Amazing Catechists

Teaching and learning the faith together

Humanity Now Counts the Face of God Among Its Own

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Belief in the Incarnation is distinctive to the Christian faith.  It is a basic tenet in the Creed: Jesus Christ “was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary.”

The Incarnation is a unique and singular event. Its truth transforms the way we view God and ourselves: The Incarnation of Christ is the height of centuries of Divine Revelation…. Divine Revelation, of course, being the revealing, or making known, of God Himself to humanity.

In the Incarnation, God now chooses his divine communication to be made known through the Person of His Son.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) defines the Incarnation as “the fact that the Son of God assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it  (CCC 461).”

St Paul taught:

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. (Phil 2:5-8.)

 

This holy condescension of God means we can never accuse God of being absent or lofty or unreachable or inaccessible. The Incarnation – the taking on flesh in the Virgin’s womb – is the moment whereby the inexhaustible, inexpressible, invisible, omnipotent, and almighty holy One takes on human visage. The divinity of God shines through a human person now. And God used the humanity of Jesus to save us all.

CCC 479:

At the time appointed by God, the only Son of the Father, the eternal Word, that is, the Word and substantial Image of the Father, became incarnate; without losing his divine nature he has assumed human nature.

The Second Vatican Council had this to say about the Incarnation:

The truth is that only in the mystery of the incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on light. For Adam, the first man, was a figure of Him Who was to come, namely Christ the Lord. Christ, the final Adam, by the revelation of the mystery of the Father and His love, fully reveals man to man himself and makes his supreme calling clear. It is not surprising, then, that in Him all the aforementioned truths find their root and attain their crown.

He Who is “the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15) is Himself the perfect man. To the sons of Adam He restores the divine likeness which had been disfigured from the first sin onward. Since human nature as He assumed it was not annulled, by that very fact it has been raised up to a divine dignity in our respect too.  (Gaudium et Spes, 22.)

As God reveals Himself and his love for us via the Incarnation, he reveals much about the humanity to which we belong:  we are now enlightened by Christ.  Having once been darkened by the sin of Adam, human life is restored and re-dignified to an even greater height than when it was first made in the image and likeness of its Maker.

Humanity now counts the face of God among its own.

Never again may I look at another person, or my own self, with disdain or disrespect. For there is an inherent dignity in all: we too are robed in flesh; now the Son of God, the Savior and Lord, images us.

For by His incarnation the Son of God has united Himself in some fashion with every man. He worked with human hands, He thought with a human mind, acted by human choice and loved with a human heart. Born of the Virgin Mary, He has truly been made one of us, like us in all things except sin. (Gaudium et Spes, 22.)

This is why we celebrate Christmas: the Nativity is the realization of the Incarnation.

This is why we kneel with wonder, praying at the manger. The Christ Child gives us insight into the God who truly knows us, loves us, and still chooses to save us. And as we yield to that love, we receive a keener understanding of our own true selves.

CCC 477:

The Church has always acknowledged that in the body of Jesus “we see our God made visible and so are caught up in love of the God we cannot see” [Roman Missal, Preface of Christmas I].

The individual characteristics of Christ’s body express the divine person of God’s Son. He has made the features of his human body his own, to the point that they can be venerated when portrayed in a holy image, for the believer who venerates the icon is venerating in it the person of the one depicted.

Come, the Crèche awaits us… let us pray and gaze into his Holy Face.

——-

This article was previously released at CatholicExchange.com as “The Unique and Singular Event of the Incarnation”, and is reprinted and re-titled here with the author’s permission.

 

 

Holding the Pillars (of the Catechism) in the Palm of Your Hand

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An Overview
To embrace the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we need to understand the basics, to see it as a whole before delving into specific subjects.  This article presents the Catechism’s basic 4-part format and helps you memorize it in ten minutes or less. Don’t worry, this will be fun… using a common nursery rhyme to do it.

The Catechism contains a prologue and four major parts. Those four parts break down into sections, articles, and numbered paragraphs. We’ll come back to the prologue after describing the four parts, also called “pillars.” (If the Catechism were a cathedral, these four pillars would uphold the weight of the entire structure.)

