Baltimore Catechism

  • Thread starter Thread starter AJB328
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
A

AJB328

Guest
I just attended my first Latin Mass and I spoke to the priest afterwords. He told me I should get a copy of the Baltimore Catechism or the Council of Trent Catechism. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on which would be best.

Also, I was browsing on Amazon and noticed “Baltimore Catechism No. 1” No. 2 etc. I was wondering if these are different volumes of the catechism or different versions.

Any guidance on this subject would be greatly appreciated.

God Bless.
 
Baltimore Catechisms are essentially schoolbooks. Number 1 would be for children in primary grades. Catechism of the Council of Trent is available at Amazon among other places. I own a copy of that, but primarily I would reccommend the most recent version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Both have a place on my bookshelf.
 
The Baltimore Catechism is much more user-friendly than the CCC. The CCC was intended, as I understand, as a tool to be used primarily by bishops, priests and others who teach catechesis, and as a top-level lesson-planning tool. The BC was intended as a tool to be used by the lay person, and there are different versions of it depending on age of the intended audience. It is easier to understand at first glance.
 
Also consider " United States Catholic Catechism for Adults" written by the bishops of the United States upon the directive of the Vatican. This text is also a much more smooth read than the CCC 2nd edition. I find the CCC (published inthe 1990s) as a good reference tool for specific questions, but not one that I would necessarily sit down and begin reading from start to end.
 
If you have a Kindle you can download all four volumes of the Baltimore Catechism for free. The first two volumes are for children under grade six.
 
YoungTradCath said:
The Baltimore Catechism is much more user-friendly than the CCC. The CCC was intended, as I understand, as a tool to be used primarily by bishops, priests and others who teach catechesis, and as a top-level lesson-planning tool.
Click to expand...
The Baltimore Catechism is/was strictly used for English-understanding folk. The Catechism of Trent was written in Latin and translated worldwide. It covers many topics the CCC and the BC doesn’t cover and is still priceless IMO.

Good for the priest to have made the recommendation.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I just found the Kindle versions of the Baltimore Catechism, I guess you can’t go wrong with $0.00. They have the Catechism of the Council of Trent for $1.99. I’ll check these out first before deciding on getting a good hard copy.

Thanks again.
 
Get as many catechism books as you can get, do not limit yourself to one or two. Each one will use just a slightly different explanation or a different word that will give you a better insight, they complement each other. Go back and forth among them and then you will see that the simple ones are not as elementary as you expected and the more exhaustive one are not as complicated as people want you to believe. I switch between the older one and the contemporary one and I love them all.
 
I loved the Baltimore catechisms 1, 2 and 3 that you saw at Amazon. As a returning Catholic I went through those one by one with myself and my teenage son, helping us both to learn. Book #3 I think is perfect for an adult. I love the drawings in the books that help explain the teaching. They are books I use to look something up at times still.

I am just starting the CCC and it is deep.

Besides Kindle, there are also IPOD or IPHONE apps that include the catechism. One is IPieta. It has several catechisms.
 
I like the Baltimore series as it is very easy to understand. The thick CCC is harder to understand, and I’ve been a Catholic all my life.
 
AJB328 said:
Thanks for all the replies. I just found the Kindle versions of the Baltimore Catechism, I guess you can’t go wrong with $0.00. They have the Catechism of the Council of Trent for $1.99. I’ll check these out first before deciding on getting a good hard copy.
Click to expand...
This is the best way to decide. Which catechism is better depends on you. Do you want the simplicity and clarity of the Baltimore or the more detailed and academic approach of the Trent? Or do you want both? They are both sound teaching, so you don’t need to worry about that.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top