Read the Catechism in a Year- for Moms!

Week 52: Passages 2816-2865

2009-03-29T05:48:00.000-07:00

Week 51: Passages 2773-2815

2009-03-22T05:48:00.000-07:00

Week 50: Passages 2709-2772

2009-03-15T05:47:00.000-07:00

Week 48: Passages 2566- 2622

2009-03-01T05:46:00.000-08:00

Week 47: Passages 2504-2565

2009-02-22T05:46:00.001-08:00

Week 46: Passages 2443-2503

2009-02-15T05:45:00.000-08:00

Week 45: Passages 2380-2442

2009-02-08T05:45:00.000-08:00

Week 44: Passages 2292 - 2379

2009-02-01T15:50:00.000-08:00

I'll be back next week. Sadly, this past Wednesday my mother lost her battle with cancer. You can read about her story at her Caring Bridge website. Please keep her in your prayers.

Week 43: Passages 2221-2291

2009-01-26T09:09:00.001-08:00

I'll be back soon!

Week 42: Passages: 2168-2220

2009-01-17T09:08:00.000-08:00

Catching up....

Week 41: Passages 2101 -2167

2009-01-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry to be so behind on posting these readings. My mother has been battling cancer and it looks like she doesn't have much time left. I am out visiting her. Please keep her in your prayers!

Week 40: Passages 2052 - 2100

2009-01-04T10:06:00.000-08:00

Here we go with....

The Ten Commandments!

The Ten Commandments or Decalogue were written by "the finger of God." Jesus reminds us that they are necessary to follow him. The Commandments take on their full meaning within the Covenant between God and man. A moral life in obedience to the Ten Commandments is the proper response to God's love for us.

The Commandments have unity, following one naturally leads to following the others.

The Decalogue is revelation, but can be obtained through reason alone. Because of sin, humanity needed this revelation. The Decalogue is a privileged expression of the natural law.

The Ten Commandments reveal grave obligations. They are engraved on the human heart.

Chapter One: You Shall Love the Lord Your God With All Your Heart, and With All Your Soul, and With All Your Mind

Article 1 The First Commandment

"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of
the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall
not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in
heaven above, or that is n the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the
earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them.
It is written: 'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you
serve.'" (CCC 2083)

I. You Shall Worship the Lord Your God and Him Only Shall You Serve

God's first call is that man accept him and worship him. We are called to the theological virtues:

faith

hope

charity

II. Him Only Shall You Serve

The theological virtues give rise to the religious virtues:

Adoration

Prayer

Sacrifice

Promises and Vows

Social duty of religion and right to religious freedom

Questions for Reflection:

What are some ways we can nurture the theological and religious virtues in ourselves and our families?

Our we meeting what St. Paul calls our first obligation: "obedience of faith"? Our we fulfilling our duty to believe in God and bear witness to him?

CCC 2098 says "prayer is an indispensable condition for being able to obey God's commandments." How can we set aside more time for prayer in our families?

Week 39: Passages 1987 - 2051

2008-12-28T10:03:00.000-08:00

Article 2: Grace and Justification

I. Justification

Justification has been merited for us by Christ's Passion and conferred through baptism. Justification detaches man from sin and is the acceptance of God's righteousness through faith in Jesus. With justification we gain faith hope and charity, and obedience to the divine will.

"Justification is the most excellent work of God's love made manifest in
Jesus Christ and granted by the Holy Spirit." (CCC 1994)

II. Grace

Grace is free and undeserved help from God. There are several types:

habitual grace

actual grace

sacramental grace

special graces (charisms)

graces of state

Grace escapes our experience and cannot be known except through faith.

III. Merit

The merit of man comes from God. God has freely chosen to allow us to share in the work of his grace. Through this filial adoption we become co-heirs with Christ. No one can merit the initial grace of conversion, but once moved by the Holy Spirit we can then merit graces for ourselves and others. The charity of Christ is the source of all our merits.

IV. Christian Holiness

All Christian are called to holiness and the perfection of charity. Spiritual progress leads to a more intimate union with Christ.

"The way of perfection passes by way of the Cross. There is no
holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle. Spiritual progress
entails the ascesis and mortification that gradually lead to living in the peace
and joy of the Beatitudes." (CCC 2015)

Article 3: The Church, Mother and Teacher

I loved this paragraph:

"It is in the Church, in communion with all the baptized, that the
Christian fulfills his vocation. From the Church he receives the Word of
God containing the teachings of 'the law of Christ.' From the Church he
receives the grace of the sacraments that sustain him on the 'way.' From
the Church he learns the example of holiness and recognizes its model and source
in the all-holy Virgin Mary; he discerns it in the authentic witness of those
who live it; he discovers it in the spiritual tradition and the long history of
the saints who have gone before him and whom the litrugy celebrates inthe
rhythms of the sanctoral cycle." (CCC 2030)

I. Moral Life and the Magisterium of the Church

The Church is the pillar of truth. The charism of infallibility of the Magisterium ensures that Revelation, doctrine and morals can be preserved, explained and observed. The authority of the Magisterium also extends to matters of the natural law.

II. The Precepts of the Church

These are meant to garauntee the faithful the very minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort:

attend Mass on Sundays and holy days

confession at least once a year

recieve the Eucharist at least once during the Easter season

observe days of fasting and abstinence established by the church

help provide for the needs of the church

III. Moral Life and Missionary Witness

Christians are members of the body of Christ and contribute to building up the church. The witness of a Christian life of good works done in a supernatural spirit have greta power to draw others to God.

"By living with the mind of Christ, Christians hasten the coming of the
reign of God, 'a kingdom of justice, love, and peace.'" (CCC 2046)

Questions for Reflection

Do we appreciate the graces we receive? Can you think of a specific example of a time where you were given grace?

Do you appreciate the role of the Church in your life, as mother and teacher?

Are you doing your part to build up the kingdom through Christian witness, and encouraging your children to do the same?

For the next eight weeks the readings will focus on the 10 Commandments. This would be a good time to start reading again if you haven't kept up! Or to start if you haven't begun!

Week 38: Passages 1934-1986

2008-12-21T15:53:00.000-08:00

This week we finish up the topic of social justice and move on to moral law.
Natural law, the Old law and the New Law are discussed.
I'm sure I have some thoughts on these readings but I am too busy baking Christmas cookies with the kids (the 2 year-old keeps throwing flour everywhere) to comment much.
Anyone still reading along?
Merry Christmas!!!

Week 37: Passages 1865-1933

2008-12-14T05:38:00.000-08:00

These reading finish up the topic of sin, discussing the proliferation of sin, and the idea of social sin.

Then we dive into:
Chapter Two: The Human Community

Article 1The Person and Society

I. The Communal Character of the Human Vocation
People need to live in society and it is through living in community that humans fulfil their vocations. However the society must operate for the common good and should infringe on the rights of the individual.
II. Conversion and Society
Sin can pervert society. Conversion and grace are necessary. Charity leads to social reforms.

Article 2 Participation in Social Life

I. Authority

"Human Society can neither be well-ordered nor prosperous unless it has
some people invested with legitimate authority to preserve its institutions and
to devote themselves as far as is necessary to work and care for the good of
all." (CCC 1897)

Just authority derives from God. We have a duty of obedience to just authority. Such authority seeks the common good ans uses morally licit means to obtain it.

II. The Common Good

"Do not live entirely isolated, having retreated into yourselves, as if you
were already justified, but gather instead to seek the common good together."
(CCC 1905)

Common good has three essential elements:

respect for the person
social well-being and development of the group
peace and security

Humanity around the world is increasingly interconnected, we need to establish a universal common good. The common good is always geared toward human progress, "founded in truth, built up by justice and animated by love." (CCC 1912)

III. Responsibility and Participation
People are obligated to promote the common good both through personal responsibility and public life.
Those in authority should strengthen the values that encourage members of the group to serve others.

"Participation begins with education and culture. 'One is entitled to
think that the future of humanity is in the hands of those who are capable of
providing the generations to come with reasons for life and optimism.'" (CCC
1917)

Article 3 Social Justice
I. Respect for the Human Person
Social justice is linked to the common good and legitimate authority, and can only be obtained by respecting the transcendent dignity of man.

"Respect for the human person proceeds by way of respect for the principle
that 'everyone should look upon his neighbor (without any exception) as 'another
self', above all bearing in mind his life and the means necessary for living it
with dignity.'"

This duty is even more urgent in regards to the poor and disadvantaged. This duty also extends to those who think and act differently from us. Christ requires forgiveness, we hate evil but must love our enemies.

Questions for Reflection

In what ways do we work to promote the common good in our personal and public lives?
How can we instill in our children the virtues that inspire them to service of others?
Do we love our enemies? And how can we teach our children to do so also? Passage 1933 (about loving those who think differently from us and loving our enemies) makes me think of sibling rivalry! I am going to try to keep these readings in mind the next time I am refereeing a sibling squabble. Social justice begins at home :)

Week 36: Passages 1783-1864

2008-12-06T13:59:00.000-08:00

Keep reading! I'm back next week.

Week 35: Passages 1716-1782

2008-11-29T13:52:00.000-08:00

Keep reading, I'll be back soon!

Week 34: Passages 1655-1715

2008-11-23T13:48:00.000-08:00

Well, I am sadly behind in my readings. But the good news is as you read this I have got my nose in my catechism, catching up!

Week 33: Passages 1590-1654

2008-11-16T06:14:00.000-08:00

Ack, I'm getting behind! Pray for me that I get caught up for next week!

Week 32: Passages1533 - 1589

2008-11-16T06:13:00.000-08:00

Ooops! I was out in NJ visiting my mom last weekend and I never got around to posting the week's readings.
I'll be back later today with this week's!

Week 31: Passages 1480 - 1532

2008-11-02T04:50:00.000-08:00

This week we finish reading about the sacramentof Penance and cover Anointing of the Sick.

XI. The Celebration of the Sacrament of Penance
Penance is a liturgical action. It can take place individually or in a communal framework, with individual confessions. In cases of grave necessity general confession and absolution is allowed.

Article 5: The Anointing of the Sick
I. It's Foundations in the Economy of Salvation
Illness and suffering have always been among the gravest problems confronted by humans. Illness can lead to self absorption, self pity and turning away from God, or it can make us realize what is really important and turn towards God.
In the Old Testament illness is linked to sin, and having faith in God brings healing.
Christ healed many, his healing were a sign of the coming of the kingdom of God. Christ took on our sins and bore our infirmaries. His death on the cross brought a new meaning to suffering, linking it with his redemptive Passion.
The Holy Spirit gives to some the special charism of healing. But even the most fervent prayers sometimes do not heal. In the words of St. Paul:

"' My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in
weakness,' and that sufferings to be endured can mean that 'in my flesh I
complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his Body, that
is, the Church.'" (CCC 1508).

The Church strives to carry out its charge to heal the sick, through her belief in the life giving power of Christ. This presence is particularly active through the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.
There is a special sacrament for strengthening the sick: The Anointing of the Sick.

II. Who Receives and Who Administers This Sacrament?
Anyone suffering a grave illness can receive this sacrament. If a person recovers it can be received again. Only priests can administer it.

III. How is This Sacrament Celebrated?
This sacrament can be preceded by penance and followed by the Eucharist, and can take place anywhere for an individual or a group. The priests lay their hands on the sick and pray over them with the faith of the Church, then anoint them with blessed oil.

IV. The Effects of the Celebration of this Sacrament

A particular gift of the Holy Spirit- peace, courage and strength against temptation, and forgiveness of sins
Union with the passion of Christ
An ecclesial grace - the sick person contributes to the good of the People of God by uniting himself to Christ
A preparation for the final journey

V. Viaticum the Last Sacrament of the Christian
In addition to Anointing of the Sick those who are about to die are offered viaticum, the Eucharist. Received as they are passing over this Eucharist has a particular significance. The Eucharist is here the sacrament of passing over from death to life.
It can be said that Penance, Anointing of the Sick, and the Eucharist as viaticum are the sacraments that prepare us for our heavenly homeland as we complete our earthly pilgrimage.

Questions for Reflection
As much as I don't like to think about sickness and death, I found these readings comforting. The Church really has it all covered! A sacrament for ever occasion...

Week 30: Passages 1420-1479

2008-10-27T07:38:00.000-07:00

Chapter Two - The Sacraments of Healing
Article 4 The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation

I. What is this Sacrament Called?
This sacrament goes by many names:

sacrament of conversion
sacrament of Penance
sacrament of confession
sacrament of forgiveness
sacrament of Reconciliation

II. Why a Sacrament of Reconciliation after Baptism?
After Baptism we still have the inclination to sin called concupiscence.
III. The Conversion of the Baptized
Jesus calls to conversion. The baptized are called to a second conversion, which is ongoing and has a communitarian dimension. Peter's conversion after he had denied his master three times bears witness to this.
IV. Interior Penance
Jesus' call to conversion is aimed at the heart rather then exterior acts like fasting and mortification. Interior penance urges us to exterior signs. Man's heart are hardened, God must give us a new heart. The conversion of the heart is accompanied by pain and sadness known as animi cruciatus (affliction of the spirit) and compunctio cordis (repentance of heart). The Holy Spirit illuminates sin but is also the Consoler.
V. The Many Forms of Penance in the Christian Life

"The interior penance of the Christian can be expressed in many and various
ways. Scripture and the Fathers insist above all on three forms, fasting,
prayer, and almsgiving, which express conversion in relation to oneself, to God
and to others. Alongside the radical purification brought about by Baptism
or martyrdom they cite as means of obtaining forgiveness of sins: efforts at
reconciliation with one's neighbor, tears of repentance, concern for the
salvation of one's neighbor, the intercession of the saints, and the practice of
charity 'which covers a multitude of sins.'
Conversion is accomplished in daily life by the gestures of reconciliation,
concern for the poor, the exercise and defense of justice and right, by the
admission of faults to one's brethren, fraternal correction, revision of life,
examination of conscience, spiritual direction, acceptance of suffering,
endurance of persecution for the sake of righteousness. Taking up one's cross
each day and following Jesus is the surest way of penance." (CCC
1434-1435)

There are several ids to penance and conversion first the Eucharist and also reading Sacred Scripture, praying the Liturgy of the Hours and sincere worship. There are times in the liturgical year set aside for penitential practice.
The process of conversion and repentance is described by Jesus in the parable of the Prodigal son.
VI. The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation
Sin is an offense against God and a rupture of communion with him. It also damages communion with the Church. The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation expresses forgiveness and reconciliation liturgically.
Only God forgives sins. Jesus Christ the Son of God has given authority to men to exercise the power of absolution and carry on the apostolic ministry.
Jesus not only forgave sins but also made plain the effects of forgiveness: sinners were reintegrated into the community. He gave the apostles this power with his words to Peter," I will give you the keys of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
"The words bind and loose mean: whomever you exclude from your communion, will be excluded from communion with God; whomever you receive anew into your communion, God will welcome back into his. Reconciliation with the Church is inseparable from reconciliation with God." (CCC 1145)
Christ instituted the sacrament of Penance for all sinful members of his Church but especially for those who have committed a mortal sin after Baptism so that they might have a chance to recover the grace of justification.
The celebration of this sacrament has changed over time but has always included two fundamentals: the contrition, confession, and satisfaction of the sinner and God's action through the Church.
VII. The Acts of the Penitent
Contrition - perfect contrition comes from a love of God and remits venial sins and mortal sins if the sinner is resolved to go to confession at the first opportunity, imperfect contrition comes from a fear of punishment. The reception of the sacrament should be prepared for by an examination of conscience made in the light of the Word of God (Ten Commandments, Sermon on the Mount, apostolic teachings).
The Confession of Sins- confession to a priest is an essential part of sacrament of Penance. All mortal sins must be confessed and one should not receive Holy Communion until they have done so. One should confess all the sins they remember and not hide anything, so that they can be healed. Children should go to confession before receiving Holy Communion for the first time. Although it is not necessary confessing venial sins is strongly recommended.
Satisfaction- After receiving absolution one must do something to repair the damage caused by sin, in the form of penance.
VIII. The Minister of this Sacrament
Bishops and Priests have the power to forgive sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit through the sacrament of Holy Orders.
IX. The Effects of this Sacrament
This sacrament restores us to God's grace.

