who established it for the common good.

10 Q. Are we under any obligation to obey the authority that governs Civil Society?
A. Yes; all who form part of Civil Society are bound to respect and obey authority because that authority comes from God and because the common good so demands.

11 Q. Are all laws imposed by the Civil Authority to be respected?
A. Yes; in accordance with the command and example of our Lord Jesus Christ, all laws imposed by the Civil Authority are to be respected, provided they are not contrary to the law of God.

12 Q. Have those who form part of Civil Society any other duties besides respect and obedience to the laws imposed by authority?
A. Besides the obligation of respect and obedience to the laws, all those who form part of Civil Society are bound to live in peace, and to endeavour, each according to his means and ability, to render that society virtuous, peaceful, orderly and prosperous.

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The Fifth Commandment

1 Q. What does the Fifth Commandment: Thou shalt not kill, forbid?
A. The Fifth Commandment, Thou shalt not kill, forbids us to kill, strike, wound or do any other bodily harm to our neighbour, either of ourselves or by the agency of others; as also to wish him evil, or to offend him by injurious language. In this Commandment God also forbids the taking of one's own life, or suicide.

2 Q. Why is it a grave sin to kill one's neighbour?
A. Because the slayer unjustly invades the right which God alone has over the life of man; because he destroys the security of civil society; and because he deprives his neighbour of life, which is the greatest natural good on earth.

3 Q. Are there cases in which it is lawful to kill?
A. It is lawful to kill when fighting in a just war; when carrying out by order of the Supreme Authority a sentence of death in punishment of a crime; and, finally, in cases of necessary and lawful defence of one's own life against an unjust aggressor.

4 Q. Does God also forbid us in the Fifth Commandment to do harm to the spiritual life of another?
A. Yes, in the Fifth Commandment God also forbids us to do harm to another's spiritual life by scandal.

5 Q. What is scandal?
A. Scandal is any word, act, or omission which is the occasion of another's committing sin.

6 Q. Is scandal a grave sin?
A. Scandal is a grave sin because, by causing the loss of souls, it tends to destroy the greatest work of God, namely, the redemption; it effects the death of another's soul by depriving it of the life of grace, which is more precious than the life of the body; and is the source of a multitude of sins. Hence God threatens the severest chastisement to those who give scandal.

7 Q. Why does God, in the Fifth Commandment, forbid the taking of one's own life or suicide?
A. In the Fifth Commandment God forbids suicide, because man is not the master of his own life no more than of the life of another. Hence the Church punishes suicide by deprivation of Christian burial.

8 Q. Is duelling also forbidden by the Fifth Commandment?
A. Yes, duelling is also forbidden by the Fifth Commandment, because duelling has in it the guilt both of suicide and of homicide; and whoever voluntarily takes part in it, even as a simple onlooker, is excommunicated.

9 Q. Is duelling also forbidden when there is no danger of being killed?
A. This sort of duelling is also forbidden, because not only are we forbidden to kill, but even voluntarily to wound ourselves or others.

10 Q. Is the defence of one's honour an excuse for duelling?
A. No, because it is not true that the offence is repaired by duelling; and because honour cannot be repaired by an unjust, irrational and barbarous act such as duelling.

11 Q. What does the Fifth Commandment command?
A. The Fifth Commandment commands us to forgive our enemies and to wish well to all.

12 Q. What should he do who has injured another in the life of either body or soul?
A. He who has injured another must not only confess his sin, but must also repair the harm by compensating his neighbour for the loss he has sustained, by retracting the errors taught, and by giving good example.

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The Sixth and Ninth Commandment

1 Q. What does the Sixth Commandment, Thou shalt not commit adultery, forbid?
A. The Sixth Commandment, Thou shalt not commit adultery, forbids every act, every look and every word contrary to chastity; it also forbids infidelity in marriage.

2 Q. What does the Ninth Commandment forbid?
A. The Ninth Commandment expressly forbids every desire contrary to that fidelity which husband and wife vowed to observe when contracting marriage; and it also forbids every guilty thought or desire of anything that is prohibited by the Sixth Commandment.

3 Q. Is impurity a great sin?
A. It is a most grave and abominable sin in the sight of God and man; it lowers man to the condition of the brute; it drags him into many other sins and vices; and it provokes the most terrible chastisements both in this world and in the next.

4 Q. Is every thought that comes into the mind against purity a sin?
A. The thoughts that come into the mind against purity are not of themselves sins, but rather temptations and incentives to sin.

5 Q. When is a bad thought a sin?
A. Bad thoughts, even though resulting in no bad deed, are sins when we culpably entertain them, or consent to them, or expose ourselves to the proximate danger of consenting to them.

6 Q. What do the Sixth and Ninth Commandments command?
A. The Sixth Commandment commands us to be chaste and modest in act, in look, in behaviour, and in speech. The Ninth Commandment commands us in addition to this to be chaste and pure interiorly, that is, in mind and in heart.

