8 Q. Why must we take more care of our soul than of our body?  A. We must take more care of our soul than of our body, because in losing our soul we lose God and everlasting happiness.

Every sensible person will take most care of that which is most valuable.  If a girl had a hundred dollars in a ten-cent pocket-book, you would consider her a great fool if she threw away the hundred dollars for fear of spoiling the pocket-book.  Now, he is a greater fool who throws away his soul in order to save his body some little inconvenience, or gratify its wicked desires or inclinations.  Wherever the soul will be, there the body will be also; so we should, in a certain way, try to forget the body and make sure of getting the soul safely into Heaven.  You would not think much of the wisdom of a boy who allowed his kite to be smashed in pieces by giving his whole attention to the tail of the kite.  If he took care to keep the kite itself high in air and away from every danger, the tail would follow it; and even if the tail did get entangled, it would have a good chance of being freed while the kite was still flying.  But of what use is it to save a worthless piece of rag, if the kite—­the valuable thing—­is lost?  Just in the same way, of what use is our body if our soul is lost?  And remember we have only one soul.  Therefore, make sure to save the soul, and the body also will be saved—­that is, the whole man will be saved; for we cannot save the soul and lose the body; they will both be saved or both be lost.

9 Q. What must we do to save our souls?  A. To save our souls, we must worship God by faith, hope, and charity; that is, we must believe in Him, hope in Him, and love Him with all our heart.

“Worship,” that is, give Him divine honor.  We honor persons for their worth and excellence, and since God is the most excellent, we give Him the highest honors, differing from others not merely in degrees but in kind—­divine honors that belong to Him alone.  And justly so, for the vilest animal upon the earth is a thousand times more nearly our equal than the most perfect creature, man or angel, is the equal of God.  In speaking of worship, theologians generally distinguish three kinds, namely:  latria, or that supreme worship due to God alone, which cannot be transferred to any creature without committing the sin of idolatry; dulia, or that secondary veneration we give to saints and angels as the special friends of God; hyperdulia, or that higher veneration which we give to the Blessed Virgin as the most exalted of all God’s creatures.  It is higher than the veneration we give to the other saints, but infinitely inferior to the worship we give to God Himself.  We show God our special honor by never doubting anything He reveals to us, therefore by “faith”; by expecting with certainty whatever He promises, therefore by “hope”; and finally by loving Him more than anyone else in the world, therefore by “charity.”