"In this sacrament, the sinner, placing himself before the merciful
judgement of God, anticipates in a certain way the judgement to which he will be
subjected at the end of his earthly life. For it is now, in this life,
that we are offered the choice between life and death, and it is only by the
road of conversion that we can enter the Kingdom, from which one is excluded by
grave sin. In converting to Christ through penance and faith, the sinner
passes from death to life and 'does not come to judgement'". (CCC 1470)

X. Indulgences

"'An indulgence is the remission before God of the temporal punishment due
to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who
is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of
the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with
authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints.'
'An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or
all of the temporal punishment due to sin.' The faithful can gain indulgences
for themselves or apply them to the dead." (CCC 1471)

Questions for Reflection
Well I don't know about everyone else, but these readings make we want to run out to confession! What a beautiful thing that Our Lord has given us the Church and the sacraments so that we can have easy access to the abundant mercy of God! Yesterday was Priesthood Sunday, let's all remember to thank the priests in our lives who administer these sacraments.
I am also thinking more deeply about ways I can practice penance and revive the spirit of repentance and conversion within myself.
How did you respond to these readings?

Week 29: Passages 1356 - 1419

2008-10-21T11:19:00.000-07:00

Happy reading this week!

Week 28: Passages1293-1355

2008-10-12T14:21:00.000-07:00

This week's readings cover Confirmation and the Eucharist.

II. The Signs and the Rite of Confirmation

In Biblical symbolism anointing with oil is a symbol of abundance and joy, cleansing, strengthening, healing and beautifying. Christian who receive the anointing of Confirmation share in the mission of Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit. In Confirmation we receive the mark of the Holy Spirit, a symbol of belonging. Christ himself said that he was marked with his Father's seal.

The rite of Confirmation is preceded by the consecration of the chrism oil by the bishop at the Chrism Mass. The rite itself begins with a renewal of baptismal promises to emphasize the connection between the two sacraments. The essential rite of the sacrament involves the bishop anointing the forehead with chrism through laying on of hands and saying the words, "Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit." In the Byzantine rite the forehead, eyes, nose, ears, lips, chest, back, hands and feet are all anointed. The sign of peace concludes the rite to demonstrate the ecclesial communion of the bishop with all the faithful.

III. The Effects of Confirmation

The effect of Confirmation is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as at Pentecost. It gives us the following graces:

it roots us more deeply in the divine filiation which makes us cry, "Abba! Father!"

it unites us more firmly in Christ

it increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us

it renders our bond with the Church more perfect

it gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross.

Confirmation, like Baptism, also confers an indelible spiritual mark.

IV. Who Can Receive This Sacrament?

Every baptized person not yet confirmed should receive the sacrament of Confirmation. The Church suggests the "age of discretion" be reached, but children in danger of death should be given the Sacrament. Preparation should be made including catechesis that emphasizes belonging to the universal Church and parish community, receiving the Sacrament of Penance and more intense prayers.

V. The Minister of Confirmation

The original minister of Confirmation is the bishop, but he can authorize priests to administer the sacrament. If someone is near death, any priest can give Confirmation.

Article 3 The Sacrament of the Eucharist

I. The Eucharist- Source and Summit of Liturgical Life

The other Sacraments are all bound up in the Eucharist and oriented towards it.

"The Eucharist is the efficacious sign and sublime cause of that communion in
the divine life and that unity of the People of God by which the Church is kept
in being. It is the culmination both of God's action sanctifying the world
in Christ and of the worship men offer to Christ and through him to the Father
and to the Holy Spirit."CCC 1325

In the Eucharistic celebration we unite with the heavenly liturgy and anticipate eternal life.

II. What is the Sacrament Called?

The inexhaustible richness of this sacrament is expressed in the variety of names given to it:

Eucharist

The Lord's Supper

The Breaking of Bread

The Eucharistic Assembly

The memorial of the Lord's Passion

The Holy Sacrifice

The Holy and Divine Liturgy

The Sacred Mysteries

The Most Blessed Sacrament

Holy Communion

Holy Mass

III. The Eucharist in the Economy of Salvation

The signs of bread and wine

At the heart of the Eucharistic celebration are bread and wine which through the words of consecration become Christ's body and blood. Bread and wine also symbolize the goodness and of creation as we see in the Old Testament. In the New Testament the miracles of the multiplication of the loaves and the wedding at Cana prefigure the superabundance of the Eucharist.

The institution of the Eucharist

By celebrating the Last Supper with is disciples, Christ gave the Passover its definitive meaning. Christ's death and Resurrection are the new Passover and an anticipation of the final Passover of the Church and the glory of her kingdom.

"Do this in memory of me"

Jesus commanded us to repeat his words and actions until he comes, not merely remember what he did. On the first day of the week the early Christians would meet to break bread. The celebration of the Eucharist has continued to this day, and remains the center of the Church's life.

"Thus from celebration to celebration, as they proclaim the Paschal mystery
of Jesus 'until he comes,' the pilgrim People of God advances, 'following the
narrow way of the cross,' toward the heavenly banquet, when all the elect will
be seated at the table of the kingdom." CCC 1344

IV. The Liturgical Celebration of the Eucharist

The Mass has stayed the same since the second century. It has two parts: the liturgy of the Word and the liturgy of the Eucharist.

The movement of the celebration

all gather together

liturgy of the Word

the presentation of the offerings

the anaphora

the preface

the epiclesis

the institution narrative

anamnesis

intercessions

communion

Questions for Reflection:

What a lot of great information on the Eucharist! A lot of food for reflection here!

I don't have any specific questions this week, but welcome your comments!

Week 27: Passages 1226-1292

2008-10-04T05:51:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! We are on the second page of readings! We are reading about the sacraments of initiation, today we cover Baptism and begin Confirmation.

Baptism in the Church

From the day of Pentecost the Church has celebrated Baptism. Through Baptism the believer enters into Christ's death, is buried with him and rises with him.

Augustine says of Baptism:

"The word is brought to the material element, and it becomes a sacrament." (CCC
1128)

III. How is the Sacrament of Baptism Celebrated?

The following gestures and symbols are part of the rite of Baptism:

the sign of the cross

the proclamation of the Word

exorcisms

baptismal water

essential right (immersing 3 times or pouring water 3 times while saying "N., I baptize you in the name of the Ftaher, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

annointing with the sacred chrism

in the Eastern Churches, Confirmation follows

white garment

candle, lit from the Easter candle

First Holy Communion

solemn blessing

IV. Who Can Receive Baptism?

Any unbaptized adult, child or infant can receive Baptism. Faith must continue to grow after Baptism in a community of believers. In addition to the parents, a godfather and godmother help the newly baptised on the road of a Christian life.

V. Who Can Baptize?

The ordinary ministers of Baptism are the Bishop and priest, and the deacon in the Latin Church. In the case of necesity anyone, even a non-baptized person, can baptize.

VI. The Necesity of Baptism

The Lord affirms that Baptism is necesary for salvation. However,

"God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not
bound by his sacraments." (CCC 1257)

Those who suffer death for the sake of Christ, are considered to be baptized by blood. For catechumens who die before baptism, their desire to recieve it along with repentance for their sins assures them the salvation of the sacrament.

"Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and his Church, but seeks
the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it,
can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired
Baptism explicitly if they had known its necesity." (CCC 1260)

The Church entrusts babies who die without Baptism to the mercy of God.

VII. The Grace of Baptism

In Baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin, personal sins and punishment for sin. The temporal consequences of sin (suffering, illness, death) remain as does concupiscence. Baptism also makes us a new creature, an adopted son of God, member of Christ, and temple of the Holy Spirit. We are incorporated into the Church and the common priesthood of all believers. Baptism unites us with all Christians, even those who are not in full communion with the Church. Baptism gives us an indelible spiritual mark that shows we belong to Christ.

Article 2 The Sacrament of Confirmation

Confirmation is necesary for the completion of baptismal grace. Confirmation enriches us with the strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith.

I. Confirmation in the Economy of Salvation

The Old Testament prophets announced that the Spirit of the Lord would rest on the Messiah. The descent of the Holy Spirit at Jesus' baptism was a sign that he was the Son of God. Jesus promised the outpouring the Spirit to everyone, which he fulfilled at Pentecost.

From the time of the apostles, the newly baptised were given the gift of the Spirit through the laying on of hands to complete the grace of Baptism. Very early an anointing with perfumed oil was added to the laying on of hands.

"This annointing highlights the name 'Christian' which means 'annointed' and
derives from that of Christ himself who God 'annointed with the Holy Spirit.'"
(CCC 1289).

In the early Church Confirmation was linked with Baptism and was performed at the same time. In the Eastern Church this is still the case.

Question for Reflection:

How can we teach our children about Baptism? Do you have any special traditions for celebrating their Baptism days?

Week 26: Passages 1168-1225

2008-09-30T11:37:00.000-07:00

Well, life got in the way again for me this week, so no blogging on these readings- I'll be lucky if I can mange to find time to read them! But feel free to share your comments, they really encourage me!!!

Week 25: Passages 1130- 1167

2008-09-21T07:01:00.000-07:00

This week we finish up Chapter One (The Liturgy- Work of the Holy Trinity) of Part Two (The Celebration of the Christian Mystery).
We are discussing the sacraments: the sacraments of faith, sacraments of salvation, and now the sacraments of eternal life.

V. The Sacraments of Eternal Life
In the sacraments, the Church shares in the guarantee of eternal life with Christ.
Chapter Two: The Sacramental Celebration of the Christian Mystery
Article 1: Celebrating the Churches Liturgy
I. Who Celebrates?
The whole community of the body of Christ celebrates the sacramental liturgy. All the baptized share in the common priesthood of Christ and offer sacrifices for the good of all. Some are called to the sacrament of Holy Orders to act as an “icon” of Christ. There are also particular ministries not consecrated by Holy Orders, such as servers, readers, commentors and members of the choir.
II. How is the Liturgy Celebrated?
Signs and symbols
Words and actions
Singing and music
Holy images
III. When is the Liturgy Celebrated?
Liturgical seasons
The Church commemorates the saving work of her divine spouse on certain days throughout the year. She unfolds the whole mystery of his saving work over the course of the year. From the time of the Mosaic Law the people of God have celebrated fixed feast days to commemorate the astonishing actions of God.
The Church’s celebration is marked by the word “Today!” – echoing the prayer the Lord taught her.

“This ‘today’ of the living God which man is called to enter is ‘the hour’ of
Jesus’ Passover, which reaches across and underlies all history.” (CCC 1165)

The Lord’s day
In a tradition handed down from the apostles the Church celebrates the Paschal Mystery every seventh day. This day is both the first day of the week, the memorial of the first day of creation, and the eighth day on which Christ institutes the “day that has no evening”.
The Lord’s supper is its center, and this day is the most important day for liturgical assembly.

“When we ponder, o Christ, the marvels accomplished on this day, the Sunday
of your holy resurrection, we say: ‘Blessed is Sunday, for on it began
creation…the world’s salvation…the renewal of the human race…On Sunday heaven
and earth rejoiced and the whole universe was filled with light. Blessed
is Sunday, for on it were opened the gates of paradise so that Adam and all the
exiles might enter it without fear.” (CCC 1167)

Have a blessed Sunday!

Week 24: Passages 1076-1129

2008-09-20T06:16:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry I am way late posting this weeks readings, I had to fly out to New Jersey for my mother's back surgery. She is recovering well, please pray for her continued battle with cancer. I'll post this week's readings by Monday. Hopefully.

Week 23: Passages 1030-1075

2008-09-08T12:55:00.000-07:00

Passages 1030-1075
This is an exciting week! We finish Part One and embark on Part Two! I'm taking a deep breath and looking forward to a new section.

III. The Final Purification, or Purgatory
All who die in God’s grace but are still imperfectly purified, must be cleansed in purgatory. Teachings on purgatory are based on Scripture which speaks of a cleansing fire and the practice of praying for the dead.
IV. Hell
We can choose to be separated from God forever, a state known as Hell. The teachings of the Church on Hell are a call to man to use his time on earth wisely and consider his eternal destiny. God predestines no one for Hell, a choice is necessary. Eternal separation from God is the chief punishment of Hell.
V. The Last Judgment
The Last Judgment will come when Christ returns in glory. He will separate the good from the wicked and all their deeds will be known. Only the Father knows the hour. We shall know the meaning of the work of creation and the economy of salvation.
VI. The Hope of the New Heaven and the New Earth
At the end of time, the Kingdom of God will come to fullness. There will be a new heaven and a new earth and God will dwell among men. The unity of the human race, which God willed from creation will be restored.
AMEN
The Creed ends with the word ”amen” just like the last book of the Bible and all our prayers. It means “believe” and expresses God’s faithfulness towards us and our trust in Him.

“Thus the Creed’s final ‘Amen’ repeats and confirms its first words: ‘I
believe.’ To believe is to say ‘Amen’ to God’s words, promises and commandments;
to entrust oneself completely to him who is the ‘Amen’ of infinite love and
perfect faithfulness. The Christian’s everyday life will then be the ‘Amen’ to
the ‘I believe’ of our baptismal profession of faith: May your Creed be fro you
a mirror. Look at yourself in it, to see if you believe everything you say you
believe. And rejoice in your faith each day.” (CCC 1064)
“Jesus Christ
himself is the ‘Amen’.” (CCC 1065)

PART TWO The Celebration of the Christian Mystery
It is through the liturgy that the work of our redemption is accomplished. It is the participation of the People of God in the work of God. Through the liturgy Christ continues our redemption.
The liturgy makes the Church present as a visible sign of the communion between God and man. It is also a participation in Christ's own prayer to the Father.
Catechesis is intrinsically linked to the liturgy and the sacraments.

