The Catechism of the Catholic Church

A good household will inevitably include within it an area for a good library, a book shelf, table books, or some combination of these. And in every single one of those homes the one indispensable 'must-have' book is a good, readable copy of the Bible, the very Word of God.

In every Catholic household, and in fact in any home that wishes to explore an even deeper study and understanding of the Bible and the teachings of the Church, there is one more book that is also important to own. That book is the official "Catechism of the Catholic Church", which has now been available for more than a decade.

On September 8th, 1997, Pope John Paul II promulgated changes to the 2nd Official English Edition of the book in order that it might conform to changes made to the Latin version on that same date. In the end, what currently stands is intended to be a 'universal catechism', one to be used as a resource or reference point for all other such efforts within the Christian Church at large.

The modern Catholic Catechism is in John Paul II's own words "a full, complete exposition of Catholic doctrine, enabling everyone to know what the Church professes, celebrates, lives, and prays in her daily life."

In 1985, the Catholic Bishops recommended that the effort should be made, particularly with the many changes to Church practices in the decades since Vatican II, to explain more fully, clearly, and substantively the Church official teachings on the many and varied topics for which it is responsible.

The following year, John Paul II appointed an official 'Commission of Cardinals and Bishops' to study the matter and develop a compendium of Catholic doctrine. This commission was to be led by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. Their results were packaged and sent out around the world in 1989 to all Bishops of the Church for their amendments and suggestions.

Over 24,000 such amendments were received, and all were studied closely and considered carefully resulting in numerous alterations to the volume originally circulated. By 1991 the commission was ready to present their official version to the Pope for his evaluation and approval. On June 25th, 1992, John Paul II gave his approval, and on December 8th made it official with an apostolic constitution.

The new Catechism was then first formally published in French in 1994, and subsequently translated into many languages. On August 15th, 1997, the Pope formally proclaimed the Latin version as definitive. This version contained a few changes from that first French-issued version, and thus an official 'Second Edition' was released in other languages that year, including the current English version.

Let's cover what the Catechism is not. It is not at all like the Bible. It is not meant to be a history of existence or of the world. It can not be read cover-to-cover almost like a story. It in fact does not contain the Bible, nor any of it's stories and teachings directly in God's own words. It is not 'readable' for many youngsters, and would not be necessarily interesting for those looking to 'read' a book.

What the Catechism is intended to be is a resource, the definitive resource of the teaching of the Church relating to all matters of faith. It is particularly aimed at the Bishop's, the Church's most influential teachers of the faith, but it is also made available to the body of the Church faithful as a tool for appropriately guided individual education.

There is no way in the space of a short article to explain or describe every area that the Catechism covers. Suffice it to say that the Catechism refers to Holy Scripture, as well as the teachings and positions of the Church Fathers and Ecumenical Councils, themselves inspired by the Holy Spirit, to explore and explain all positions and beliefs of the Universal Church.

Among the important topics covered in the Catechism are 'The Profession of Faith', also known as the 'Apostles Creed', which has been in existence and utilized as a basic profession of faith in Jesus Christ since the early centuries of Church development after his death.

The 'Celebration of the Christian Mystery' is also covered here. This includes public worship in the Catholic Mass, as well as God's active participation through Grace in the sacraments of Confirmation, Baptism/Christening, Holy Eucharist/Communion, Penance/Confession, the Anointing of the Sick/Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, and Matrimony/Marriage.

Christian Prayer is an important topic that is covered, which includes an exploration of the Lord's Prayer, also known to many as the 'Our Father' prayer. First offered by Jesus Himself at his Sermon on the Mount, it is by far the most well-known and widely used Christian prayer in history. I personally learned to say this prayer in Latin as an act of faith and a New Year's resolution a few years ago during a time of personal struggle, and do so now every night before going to sleep.

