I told you what it means. Those who trust in God and believe His giving us the Church He has built and protects, will understand and believe. God’s one Church has not, does not, and will not teach error in faith and morals. Therefore, there are not even small errors. That you deny this, you do to your own detriment and outside of God’s revealed truth.
Sure, not a problem. Please see the quote below that had been written to a user named “geometer”. I even bolded an essential part for you.
And what I said was correct and answered your question correctly. Sure, Christ “having sent away the multitudes…” or Christ “he strictly charged him, and forthwith sent” the man cured of leprosy away… but those were obviously not what was being discussed. Christ discusses His own being sent here with a mission. He hands that mission on to the Apostles, sending them out. The Apostles hand that mission on to successors, for them to continue the mission Christ sent them out with. Now, why don’t you listen to those Christ sent? In rejecting them, you also reject Christ. So, the question becomes, if you say you love Christ, then why do you reject Christ in this way?
It’s not a system. It’s 2000 years of Catholic reflection on the truths of salvation history. I am blessed to have so many great thinkers and Doctors of The Church to draw on.
The same Holy Spirit which Christ promised the Catholic Church is the same Holy Spirit who inspired the Catholic Authors of the Holy Bible and the same Holy Spirit who inspired the Catholic Authors of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Your hatred for Jesus Our God is readily apparent in your post. Once you know Him, you will love Him. I am praying for your conversion to Christ Jesus and this His Church that He died to establish for the sake of your own salvation which you are free to accept or reject.
I’ve purchased a copy but I’ve read only parts. Moreover, my reading has been and continues to be sporadic.
That’s alright though. You are learning and I’m sure you find the Topical Index helpful when you want to explore a specific topic. You could set yourself a little goal of reading at least once a week on a Topic of your current interest.
I haven’t found anything within it that I dislike. It explains Catholic doctrine and as I’m currently inquiring into Catholicism it’s just what I needed (to quote The Cars). I like the clarity and I’m impressed with the comprehensiveness.
That’s good. It’s always best to get what a particular religion believes directly from that religion.
I suppose it would be fair to say that the Catholic Church leads the field in Christendom with regard to making its teachings known. If Orthodoxy is in fact the best kept secret in America, as one its bishops has apparently declared, perhaps that wouldn’t be the case if the Orthodox Church followed the example of the Catholic Church and published a Catechism of the Orthodox Church making details of Orthodox belief available not only to Americans but also to anybody and everybody all across the mortal coil.
Coming from an Orthodox background, I agree, it would be nice. The problem with it, from my own experience with Orthodoxy, is that the Orthodox Churches do not agree with each other on many issues - like which Churches can be considered Orthodox, some Orthodox Churches do not accept the OCA Church as Orthodox. Even within the Greek Orthodox Church there is disagreement on whether or not a Non-Orthodox Baptism is to be accepted - for example I was Baptized in the Baptist Church, when I converted to the Catholic Church, that Baptism was accepted, when I converted to the Greek Orthodox Church it was accepted because the Catholic Church accepted it yet each Greek Orthodox Monastery I visited (3 in 3 different states) did not accept my Baptism nor my Greek Orthodox Confirmation and I was not able to receive Holy Eucharist until I was Baptized and Confirmed by one of the Greek Orthodox Monasteries. These are basic issues: which Churches are actually Orthodox and whether or not a Baptism is or is not valid. Yet these, among many, many other things, are up for debate within the Orthodox Church Communities, so until the Churches come together on their beliefs, there is NO “remote possibility” for any of the Orthodox Churches to come up with their own Catechism.
But for Protestants no similar publication is remotely possible. The arguing would begin and end with how to word the title. There would be objections from some about using the term “Protestant Church” on the grounds that Protestantism isn’t a church but a movement. There would be objections from others on the grounds that the word “Protestant” doesn’t adequately cover the diversity of beliefs that have evolved since the Reformation. And there would definitely be major objections from the Evangelical camp if the word “Bible” were not included. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, if nothing else, reflects the visible unity of the Catholic Church.
I agree, Protestants also can not come up with a joint document of beliefs because they are scattered theologically among themselves.
Ecumenically,
Mick
I can’t speak to any particular issue. However, reading the CCC was part of a process that brought me out of an anti-Catholic upbringing and into being an ecumenist as far as the Catholic Church is concerned. Another, and earlier, part of that process was sending our daughters to the local parochial school, something that my wife suggested and I went along with, although initially with great reservations. The fact that our daughters received a good Christian education was a positive.
I might mention in addition to the above that I am reading Jesus of Nazareth by Joseph Ratzinger. Excellent and intelligent exposition. I challenge non Catholics to read both.
Agreed. Jesus of Nazareth is on my bedside table and I am finding it an excellent read.
The Baltimore Catechism is actually a very useful teaching tool today. Many of the approved text books for young children fall short of substance. The Baltimore Catechism can be used to supplement. It is avaliable for different levels where as the CCC is written for adults.
As one with two graduate degrees and who has spent much of his adult life working in university settings, believe me on this: Advanced education is no guarantee of writing ability!
I could be wrong, but while the Catechism was meant as a resource for catechists at the local and provincial level, I don’t think catechists are *required *to use it. That said, I think it’s an outstanding piece of work, and catechists would be foolish not to use it!
It’s a hard step to let go of the Anti-Catholic education ingrained into you as a child. I was raised that way too. That is a great thing that your children’s education and your reading of the CCC brought you!
The CCC Paragraph 11: “…It is intended to serve “as a point of reference for the catechisms or compendia that are composed in the various countries.””
I have been to Catholic masses – usually in conjunction with weddings or funerals. However, my introduction to the Mass came in a music history course. We were studying the Mass as a musical form and I was reading an LP album cover which had the Latin text and an English translation. As I read down through the Kyrie, the Gloria Patri, the Gloria, the Sanctus, and the Agnus Dei. I was rather surprised to find that the translations of the texts were identical to what I experienced in our Lutheran worship. (I really didn’t know much about Catholic worship back in those days.) Even today, some of the liturgical music we use is virtually the same as I have heard in the Catholic Mass.