"The liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is
directed; it is also the font from which all her power flows." (CCC 1074)

Question for reflection:

As we finish Part One on the profession of faith, do you have a better understanding of the Creed and what we profess to believe? I think I may have to go back over my notes :)

Week 22: Passages 992-1029

2008-09-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

Passages 992 – 1029
I. Christ’s Resurrection and Ours
Belief in God has always included a hope in the resurrection, and when Jesus came he made this more specific by linking the Resurrection to himself. The resurrection f the body is one of the most opposed points of the Christian faith.
How do the dead rise?
In death, the soul is separated from the body which decays. At the resurrection we will be united with our glorified bodies. All will be resurrected. Those who did good will rise to life, and those who did evil will rise to be judged. Just as Christ raised his own body our earthly bodies will be changed into immortal glorious bodies. This exceeds our understanding, but the Eucharist gives us a foretaste. The resurrection of the dead will occur on the last day, the end of the world.
Risen with Christ
In a certain way we are already risen with Christ. Through our baptism we are united with Christ, but this life is a mystery “hidden with Christ in God.” Through the Eucharist we are part of the Body of Christ. Because of this we should treat our bodies with respect and dignity, and also treat others with the same respect, particularly the suffering.
II. Dying in Christ Jesus
Death

Death is the end of earthly life, it reminds us we have a limited time to live our lives to fulfillment.

Death is the consequence of sin. The Church teaches that man was created to be immortal but death entered the world because of sin, and is the last enemy to be conquered.

Death is transformed by Christ. The obedience of Jesus transformed the curse into a blessing.

The meaning of Christian death
In death God calls man to himself. Death is the end of our earthly pilgrimage, the time of grace and mercy God gives us to decide our ultimate destiny. The Church encourages us to prepare ourselves for the hour of our death, by asking the Mother of God to intercede for us “at the hour of our death” and to entrust ourselves to St. Joseph, patron of a happy death.

Article 12 “I Believe in Life Everlasting”

I. The Particular Judgement

Each man is judged immediately after his death, and receives either entrance into heaven (immediately or after purification) or everlasting damnation.

II. Heaven

"Those who die in God's grace and friendship and are perfectly purified
live for ever with Christ. They are like God for ever, for they 'see him as he
is,' face to face." (CCC 1023)
"This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity- this communion of life and
love with the Trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels and all the blessed- is
called 'heaven.' Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest
human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness." (CCC 1024)

Jesus opened heaven for us, and shares his glory with all who believe in him and remain faithful to him. Heaven is a mystery beyond description. Scripture uses images of light, peace, wedding feast, wine of the kingdom, the Father's house, the heavenly Jerusalem, and paradise. God cannot be seen as he is, unless he wills it and and gives man the capacity to understand the mystery. This is called "the beatific vision".

In heaven the blessed continue to fulfil God's will toward men and all creation.

Question for Reflection: What are we doing to prepare for the hour of our deaths? I know death is NOT something I think about very often as I am surrounded by all these little ones so full of life. Am I teaching my children about heaven?

Week 21: Passages 954 - 991

2008-08-25T08:04:00.000-07:00

Passages 954- 991

II. The Communion of the Church of Heaven and Earth
Some pilgrims are still on earth, others have died and are being purified, while others are in glory. Those in heaven intercede for us.

“Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole
Church more firmly in holiness…They do not cease to intercede with the Father
for us, as they proffer the merits which they acquired on earth through the one
mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus…So by their fraternal concern is our
weakness greatly helped.” (CCC 956)

Just as communion among our fellow pilgrims brings us closer to Christ so does our communion with the saints. Our prayer is capable of helping the dead and allowing them to intercede for us.

Paragraph 6. Mary – Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church
I. Mary’s Motherhood with Regard to the Church
Mary’s role in the Church flows from her union with Christ. She was united with her son from his virginal conception to the hour of his Passion, and after his Ascension aided the beginnings of the Church with her prayers. Her Assumption is a unique participation I her son’s Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians.
The Virgin Mary, by her obedience to the Father’s will, his Son’s redemptive work, and every prompting of the Spirit is the Church’s model of faith and charity.
Her singular obedience, faith, hope and charity makes her our mother in the order of grace.

"This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from
the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she
sustained
without wavering beneath the cross, until eternal fulfillment of
all the elect.
Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office
but by her manifold
intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal
salvation…Therefore the
Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the
titles of Advocate, Helper,
Benefactress, and Mediatrix.” (CCC
969)
“Mary’s function as mother of men in no way obscures or diminishes this
unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power.” (CCC 970)

II. Devotion to the Blessed Virgin

“’All generations will call me blessed’: ‘The Church’s devotion to the Blessed
Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship.’” (CCC 971)
“’….This very special
devotion…differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate
Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this
adoration.’” (CCC 971)

The liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayers such as the Rosary express this devotion to the Virgin Mary.
III. Mary – Eschatological Icon of the Church
In Mary we can contemplate the mystery of what the Church is on her pilgrimage of faith and what she will be at the end of the journey.

“In the meantime the Mother of Jesus, in the glory which she possesses in body
and soul in heaven, is the image and beginning of the Church as it is to be
perfected in the world to come. Likewise she shines forth on earth, until
the day of the Lord shall come, a sign of certain hope and comfort to the
pilgrim people of God.” (CCC 972)

Article 10 “I Believe in the Forgiveness of Sins”
I. One Baptism for the Forgiveness of Sins
Baptism is the first sacrament of forgiveness of sins. Baptism cleanses us, but we still have an inclination towards evil that we must battle. So the Church gives us another sacrament to forgive sins up to our deaths, the sacrament of Penance.
II. The Power of the Keys
Christ sent his apostles “so that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations.” (CCC 981)

“The Church has received the keys of the Kingdom of heaven so that, in her, sins
may be forgiven through Christ’s blood and the Holy Spirit’s action. In this
Church, the soul dead through sin comes back to life in order to live with
Christ, whose grace has saved us.” (CCC 981)

There is no offense too serious to be forgiven, Christ died for all men.

Article 11 “I Believe in the Resurrection of the Body”

We believe that just as Christ rose from the dead and lives forever, we will be resurrected (both our soul and mortal body) on the last day. This has been a Christian belief from the beginning.

Questions for Reflection:

In what ways do you ask the saints to intercede for you? How can we teach our children about the saints? For a fun craft, check out the spoon saints at Cottage Blessings.

Do you pray for the dead? It seems to me I once saw a great idea for making an All Souls Day banner with reminders to pray for deceased friends and relatives, but I can't remember where.

Which are your favorite Marian devotions? How can we introduce these to our children? Meredith at Sweetness and Light has tons of ideas for Marian devotions for children. In our house our Rosary box has been a big hit and an aid to reflecting on the mysteries of the Rosary.

Week 20: Passages 901 - 953

2008-08-18T06:27:00.000-07:00

Passages 901-953
These readings cover the vocation of lay people, the consecrated life, and then begins to explain the communion of saints.
The participation of lay people in Christ’s priestly office

“’Hence the laity, dedicated as they are to Christ and anointed by the Holy
Spirit, are marvelously called and prepared so that even richer fruits of the
Spirit may be produced in them. For all their works, prayers, and
apostolic undertakings, family and married life, daily work, relaxation of mind
and body, if they are accomplished in the Spirit- indeed even the hardships of
life if patiently born- all these become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
through Jesus Christ. In celebration of the Eucharist these may most
fittingly be offered to the Father along with the body of the Lord. And so,
worshipping everywhere by their holy actions, the laity consecrate the world
itself to God, everywhere offering worship by the holiness of their lives.’”
(CCC 901)

Lay people can serve as lectors or acolytes, and if there is necessity can exercise the liturgy of the word, preside over liturgical prayers, confer Baptism, and distribute Holy Communion.
Participation in Christ’s prophetic office
Lay people fulfill their prophetic mission through evangelization, both through the witness of their lives and through direct teaching of the Gospel to others.
Participation in Christ’s kingly office
One way we can participate in Christ’s kingship is to have authority over our passions, and not let sin reign in our hearts.
Another is to cooperate with our pastors in service to the ecclesial community.

The Consecrated Life
The consecrated life is characterized by a vow of chastity, poverty, and obedience. It is a way to become more intimate with God, to dedicate oneself totally to Him.
One great tree, with many branches
There are many different religious families, all of which aid their members in progressing in holiness and benefit the Body of Christ.
The eremitic life
Hermits devote their lives to praise God through separation from the world, prayer, penance and solitude. They manifest the interior aspect of the mystery of the Church, personal intimacy with Christ.
Consecrated virgins and widows
Virgins or widows can be consecrated by the diocesan Bishop and are then betrothed mystically to Christ. They become a sign of the Church’s love for Christ and are called to prayer, penance, service, and apostolic activity.
Religious life
Religious life is distinguished from the other forms of consecrated life by its liturgical character, the public profession of the evangelical counsels (chastity, poverty, and obedience), fraternal life, and the witness given to the union of Christ with the Church.
Religious life is a gift from the Lord, and signifies the charity of God. All religious help the diocesan bishop in his pastoral duty. Historically religious families have been instrumental in spreading the faith.
Secular institutes
A secular institute is an institute of consecrated life in which the faithful living in the world share the task of evangelization and act as “leaven in the world.”
Societies in apostolic life
Alongside the different forms of consecrated life there are societies for members without religious vows to pursue the purpose of the society.
Consecration and mission: proclaiming the King who is coming

“In the Church, which is like the sacrament- the sign and instrument- of God’s
own life, the consecrated life is seen as a special sign of the mystery of
redemption. To follow and imitate Christ more nearly and to manifest more
clearly his self-emptying is to be more deeply present to one’s contemporaries,
in the heart of Christ. For those who are on this ‘narrower’ path
encourage their brethren by their example, and bear striking witness ‘that the
world cannot be transfigured and offered to God without the spirit of the
Beatitudes.’” (CCC 932)

Paragraph 5. The Communion of Saints
The Church is the communion of Saints, all the faithful form one body and there is a communion of goods.
Communion in Spiritual Goods

Communion in faith – faith is enriched by being shared
Communion of the sacraments – the sacraments are sacred links uniting the faithful to one another, and binding them to Jesus Christ. The term communion can be applied to all of them in particular the Eucharist.
Communion of the charisms – the Holy Spirit gives special graces to the faithful for the good of the church.
“They had everything in common” – Everything a Christian has is a possessed by all, a Christian is a steward of the Lord’s gifts and should help the needy.
Communion in charity – Every act of charity profits all, and every sin harms all.

Questions for Reflection:

In these reading we read about the mission of the lay faithful. In what ways do you participate in Christ’s priestly, prophetic, and kingly office (CCC 901-913)?
CCC 953 discusses communion in charity. Do you think of your sin as affecting the entire body of Christ?

Week 19: Passages 863- 900

2008-08-09T07:05:00.000-07:00

I’m back! I am going to tell you why I haven’t been blogging, but I have to whisper as there are certain relatives who haven’t been filled in yet. So gather in…
{My husband and I are blessed to be expecting a new little baby due in March! We are so excited, but I have been very sick and tired with morning sickness that lasts all day. It is getting better now though, so I hope to be able to keep up with blogging again.}
I also want to encourage anyone who has fallen away from doing the readings, to just jump back in where we are! Think about it, even if you don’t get through the whole Catechism, any reading is going to beneficial, and it makes it more fun if I have company!

This week we read passages 863-900.

The Church is Apostolic
The Church remains true to the faith of her origins, handed down from Peter and the Apostles and it is her mission to go out into the world. All Christians share in this mission. The fruitfulness of this apostolate depends on a deep union with Christ.
The Church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic because it is in her that the kingdom of heaven already exists and will be fulfilled at the end of time.

“The kingdom has come in the person of Christ and grows mysteriously in the
hearts of those incorporated into him, until its full eschatological
manifestation. Then all those he has redeemed and made ‘holy and blameless
before him in love,’ will be gathered together as one People of God, the ‘Bride
of the Lamb,’ ‘the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,
having the glory of God.’ For ‘the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and
o them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.’” (CCC 865)

Paragraph 4. Christ’s Faithful – Hierarchy, Laity, Consecrated Life
The Christian faithful all participate in the building up of the body of Christ. There are differences between members, but they all share one unified mission. The apostles and their successors are entrusted with teaching, sanctifying and governing in Christ’s name. The laity have their own assignment, they are made to share in the priestly, prophetical, and kingly office of Christ. In addition some from both groups are consecrated to God in their own special manner.
I. The Hierarchical Constitution of the Church
Why the ecclesial ministry?
No one can believe in the Gospel without first hearing it. No one can bestow grace unto himself. Thus Christ authorized his ministers to act in persona Christi Capitis. The ministry by which God’s grace is given is called a “sacrament”. The ecclesial ministry has several characteristics: a character of service, a collegial character, and a personal character.
The Episcopal college and its head, the Pope
When Christ instituted the Twelve, he set Peter apart and gave him the keys of his Church. The Pope and the Bishops are the successors of the apostles.

“The Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter’s successor, ‘is the perpetual and visible
source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company
of the faithful.’” (CCC 882)

The teaching office
The Bishops, with priests as co-workers, have as their first task to preach the Gospel to all men. In order to preserve the purity of the faith Christ granted the Magisterium the charism of infallibility in matters of faith and morals.
The sanctifying office
The Bishop is the steward of grace, particularly in the Eucharist which he offers personally or through his co-worker priests. The Eucharist is the center of life of the particular church. The bishop and priests sanctify the church through their prayer, work and example.
The governing office
The Bishops govern the particular Churches assigned to them by counsels, exhortations, and example, but above all the authority of sacred power. Bishops should follow the model of the Good Shepherd, and their authority must be in communion with the Pope.
II. The Lay Faithful
The vocation of lay people

“’By reason of their special vocation it belongs to the laity to seek the
kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and directing them according to
God’s will…It pertains to them in a special way to illuminate and order all
temporal things with which they are closely associated that these may always be
effected and grow according to Christ and may be to the glory of the Creator and
Redeemer.’” (CCC 898)

Lay Christians are particularly responsible for permeating social, political, and economic spheres with the demands of Christian doctrine and life.
Lay Christians have the right and duty to spread the divine message of salvation. They are essential to the ecclesial community, without them the apostolate of the pastors would not be effective.

Question for reflection:
How can we live out this charge from CCC 898 to “illuminate and order all temporal things with which [we] are closely associated that these may always be effected and grow according to Christ and may be to the glory of the Creator and Redeemer”?

Week 18: Passages 823 - 862

2008-08-04T18:46:00.000-07:00

Anyone still out there? I'll be back soon! I hope :) And I'll fill in on what's been up around here, keeping me from the keyboard...