Here are the four parts of the Catechism using their official titles from the text (with my brief explanations in the parentheses):

  1. The Profession of Faith
    (Part One explains the capacity we all have for God, plus the major beliefs of the Faith, as found in The Creed. It is the largest part.)
  2. The Celebration of the Christian Mystery
    (Part Two explores our redemption and the grace we find in the Seven Sacraments.)
  3. Life in Christ
    (Part Three pertains to the Christian’s vocation, and modern applications of  the Ten Commandments.)
  4. Christian Prayer
    (Part Four describes what prayer is and its importance. Special emphasis is given to The Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father!”)

Its okay if don’t remember the names of the four parts. Here’s a shorter list of four summary words to remember the content of four parts: beliefs, sacraments, life, and prayer.

Now for the memory task: You are about to be treated to how brilliantly, er, rather, how simply my mind works. (At my tender middle age, if I can conjure up mnemonic devices to trigger my recall of certain subject matter, so much the better! My apologies to the more sophisticated minds among us.)

Start with the names given to your hand’s thumb and four fingers by the children’s nursery rhyme and finger game “Where is Thumbkin?” as sung to the tune of “Frère Jacques.”

Hands in position? Ready? Go!

“Where is thumbkin? Where is thumbkin? Here I am! Here I am!” (Don’t know this rhyme?  Relive a joy of childhood here:http://www.kididdles.com/lyrics/w010.html.)

Just how does this benefit our memory, you ask?

Where is thumbkin?
“Who” comes first in the song?  Thumbkin. Who comes first in the Christian life? God. Right.  Always remember: God is first in all things. (God is also the end of all things, but that’s another article!)

Better to know God first, rather than a million details about the Catechism.  So, thumbkin gives the first lesson: In the beginning…  there was God.

Thumbkin reminds us there is a prologue to the Catechism. In cosmic terms, HIS story came before our own story; God’s goodness brings us into existence and invites us into relationship. We find this out in the very first numbered paragraph of the Catechism’s Prologue:

God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church. To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son as Redeemer and Savior. In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life. [See Catechism, paragraph 1 or CCC 1.] [Emphasis mine.]

Our American culture gives thumbkin some familiar sign language: “thumbs up!” Thumbs up means “yes” or “it is good” or “I approve.” In spiritual terms—saying “yes” to God—indicates our positive direction: to be “heirs” of God’s “blessed life.” It can also remind us of the positive attitude we need to embrace the Catechism, and church teaching in general.

Finally, the thumb acts as a metaphor for the unity of Trinitarian content throughout the Catechism. The central Truth of theCatechism is the three Persons of the Holy Trinity and the life of love they share.  All other truths flows from that core. While the four fingers can and do touch one another in certain alignments or combinations, only the thumb most easily extends and flexes to the fingers and makes them function smoothly as a unit. Between the four parts of the Catechism, there is interconnectedness and overlap between certain doctrines, just like the four fingers on a hand. But, this central Trinitarian truth permeates and unifies all four parts, much like the thumb.  All of the Catechism makes sense with, in, and through the Trinity.

Moving from prologue to parts… we utilize our four helpers: “pointer”, “tall man”, “ring man” and “pinky.”

Where is pointer?
Pointer “points” to beliefs in Part One of the Catechism. Think of your index finger as pointing to the index, or list, of beliefs.

What is the first and primary listing of what the Church believes and professes?  The Creed! Based on the Trinity, the Creed’s twelve Articles of Faith shape the foundation of our Faith.

Another memory aid: first finger starts with “f” which stands for “faith”.  Or this: first finger = faith = foundation = beliefs.

Where is tall man? 
When discussing “the middle finger” in American culture, one needs the innocence of a child. We’ll get there with the help of our nursery rhyme.

The middle finger, otherwise known as tall man in our rhyme, stands distinctively above the rest. Its tall placement is unique.