7 Q. What must we do to observe the Sixth and Ninth Commandments?
A. To be able to observe the Sixth and Ninth Commandments, we ought to pray often and from our hearts to God; be devout to the Blessed Virgin, the Mother of purity; remember that God watches us; think on death, on the Divine chastisements, and on the Passion of Jesus Christ; guard the senses; practice Christian mortification; and frequent the Sacraments with the proper dispositions.

8 Q. What must we avoid in order to preserve ourselves chaste?
A. To preserve ourselves chaste we must shun idleness, bad companions, the reading of bad books and papers, intemperance, the sight of indecent statues or pictures, licentious theatres, dangerous conversations, and all other occasions of sin.

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The Seventh Commandment

1 Q. What does the Seventh Commandment, Thou shalt not steal, forbid?
A. The Seventh Commandment, Thou shalt not steal, forbids all unjust taking and all unjust keeping of what belongs to another, and also every other way of wronging our neighbour in his property.

2 Q. What is meant by stealing?
A. It means taking another's goods unjustly and against the owner's will, that is to say, when he has every reason and right to be unwilling to be deprived of them.

3 Q. Why is it forbidden to steal?
A. Because a sin is committed against justice and an injury is done to another by taking or keeping against his right and will that which belongs to him.

4 Q. What is meant by another's goods?
A. Everything that belongs to him everything of which he has the ownership, or the use, or the custody.

5 Q. In how many ways can another's goods be unjustly taken?
A. In two ways: by theft and by robbery.

6 Q. How is theft committed?
A. Theft is committed by taking another's goods secretly.

7 Q. How is robbery committed?
A. Robbery is committed by taking another's goods openly and with violence.

8 Q. In what cases may another's goods be taken without sin?
A. When the owner consents or even when he unjustly refuses. Thus, one in extreme necessity may take another's goods without sin, provided that he takes only so much as is absolutely necessary to relieve pressing and extreme need.

9 Q. Is it only by theft and robbery that another can be injured in his property?
A. He can also be injured by fraud, usury, and any other act of injustice directed against his goods.

10 Q. How is fraud committed?
A. Fraud is committed in trade by deceiving another by false weight, measure and money or by bad goods; by falsifying writings and documents; in short, by deceit in buying and selling or in contracts in general, as well as by refusing to pay what is just and agreed upon.

11 Q. How is usury committed?
A. Usury is committed by exacting, without just title, an unlawful interest for money lent, thus taking an unfair advantage of another's need or ignorance.

12 Q. What other sorts of injustice may be committed with regard to another's goods?
A. By unjustly causing him to lose what he has; by injuring him in his possessions; by not working as in duty bound; by maliciously refusing to pay debts or wages due; by wounding or killing his stock; by damaging property held in custody; by preventing another from making just gains; by aiding thieves;

And by receiving, concealing or buying stolen goods.

13 Q. Is it a grave sin to steal?
A. It is a grave sin against justice when the matter is grave; for it is most important for the good of individuals, of families, and of society that each one's right to his property should be respected.

14 Q. When is stolen matter grave?
A. When that which is taken is considerable, as also when serious loss is inflicted on another by taking that which in itself is of little value.

15 Q. What does the Seventh Commandment command?
A. The Seventh Commandment commands us to respect the property of others, to give the labourer fair wages, and to observe justice in all that concerns what belongs to others.

16 Q. Is it enough for one who has sinned against the Seventh Commandment to confess his sin?
A. It is not enough for one who has sinned against the Seventh Commandment to confess his sin; he must also do his best to restore what belongs to others, and to repair the loss he has caused.

17 Q. What is meant by repairing the losses caused?
A. Repairing the losses caused means the compensation which must be made to another for the goods or profits lost owing to the theft or other acts of injustice committed to his detriment.

18 Q. To whom must stolen property be restored?
A. To him from whom it has been stolen; to his heirs, if he is dead; or if this is really impossible the value of it should be devoted to the poor or to some charity.

19 Q. What should one do who finds something of great value?
A. He should diligently seek the owner and faithfully restore it to him.

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The Eighth Commandment

1 Q. What does the Eighth Commandment, Thou shalt not bear false witness, forbid?
A. The Eighth Commandment, Thou shalt not bear false witness, forbids false testimony in a court of justice, and it also forbids backbiting, detraction, calumny, adulation, rash judgement and rash suspicion and every sort of lying.

2 Q. What is detraction or backbiting?
A. Detraction or backbiting is a sin which consists in making known another's sins and defects without sufficient reason.

3 Q. What is calumny?
A. Calumny is a sin which consists in maliciously attributing to another faults and defects which he did not possess.

4 Q. What is adulation?
A. Adulation is a sin which consists in deceiving another by falsely praising him or others for the purpose of profiting thereby.

5 Q. What is rash judgement or rash suspicion?
A. Rash judgement or rash suspicion is a sin which consists in judging or suspecting evil of others without sufficient foundation.

6 Q. What is a lie?
A. A lie is a sin which consists in asserting as true or false by word or act that which one does not believe to be really the case.

7 Q. How many kinds of lies are there?
A. There are three kinds: The jocose lie, the officious lie, and the malicious lie.

