About Catechism

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What is the Catechism? | What is its Origins? | How is it arranged?
What Principles are Expressed in the Creed?

Visit us each week to learn more about the faith through the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

What basic principles are expressed in the Creed?

Through our human history we have codified our search for God into our religious beliefs which is in turn expressed in our prayers, rituals, and meditations. In the natural search for God, people would then compare beliefs and then develop common ideals about how to harmonize their pray, rituals, and meditations based upon common principles. These principles become the foundation of the religion, which helps the people to focus on the truth learned by each other and those that had come before them.

From this natural approach, a person can come to know about God, who is the source and cause of all that exists.

However, there is another source of truth available to Christians, revelation. By the incarnation, sacrifice, and resurrection of Jesus, God revealed to us critical aspects of who God is in relationship to us. It is through Jesus the definitive revelation that God shows to us that love is a principle of the divine. Jesus shows us the way of salvation through a free act of love for our sake because in the beginning God created out of a free act of love.

This divine love of God is directed towards each individual human person.

In the Creed there is the over all theme that God created the universe from who He is as the Trinity; also, God is concerned with the personal well-being and redemption of humanity by the Son who entered into human existence and the continues to live with us through the Holy Spirit. From these two facts of revelation that God created the universe and joined humanity to Him-self, the rest of the tradition and faith is established due to God’s principle of Love. The restlessness and yearning of humanity is for the peace that is only found accepting in God’s great love.

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Is there any significance to the arrangement of the Catechism?

The Catechism is arranged into four major sections: Creed, Sacred Liturgy, Christian way of life, and Christian prayer. The particular arrangement comes from St. Pius V who was pope shortly after the council of Trent and who was instrumental in promulgating the Catechisms of the that time. However the arrangement of the book is not simply the church maintaining an old tradition, but rather it is a way communicating very important aspects about Christianity.

The Creed is the means through which we come to understand with our mind the essential characteristics of the faith. The Creed describes the Christian mystery as our object of faith. The elements of the creed are the basics of the faith which we must chose to believe, and our investigation of the creed by using the Catechism will help us to understand the faith we profess every Sunday at mass to the community.

Sacred Liturgy is the Christian community celebrating and communicating the mystery of faith by our action within the body of Christ united in the worship of God. In the most intense way we celebrate the faith, as stated in the Creed, through our worship by participating in the sacraments given to us by Christ. The Catechism helps us to understand better how the sacraments and other liturgical activities are the proper place through which the faith is confessed to the Christian community and the rest of the world.

The Christian way of life described in the Catechism is nourished by the Liturgy and expressed by a Christian’s daily choice and activity. The Church’s faith and way of worship naturally affects what she does in the world. Everyone has faith in some form and that faith is expressed in the works we do in the world. The Catechism provides a moral foundation based upon scripture and an experience, of over two thousand years, through which a Catholic can understand the principles of proper Christian behavior.

Prayer is a person’s spirituality either great or small in search of God and the communication we have with our creator. The Creed, Liturgy, and Christian way of life are the basis of prayer through which we express ourselves and communicate with God. The Catechism provides a background and the roots of Christian prayer and finishes with a detailed look at the “Our Father”. Christ taught us to call God “Father” which has profound implications and puts into perspective the entire Church, the family of God residing in the body of Christ.

These four sections in the Catechism can represent the different ways of being human by what we think, feel, do, and believe. Utilizing the Catechism is and effective tool with which to search and find ways to improve who we are in the eyes of God in harmony with the community.

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What is the Origin of the Catechism?

In order to delve more deeply into the Catechism of the Catholic Church one should have a basic understanding of its origins and overall structure. This book has is origins in the early Christian teaching of the faith to prospective converts, both children and adults. The method of instruction was oral and the reason for the Greek definition provided before. Until the Council of Trent, Catechesis took on a variety of forms depending on the time period and the geographic needs of people. Many great figures of the Church such as St. John Chrysostom and St. Augustine provided works of Catechesis, but it is not until the Council of Trent (1545-1563 ad) that the origin of Roman Catechism can be found. During that period of time there were internal corruption and a vast propagation of error being taught. The Church was able to organize the publication of many concise Catechisms, which helped to reform the Church and bring about a better understanding of the true faith helping to fulfill the Council’s purpose at Trent. Needless to say, the Current Catechism of the Catholic Church assembles the documented faith of the Church in a modern context under the guidance of the Second Vatican Council.

The important point to be gleaned from this very brief explanation of the origins of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is that the book we have now has its roots deep in the tradition and a compilation gathered throughout Christian history. A Catholic who references this Book has the effective result raising one’s Christian IQ by and order of magnitude. Utilizing the Catechism opens up to the reader a wealth of wisdom passed down to us through ages applicable in today’s world.

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What is the Catechism of the Catholic Church?

The Catechism, a nine hundred four page book, recommended for Catholics to have in their homes brings to mind the question, what is the significance of this book to Catholics? It is a large book having the unique power to cure many cases of insomnia; it can be like reading a dictionary if anyone attempts to read it from cover to cover.

The purpose of the book is not to read it like a novel from cover to cover, but rather to use it as a reference and guide in teaching or sharing the authentic Christian tradition of faith and morals. The word “Catechism” comes from a Greek word, which means “to teach by word of mouth.” The Catechism is meant for a group of people, two or more, to discuss the faith of the church as it applies in their lives either to help them-selves grow in faith and moral wisdom or to impart faith and moral competency to others who inquire. The book is meant to be used within the context of an interactive discussion.

This is an appropriate purpose for the Catechism since faith is not meant to be learned from a book because our faith finds its source in Jesus Christ who is the Logos, the Word of God. God spoke and the world was created. God chooses to create in an act of speech. Jesus explains in the Gospel of Mathew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Faith, moral guidance, and spiritual discernment are to be propagated through prayer and communal discussion in order to invite Jesus into the activity. To understand faith and moral judgment in isolation can easily result in self deception and error.

The “Catechism of the Catholic Church” is intended to be a tool in order to help facilitate and guide people in discussion about matters of faith and morals. It should be a resource with which to clarify difficult topics and ultimately provide a person with a solid foundation for investigating Church principles.

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