This second finger stands for the second part. Here’s how: What defining practice makes the Catholic Church unique and distinct in the eyes of the world? What makes Catholicism stand out among world religions? The sacraments.

Remember, the second finger starts with “s”, or second finger = sacraments.

Where is ring man? 
Ring man, the third finger, commonly called the ring finger denotes Part Three of the Catechism, our life in Christ.

American culture identifies the ring finger as signifying to whom we may be betrothed or wed. For Catholics, it denotes vocations. In short, ring man proclaims our “life” to the world: the way we live our life of love.

Another memory hint: ring = marriage = life. Or use this idea: the word “r-i-n-g” has four letters, as does “l-i-f-e.”

Where is pinky? 
You’ve got the idea by now… the fourth finger—pinky—stands for prayer, the fourth part. Both pinky and prayer start with the letter “p”, (and not to be confused in meaning with “pointer.”)

The pinky might seem a humble little finger… but certainly not the last nor least. Incidentally, Part Four on “Christian Prayer”, like pinky, is the Catechism’s smallest part.

If you cannot remember anything else about the Catechism, know that it contains a deep call to prayer in your life. Always put God first, even if you don’t know or understand the rest of the Catholic doctrines.

In coming before the Lord God each day in prayerful humility, you will hold more wisdom in your little pinky finger than an entire catechism could hold.

©2009 Patricia W. Gohn

This article originally appeared at CatholicExchange.com. 


You and Me and the CCC

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The CCC is the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and it is one of the handiest reference tools available to the catechist, clergy, and laity for reviewing the tenets of the Faith.
Why read the Catechism?  The Catechism of the Catholic Church is one of the greatest gifts to the Church from John Paul II’s pontificate.  It is the definitive reference resource on faith and morals for Catholic Christians; a comprehensive summary of all the Church believes, celebrates, lives, and prays. This explains the Deposit of Faith—what has been handed down since the time of the Apostles—and it is part of our divine inheritance as believers!

Let’s face it, the Catechism is a textbook in size and scope. But I prefer to think of it as a deep treasure chest of gems and nuggets that that will enrich our faith and our love of God and the Church.

The first question I’m usually asked is: Can I read the Catechism on my own? The short answer is yes. The longer answer is, at times you may feel daunted by the dense language of the Catechism, depending on the depth of your religious education regarding terms and doctrines. While the Catechism is suited for those who formally teach the Faith in the Church and in the classroom, John Paul II declared it is for all who wish to deepen their knowledge of salvation.

I recommend applying the same prayerful trust to the Catechism that we bring to reading the Bible. Even though the Catechismis not Holy Scripture, ask the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you as you read. (And remember it doesn’t hurt to look up unfamiliar words in the glossary or a dictionary!)

This space is designed to be a friendly introduction to topics within the Catechism in an easy-reader style. We’ll define terms as needed, and apply real life examples to what we read.

It is important to note that many books cover the Catechism in greater depth and with more excellent scholarship than a short article can provide. Again, the column will introduce and explore topics that I hope will draw you into deeper study.

This column stands on three principles:  first, that God, in the three Persons of the Holy Trinity, is the source of all Truth and communicates by Divine Revelation in the form of Tradition and the Scriptures. Second, our task as believers is to respond to God in faith in the fullest way we can.  Third, the Magisterium (the teaching authority) of the Church, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is to be trusted as a worthy guide as to how we make that response in faith.

Therefore, as we better embrace the Catechism, Church teaching becomes an avenue for our Christian growth.  And all of us are called to on-going conversion.

It is my hope that as you open the CCC more and more, you’ll begin to embrace its teachings in an ever-deeper way. As Catholics, we all need to “get our arms around” what the Church teaches, so that we can live it more faithfully.  This is essential for every Christian, and vital for catechists. But, we must acknowledge that such growth is a process for each person. Some of us are ready to devour chapters of the Catechism at a time, or may have already. Some may have heard of it, but have never had a reason to open the book.  All are welcomed here!