Week 17: Passages 787-822

2008-07-30T05:43:00.000-07:00

Enjoy this week's readings, I hope to be back to blogging soon :)

Week 16: Passages 748-786

2008-07-22T06:28:00.000-07:00

Great readings this week! I can't wait to get back into the blogging swing again! Thanks for the prayers, hopefully soon I'll be back with updates of whats been going on around here.

Week 15: Passages 702-747

2008-07-16T12:21:00.000-07:00

Due to some family circumstances blogging will be postponed for a few weeks. I'll just post the weekly readings, no notes. Feel free to comment as always. Talk amongst yourselves! I hope to be back soon.

Week 14: Passages 668-702

2008-07-05T05:57:00.000-07:00

Article 7 “From Thence He Will Come Again To Judge The Living and the Dead”
I. He Will Come Again in Glory
Christ is the head of the Church, his body. At the Ascension God’s plan came to fulfillment, we are living in the “last hour”, Christ has brought us redemption by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Church. Christ’s kingdom is present in the Church. The Church on earth is endowed with a sanctity that is real but imperfect.
Christ’s reign is yet to be fulfilled by his return to earth. Thus the Church carries the mark of the world and we pray for Christ’s return. This is a time of the Spirit and of witness, of distress and of waiting and watching.
The Messiah could come again at any moment, he will come when “all Israel” recognizes him. Before this coming the church will pass through a great trial which will test the faith of many. This religious deception will take the form of an Antichrist. We can see this deception already in the world every time someone attempts to create here in history what can only happen at the last judgement.

“The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only though this final Passover,
when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection. The kingdom
will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a
progressive ascendancy, but only by God’s victory over the final unleashing of
evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven. God’s triumph
over the revolt of evil will take the form of the Last Judgment after the final
cosmic upheaval of this passing world.” (CCC 677)

II. To Judge the Living and the Dead

“Following in the steps of the prophets and John the Baptist, Jesus announced
the judgment of the Last Day in his preaching. Then will the conduct of
each one and the secrets of hearts be brought to light. Then will the
culpable unbelief that counted the offer of God’s grace as nothing will be
condemned. Our attitude about our neighbor will disclose acceptance or
refusal of grace and divine love. On the last day Jesus will say: ‘Truly I
say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it
to me.’
Christ is the Lord of eternal life. Full right to pass
definitive judgment on the works and hearts of men belongs to him as redeemer of
the world. He ‘acquired’ this right by his cross. The Father has given
‘all judgment to the Son.’ Yet the Son did not come to judge, but to save
and to give the life he has in himself. By rejecting grace in this life,
one already judges oneself, receives according to one’s works, and can even
condemn oneself for all eternity by rejecting the Spirit of love.” (CCC
678-679)

Chapter Three: I Believe in the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the first to awaken faith within us, but the last of the persons of the Holy Trinity to be revealed. God revealed himself to us gradually so we wouldn’t get all overwhelmed and confused!
The Holy Spirit was at work with the Father and the Son from the beginning but it is only now in these “end times” that the Spirit is recognized and welcomed.

“Now can this divine plan, accomplished in Christ, the firstborn and head of the
new creation, be embodied in mankind by the outpouring of the Spirit: as the
Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of
the body, and the life everlasting.” (CCC 686)

Article 8: “I Believe in the Holy Spirit”
God’s Spirit reveals God and Christ, but we cannot hear his voice and he tells us nothing about himself. We can only see the movement through which he reveals the Word to us. When we believe in Christ he comes to dwell in us.
In the Church we can know the Holy Spirit:

in the Scriptures he inspired;

in the Tradition, to which the Church Fathers are always timely witnesses;

in the Church’s Magisterium, which he assists;

in the sacramental liturgy, through its words and symbols, in which the Holy Spirit puts us into communion with Christ;

in prayer, wherein he intercedes for us;

in the charisms and ministries by which the Church is built up;

in the signs of apostolic and missionary life;

in the witness of saints through whom he manifests his holiness and continues the work of salvation.

I. The Joint Mission of the Son and the Spirit
When the Father sends his word he always sends his Breath. The Holy Spirit is invisible but nonetheless shares in the divinity and mission of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit reveals Christ to us.
II. The Name, Titles, and Symbols of the Holy Spirit
“Holy Spirit” is the proper name of the third person of the Trinity. The Church has received this name from the Lord, it comes from the Hebrew word “ruah” which means breath, wind, or air.
Titles of the Holy Spirit

Paraclete (advocate, consoler)

Spirit of truth

Spirit of the promise

Spirit of adoption

Spirit of Christ

Spirit of the Lord

Spirit of God

Spirit of Glory

Symbols of the Holy Spirit

Water

Anointing

Fire

Cloud and Light

The seal

The hand

The finger

The dove

Questions for Reflection:

CCC 678-679 really gave me a kick in the pants! It reminded me that so often we can reject or accept grace. I'm going to read those passages over a few times this week.
I didn't realize there were so many symbols of the Holy Spirit! I think I knew about fire and the dove. Read CCC 694-701 to learn about the rest.

Week 13: Passages 624-667

2008-06-28T06:38:00.000-07:00

We are up to passages 624-667. These readings cover the death and Resurrection of Jesus.

Paragraph 3. Jesus Christ was Buried
Before his Easter Resurrection Christ actually experienced death, his soul was separated from his body so that he “might be, in his person the meeting point for death and life.” (CCC 625)
Jesus’ body was kept free from corruption, because his divine person was still present in his body and soul even though they were separated from each other. This is evidenced in his Resurrection on the third day as the fourth day was the day it was traditionally believed that decay began. Baptism (which was originally immersion) signifies our descent in to the tomb with Christ so that we may also experience being raised up with him.

Article 5 “He Descended Into Hell On the Third Day He Rose Again”
Paragraph 1. Christ Descended into Hell

Jesus experienced death as all men do, but when he descended into Hell it was “as Savior, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits imprisoned there.” (CCC 632)
“Hell” refers to the dwelling place of all souls who died awaiting the Redeemer, because they are deprived of the vision of God. Jesus delivers the righteous, but not the damned. The descent into Hell brings the Gospel message to fulfillment, spreading it to all people of all times. This brief event of Jesus’ descent is vastly significant.

“Jesus, ‘the Author of life,’ by dying destroyed ‘him who has the power of
death, that is, the devil, and [delivered] all those who through fear of death
were subject to lifelong bondage.’ Henceforth the risen Christ holds ‘the keys
of Death and Hades,’ so that ‘at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in
heaven and on earth and under the earth.’” (CCC 635)

Paragraph 2. On the Third Day He Rose from the Dead

“The Resurrection of Jesus is the crowning truth of our faith in Christ, a faith
believed and lived as the central truth by the first Christian community; handed
on as fundamental by Tradition; established by the documents of the New
Testament; and preached as an essential part of the Paschal mystery along with
the cross.” (CCC 638)

I. The Historical and Transcendent Event
The Resurrection of Christ was a real event that is historically verified. When the disciples enter the empty tomb they find evidence that the absence of Jesus’ body is not of human doing and that Jesus has not simply returned to earthly life as Lazarus did. This is suggested in the Gospel when John enters the tomb, “he saw and believed.” (CCC 640)
Mary Magdalene and the holy women were the first to encounter the Risen Christ, and they became the first messengers of Christ’s Resurrection for the apostles. Next Jesus appeared to Peter, then the other apostles and many more disciples.
All these testimonies provide evidence of the Resurrection as a historical fact. The apostles faith was put to the test by Jesus’ death on the cross, many were demoralized and had a hard time believing the tales of the Resurrection. Even when Jesus appeared to them directly they wondered if he was a ghost.
The Resurrection did not spring from the faith of the apostles, but rather their faith in the Resurrection came from divine grace and their direct experience with the reality of the risen Jesus.
Jesus’ risen body bears the marks of the passion, but it is a glorified body with new properties. Christ is now outside of time and space and belongs to his Father’s divine realm. His body is filled with the Holy Spirit so that he can share his divine life with us.
The Resurrection is a mystery that was not witnessed by anyone. It is a transcendent event, while historically verifiable surpasses history. That is why Christ appeared not to everyone but to his disciples so that they might be his witnesses to the people.
II. The Resurrection – A Work of the Holy Trinity
In the work of the Resurrection the three divine persons act together as one while manifesting their own characteristics.
III. The Meaning and Saving Significance of the Resurrection
Christ’s Resurrection is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. It is also proof of Jesus’ divinity. Christ’s death liberates us from sin, and his Resurrection opens the way to new life. The new life is the justification that reinstates God’s grace, and allows us to become adopted children of God. Finally, Christ’s Resurrection is the source of our future resurrection.

“In Christ, Christians ‘have tasted…the powers of the age to come’ and their
lives are swept up by Christ into the heart of divine life, so that they may
‘live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was
raised.’” (CCC 655)

Article 6 “He Ascended Into Heaven and is Seated at the Right Hand of the Father”
Christ’s body is glorified at the Resurrection, but that glory is veiled until the event of the Ascension when he takes his place at the right hand of the Father to remain there for all time.
The Ascension is linked to the Incarnation, only one who came from the Father can return to the Father. Jesus is our high priest who enters the greatest sanctuary of all, heaven itself, to permanently make intercession for all who draw near to God through him.
Being seated at the right hand of the Father signifies the beginning of the Messiah’s kingdom and the fulfillment of the prophecy:

“To him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and
languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall
not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” (CCC 664)

Questions for Reflection:

CCC 641 describes the role of women in passing on the Gospel message. What does that mean for us? How can we be witnesses to the men around us?

CCC 644 states that the apostle's faith was born from divine grace and direct experience of the reality of the risen Jesus. How can we nourish our faith by more fully experiencing Jesus?

Week 12: Passages 583- 623

2008-06-23T20:40:00.000-07:00

This week our readings will cover passages 583-623. I'm sorry I don't have any notes yet, last week I helped run a Vacation Bible School (very fun!) and I just returned from a weekend of camping. I had optimistic thoughts of getting in the door and typing up some Catechism notes, but baseball games, piles of camping equipment and VBS supplies, and tired and dirty children in need of baths and bedtimes intervened. So maybe I'll get a chance to add some notes, but if I don't I am depending on YOU my loyal Catechism reading buddies! Let me know what part of these readings struck you!

Week 11: Passages 541-582

2008-06-15T20:39:00.000-07:00

Our readings for today cover passages 541-582.

We continue with the mysteries of Jesus’ public life:

The Kingdom of God is at hand
After John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee and preached the Gospel. He gathered men into the family of God, the Church, the seed of the kingdom. By his death and Resurrection he would accomplish the coming of the kingdom and draw all men to himself.

The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God
Everyone is called to enter the kingdom by accepting Jesus’ word. The kingdom belongs to the poor and the lowly. To them the Father reveals what is hidden from the wise. Sinners are invited to conversion. The invitation comes in the form of parables.

“Through his parables he invites people to the feast of the kingdom, but he also
asks for a radical choice: to gain the kingdom, one must give everything.
Words are not enough; deeds are required. The parables are like mirrors for man:
will he be hard soil or good earth for the word? What use has he made of the
talents he has received? Jesus and the presence of the kingdom in this world are
secretly at the heart of the parables. One must enter the kingdom, that is,
become a disciple of Christ, in order to ‘know the secrets of the kingdom of
heaven.’ For those who stay ‘outside,’ everything remains enigmatic.” (CCC
546)

The signs of the Kingdom of God
Jesus performed miracles to show that he is the Son of God. Some accused him of acting by the power of demons. Jesus freed some individuals from the earthly evils of hunger, injustice, illness, and death, but he came not eliminate these evils but rather the greatest evil: sin. The coming of God’s kingdom means the defeat of Satan’s.

The keys of the kingdom
Jesus chose twelve men to be with him and assist him in his mission. Peter holds a special place, because of his faith he became the rock on which Jesus built his church. Jesus gave the authority of the church to the apostles and in particular Peter, to whom he gave “the keys of the kingdom.”

“’I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on
earth shall be bound in heaven.’ The power of the keys designates authority to
govern the house of God, which is the Church. Jesus, the Good Shepherd,
confirmed this mandate after his Resurrection: ‘Feed my sheep.’ The power to
‘bind and loose’ connotes the authority to absolve sins, to pronounce doctrinal
judgments, and to make disciplinary decisions in the Church.” (CCC 553)

A foretaste of the Kingdom: the Transfiguration
Jesus reveals his divine glory on the mountain, and also that in obedience to the Father he must suffer and die to enter into his glory. At Jesus’ baptism he revealed the mystery of our first regeneration (baptism) and at the Transfiguration he reveals our second regeneration: our own Resurrection when our bodies will be like his glorious body. It is also a reminder that we enter the kingdom of God through persecution.

Jesus’ ascent to Jerusalem
Jesus attempts to gather the people of Jerusalem around him, but he weeps when they reject him.

Jesus’ messianic entrance into Jerusalem
Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem manifested the coming of the kingdom and the Messiah. Jesus comes with humility, riding on a donkey, and is welcomed by the poor and by children. Their acclamation of “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” is repeated in the Sanctus of the Eucharistic Liturgy.

Article 4 “Jesus Christ Suffered Under Pontius Pilot, Was Crucified, Died, And Was Buried”
The Paschal mystery is the center of the Good News.

“Faith can therefore try to examine the circumstances of Jesus’ death,
faithfully handed on by the Gospels and illuminated by other historical sources,
the better to understand the meaning of the Redemption.” (CCC 573)

Paragraph 1. Jesus and Israel
In many ways Jesus’ words and deed were a “sign of contradiction” for the Jews, particularly the Pharisees. Jesus seems to be acting against the following essential institutions:

submission to the whole of the Law in its written commandments and, for the Pharisees, in the interpretation of Oral tradition;

the centrality of the Temple at Jerusalem as the holy place where God’s presence dwells in a special way;

faith in the one God whose glory no man can share.

I. Jesus and the Law
Jesus came not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. Only he could keep the whole Law perfectly, he came to redeem all those who could not. In Jesus, the Law is no longer written in stone but “upon the heart”.
Jesus taught with divine authority, he clarified and perfected certain aspects of the Law, which did not make him popular with Jewish leaders. I found this detail interesting:

“Going even further, Jesus perfects the dietary law, so important in Jewish
daily life, by revealing its pedagogical meaning through a divine
interpretation: ’Whatever goes into a man from the outside cannot defile
him…(Thus he declared all foods clean.). What comes out of a man is what defiles
a man. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts…’”
(CCC 582)

Questions for Reflection:

What jumped out at you from these readings? Is anyone still with me?

CCC 559 describes Jesus’ messianic entrance into Jerusalem and states that the “subjects of God’s kingdom on that day are children and God’s poor”. In our own faith how can we be more like children and God’s poor?

St. James says, “Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.” (CCC 578) Yikes, what a kick in the pants, eh? That’s a wake-up call for me, as I know I have the tendency to get complacent about my sinfulness since I don’t commit any of the biggies: adultery, murder, etc.

