Catechism of the Catholic Church

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Hello gang.

A little more than two years ago, my (former) parish held a reception for me on the day of my formal conversion. My confermation sponsor (and I suppose technically my Godfather?) gave me a copy of The “Complete and Updated” Catechism of the Catholic Church, which “includes modifications from the Editio Typica” and is published by Image/Doubleday.

I skim-read it shortly after I got it, but the readings were at inopportune times to seriously digest the work.

I was wondering if anyone knew how to study the book more effectively? Something like reading the bible, where some study rotation’s I’ve seen do a section of the OT, Psalms, and NT on the same day to give you a broader base? Or is it best just to do as I have for most of the last few days and just read it from front to back in sections?
 
Personally the best way I have found so far is just to read it front to back. It’s written so orderly and each paragraph and section really build off the one before it that I feel skipping around would lose some of that sense.

One thing you could do though if you find the full Catechism is too much to digest at once is try and read the Compendium of the CCC. It’s in question and answer format, and it references the relevant paragraphs of the Catechism that it’s based on, so you can look them up and go deeper, but it’s much more manageable and easier to read. It’s only about 200 pages as opposed to 900 😉
 
HerrZJA said:
Hello gang.

A little more than two years ago, my (former) parish held a reception for me on the day of my formal conversion. My confermation sponsor (and I suppose technically my Godfather?) gave me a copy of The “Complete and Updated” Catechism of the Catholic Church, which “includes modifications from the Editio Typica” and is published by Image/Doubleday.

I skim-read it shortly after I got it, but the readings were at inopportune times to seriously digest the work.

I was wondering if anyone knew how to study the book more effectively? Something like reading the bible, where some study rotation’s I’ve seen do a section of the OT, Psalms, and NT on the same day to give you a broader base? Or is it best just to do as I have for most of the last few days and just read it from front to back in sections?
Click to expand...
There is an internet site/course called Flocknotes and it is free. It began last year to coincide with The Year of Faith–and basically covers the entire catechism from front to back in a one lesson a day format. Now, frankly, we are nearly at the end–I think it ends sometime in November–BUT–if you should wish to go to it, my understanding is that you can download all the lessons–along with the forum discussions after each lesson and the reference material. As someone who fell away from the church and returned, I got an awful lot out of this particular study site–many specific examples etc, As to how to read the catechism, were it me, I’d just start on page 1 and read. If you have questions or want something a little more in depth but not totally deep philosophy–you might check out Flocknotes. To be honest, I only found it because it was recommended last year in my parish bulletin–but I’m glad I did it.
 
I strongly advise getting the Compendium to read alongside the Catechism itself. I have both on my Kindle. Last year I made it my Lenten project to go through both. The way that I did it was to read the Q&A in the Compendium first, and then read the corresponding paragraphs in the Catechism. I found that procedure to be a very good study, and I plan to do it again next year.
 
Another handy book to have is “The Companion to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.” This book has the full text of all the footnotes. Saves you from having to go digging up Church conciliar documents and Bible texts!
 
The first key to studying the Catechism is to understand the basic structure of the book. The Catechism has four sections, or “Pillars”.

**Pillar 1: The Profession of Faith (Creed) **
  • Paragraphs 26 through 1065
  • St. Agustine said that the creed is God’s plan of salvation in “Tightly wound form”.
  • usccb.org/beliefs-and-tea…at-we-believe/
  • This first pillar is based on Scripture. The other three pillars depend on knowing the plan for our salvation as laid out in scripture. Scripture tells us God’s plan for our salvation, and the Profession of Faith (creed) is a highy condensed summary of God’s plan for our salvation.
**Pillar 2: The Celebration of the Christian Mystery (Sacraments and Liturgy) **
  • Paragraphs 1066 through 1698
  • How we get into the story and how we take part in God’s plan through the sacraments, and how we fit in to God’s Kingdom on Earth, his Church.
**Pillar 3: Our Life in Christ **
  • Paragraphs 1691 through 2550
  • Morality - how we live our lives as Christians.
  • How we interact with Christians, non-Christians and all of God’s creation.
  • How we live out God’s plan for our salvation and advance his Kingdom on Earth for the salvation of others.
**Pillar 4: Christian Prayer **
  • Paragraphs 2558 through 2865
  • Prayer is intimate communication with our Creator and the Lover of our Souls.
  • Prayer ensures the first three pillars.
  • Covers the most sublime and most perfect prayer, the Our Father.
That is the basic framework of how the Catechism is constructed, and how it may be used. There are many subsections, but this is the explanation which opened my eyes and got me started.

The second key to the Catechism is to read it with Scripture and in the context of Scripture. Scripture and the Catechism are inseparable. Always have a Bible with you when you read the Catechism. The more you can accurately handle the Bible, the better equipped you will be to understand the Catechism.

The third key is to use the footnotes. The Catechism was written for Bishops and it was presumed that they would have an entire library at their disposal. Use the internet and look at the footnotes. Read the works of the Early Church Fathers referenced in the footnotes, to the extent that you are able.

I hope this helps.

-Tim-
 
HerrZJA said:
Hello gang.

A little more than two years ago, my (former) parish held a reception for me on the day of my formal conversion. My confermation sponsor (and I suppose technically my Godfather?) gave me a copy of The “Complete and Updated” Catechism of the Catholic Church, which “includes modifications from the Editio Typica” and is published by Image/Doubleday.

I skim-read it shortly after I got it, but the readings were at inopportune times to seriously digest the work.

I was wondering if anyone knew how to study the book more effectively? Something like reading the bible, where some study rotation’s I’ve seen do a section of the OT, Psalms, and NT on the same day to give you a broader base? Or is it best just to do as I have for most of the last few days and just read it from front to back in sections?
Click to expand...
Consider this Scripture/Catechism reading plan:

chnetwork.org/readguide04.pdf
 
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