Even the Catechism itself declares that we should seek to embrace the truths of our Faith as we find in paragraph 2104 (also known as CCC 2104):

“All… are bound to seek the truth, especially in what concerns God and his Church, and to embrace it and hold on to it as they come to know it.” [Emphasis mine.] 

The embrace of God
Now, human persons, we all know about the power of an embrace.  When you love someone, it leads to a loving embrace. The love between spouses, or parents and children, or family members and friends, all find validation in a loving, warm, embrace.

An embrace presumes knowledge of one another. And there are degrees of that knowledge. The marital embrace, for example, represents the deepest of unions and the most complete knowledge of the other person. Such an embrace in a marriage presupposes a longer process preceding the embrace.

There was the first look and notice of each other. Becoming acquainted led to the first conversation, the first mutual understanding, and eventually, the first kiss.  Slowly, as love builds, more is revealed… what the person believes, how they live, what they celebrate, and yes, perhaps even what they pray about.

When love leads to marriage, two people join as one. Yet they also join families. When I married, as I embraced the one I loved, I also embraced by extension his entire family.

A similar process took place in my relationship with Jesus Christ. I was baptized as an infant into the family of God, but it took me many years to grow up and get acquainted with Christ. As I teenager, I experienced a deep conversion to Christ. From there, a friendship grew—a meeting of minds and hearts—until finally, my life with Christ became an ongoing committed love relationship.

Over the course of my life, my love for Christ compelled me to know “more” of him. Like a lover wooed, I wanted to experience the “breadth and length and height and depth” of the love of Christ. (See Eph. 3:17-19.)

What I discovered was that, over time, I embraced not only Jesus Christ as Lord, but I also embraced his family—the Holy Trinity, his mother Mary, his foster father Joseph and all the saints in heaven, and his Church here on earth. My embrace of Christ and his family—and especially the Church and what she teaches—grew slowly by degrees.

The Catechism states that “a person discloses himself in his actions, and the better we know a person, the better we understand his actions.” (CCC 236.)

Therefore, where Christ is concerned, it is best that we closely examine his actions. And let us be imitators of who and what He embraces…

As noted earlier, God revealed Himself to the world through Divine Revelation. As we read the story of God’s Revelation from the Old Testament to the New, we come to understand God’s deep and devoted love for humankind. God is most perfectly revealed in his Son, Jesus. When Christ took on flesh, he took on a form that, as a Bridegroom, he is permanently wedded to the Bride, the Church, the People of God. We find this imagery in the Catechism, paragraph 796 (CCC 796):

The theme of Christ as Bridegroom of the Church was prepared for by the prophets and announced by John the Baptist. The Lord referred to himself as the “bridegroom.” The Apostle [Paul] speaks of the whole Church and of each of the faithful, members of his Body, as a bride “betrothed” to Christ the Lord so as to become but one spirit with him. The Church is the spotless bride of the spotless Lamb. “Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her.” He has joined her with himself in an everlasting covenant and never stops caring for her… 

Returning to the image of the nuptial embrace of the marital union… we find that it images for us, if somewhat imperfectly, the union the Holy Trinity longs to have with us.  Check out CCC 772:

It is in the Church that Christ fulfills and reveals his own mystery as the purpose of God’s plan: “to unite all things in him.” St. Paul calls the nuptial union of Christ and the Church “a great mystery.” Because she is united to Christ as to her bridegroom, she becomes a mystery in her turn. 

Christ’s actions of loving the Bride (the Church) are worthy of our imitation. We are called to love all the Church believes, celebrates, lives, and prays.  We are to embrace the Bride as we embrace the Bridegroom, Jesus. As we progress in our union with Christ, we will naturally desire to more perfectly align ourselves with His Bride (the Church) and what she teaches. And what she teaches is found most succinctly in the Catechism.

Embracing the Catechism means learning it, understanding it, and living it. Our sole motivation for doing so is love: that we may respond in faith and better embrace Christ and His Church in all its fullness.  So that, one day, we may be embraced at last, by the Holy Trinity itself in heaven, as we find in CCC 260:
The ultimate end of the whole divine economy [God’s creation of the world and his salvation of the world through Christ] is the entry of God’s creatures into the perfect unity of the Blessed Trinity. But even now we are called to be a dwelling for the Most Holy Trinity: “If a man loves me”, says the Lord, “he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him.” [See John 14:23.]