Weeks 9 and 10: Catechism for Kids!

2008-06-14T05:59:00.000-07:00

My kids and I recently did a project that would be a great tie-in to the past few weeks readings on the Blessed Mother and the mysteries of Jesus. You can see pictures of our Rosary box here. And here are the directions. Also check out the First Heralds blog, there are some great ideas for introducing the faith to little ones there.
Another fun idea would be to have your kids make Rosary books with a page for each mystery, or a book or timeline of Christ's life.

I was excited to read passages 531-534 on the mysteries of Jesus' hidden life because I just heard a talk at a Homeschool Conference on the same topic!
Fr. Pablo Straub discussed Pope Paul VI homily on the life of the Holy Family as characterized by three things:

work
silence
prayer

I'm sure there are lots of things one could take away from his talk, but my personal resolution was to attempt to bring these three elements into my family by getting my kids on a schedule (including prayer times), getting them involved in more chores, and increase the silence in our home by turning off the tv more (since the toddler does not come with a volume dial).

I knew from experience that implementing all these changes all at once would be a recipe for crash and burn, so I resolved to introduce things gradually. I started with a schedule for meals, and added a prayer (in addition to Grace) to each meal. So at breakfast we pray a decade of the Rosary and a Morning Offering and at lunch the Angelus. We also have a snack at 10am and 3pm and I'd like to add the Chaplet of Divine Mercy along with 3pm snack. Its been a few weeks and I have to say this simple schedule is the best thing ever, our days have been much smoother since I implemented it.

Next I'd like to add chore times, currently I have the children take turns clearing the dishes after meals, and clean-up there toys before bed. Occasionally they clean their rooms or do other chores, mostly as consequences for bad behavior. I'd like to try to implement some FlyLady routines and zone with them. These chore flip charts look interesting too.

And as far as the tv, my husband helped out with that one- he decided we would go tv free and he unplugged it and carried it to the basement! I was so relieved, it took a lot of pressure off me to enforce limits. We have a lot more time now for reading and just spending time together as a family not glued to the tube!

Week 10: Passages 496 - 540

2008-06-08T07:12:00.000-07:00

We are now on week 10. This week we are reading passages 496 – 540.

We continue our journey through the Creed with Roman Numeral II. Born of the Virgin Mary.
The Church confesses Mary’s perpetual virginity. Some people claim that Jesus had brothers, as mentioned in the Bible, but this term actually referred to close relatives.
There are several reasons that God chose to have his Son be born of a virgin (CCC 503-507):

Mary’s virginity manifests God’s absolute initiative in the Incarnation, Jesus had only God as Father.

Jesus is conceived by the Holy Spirit because he is the New Adam, head of the redeemed humanity. Adam was of the earth (made from dust), Jesus is from Heaven.

Jesus ushers in the new birth of children adopted by the Holy Spirit through faith. Participation in the divine life is the gift of God to man. The spousal character of the human relation to God is fulfilled perfectly in Mary’s virginal motherhood.

Mary’s virginity is a sign of her faith unadulterated by doubt, and her undivided gift of herself to God’s will.

Mary is a symbol of the Church:

“the Church indeed…by receiving the word of God in faith becomes herself a
mother. By preaching and Baptism she brings forth sons, who are conceived
by the Holy Spirit and born of God, to a new and immortal life. She
herself is a virgin, who keeps in its entirety and purity the faith she pledged
to her spouse.” (CCC 507)

Paragraph 3. The Mysteries of Christ’s Life

When I first glanced through this section, to prepare to take more detailed notes, I wasn’t too excited. After all, I know about the details of Jesus’ life (he was born in a manger, died on the cross etc. etc.), so I figured these reading would be mostly review. However, when I actually read through the passages this quote jumped out at me and shed a new light on the import of what I was reading:

“We must continue to accomplish in ourselves the stages of Jesus’ life and his
mysteries and often to beg him to perfect and realize them in us and in his
whole Church…For it is the plan of the Son of God to make us and the whole
Church partake in his mysteries and to extend them to and continue them in us
and in his whole Church. This is his plan for fulfilling his mysteries in
us.” (CCC 521)

I. Christ's Whole Life is Mystery

We can see the mystery of who Jesus was in the events of his earthly life, in his deeds, words and miracles. His earthly life is a sacrament (a tangible sign) of his divinity and the salvation he brings.

“Christ’s whole earthly life – his words and deeds, his silences and sufferings,
indeed his manner of being and speaking – is Revelation of the Father.
Jesus can say: ‘Whoever has seen me has seen the Father,’ and the Father can
say: ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’” (CCC 516)

Christ’s whole life is a mystery of redemption. Not only does his death on the cross reveal this mystery, but also:
“-already in his Incarnation through which by becoming poor he enriches us with poverty;
-in his hidden life which by his submission atones for our disobedience;
-in his healing and exorcisms by which ‘he took our infirmities and bore our diseases’;
-and in his Resurrection by which he justifies us.” (CCC 517)

Christ is our model, he wants us to follow him. He wants to live in him and he in us. His riches are for everyone.

II. The Mysteries of Jesus’ Infancy and Hidden Life

The Preparations
God prepared for the coming of his Son to earth over the course of centuries.

“He makes everything converge on Christ: all the rituals and sacrifices, figures
and symbols of the ‘First Covenant.’ He announces him through the mouths
of prophets who succeeded one another in Israel. Moreover, he awakens in
the hearts of the pagans a dim expectation of this coming.” (CCC 522)

St. John the Baptist is the Lord’s forerunner, sent to prepare the way. This expectancy and preparation is made present by the Church in the Liturgy of Advent.

The Christmas Mystery
Christ was born in a stable to a humble family and visited by shepherds. We must become like children in relation to God, Christ must be born in us.

The Mysteries of Jesus’ Infancy
Jesus is circumcised on the eight day, this is a sign of his relationship to Abraham, the people of the covenant and his submission to the Law of Israel. It is a sign of the “circumcision of Christ”, Baptism.
At the Epiphany the Magi visit Jesus to show us that Jesus is the Messiah of Israel and that the good news of salvation is also for the pagans.
The presentation in the temple shows that Jesus is the firstborn Son who belongs to the Lord. Jesus is revealed by Anna and Simeon as the “light of the nations”, “glory of Israel” and “a sign that is spoken against.”
The flight into Egypt recalls the Exodus and presents him as the liberator of God’s people. It also shows the opposition of darkness to light, as Christ’s whole life was lived under persecution.

The Mysteries of Jesus’ Hidden life
Jesus spent most of his life as the majority of human beings do, a daily life without greatness full of manual labor. We know that Jesus was obedient to his parents, a perfect fulfillment of the fourth commandment and a reparation for the disobedience of Adam.

“The hidden life of Nazareth allows everyone to enter into fellowship with Jesus
by the most ordinary events of daily life.” (CCC 533)

The finding of Jesus in the temple is the only break in the silence of the hidden years. Here we get a glimpse of the mystery of Jesus’ mission.

III. The Mysteries of Jesus’ Public Life
The Baptism of Jesus
When Jesus is baptized in the Jordan he is allowing himself to be numbered among the sinners and displaying his obedience to the Father’s will. The Holy Spirit comes to rest on him and the heavens (that Adam had closed) are opened. Through Baptism we are able to participate in Jesus’ death and Resurrection.
“The Christian must enter into the mystery of humble self-abasement and repentance, go down into the water with Jesus in order to rise with him, be reborn of water and the Spirit so as to become the Father’s beloved son in the Son and ‘walk in newness of life.’” (CCC 537)

Jesus’ Temptations
After his Baptism Jesus goes into the desert for forty days, at the end of this time Satan tempts him three times, just as Adam was tempted and the Israelites were tempted in the desert. Jesus remains faithful where Adam gives in to temptation and remains obedient to the Father where the Israelites strayed. Jesus’ victory in the desert foreshadows his victory at the Passion. Jesus’ temptation reveals the way that he is the Messiah, contrary to the vision of an earthly leader that men were expecting and Satan tempts him with. Jesus conquered Satan for us, so that he could be like us in all but sin. The Church unites us to this mystery during the forty days of Lent.

Questions for Reflection:

The readings about the mysteries of Jesus' life (CCC 512-570) can be applied to the Mysteries of the Rosary. Do you pray the Rosary daily, and reflect on the mysteries of Jesus' life? I know I am often very sloppy about this!
CCC 521 tells us that we must beg Jesus to perfect his mysteries in us and in the whole Church. Choose one mystery (or two!) from our readings (CCC 522-540) to work on accomplishing in yourself.

Week 9: Passages 446-495

2008-06-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

Our assignment this week: read passages 446-495.
We finish our look at the titles of Jesus with:

IV. Lord
In the Greek translation of the Old Testament YHWH is translated as “Lord”. In the New Testament this becomes a title for Jesus. The title “Lord” indicates his divine sovereignity. To invoke Jesus as Lord is to believe in his divinity. Christian prayer is full of the title Lord:
“The Lord be with you”
“Through Christ our Lord”
“Amen, Come, Lord Jesus!”

Article 3 –“He Was Conceived By The Power of the Holy Spirit, And Was Born of the Virgin Mary”
I. Why Did the Word Become Flesh?

In order to save us by reconciling us with God.

So that we might know God’s love.

To be our model of holiness.

To make us partakers of the divine nature.

II. The Incarnation

“Belief in the true Incarnation of the Son of God is the distinctive sign of the
Christian faith: ‘By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which
confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God.’ Such is the
joyous conviction of the Church from her beginning whenever she sings ‘the
mystery of our religion’: ‘He was manifested in the flesh’”. (CCC 463)

III. True God and True Man
Jesus is not part God and part man, or some strange mixture of the two. He became true man while remaining true God. During the first centuries the Church had to defend this truth against numerous heresies:

Gnostic Docetism- denied Christ’s humanity.

Nestorian heresy – regarded Christ as a human person joined to the divine person of God’s son.

Mononphysite heresy – believed that the human nature of Christ ceased to exist when the divine person of God’s Son assumed it.

And after the Council of Chalcedon the Church needed to affirm (and here I am quoting because I’m not sure I understand what the CCC is talking about!) that:

“’there is but one hypostasis [or person], which is our Lord Jesus Christ, one
of the Trinity.’ Thus everything n Christ’s human nature is to be attributed to
his divine person as its proper subject, not only his miracles but also his
suffering and death: ‘He who was crucified in the flesh, our Lord Jesus Christ,
is true God, Lord of glory, and one of the Holy Trinity.’” (CCC 468)

IV. How is the Son of God Man?
Christ’s human nature was “assumed” not absorbed. He had a human soul with a human intellect and will, and this human nature belongs to the divine person of the Son of God.

“In his soul as in his body, Christ thus expresses humanly the divine ways of
the Trinity:
The Son of God…worked with human hands; he thought with a human
mind. He acted with a human will, and with a human heart he loved.
Born of the Virgin Mary, he has truly been made one of us, like to us in all
things except sin.” (CCC 470)

Christ’s human soul was endowed with human knowledge, he had to find out about things and learn all that one in the human condition can learn only from experience.
This human nature, not by itself but by union with the Word, showed forth all that pertains to God. Thus Jesus understood with his human understanding (through his divine nature) the eternal plans he had come to reveal.
This section is getting complicated- I’m having flashbacks of the passages on the Trinity!
Christ also had two wills: divine and human. They worked together, his human will was obedient to the plans his divine will had made with the Father.
Christ also had a human body, and therefore the human face of Jesus can be portrayed. It was decided at the Council of Nicaea II in 787 that its representation in holy images is legitimate. Isn’t that fun to know? Bring on the big plastic Jesus statues!
The individual characteristics of Christ’s body express his divine person, thus we can venerate is image.

Jesus loved us with a human heart and gave himself up for us. His Sacred Heart which was pierced by our sins and for our salvation is considered a chief sign and symbol of that “love with which the divine Redeemer continually loves the eternal Father and all human beings without exception”(CCC 478).

Paragraph 2 Conceived by the Power of the Holy Spirit and Born of the Virgin Mary

I.Conceived by the Power of the Holy Spirit
At the Annunciation God’s promises and preparations are fulfilled, in “the fullness of time.” Mary was told that “The Holy Spirit will come upon you.” The mission of the Holy Spirit is joined with that of the Son. The Spirit is sent to sanctify the womb of the Virgin Mary and conceive the Son of the Father in a humanity drawn from her own. Thus the “Christ” is anointed by the Holy Spirit from the beginning, though this is revealed to men gradually.

II. …Born of the Virgin Mary

“What the Catholic faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about
Christ, and what it teaches about Mary illumines in turn its faith in Christ.”
(CCC 487)

Mary was predestined to be Jesus’s mother. Many women of the Old Covenant prepared for Mary’s mission: Eve, Sarah, Hannah, Deborah, Ruth, Judith and Esther. God chooses those who appear powerless and weak to show his faithfulness to his promises.
To become mother of the Savior, Mary “was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role” (CCC 490).

“The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a
singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of
Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of
original sin.” (CCC 491)

At the Annunciation Mary responded with the obedience of faith. Free from original sin, she was able to give herself entirely to the divine work of her divine son.

“As St. Irenaeus says, ‘Being obedient she became the cause of salvation for
herself and for the whole human race.’ Hence not a few of the early Fathers
gladly assert…: ‘The knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by Mary’s obedience:
what the virgin Eve bound through disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith.’
Comparing her with Eve, they call Mary ‘the Mother of the living’ and frequently
claim: ‘Death through Eve, life through Mary.’” (CCC 494)

Elizabeth calls Mary, “the mother of my Lord” (CCC 495). The Church confesses that Mary is truly the Mother of God.

Questions for reflection:

Is Jesus the Lord of our lives? How can we show our children Jesus' love for them?
Do you honor Mary as Mother of God? How can we instill this devotion in our children?
CCC 494 discusses Mary's obedience. Is this virtue we possess? How can we work on obedience in ourselves and in our children?

Week 8: Catechism- for Kids!

2008-06-01T04:49:00.000-07:00

Here are some ideas for introducing passages 422-451 (And in Jesus Christ His Only Son, Our Lord) to children:

100 Activities Based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church has some related worksheets including one on the name of Jesus on page 11.

My kids have enjoyed an art project where I give them a large piece of paper or posterboard with the name "Jesus" outlined on it. They decorate the letters with markers, crayons, glitter glue, foamies, and craft jewels, and sequins. We usually do this to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus, Catholic Culture has some great info on that here!