8 Q. What is a jocose lie?
A. A jocose lie is that which is told in jest and without injury to anyone.

9 Q. What is an officious lie?
A. An officious lie is a false statement to benefit oneself or another without injuring anyone else.

10 Q. What is a malicious lie?
A. A malicious lie is a false statement made to the injury of another.

11 Q. Is it ever lawful to tell a lie?
A. It is never lawful to tell a lie, neither in joke, nor for one's own benefit, nor for the benefit of another, because a lie is always bad in itself.

12 Q. What kind of sin is a lie?
A. A lie when jocose or officious is a venial sin; but when malicious it is a mortal sin if the harm done is grave.

13 Q. Is it always necessary to say all one's mind?
A. It is not always necessary, especially when he who questions you has no right to know what he demands.

14 Q. Is it enough for him who has sinned against the Eighth Commandment to confess the sin?
A. It is not enough for him who has sinned against the Eighth Commandment to confess the sin; he is also obliged to retract whatever he said when calumniating another, and to repair as far as he can the harm he has done.

15 Q. What does the Eighth Commandment command us to do?
A. The Eighth Commandment commands us to speak the truth at the proper time and place, and, as far as we can, to put a good interpretation upon the actions of our neighbour.

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The Tenth Commandment

1 Q. What does the Tenth Commandment, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's goods, forbid?
A. The Tenth Commandment, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's goods, forbids the wish to deprive another of his goods and the wish to acquire goods by unjust means.

2 Q. Why does God forbid even the desire of another's goods?
A. God forbids the unregulated desire of another's goods, because He wishes us to be just even in thought and will, and to hold ourselves completely aloof from unjust acts.

3 Q. What does the Tenth Commandment command?
A. The Tenth Commandment commands us to be satisfied with the state in which God has placed us, and to bear poverty patiently should God have placed us in that condition.

4 Q. How can a Christian be content in a state of poverty?
A. A Christian can be content in a state of poverty by reflecting that our greatest good is a pure and peaceful conscience; that our true home is heaven; and that Jesus Christ made Himself poor for love of us and has promised a special reward to those who bear poverty patiently.

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The Second Commandment

1 Q. What does the Second Commandment: Thou shalt not take the Name of God in vain, forbid?
A. The Second Commandment: Thou shalt not take the Name of God in vain, forbids us: (1) To utter the Name of God irreverently; (2) To blaspheme God, the Blessed Virgin or the Saints; (3) To take false, unnecessary, or unlawful oaths.

2 Q. What is meant by: Not to utter the Name of God irreverently?
A. Not to utter the Name of God irreverently means not to mention this Holy Name, or any other name that in a special way refers to God Himself, such as the name of Jesus, of Mary and the Saints, in anger or in joke or in any irreverent way whatsoever.

3 Q. What is blasphemy?
A. Blasphemy is a horrible sin which consists in words or acts of contempt or malediction against God, the Blessed Virgin, the Saints, or sacred things.

4 Q. Is there any difference between blasphemy and imprecation?
A. There is a difference, because by blasphemy one wishes evil to or curses God, the Blessed Virgin or the Saints; while by imprecation one wishes evil to or curses one's self or one's neighbour.

5 Q. What is an oath?
A. An oath is the calling on God to witness the truth of what one says or promises.

6 Q. Is it always forbidden to take an oath?
A. It is not always forbidden to take an oath; an oath is lawful and even gives honour to God, when it is necessary, and when one swears with truth, judgement and justice.

7 Q. When is an oath without truth?
A. When one affirms on oath what he knows or believes to be false, or when one promises under oath to do what one has no intention of doing.

8 Q. When is an oath without judgement?
A. When one makes oaths imprudently and without mature consideration, or in trivial matters.

9 Q. When is an oath without justice?
A. When one makes an oath to do something unjust or unlawful, as, for example, to swear to take revenge, or to steal, and so on.

10 Q. Are we obliged to keep an oath to do unjust or unlawful things?
A. Not only are we not obliged, but we should sin by doing such things, because they are forbidden by the laws of God and of the Church.

11 Q. What sin does he commit who swears falsely?
A. He who swears falsely commits a mortal sin, because he grievously dishonours God, the Infinite Truth, by calling Him to witness what is false.

12 Q. What does the Second Commandment command us to do?
A. The Second Commandment commands us to honour the Holy Name of God as well as to keep our oaths and vows.

13 Q. What is a vow?
A. A vow is a promise made to God regarding something which is good, within our power, and better than its opposite, and to the keeping of which we bind ourselves just as if it had been commanded us.

14 Q. If the keeping of a vow were to become very difficult, in whole or in part, what is to be done?
A. Commutation or dispensation, may be sought from one's Bishop or from the Pope, according to the character of the vow.

15 Q. Is it a sin to break a vow?
A. It is a sin to break a vow and therefore we should not make vows without mature reflection, nor, as a rule, without the advice of our confessor or other prudent person, so as not to expose ourselves to the danger of sinning.

16 Q. May vows be made to our Lady and the Saints?
A. Vows are made to God alone; we may, however, promise God to do something in honour of our Lady or the Saints.