©2010 Patricia W. Gohn

This article was adapted from a previous released article at Catholic Exchange. 

In Each of Us, Christ: “Christ in you, the hope of Glory (Col. 1:27)”

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The truth about you, my dear Christian friend, is that by virtue of your baptism a remarkable thing occurred. The Lord of Life, the King of Heaven, the Almighty God has taken up residence where you might least expect. In you.

St. Paul identifies it over and over again in his letters, but he states it most distinctly when he writes that the mystery God has hidden for the ages has now been made manifest to his saints…“which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col 1:27.)

Indeed Christ came to earth for our redemption, but at the same time, Christ came to restore to us the hope of glory. That is, one day we will live with him, in the glory of the Trinity forever.

Remarkably, that reality started for you on earth the day you were baptized. You became “a new creation” in Christ (2 Cor 5:17).

Baptism is both your identity and your destiny.  It tells you who you are, where you came from, and where you are going.  It defines where “home” is and where you belong.  It sets the course for the rest of your life – and eternity – if you embrace it.

But you don’t have to take my word for it.  I make that claim standing on 2000 years of Christian Tradition found in the Catholic Church, and spelled out in no uncertain terms in the Scriptures and in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC).

A few words about that identity are found in CCC 1265 and 1266:

Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte “a new creature,” an adopted son of God, who has become a “partaker of the divine nature,” [2 Cor 5:17; 2 Pet 1:4; cf. Gal 4:5-7],
a member of Christ and co-heir with him,[Cf. 1 Cor 6:15; 12:27; Rom 8:17],
and a temple of the Holy Spirit [Cf. 1 Cor 6:19].

The Most Holy Trinity gives the baptized sanctifying grace, the grace of justification:

– enabling them to believe in God, to hope in him, and to love him through the theological virtues;

– giving them the power to live and act under the prompting of the Holy Spirit through the gifts of the Holy Spirit;

– allowing them to grow in goodness through the moral virtues. 
Thus the whole organism of the Christian’s supernatural life has its roots in Baptism.

Try to take this in: our sonship and daughtership in God is our truest identity – it means that we participate in the divine life of the Trinity, thanks to grace.

Many of us were baptized as infants. Naturally, in that case, we probably have no recollection of our baptism. Therefore some of the power of this truth may elude our consciousness.  Not only that, in growing up, many of us missed out on strong faith formation. So for the sake of those who may not have fully embraced their own baptism, let’s pause and talk about what our baptism looks like from this perspective of Christ being “in” us.

It all began with God’s love for us (See Jn 3:16). Maybe you’ve heard that before, and while its still very true, perhaps it just sounds like a nice platitude you may have heard as a child. If so, listen up: it’s time to understand the depth of our baptism, and all it implies, as an adult.

God’s attachment to us in baptism is intentional, deep, and permanent, indeed, like a lover who brands his or her beloved’s name on their arm as a tattoo. So, too, our God has branded us. God placed his loving yet indelible mark on our souls, like a soul tattoo.

(You could also say that the scars on the Risen Lord’s hands, feet, and side, are the permanent, inerasable marks of his love for us. But I digress.)

CCC 1272 and 1274 continue:

Incorporated into Christ by Baptism, the person baptized is configured to Christ. Baptism seals the Christian with the indelible spiritual mark (character) of his belonging to Christ. No sin can erase this mark, even if sin prevents Baptism from bearing the fruits of salvation…

The Holy Spirit has marked us with the seal of the Lord (“Dominicus character”) “for the day of redemption.” [Eph 4:30; cf. 1:13-14; 2 Cor 1:21-22].  Baptism indeed is the seal of eternal life. The faithful Christian who has “kept the seal” until the end, remaining faithful to the demands of his Baptism, will be able to depart this life “marked with the sign of faith,”[see Roman Missal, Eucharistic Prayer I] with his baptismal faith, in expectation of the blessed vision of God – the consummation of faith – and in the hope of resurrection.