Prayer Request

2008-05-30T18:24:00.000-07:00

Please join me in praying for Tiffany (one of our fellow Catechism readers) and her new baby girl Trinity. I got this email today:

Hello all -- I am requesting prayers for my friend Tiffany who gave birth
last Saturday, the day before Trinity Sunday, to her third child, a little girl
she and her husband named Trinity. Her oldest son has cystic fibrosis and
she just found out that their new daughter has a gene mutation for CF as well.
They will find out definitively within the next day or two.
This is hard
news to bear, as you can imagine, and she is praying a novena for a miracle
through the intercession of St. Rita, impossible causes. As they don't have nine
days before the blood work comes back, I will be praying for her once an hour
for nine hours tomorrow, and wanted to invite you to join me if you are so
moved. I know she'd be grateful for prayers.
Of course, with God all things
are possible, and I pray that the Sacred Heart of Jesus, whose feast is
tomorrow, will be moved to grant little Trinity healing!

Week 8: Passages 396-445

2008-05-26T04:39:00.000-07:00

This week we read passages 396- 445, days 50-56 on the CHN guide.

We are finishing the section on man being made in the image of God:

III. Original Sin

“The ‘tree of the knowledge of good and evil’ symbolically evokes the
insurmountable limits that man, being a creature, must freely recognize and
respect with trust. Man is dependent on his Creator and subject to the
laws of creation and to the moral norms that govern the use of freedom.” (CCC
396)

Man was tempted by the devil and allowed his trust in God to die in his heart. He abused his freedom, disobeyed God, preferring himself over God.

The consequences of this sin are that Adam and Eve immediately lose their original holiness. They lose control over their bodies, relationships between men and women become subject to tension, and harmony with creation is broken. And death comes to man.
After the first sin, the world is inundated with sin, and all men are made sinners. We are all born with original sin, the “death of the soul” (CCC 403) which is a reason that the Church baptizes infants.
Original is transmitted to all of Adam’s descendents, it is a state and not an act. It is not a personal fault but a deprivation of original holiness and justice. Human nature is not totally corrupted but it is wounded, this inclination to evil is called concupiscence. The whole world is in the power of the evil one, and thus our lives are a battle.
God did not abandon man. There is a passage in Genesis called the Protoevangelium (first gospel) which announces the victory of a descendent of Woman over the serpent. The woman is Mary (the new Eve) and Christ is the new Adam.
Why didn’t God prevent man from sinning in the first place? St. Leo the Great tells us:

“Christ’s inexpressible grace gave us blessing better than those the demon’s
envy had taken away.” (CCC 412)

And St. Paul says:

“Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” (CCC 412)

Chapter Two: I Believe in Jesus Christ, The Only Son of God

“’But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman,
born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might
receive the adoption as sons.’ This is ‘the gospel of Jesus Christ the son
of God’: God has visited his people. He has fulfilled the promise he made
to Abraham and his descendents. He acted far beyond all expectation – he has
sent his own ‘beloved Son.’” (CCC 422)

The transmission of the Christian faith consists of proclaiming Jesus Christ in order to lead others to him. The heart of catechesis is a Person. The aim of catechesis is to put people in communion with Jesus Christ, the one who can lead them to the love of the Father in the Spirit and share in the life of the Holy Trinity.
It is Christ alone who teaches, everyone else teaches to the extent that they are God’s spokesperson.

“Whoever is called ‘to teach Christ’ must first seek ‘the surpassing worth of
knowing Christ Jesus’; he must suffer ‘the loss of all things…’in order to ‘gain
Christ and be found in him,’ and ‘to know him and the power of his resurrection,
and [to] share his sufferings, becoming like him in death, that if possible [he]
may attain the resurrection from the dead.’” (CCC 428)

To this end the next passages will cover the parts of the Creed detailing Jesus’ titles: “Christ”, “Son of God”, and “Lord”.

I. Jesus
At the annunciation the angel Gabriel gave Jesus his name which means “God Saves”. The name “Jesus” signifies that the very name of God is present in his Son.

“It is the divine name that alone brings salvation, and henceforth all can
invoke his name, for Jesus united himself to all men through his Incarnation, so
that ‘there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be
saved.’” (CCC 432)

The name of Jesus is the heart of Christian prayer.

II. Christ
The word “Christ” comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew “Messiah”, which means “anointed”. In Israel those consecrated to God (kings, prophets, and priests) in a mission that he gave were anointed in his name. Jesus fulfilled all three posts: he was a king, a prophet, and a priest.

III. The Only Son of God
In the Old Testament, “son of God” could refer to all of the children of Israel, implying their close relationship with God. So when the Messiah was called “son of God” it didn’t necessarily mean anything special. It was Simon Peter who by the Holy Spirit was allowed to confess Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Jesus himself emphasized this distinction by never saying to his disciples “our Father” (except when he was instructing them in how to pray) but rather “my Father and your Father”. At the Baptism and Transfiguration of Christ the Scriptures reveal that God referred to Jesus as his “beloved son”. After his Resurrection Jesus’ divine Sonship is revealed through his glorified humanity. The apostles confess:

“We have beheld hid glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of
grace and truth.” (CCC 445)

Questions for reflection:

The passages (CCC 385-409) on the fall really got me thinking about concupiscence and its effects on my daily life, in a way I never really had before. I’m starting to see all the disorder in our world much more clearly in the light of the teachings on creation and original sin. CCC 407 states, “Ignorance of the fact that man has a wounded nature inclined to evil gives rise to serious errors in the areas of education, politics, social action, and morals.” As mothers, whether we home educate or not we are still our child’s first teachers. How do we account for man’s wounded nature both in our children and ourselves?

CCC 428 -429 state that to teach Christ we must seek knowledge of Christ, we must suffer the loss of all things in order to be found in Christ. From this knowledge will spring a desire to proclaim him. Are you actively seeking knowledge of Christ? I can personally testify to the fact that reading the Catechism like this is really given me a deeper understanding and more of a desire to evangelize to my children and others!

CCC 435 tells us that the name of Jesus is the heart of Christian prayer. Do you incorporate the name of Jesus in your prayers?

Week 7: Catechism- for Kids!

2008-05-23T04:25:00.000-07:00

Ideas for sharing last week's readings with children overflow to this week.

In addition, there are a few books I like to use to share the story of creation with my children:
The New Catholic Picture Bible by Fr. Lovasik is one of my favorite children's Bibles. The first two chapters recount creation and the fall.
God's Love Story by the Poor Clare Nuns is a picture book version of salvation history, from creation to the Resurrection. The illustrations are black outlines, suitable for copying and coloring by the child.

Here are some ideas based on Adam and Eve for preschool crafts, learning activities, worksheets and even a recipe to make a chocolate snake!

I was also inspired by all the beautiful art inspired by Genesis that I discovered while composing my blog post this week. I thought I'd do a little study of Michelangelo's fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel with my kids. I got these books from the library:
The Sistine Chapel: Its History and Masterpieces by Vittorio Giudici
Michelangelo by Diane Stanley
Discovering the Great Artists by MaryAnn Kohl also has some fun art activities to go along with a study of Michelangelo, fresco plagues (painting on damp plaster) and lie-down paintings (painting on butcher paper taped to the underside of a table to experience how Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel entirely while lying on his back) which we may have to try!

Week 7: Passages 350-395

2008-05-18T05:28:00.000-07:00

This week we read passages 350-395.

Passages 350-354 are the “In Brief” summary for the last sections on angels and creation. Good review!

Just a recap, we are on Part One, Section Two: The Profession of the Christian Faith, Chapter One: I Believe in God the Father, Article 1: I Believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth.

We are about to start on Paragraph 6. Man:
I. In the Image of God
Man is made in the image of God, which according to the CCC means several things:

Only man is able to know and love his creator.

Man is the only creature God willed for its own sake.

Man was created to share in God’s own life, which is the reason for his dignity.

Man is capable of self-knowledge, self-possession, and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with other persons.

Man is called by grace to a covenant with his Creator, to offer him a response of faith and love that no other creature can give in his stead.

It is only through the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of man becomes clear.

Because of its common origin, the human race forms a unity, a law of human solidarity and charity.

II. Body and Soul but Truly One
The human person is at once corporeal and spiritual. The spiritual element of man is called the “soul”. The human body and the soul are united and are considered a unity, the soul can be considered the form of the body. The body and the soul share the dignity of “the image of God”.

III. Male and Female He Created Them
Man and woman have been willed by God, one hand in perfect equality as human beings and on the other hand as distinct beings of man and woman. Both have dignity and reflect the creator’s wisdom and goodness.

“In no way is God in man’s image. He is neither man nor woman. God
is pure spirit in which there is no place for the difference between the
sexes. But the respective ‘perfections’ of man and woman reflect something
of the infinite perfection of God: those of a mother and those of a father and
husband.” (CCC 370)

God created man and woman together and willed them for each other. We can see this in the Scriptures: “It is not good that man should be alone. I will make a helper fit for him.” Adam’s cry: “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” underscores the shared humanity of man and woman.
Man and Woman were created to be a communion of persons, helpmates, both equal and complementary. In marriage they are united by God to become “one flesh” and are able to cooperate is God’s work in transmitting human life. Man and Woman are given the vocation of “subduing the earth” or in other words caring for the world that God has created for them.

IV. Man in Paradise
The first man was created good and existed in a state called “original justice” in which man lived in inner harmony, harmony between man and woman, and harmony between man and all creation. As long as he remained in this state of divine intimacy he would not suffer and die.

This quote jumped out at me:

“The ‘mastery’ over the world that God offered man from the beginning was
realized above all within man himself: mastery of self. The first man was
unimpaired and ordered in his whole being because he was free from the triple
concupiscence that subjugates him to the pleasures of the senses, covetousness
for earthly goods, and self-assertion, contrary to the dictates of reason.” (CCC
377)

And this one really got me pondering on the nature of work and what makes it burdensome:

“The sign of man’s familiarity with God was that God places him in the
garden. There he lives ‘to till and keep it.’ Work is not yet a burden,
but rather the collaboration of man and woman with God in perfecting the visible
creation.” (CCC 378)

I wonder if tomorrow while I am scrubbing that nasty place behind the toilet (moms of boys know what I’m talking about) it will make it feel less burdensome to think to myself, “This is not a burden, you are collaborating with God in perfecting the visible creation!”
Alas for concupiscence.
And we all know what’s coming next (thanks a lot, Adam and Eve)…

Paragraph 7. The Fall
If God is infinitely good and all his works are good then where does evil come from?

“The revelation of divine love in Christ manifested at the same time the extent
of evil and the superabundance of grace. We must therefore approach the
question of origin of evil by fixing the eyes of our faith on him who alone is
its conqueror.” (CCC 385)

I. Where Sin Abounded, Grace Abounded All the More
Without the Revelation of God we cannot truly understand sin, or man’s rejection of God and opposition to him. We are tempted to explain it a way as a flaw, weakness, or mistake. When we become aware of God’s plan sin is revealed as an abuse of “that freedom that God gives to created persons so that they are capable of loving him and loving one another”. (CCC 387)
The full meaning of the story of Genesis is revealed only by the light of the death and Resurrection of Christ. The doctrine of original sin is the reverse side of the “Good News”.

“The account of the fall in Genesis 3 uses figurative language, but affirms a
primeval event, a deed that took place at the beginning of the history of
man. Revelation gives us the certainty of faith that the whole of human
history is marked by the original fault freely committed by our first parents.”
(CCC 390)

This really hit the point home for me that creation is not just the starting point on the timeline, the Biblical equivalent of that big black "Start" dot on kids' mazes that shows you where to put your pencil. The Fall was an actual foundational event that shapes and influences the entire course of human history.

II. The Fall of the Angels
Satan was first a good angel, created by God who became evil by his own doing. The devil and other demons rejected God and tempted our first parents to do the same: “You will be like God.”
The choice of the devil and other demons to reject God was irrevocable due to their nature, just as it is impossible for us to repent after death.
The mission of Jesus was to destroy the work of the devil.
Satan’s power is not infinite, although he is a spirit and can cause physical and spiritual harm. He cannot prevent the building up of the kingdom of God. God permits Satan to act in the world.

“It is a great mystery that providence should permit diabolical activity, but
‘we know that in everything God works for good with those who love him.’”
(CCC 395)

Questions for reflection:

What are some ways we can be better "helpmates" in our marriages?

How often are we still tempted by Satan's promise, "You will be like God"?

Can you think of an example in your own life of the statement"where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more"?

Week 6: Catechism- for Kids!

2008-05-12T06:35:00.000-07:00

I have a few ideas for ways to share this week readings on Angels (CCC 328-336) with my kids.

There are a plethora of angel crafts available.

The Guardian Angel Prayer would be a good one to have little ones memorize.

I am also a big fan of the books by Marigold Hunt. She has written two wonderful books for children summarizing the events of the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles in an engaging narrative style, perfect for reading aloud. She also has a book about angels aptly titled, A Book of Angels: Stories of Angels in the Bible which looks promising!

As promised I also have some ideas to tie-in to the readings on creation (CCC 337-354).

To introduce the story of creation to my young children, I came up with these felt story circles. I made mine, based on this idea. There is one for each day 1-6 with nothing for day 7 to emphasize that God rested. I read the account from Genesis 1-2:4 while the child puts the felt circles in order on the felt board. I also have felt numbers they can put up.

Home Catechesis Album Ages 3-5 has a similar presentation, with patterns for making materials.

I also enjoy reading the picture book The Story of Creation with lavish illustrations by Jane Ray.

A good follow up is to have the kids make their own booklets of creation, they draw a picture for each day and staple it into a book.

For my school-aged children I recently discovered this coloring book by Mary Daly: Genesis 1 House of the Covenant. It is for middle school and younger, with text that can either be read-aloud or read directly by the student.

Week 6: Passages 290-349

2008-05-11T14:13:00.000-07:00

This week we read passages 290-349. These passages discuss Divine Providence, Angels, and Creation.

II. Creation –Work of the Holy Trinity
God, the Father created the world and everything in it. The New Covenant reveals that the Son and Holy Spirit are one with the Father and so cooperate in the work of creation. They can be thought of as God’s hands.

III. The World was Created for the Glory of God

“St. Bonaventure explains that God created all things ‘not to increase his
glory, but to show it forth and to communicate it,’ for God has no other reason
for creating than his love and goodness.” (CCC 293)

IV. The Mystery of Creation
God created the world using His wisdom. It is not a product of chance. God, out his own free will created us to share in his being, wisdom, and goodness. In addition, God created out of nothing. Humans can create but we need material to work with.

“Since God can create everything out of nothing, he can also, through the Holy
Spirit, give spiritual life to sinners by creating a pure heart in them and
bodily life to the dead through the Resurrection.” (CCC 298)

God has created an ordered and good world. It is a gift to us and we are capable of understanding it, (with difficulty and humility) through our understanding because as images of God we share in the light of the divine intellect.
God is greater than all his works:

“You have set your glory above the heavens.” (CCC 300)

But he is still present to his creatures’ inmost being. He does not abandon us to ourselves, but also upholds and sustains us and guides us to our final end.

