Studying the Catechism

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I was listening to a CD from Lighthouse Catholic Media with a speech from Cardinal Arinze about the Catechism and studying it as a family. I was thinking about reading from it at dinner (it is just my husband and I…no children…right now).

Other than just starting with the first page and beginning to read, does anyone have any suggestions or guides to begin reading this for the first time? I want us both to get the most out of it without getting “bored”. I appreciate your help and suggestions!

God Bless,

Jessica
 
A few possibilities suggest themselves:

First, you could read the table of contents and see whether a particular section interests you (if a child were on the way, for instance, then maybe the parent-child sections would interest you).

Second, you could start with the Ten Commandments (they begin at ¶ 2052). I know, I know, you’ve read them before – but the CCC breaks down a lot of the moral law by each Commandment (murder, suicide, just war, and the death penalty are all discussed under the Fifth Commandment).

Third, you could start with the Seven Sacraments (they begin at ¶ 1210). They are, after all, the heart of Christ’s institution, and we encounter one or another of them quite frequently.

Fourth, you could start with the Creeds (they begin at ¶ 185). They discuss the summary of the Church’s teachings and break it down, phrase by phrase.

Which method you use depends on the two of you. Hope this list of suggestions helps.
 
I just opened the CCC and went down part by part, reading a section out loud each day. I’d recommend having your Bible handy as well. I’d go back and forth between the two a lot, reading portions of the Scripture cited.

I thought it was so cool to see the many Councils, Popes, Saints and Doctors quoted and referred. Spanning across two thousand years, they still have important things to say to us today, and to the future.

+++

Although before I started “officially”, I’m so geeky, I went and checked the index to see which of my patron saints had been quoted! 🙂
 
  1. I have not been able to :“just read it.”
  2. I get misled by trying to read it too deeply, like it was the Bible or something. It seems that you have to read a section before getting too invested in it, to see where it is going.
  3. For the first edition, there was a companion book, actually larger, that had all the footnotes in it at length. I don’t know if there is such for the second edition.
  4. It’s on my reading list, but it just doesn’t seem to percolate up very much.
 
The materials used in religious education of children should be based on the CCC. See if your church has any old materials they are not using. Our parish uses the Finding God program from Loyola Press. It is very family focused with a tear-out for family discussion at the end of every chapter.
 
These are all really great suggestions! Thank you so much for the insight!
 
JAGCath28 said:
I was listening to a CD from Lighthouse Catholic Media with a speech from Cardinal Arinze about the Catechism and studying it as a family. I was thinking about reading from it at dinner (it is just my husband and I…no children…right now).

Other than just starting with the first page and beginning to read, does anyone have any suggestions or guides to begin reading this for the first time? I want us both to get the most out of it without getting “bored”. I appreciate your help and suggestions!

God Bless,

Jessica
Click to expand...
Buy the Catechism series of dvd’s called The Teaching of Jesus Christ from Father Corapi.
There are 50 talks by Father Corapi as he takes you through the entire Catechism and you certainly will not be bored listening to his talks. He is one of the great communicators.
If you are interested this is his website:

www.fathercorapi.com
 
for your children get from Ignatius press a workbook with reproducible worksheets 100 Activities Based on the Catechism, all the way from primary to advanced level. read the sections referenced, or related material from the Compendium and then do the activities together which also include plenty of Bible look-ups
 
thistle said:
Buy the Catechism series of dvd’s called The Teaching of Jesus Christ from Father Corapi. There are 50 talks by Father Corapi as he takes you through the entire Catechism and you certainly will not be bored listening to his talks. He is one of the great communicators.
If you are interested this is his website:

www.fathercorapi.com
Click to expand...
+Father Corapi’s Catechism series is also broadcast on EWTN every Sunday evening . . . our family spent two years glued to his Sunday evening program absorbing wonderful insights on the Catechism . . . He also worked as a consultant on the Catechism as it was being formulated into its final form . . . so his perspective on the Catechism has been considerably enriched by his experience through this encounter . . . as well as being enlightened by the Sweet Spirit of our Holy God during his series preparation on same . . .

Otherwise . . . we constantly use it more as a handbook on whatever subject comes up during daily life in Christ rather than a book to be read through . . . along with the Vatican website’s Canon Law material which covers many aspects of life in the Church in more precise detail in some areas than does the Catechism . . . The Catechism with all its wonderful footnotes lends itself beautifully to the Lectio Divina (divine reading) style of reading and learning . . . Lectio Divina being a way of encoutering and reading a literary level of holy writings in Christendom believed to be especially blessed and anointed of God . . . and as such . . . when prayerfully read . . . the Holy Spirit . . . Wonderful Counselor of Our God . . . is abundantly available to help regarding the reading and understanding of same . . .

Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki , O.S.B. of the Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania here in the United States . . . recommends that we . . . *slow down radically *. . . when reflecting on inspired material . . . so as to . . . *open up freely *. . . to the treasury of insights contained therein . . . he goes on further to share:
Lectio Divina (divine reading)
Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki , O.S.B. (Order of St. Benedict)

“It is the monastic insight that reading, if it be authentic, cannot be undertaken simply with the eyes and the mind. Rather it must involve the whole person: mind, heart, body and spirit. It is reading not so much for information as for formation, that is, for encounter with the living God in this moment in such a way that one’s heart catches fire and one’s life is transformed … In St. Benedict’s day reading a sacred or spiritual text was practiced not so much for the sake of ‘information,’ but rather in order to be ‘formed’: that is, to be inwardly changed or shaped. …

Thus the aim of Lectio Divina (divine reading), i.e., pondering the material in a slow, prayerful way, is to dispose ourselves to welcome God’s ever-present grace and His efforts to conquer our hearts and transform us more and more into a holy people . . . ”
​
Crumpy . . . thanks much for the mention of the companion book . . . I’m going to check with my Catholic book store and see if they can find it for me . . . *sounds like a great find . . . *

“Thy word is a lamp to my feet,
and a light to my paths.
I have sworn and am determined
to keep the judgments of thy justice.”
Psalm 118[119]:105-106
:bible1:
. . . all for Jesus+
. . . thank You Blessed Lord+
. . . thank you Holy Mother Mary+
. . . thank you Holy Mother Church+​
 
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