If you read those biblical references in the text above, you’d find St. Paul explaining that this seal of the Holy Spirit is the sign of our salvation… “the seal of eternal life.”

Baptism is the sacrament of faith. It is not something to be received passively since it brings changes with it. Its grace conforms us to Christ. That means there is an added dimension – a supernatural one! – to the soul and body and personality and DNA that makes us unique persons.

We have the potential to take the shape of Christ, or to imitate him more perfectly than if we did not have such a grace. Why? Because Christ’s very life is in us. The glory of God has taken up residence in us.  Not only that, we strengthen and grow that living supernatural “Christ-in-us” whenever we receive the Eucharist: the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. When we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, he recognizes and greets the Christ in us!

Are you getting the big picture? We. Were. Made. For. This.

We were made to be in this intimate, loving, and profound relationship with a God who sees Himself in us.

It’s somewhat like the joy a parent feels when they see a son or daughter who resembles them in eye color or has their freckles, or shares their love of music, or their taste for cheesecake. While the parent see themselves in their child, the child remains their own unique person.  It’s a love thing.

So, we in turn, must live for this love.  The Christ-in-us is an invitation to glory, both now, and in the future. This is our hope and our destiny. But we must choose to live the glory of our baptism, our true identity.

It is possible to waste our life by ignoring who we really are in Christ.

We must become, in full adult measure and stature, our truest selves. Our baptism invites us to become a saint, in the sense that a saint is someone who truly resembles Christ while maintaining his or her unique personhood and distinctive qualities.

The living out of our baptism, or some could call it “the task” of conversion, becomes not just a one-time “coming to” Christ, but a life-long on-going transformation of “becoming” Christ.  Baptism gave us the grace of a head start. It sets us on the path of sanctity – which is another way of saying – this is a journey of a lifetime. That is why we have the Church, and the life of grace that we find there in the sacraments and in the Christian community.

CCC 1992:

[Baptism] conforms us to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his mercy. Its purpose is the glory of God and of Christ, and the gift of eternal life.

So now we have come full circle. For via baptism, Jesus sees, and now I can see, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col. 1:27.)

May we have the eyes to see in each of us: Christ.

 

Catechism Trivia

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Seventeen years after its first publication, The Catechism of the Catholic Church continues to fascinate and instruct readers around the world. Today’s column enumerates a few of the things that inspire and delight me about The Catechism. Call it Catechism trivia if you like.

The Catechism is  a Monumental Achievement

The idea for the Catechism of the Catholic Church came in the first days of the Extraordinary Synod in Rome in October 1985. John Paul II convened this meeting of the world’s bishops, who were the presidents of their national bishops’ conferences, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Vatican II.

The bishops discerned that, as the world has become a “global village,” there was a growing need for the one faith of the Church to be proclaimed in a single universal volume. Not that there weren’t already catechisms available. But there had not been a UNIVERSAL catechism, or major catechism, in over 400 years, since the Roman Catechism of 1566, following the Council of Trent.

Historically speaking, this was a big deal for Catholics. And a major undertaking of faithfully handing on the Deposit of Faith, as received from the Apostles through the ages. It required a systematic catechetical overhaul of the Roman Catechism, while maintaining integrity of content. Plus it must incorporate the enormous wealth of two millennia of Christian experience. The goal was to create a universal resource that made the teachings of the Catholic Church accessible both for the modern Catholic, and for generations to come.

(And just for a moment, consider that this global task began in the late 80s before widespread use of email and electronic reference texts and tools existed. Not only that, you pretty much would want to hire a spiritual Superman for the job, given the impact this work is going to have. Imagine the job description: Wanted: Excellent communicator with a genius level understanding of Catholic doctrine and theology, coupled with a passionate fidelity to orthodoxy. Candidate should possess a pastor’s heart and concern for those who teach and learn the faith. Success as a published author a must!)