“Recognizing this utter dependence with respect to the Creator is a source of
wisdom and freedom, of joy and confidence:
For you love all the things that
exist, and detest none of the things that you have made; for you would not have
made anything if you hated it. How would anything have endured, if you had
not willed it? Or how would anything not called forth by you have been
preserved? You spare things for they are yours, O Lord, you who love the
living.” (CCC 301)

V. God Carries Out His Plan: Divine Providence
The universe was created “in a state of journeying” (CCC 302). God has destined the world for a perfection it has not yet attained. We call God’s guidance towards perfection “divine providence” (CCC 302).
God cares for us all, in small matters and large, and his care is concrete and immediate. God’s absolute sovereignty is affirmed in Sacred Scriptures:

“Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases.”
“And so it is with
Christ, ‘who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one opens.’”
“Many
are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will
be established.” (CCC 303)

Jesus asks us to trust in the divine providence with childlike abandonment.
God gives us the dignity of acting on our own and allows us to cooperate in his work. We are often unconscious of our role in God’s plan but we can also be active participants though our actions, prayers and sufferings. We are secondary causes in God’s work, God acts through us.

“’For God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good
pleasure.’ Far from diminishing the creature’s dignity, this truth
enhances it. Drawn from nothingness by God’s power, wisdom, and goodness,
it can do nothing if it is cut off from its origin, ‘for without a Creator the
creature vanishes.’ Still less can a creature attain its ultimate end
without the help of God’s grace.” (CCC 308)

So why do we have evil in the world if God is the Father Almighty? I’m sure this is a question everyone struggles with.
The Catechism gives a long answer! We need to look at the entire Christian message:

“…the goodness of creation, the drama of sin, and the patient love of God who
comes to meet man by his covenants, the redemptive Incarnation of his Son, his
gift of the Spirit, his gathering of the Church, the power of the sacraments,
and his call to a blessed life to which free creatures are invited to consent in
advance, but from which by a terrible mystery, they can also turn away in
advance. There is not a single aspect of the Christian message that is not
in part an answer to the question of evil.” (CCC 310)

God’s plan involves a state of journeying, with the more perfect appearing among the less perfect. With physical good, there is also physical evil. Because angels and men are given free will, there also exists moral evil, when free creatures go astray.
I was confused about these two types of evil, I found this link helpful in explaining the difference.
God permits evil because he respects our freedom and because he can derive good from it. St. Augustine explains:

“For almighty God…, because he is supremely good, would never allow any evil
whatsoever to exist in his works if he were not so all-powerful and good as to
cause good to emerge from evil itself.” (CCC 311)

Examples are given of Joseph who was sent to Egypt by his brothers’ evil act, but God brought good out of it, and the ultimate example of Jesus who was put to death by men but through God’s grace brought about the salvation of man.
We believe that God is the master of the world, but for the most part the divine providence remains a mystery to us, and will remain so until the end when we see God face to face.

Paragraph 5. Heaven and Earth
God made heaven and earth, or all that exists. “Earth” refers to the world of men while “heaven” could mean the sky, the realm of God, and the place of the saints and spiritual creatures.
First God created the spiritual and corporeal creatures, then he made man who is a combination of body and spirit.

I. The Angels
The existence of creatures composed only of a spirit (angels) is a truth of faith confirmed by Scripture and Tradition.
“Angel” is actually the name of their office, “spirit” is the term for their nature. They are “spirit” and what their job position is “angel” or the servants and messengers of God.
Angels are purely spiritual creatures with intelligence and will, personal and immortal, more perfect than all visible creatures.
Christ is the center of the angelic world. The angels belong to him, they were created “through him and for him” (CCC 331). The angels have been present and played a role in salvation since the beginning, from the closing of the earthly paradise to the angel Gabriel’s annunciation of the birth of Jesus. Through Christ’s life on earth the angels are always present, serving Him and worshipping Him. They will be present at Christ’s return.
The Church also benefits from the help of the angels. The Church joins with the angels to adore God in the Liturgy and celebrates the memory of certain angels (St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Rapheal, and the guardian angels). The angels are also with us in a personal way surrounding us with their care and intercession:

“Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to
life.” (CCC 336)

II. The Visible World
Scripture presents the story of creation “symbolically as a succession of six days of divine ‘work,’ concluded by the ‘rest’ of the seventh day” (CCC 337). The story of creation found in Genesis teaches us the truths revealed by God for our salvation:

Nothing exists that does not owe its existence to God the Creator.

Each creature possesses its own particular goodness and perfection. We must respect the particular goodness of each creature and avoid a disordered use of things which would have disastrous consequences.

God wills the interdependence of creatures. Creatures exist to complete each other and to serve each other.

The beauty of the universe. The beauty of creation reflects the infinite beauty of the Creator.

The hierarchy of creatures is expressed by the order of the six days from the less perfect to the more perfect.

Man is the summit of the Creator’s work, as the inspired account expresses by clearly distinguishing the creation of man from that of the other creatures.

There is a solidarity among all creatures arising from the fact that all have the same Creator and are all ordered to his glory.

The Sabbath- the end of the work of the six days. The scriptural text describing day seven is rich in instruction:

“In creation God laid a foundation and established laws that remain firm, on
which the believer can rely with confidence, for they are the sign and pledge of
unshakeable faithfulness of God’s covenant. For his part man must remain
faithful to this foundation and respect the laws which the Creator has written
into it.” (CCC 346)
“Creation was fashioned with a view to the Sabbath and
therefore for the worship and adoration of God. Worship is inscribed in
the order of creation. As the rule of St. Benedict says, nothing should
take precedence over ‘the work of God,’ that is, solemn worship. This
indicates the right order of human concerns.” (CCC 347)
The eighth day. But for us a new day has dawned: the day of Christ’s Resurrection.

This made me really excited to go read Genesis in the light of these truths!

Here are some reflection questions:

CCC 303-305 discuss the need to trust in divine providence with child like abandonment. I loved this quote: “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established.” This reminded me of an excellent blog post by Jen at Et Tu? on the topic of divine providence and finding your place within God's plan. What helps you to discern and trust God's will for your life? Can you share a time when you realized that your plans were not necessarily God’s plans?

CCC 311-312 discuss God’s ability to bring good out of our evil. Can you think of any examples of this that you have witnessed?

What special things do you do to keep the Sabbath in your home? Catholic author Nancy Carpentier Brown has a new series of posts at her blog called Keeping Sunday, which I am following with interest, because I really need to improve in this area.

CCC 347 quotes the rule of St. Benedict “nothing should take precedence over ‘the work of God,’ that is, solemn worship.” How can we keep this requirement while fulfilling our duties as wives and mothers? I know I need to work on this, as this post from my GrayFamilyCircus blog shows, I have trouble making time for prayer amidst the demands and clamor of my little ones.

Week 5: Catechism - for Kids!

2008-05-05T10:38:00.000-07:00

Reading the Catechism in such an intensive way is really inspiring me to share what I am learning about the faith with my children. I thought that along with the weekly reading assignment for mom, I would also have a seperate post with suggestions of related activities for kids! I hope others will add their suggestions and ideas as well.

A must have book for Catechism activities for kids is 100 Activities Based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This book has great reproducible sheets for grades 1-8, and each activity is linked to a passage from the CCC! The activities are divided by level: Primary, Intermediate, and Advanced. It had a great suggestion for learning the Apostle's and Nicene Creed.

Write each line of the Creeds on a seperate index card, then have the kids put them in order. Or read a line and have them guess which Creed it is from.

Here are some more ideas I had for introducing my kids to this week's teachings on the Holy Trinity (CCC 232-267), this is a list of options to choose from, I won't do it all!

Discuss the Sign of the Cross and the Glory Be, both of which invoke the Trinity. Have your child make a booklet of the Glory Be with an illustration for each line.
Trinity Mobile- print this pattern and have your child color it, explain that the sun is for the Father (Creator of the world), the cross is for the Son, and the dove is for the Holy Spirit. Then cut out and punch holes in the symbols. Take a small paper plate and punch three holes around the edges. Use yarn or string to connect the symbols to the plate. Tape another piece of yarn or string to the center of the plate to hang it.
Trinity Presentation from the Home Catechesis 3-5 album (if you have it).
St. Patrick and the Shamrock- read Patrick the Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie dePaola and make this shamrock craft.

CCC 273 reminds us of the perfect faith Mary had in God's almighty power which she expresses in her Magnificat (Luke 1:46:55).

Share this prayer with your children. Have them design a picture for a Holy Card, glue to construction paper and write the words of the Magnificat on the back.

I also have some ideas for lessons on Creation (CCC 279-289), but I think I'll save that for next week since this topic will continue!

Week 5: Passages 232- 289

2008-05-04T14:48:00.000-07:00

This week’s assignment: passages 232-289, or days 29-35 on the CHN guide.

This week’s readings may have been too much for the mommy brain. Particularly the first section on the Trinity, already a difficult to impossible concept to grasp, which is not made any simpler by the Catechism authors insistence on using words like “consubstantial”, “hypostasis”, and “spiration”. My brain is accustomed to working below a third grade level, most of my daily conversations revolve around beanie babies, whether I prefer ponies or tigers, and who can sit where in the car.
I had to read sections 238-263 over and over, and afterwards I was left with the following impression of the mystery of the blessed Trinity.

This…

…makes about as much sense to me as this…
…or this, how many legs does that elephant have?
My brain hurts.

But despite my hazy understanding of the subject matter I will still attempt to summarize and discuss it. Hey, I’ve never let a little thing like a complete lack of comprehension stand in my way before!

Part One, Section Two, Chapter One, Article 1
Paragraph 2. The Father
I. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
The faith of all Christians rests on the Trinity, as we profess in baptism.

“The whole history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the
means by which the one true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, reveals himself
to men ‘and reconciles and unites with himself those who turn away from sin’”.
(CCC 234)

In this paragraph (Paragraph 2. The Father) we will learn (I.) how the mystery of the Blessed Trinity was revealed, (II.) How the Church has articulated the doctrine of the faith regarding this mystery, and (III.) how through the divine missions of the three persons of the Blessed Trinity God fulfils his plan of loving goodness.
The Church Fathers give us two terms:
· Theology- the mystery of God’s inmost life within the Blessed Trinity
· Economy – all the works by which God reveals himself and communicates his life
These two aspects work together, God’s works tell us about who he is and the mystery of his inmost being sheds light on his works, just as knowing the reason for a person’s actions reveals more about his actions.
The Trinity is “a mystery of faith in the strict sense” (CCC 237) and can never be known unless God reveals it.

II. The Revelation of God as Trinity
We call God, Father. The language tells us two things about God: he is the first origin of the world and everything in it, and he cares for us with the paternal love of a father. The image of motherhood can also be used to describe God’s tenderness and loving care.

“The language of faith thus draws on the human experience of parents, who are
the first representatives of God for man.” (CCC 239)

We as parents are given a great responsibility, to represent God to our children!
The Catechism goes on to remind us that of course human parents are not perfect, and that God transcends the difference between the sexes. No one is father as God is Father.
Besides his role as Creator, God is eternally Father in another way: in relation to his Son.
The Son is consubstantial with the Father, which means that the Father and the Son are only one God.
And then we get the Holy Spirit! Before his Passover Jesus announced the sending of a Paraclete (advocate), the Holy Spirit, thus revealing a third divine person.
The eternal origin of the Holy Spirit revealed by his mission in time, the Spirit is sent to the Church both by the Father and the Son.
The Holy Spirit is of one substance and equal to the Father and the Son. The Latin tradition of the Creed states that the Spirit “proceeds from the Father and the Son”, not just the Father. The Father is the origin of the whole divinity, but since the Father has given his Son everything except being Father, the Holy Spirit also proceeds from the Son.

III. The Holy Trinity in the Teaching of the Faith
The revealed truth of the Holy Trinity was at the root of the Church’s faith from the beginning. During the first centuries the Church clarified the Trinitarian Faith, through the first Church Councils. In order to make the dogma of the Trinity more clear, the Church developed some new terminology to aid us in understanding this “ineffable mystery.” (CCC 251)
· Substance- designates the divine being in its unity
· Person or hypostasis – designates the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the distinctions among them
· Relation – designates that their distinction lies in their relationship to each other

The dogma of the Holy Trinity

The Trinity is One

The divine persons are really distinct from one another

The divine persons are relative to one another

The whole divine economy is the common work of the three divine persons. However, each person accomplishes this work through his unique properties. Hence the work is both common and personal.

“The whole Christian life is a communion with each of the divine persons,
without in any way separating them. Everyone who glorifies the Father does so
through the Son in the Holy Spirit; everyone who follows Christ does so because
the Father draws him and the Spirit moves him.” (CCC 259)

And the goal of this divine economy is the entry of God’s creatures into the perfect unity of the Blessed Trinity.

“O my God, Trinity whom I adore, help me forget myself entirely so to establish
myself in you, unmovable and peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity.
May nothing be able to trouble my peace or make me leave you, O my unchanging
God, but may each minute bring me more deeply into your mystery! Grant my soul
peace. Make it your heaven, your beloved dwelling and the place of your rest.
May I never abandon you there, but may I be there, whole and entire, completely
vigilant in my faith, entirely adoring, and wholly given over to your creative
action.” (CCC 260)

Paragraph 3. The Almighty
Of all the attributes of God, only his omnipotence is mentioned in the Creed. This means it is important for us! God’s power is universal, loving and mysterious. God can do all things, in the Scriptures he is called “Mighty One of Jacob”, “LORD of hosts”, the “strong and mighty” one (CCC 269). He is master of the universe and Lord of history. But God is also a Father Almighty, so his power is used to display his mercy, he adopts us as his own children.
Faith in God the Almighty can be put to the test by all the evil and suffering in the world. But the most mysterious way that God reveals his almighty power is through the suffering, death, and Resurrection of his Son.

“Christ crucified is thus ‘the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the
foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than
men.’”(CCC 272)

“Only faith can embrace the mysterious ways of God’s almighty power. This
faith glories in its weaknesses in order to draw itself to Christ’s power.
The Virgin Mary is the supreme model of this faith, for she believed that
‘nothing will be impossible with God,’ and was able to magnify the Lord: ‘For he
who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.’” (CCC 273)

Paragraph 4. The Creator
Creation is the foundation of “all God’s saving plans” (CCC 280). Thus catechesis on creation is of major importance. It is the Christian response to the basic human questions: “Where do we come from?”, “Where are we going?”, “What is our origin?”, “What is our end?”, and “Where does everything that exists come from and where is it going?”
The Christian faith has always been challenged with different responses to the question of the origins. Here are some examples of non-Christian beliefs:

Pantheism – Everything is God, the world is God, the development of the world is the development of God.
Dualism, Manichaeism – The world is a necessary emanation arising from God and returning to him. There are two eternal principles, Good and Evil, Light and Darkness, locked in permanent conflict.
Gnosticism – The world is evil, the product of a fall, and is thus to be rejected or left behind.
Deism – God is like a watchmaker, who created the world and then abandoned it to itself.
Materialism – A rejection of the transcendent origin for the world. The world is merely an interplay of matter that has always existed.