The Catechism also covers life in Christ, particularly by exploring the Ten Commandments. These most vital religious and moral rules were validated by Christ, and are accepted by well over half the population of the entire planet. Handed down by God Himself to Moses and subsequently to all of God's people, these are God's own basic precepts for mankind.

There is much falsehood and uninformed or ignorant commentary out in the world today regarding the teachings and practices of the Catholic Church. If you are genuinely interested in learning the truth regarding Catholic doctrine, or are already a believer and simply wish a reference material with which to more deeply explore the Church teachings, the "Catechism of the Catholic Church" (Second Edition) is a must.

NOTE: this is a contuation of the 'Sunday Sermon' series presented here on many Sunday mornings. All articles in the series can be viewed by clicking on to that 'label' below the original article at www.mattveasey.com

Pulling Back the Curtain

I've been thinking about it for a couple of years now, but just never had the nerve. Either I was going to be too embarrassed, or I was fearful of exposing my face to someone that I might have to see on a regular basis. So it was with a little bit of nervousness that this past Saturday I entered the confessional at church and finally pulled back the curtain for a face-to-face confession. Penance is one of the seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church, instituted by Jesus Christ Himself "in which forgiveness of sins committed after Baptism is granted through the priest's absolution to those who with true sorrow confess their sins and promise to satisfy for the same." We are all sinners, we all commit sins, some of us more frequently and heinously than others. We need to seek forgiveness in order to restore our full relationship with God, and He has provided us the means through the intervention of His Son. When you enter into the Sacrament of Penance, what is known commonly in the Church as 'confession', the misconception is that you are telling your sins to a man, the priest, and that he forgives you. That is simply not the case. The power to forgive sins rests with God alone. However, he utlizes his blessed priests to act as ministers or confessors in humanizing the process. It is wholly necessary that we come to confession prepared to honestly evaluate our thoughts and actions, and to confess those that have broken our relationship with the Lord. If you haven't been to a confession in a while, one helpful tool would be to list the Ten Commandments, then evaluate how you have behaved against each of them. If you've been away from the Church or missed Mass, there is something to confess. You don't need to be exact. Simply saying that "it's been years since my last confession" or "I haven't been to church regularly for years" will suffice. If you've been away, you've obviously put some things ahead of the Lord, so you have that to confess. I had to do it myself a while back, so I can tell you exactly how to approach that first return to the confessional. First, prepare yourself by getting to church a little early, maybe just ten minutes, and take time to sit in a pew and meditate on the things that you may wish to confess. You can't hold back the worst sins. If you have had or been a part of an abortion, you are going to have to confess it. Obviously the same goes for any crime that you may have committed. Instances of extra-marital sexual relations, blatant disrespect of your parents (no matter age or their role), and extreme covetousness of others goods. If you have turned your life over to another faith system and turned away from God for a time, you may want to confess that. The point is that your confession will be of no use to you if you willingly hold back confessing the most obvious and heinous of your sins. Next, think about the little things. Do you take time away from your family in order to satisfy some bad habit, something like drinking? That is something that should be bothering you, and something you may confess. I would contemplate these things for ten minutes, and then get into the confession booth. Unless you are completely prepared, don't make this first time back a 'face-to-face' effort. But do make it a sincere effort. You begin by kneeling and saying "Bless me father for I have sinned, it has been years since my last confession, and these are my sins." Then let the priest know the things most on your mind. Make sure that you include being away from the Church and the Sacraments, especially from Mass and Communion. The priest will guide you and my bet is that he will be extremely supportive. Even if you get one who seems a bit harsh, take it, because you certainly have it coming to you. Again, that is not likely. God wants you back as an active part of his Church. He wants you to come to Him in this way. Tell it all, lay it on the line, don't be afraid. Getting into the booth is more than half the battle. As you begin, if you remain completely honest, it will become easier by the moment. Before you know it, you will be done, and the priest will give you a Penance to perform. This will likely take the form of saying a certain number of prayers. He will then ask you to make an honest 'Act of Contrition' before leaving the confessional. In case you forgot: "Oh my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended thee, and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of hell. But most of all, because I have offended Thee my God, who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy Grace, to confess my sins, to do Penance, and to ammend my life. Amen" As you say this, he will pray over you, and absolution, the forgiveness of your sins, will occur. When he is finished, I would thank him before leaving. When you leave the confessional, get into a pew and do your prayerful Penance, thinking as you pray about how lucky you are to have had Christ die so that this forgiveness would be possible. If you have been away for awhile, you should feel a 'weight of the world' lifted as you leave the church. Make sure that you don't stay away this time. And then sometime down the road, as you gain more confidence in your faith, and as your sins perhaps become less and less embarrassing, you will have the courage to pull back the curtain and meet with the priest in face to face confession.