In 1986, following the Synod’s recommendation for a new universal catechism, John Paul II assigned Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger to lead a commission of bishops and Cardinals to develop the next universal catechism. Ratzinger, a renowned theologian and author in his own right, and the Pope’s go-to man as Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, would later become Pope Benedict XVI.

Over 6 years, the new catechism received the input of over 1000 bishops worldwide – a true work of collegiality between the bishops, the pope, with the Holy Spirit. Over 24,000 modifications were assimilated into the text from the bishops’ suggestions through the skillful editing and writing style of Christoph Schönborn, (a former Ratzinger protégé, now Cardinal of Vienna, Austria.)

Finally, the first edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church was presented in October 1992 in French. It was the 30thanniversary of the opening of Vatican II. The English edition arrived later in 1994. The official Latin version was published in August 1997.

To date, The Catechism has been translated into over 50 languages.

The Proportions of the Text

The Catechism is both concise and comprehensive. It uses a numbering system, as do many ecclesial texts, to reference its subject matter. There are 2865 numerical paragraphs in total.

There are four parts, sometimes called “pillars”, of The Catechism:

· Part One (beliefs or creed) represents 39% of the content, and covers paragraphs 1-1065.

· Part Two (sacraments) = 23% and covers paragraphs 1066-1690.

· Part Three (the Christian life) = 27% and covers paragraphs 1691-2557.

· Part Four (prayer) = 11% and covers paragraphs 2558-2865.

The actual doctrinal portion of The Catechism covers about 700 pages, depending on font size of the version you read. It’s multiple indices and glossary are 100-200 pages.

In June 2005, Benedict XVI released the Compendium, a shorter, more concise format of The Catechism, using a question and answer format. It does not replace The Catechism, but serves as a faithful introduction to the doctrines presented in the larger work.

Citations

Each page of doctrine is heavily footnoted and cross-referenced. (One gets a good education just by meandering through The Catechism’s many sources!)

Scripture is the most frequently cited source in The Catechism. In fact, 40 out of 46 books of the Old Testament are cited, and all 27 books of the New Testament are quoted. It is a wonderful to discover the biblical underpinnings of Catholic doctrines. I recommend having a bible nearby when reading The Catechism for referring to the scriptures found in the footnotes. (Or use the resource below.)

The Documents of Vatican II are the second most quoted source. (You might want to have a copy of that handy too! Or use the resource below.) Sixteen other ecumenical councils from history are also quoted.

The writings from 22 popes are quoted, as is Canon Law, and numerous other ecclesiastical documents.

Hundreds of quotes from over 50 saints, Church Fathers, and Doctors provide a wealth of inspiration for one’s meditation. By the way, 6 of which are women: St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Rose of Lima, St. Joan of Arc, St. Catherine of Siena, Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, and the Christian mystic Julian of Norwich.

The most quoted saint in The Catechism is St. Augustine with 87 citations, followed by St. Thomas Aquinas with 61.

The Catechism and Related Works On-line

To conclude, allow me to share useful websites for your reading. While I always encourage Catholics to buy copies of The Catechism for their personal reading, I realize that many Catholics find their reference needs online. The sites below are worthy of bookmarks in your browser.

1. My favorite source for The Catechism on-line is the website sponsored by St. Charles Borromeo’s Parish. This is a wonderful apostolate, and their site has a very user-friendly search engine: http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm.

2. The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops also has The Catechism online, but the search engine is difficult to use. However, their site provides the glossary to The Catechism, which is handy, and not always found on other sites:http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/.

3. The Vatican website, naturally, has any reference work you might need. The search engine, while comprehensive, is a little tedious for beginners. But here’s what you can find:

The Catechism: http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM

The Documents of Vatican II: http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/index.htm

The Compendium:

http://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html

4. The Catechism uses the Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Bible in its text. To browse or search the RSV Bible, go here:http://quod.lib.umich.edu/r/rsv/.

 

©2009 Patricia W. Gohn

This article first appeared at CatholicExchange.com.