God Doesn't Want You to Go to Church

Well, perhaps I should say that God doesn't only want you to go to church. More importantly, God wants you to want to go to church. Just a moment spent contemplating those two ideas will reveal just how different they are in actuality. In my occasional series on The Ten Commandments, I have already covered the third: Keep Holy the Sabbath, the Lord's Day. In a seven day week there are 168 hours for us to fill. Assuming that we sleep for approximately 49 of those, or 7 hours of sleep per day, that leaves 119 for us to fill. Say we work at a full-time job, requiring 40 hours there each week, and another hour per day in travel to and from work. That knocks us down to 72 hours for ourselves. Free from the need to sleep, free from the necessity of work, we have approximately 72 hours that are ours to spend as we choose. Those with children know how much of that time is spent: feeding, clothing, teaching, chaufering, entertaining the kiddies. But even with all that, and knowing that we do not all have small children, we have dozens of hours in each week that go to ourselves. Television, computers, schooling, music, hobbies, working out, visiting friends and relatives, shopping. There are many ways that we fill these hours. The fact is, God is only asking one hour per week from you. One little, tiny, short hour for you to spend in his house. Oh sure, maybe that means that you need to get ready, dressed, and drive to and from his house. So maybe with that crush of added burden you would be giving him two of your hours. Is that really too much to ask of you? Is that too much to ask of you to want to give him? I mean, after all, this is the Lord God, the One who created the earth on which you live. The One made you in His image so that you could rise above all of the other creatures who have ever walked on this planet and take dominion over it. The One who sent you His only Son, Jesus Christ, to live and die for you, so that you could be forever saved from the fate that you actually deserve. Day to day, we all have quiet, reflective moments. Driving in our cars, or riding the bus or train to and from work. Early in the morning as we awake and enjoy a cup of coffee, jump in the shower, get ourselves dressed. Late at night, as we lay ourselves down in our beds to sleep. It is in these moments that we often fill with music or television news that we can perhaps find another few for Him, to pray to Him for the cause of our lives and those of our loved ones. It doesn't take long. It's not really any sacrifice at all, in fact. Same with that hour or so each week. The time isn't the sacrifice, not really. It's the making that time mean something that is difficult. It's the wanting to go to church that is difficult for many. That is what God really wants from you in the end, for you to want to go to church, to want to come into His house, to want to worship him in community and fellowship. One hour to pray, sing, reflect, participate in his Sacraments. I hope that those of you who have been away from the Church consider making a personal comeback this Christmas season. He wants you to come back. More importantly, he wants you to want to come back. It's really just silly human pride keeping you away in the end. The sooner you realize that, wake up and right your ship, the sooner you will find your way back. We look forward to welcoming you, for you are always welcome in God's house. Hear it in your head, feel it in your heart. As Bono sang at the end of U2's classic 'A Sort of Homecoming': "...tonight, at last, I am coming home. I am coming home." As always, the title of this entry is a link for further information. In this case, it is a link to the website "Catholics Come Home", a tremendous entry for those seeking, or a great start on the road back for those who already are a part of the family, but may have been away.