All these different attempts bear witness to the universality of the question of origins, a distinctly human trait.
While it is possible for man to know the Creator by reason alone, the truth of creation is so important, that God is his tenderness revealed it to his chosen people. Creation is revealed as the first step of the covenant, “the first and universal witness to God’s all-powerful love” (CCC 288).
The first three chapters of the book of Genesis are the primary source for learning about the mysteries of creation, the fall, and the promise of salvation. From these chapters we learn the truths of creation: its origin and end in God, its order and goodness, the vocation of man, and finally the drama of sin and the hope of salvation.

Questions for reflection and discussion:

CCC 239 reminds us that as parents we our "the first representatives of God for man." What are some ways we can act as representatives of God for our children?
Does the Trinity confuse you as much as it confuses me? Or am I just hopeless?
CCC 279-289 discuss the importance of catechesis on creation. What are some ways we can share the truths of creation found in Genesis with out children?

So...how is everyone doing? Who is still with me? Don't worry if you fall behind, just catch up with my blog and join us where we are!

Week 4: Passages 172-231

2008-04-28T10:27:00.000-07:00

This week’s reading cover passages 172-231 or days 22-28 on the CHN guide. Almost a month of reading under our belts!

We continue with Article 2 of Chapter Three of Section One of Part One.

III. Only One Faith
The Church has confessed only one faith through all the centuries and across a multitude of cultures. Some great quotes from Saint Irenaeus are referenced, I love the imagery presented here:

“We guard with care the faith we have received from the Church, for without
ceasing, under the action of God’s Spirit, this deposit of great price, as if in
an excellent vessel, is constantly being renewed and causes the very vessel that
contains it to be renewed.” (CCC 175)

In Brief
I usually don’t take notes on the “In Brief” section but this one contains a wonderful summary of last week’s reading on faith. “Faith” is a word I throw around all the time, but I’m not sure I really know or understand its actual meaning. It was edifying to read the official Church definition of this important concept. I loved this passage which again refers to the Church as a mother:

“’Believing’ is an ecclesial act. The Church’s faith preceeds, engenders,
supports and nourishes our faith. The Church is the mother of all
believers. ‘No one can have God as Father who does not have the Church as
Mother’”. (CCC 181)

My edition of the CCC includes a handy chart which compares the Apostle’s Creed to the Nicene Creed- I am always getting those two confused!

Next we move to:
Section Two- The Profession of the Christian Faith
The Creeds
In this section of the Catechism we will be walking through the Apostles’ Creed line by line. I am really excited about this- I hope to gain a deeper appreciation and reverence for those lines I mumble in Mass! This introductory section explains what a creed is, its purpose and the difference between the two commonly used creeds (Apostle’s and Nicene).
I hadn’t before heard the Creed referred to as a “symbol of faith”. (CCC 187) I found this explanation really interesting:

“The Greek word symbolon meant half of a broken object, for example a seal
presented as a token of recognition. The broken parts were placed together
to verify the bearer’s identity. The symbol of faith, then, is a sign of
recognition and communion between believers. Symbolon also means a
gathering, collection, or summary. A symbol of faith is a summary of the
principal truths of the faith and therefore serves as the first and fundamental
point of reference for catechesis.” (CCC 188)

Chapter One – I Believe in God the Father
Our profession of faith begins with God, and specifically with God the Father, the first person of the Holy Trinity.

Article 1 – I Believe in God the Father Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth
Paragraph 1. I Believe in God
I. I Believe in One God
There is one God supreme and without equal, which does not contradict the fact that this one God is made up of three divine persons.
II. God Reveals His Name
God reveled his true name to Moses in the burning bush so that we could come to know Him more intimately. In revealing his mysterious name (YHWH or “I AM WHO I AM”) God is telling us who He is. He is revealing that He is a living God, faithful, merciful and gracious.
Moses realizes his own worthlessness in the presence of God’s greatness. God forgives those who acknowledge their own sinfulness before Him. St. John says,

“We shall… reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for
God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” (CCC 208)

I found it interesting to note that out of respect for the holiness of God, the people of Israel do not say his name (YHWH). Where the title appears in Scripture they read “Lord” instead. This sheds new light on the New Testament revelation that “Jesus is Lord”.
CCC 213 gives a good summary of what we can know about God through the revelation of His name:

“The revelation of the ineffable name ‘I Am who Am’ contains then the truth that
God alone IS. The Greek Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Scriptures,
and following it the Church’s Tradition, understood the divine name in this
sense: God is the fullness of Being and of every perfection, without origin and
without end. All creature receive all that they are and have from him; but
he alone is his very being, and he is of himself everything that he is.”

III. God, “He Who Is,” Is Truth and Love
Truth and Love: these two terms give us a summary of the many riches revealed in the divine name.
God is faithful and righteous in all things. We can always trust Him to keep His promises. Failure to trust God was what caused Original Sin. God’s truth is His wisdom. He created the world and everything in it, and only He can give us true knowledge of every creature and thing in relation to Himself.
God is truthful when he reveals himself, we can trust in Jesus who was sent to “bear witness to the truth.” (CCC 217)
The only reason God has to reveal himself to us and to never stop saving us is love. God loves us with a love that is everlasting and greater than any human love. In fact God’s very being is love:

“God has revealed his innermost secret: God himself is an eternal exchange of
love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and he has destined us to share in that
exchange.” (CCC 221)

IV. The Implications of Faith in One God
This section lists the consequences for our belief in the One God:

Coming to know God’s greatness and majesty and serving him

Living in thanksgiving, since everything we have comes from Him

Knowing the unity and true dignity of all men, who are made in the image and likeness of God

Making good use of created things, detaching ourselves from things that do not bring us closer to God

Trusting God in every circumstance even in adversity- a prayer of St. Teresa of Jesus expresses this trust:

“Let nothing trouble you
Let nothing frighten you
Everything passes
God
never changes
Patience
Obtains all
Whoever has God
Wants for
nothing
God Alone is Enough.” (CCC 227)

I think that is a wonderful prayer for mothers!

As I was reading this section about the nature of God revealed through his name I was struck with the ineffable greatness of it. I was filled with awe as I was reading, and I had trouble paraphrasing in my notes, my words just did not seem adequate to describe the majesty of God. I was driven to reflect that passing on the faith to my children is more than just teaching them catechism, although that is very important. I also hope to pass on to them a sense of wonder and reverence for God the Father Almighty who IS Truth and Love.

Here are some questions for reflection and discussion, as always feel free to comment on anything that struck you:

How does the explanation of a creed given here (CCC 185-197) mesh with your understanding of creeds? Personally I have gone from thinking of a creed as a sort of “Cliff Notes of the Faith” to something much deeper!

How can we as mothers, instill reverence and awe for God in our children and help them to understand what He has revealed about Himself through His divine name?

Which of the Implications of Faith in One God (CCC 222-227) do you struggle with the most? What are some concrete ways we can pass these on to our children?

Week 3: Passages 109-171

2008-04-20T12:19:00.000-07:00

This week we read passages 109- 171, or days 15-21 on the CHN guide.

How is everyone doing? I encourage you as you read to highlight, mark up, or take notes in a notebook- even if you never look at it again the process of recording your thoughts really helps the material stick! And of course you’ll want to note your favorite passages so you can comment about them on this blog!
I’m finding the length of these readings pretty doable. I even got this one done ahead of time, because as you all are reading this I am in New York living it up! And attending Mass with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI– accompanied by my four kids ages 8 and under. I’ll let you know how that goes!

But anyway back to the Catechism!

These readings continue where we left off last week in Article 3…
… of Chapter Two…
… of Section One…
…of Part One.

Are you with me?

We are up to Roman Numeral III: The Holy Spirit, Interpreter of Scripture
This section gives us guidelines for interpreting Scripture, through which God speaks to us in a human way.
First we need to understand the intention of the human author, taking into account the historical context, literary genre, and modes of the time of writing.
Second we need to read and interpret in light of the Spirit. Particularly what God wants to reveal to us for our salvation.
We are given three criteria for interpreting Scripture in accordance with the Spirit:

“Be especially attentive ‘to the content and unity of the whole Scripture.’ Different as the books which comprise it may be, Scripture is a unity by reason of the unity of God’s plan, of which Christ Jesus is the center and heart, open since his Passover.” (CCC 112)

“Read the Scripture within ‘the living Tradition of the whole Church.’” (CCC 113)

“Be attentive to the analogy of faith. By ‘analogy of faith’ we mean the coherence of the truths of faith among themselves and within the whole plan of Revelation.” (CCC 114)

There are two senses of Scripture: literal and spiritual, with the spiritual being divided into allegorical, moral and anagogical senses.

The Church carries the Divine Commission for interpreting Scripture, as St. Augustine reminds us:

“But I would not believe in the Gospel, had not the authority of the Catholic
Church already moved me.” (CCC 119)

IV The Canon of Scripture
The Church discerned which writings are to be included in the list of sacred books known as the canon of Scripture. There are 46 books in the Old Testament and 27 in the New.
The Old Testament has not been revoked, the Church venerates it as the True Word of God and a source of much teaching, wisdom, and prayer. Additionally, the mystery of our salvation is present in the Old Testament in a hidden way.
The New Testament hands on the ultimate truth of God’s Revelation. The Gospels are the heart of the NT “because they are our principal source for the life and teaching of the Incarnate Word, our Savior.” (CCC 125)

There are three stages of the formation of the Gospels:
1. The life and teaching of Jesus.
2. The oral tradition.
3. The written Gospels.

The Gospels hold a unique place in the Church, in the liturgy and in the minds of the Saints.

“The New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in
the New.” (CCC 129)

The typology of the Old Testament reveals prefigurations of what will be accomplished in the New Testament, but the OT does not lose its intrinsic value.

V. Sacred Scripture in the Life of the Church

“The Church ‘forcefully and specifically exhorts all the Christian faithful…to
learn the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ by frequent reading of the divine
Scriptures. Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.’” (CCC 133)

I need to read that over and over!

Chapter Three – Man’s Response to God

“By his Revelation, ‘the invisible God, from the fullness of his love, addresses
men as his friends, and moves among them, in order to invite and receive them
into his own company.’ The adequate response to this invitation is faith.”
(CCC 142)

By faith man completely submits his mind and will to God through a process known as the obedience of faith.

Article 1 I Believe
I. The Obedience of Faith
This section discusses those we can look to as examples of faith: Abraham (our Father in faith) and of course Mary whose faith never wavered even as her son died on the cross.

II. I know Whom I Have Believed
Christian faith differs from faith in a human person. We are adhering to the whole truth that God has revealed, to put such faith in a creature would be futile.
Because we believe in God we also believe in his Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit who reveals to men who Jesus is.

III. The Characteristics of Faith

“Faith is a gift of God, a supernatural virtue infused by him.” (CCC 153)

We need the grace of God to assist us! How often do I try to do things on my own strength? My brain has so much trouble wrapping around the idea that I can’t do everything all by myself, that I need the gift of God.
Faith is a human act, contrary to neither the human freedom nor human reason. I know I have had trouble accepting that statement. I really used to believe that Christians were not excersing their freedom or reason. I thought they were just blindly following what they were taught, which I didn’t understand so I concluded didn’t make any sense. Now I can see that while perhaps some Christian fail to apply their freedom and reason, the same can be said for a large number of non-Christians. Let’s face it – it is just so much easier to accept what you see around you and not rock the boat. It is Jesus who calls us out of our nice comfortable boat onto the wild and raging water and gives us the grace to do what seemed impossible and crazy! But accepting that invitation is tough.
We believe because of the authority of God, but so that faith would be in accordance with our reason God willed external proofs of His Revelation to be joined with the internal helps of the Holy Spirit.

“The assent of faith is ‘by no means a blind impulse of the mind.” (CCC 156)

Faith is certain because it is founded on the very Word of God.
Faith seeks understanding. Read this passage well, dear Catechism reading buddies, and find encouragement:

“It is intrinsic to faith that a believer desires to know better the One in whom
he has put his faith and to understand better what He has revealed; a more
penetrating knowledge will in turn call forth a greater faith, increasingly set
afire by love. The grace of faith opens ‘the eyes of your hearts’ to a
lively understanding of the contents of Revelation: that is, of the totality of
God’s plan and the mysteries of faith, of their connection with each other and
with Christ, the center of the revealed mystery. ‘The same Holy Spirit
constantly perfects faith by his gifts, so that Revelation may be more and more
profoundly understood.’ In the words of St. Augustine, ‘I believe, in order to
understand; and I understand, the better to believe.’” (CCC 158)

There is no conflict between faith and science. Truth can never contradict truth.

“Though faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between
faith and reason.” (CCC 159)

Faith must be free, men cannot be coerced. Christ invited conversion but never forced anyone.
Faith is necessary for salvation, we must believe in Jesus Christ and the One who sent him.
It is possible to lose faith, we must persevere.

“To live, grow, and persevere in the faith until the end we must nourish it with
the word of God; we must beg the Lord to increase our faith; it must be ‘working
through charity,’ abounding in hope, and rooted in the faith of the Church.”
(CCC 162)

Faith gives us foretaste of the beatific vision, when we see God face to face. However our experience here on earth is often that of looking into a rather dirty mirror. We see God imperfectly and all the evil and suffering of the world is a temptation against faith.
We must turn to the witnesses of faith, Abraham the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints.

Article 2 We Believe
I. Lord, Look Upon the Faith of Your Church
We have not given ourselves faith, it has been given to us by others and it is our responsibility to pass it on!

II. The Language of Faith
The Church is our mother, through which we first receive the gift of faith. She is also our teacher. As a mother teachers her children to speak, so the Church teaches us the language of faith using certain formulations to aid us in understanding the life of faith.

And so concludes the reading for this week. I love the analogy of the Church as a mother. I really cling to the example of the Church as I strive to raise my children as Christians. As mothers we are in a unique position to share in the Church’s maternal mission.

So let’s have some discussion questions!

Share any passage that jumped out at you! What part of the reading spoke to your heart?

Do see Faith as a supernatural virtue that is infused by God? What steps do you take to nourish your faith? (see CCC 162 for examples)

How can we as wives and mothers, fulfill our duty to pass on the faith as it has been passed to us?

Week 2: Passages 50-108

2008-04-13T16:11:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow begins week 2!!! Our assignment this week is to read passages 50-108, or days 8-14 on the CHN guide.

Here are my notes and thoughts followed by some discussion questions...

Chapter 2: God Comes to Meet Man

Although we can know God through our reason alone, we have also been given a higher order of knowledge: Divine Revelation. This chapter is all about how God has revealed himself to us, by sending his Son, Jesus Christ.

This chapter is further divided into Articles. So let’s review: we have Part, Section, Chapter and now…Article. All these divisions are giving me flashbacks of an outline-happy teacher I had in high school – but I digress! Here we go with the Articles:

Article 1

I God Reveals His "Plan of Loving Goodness"

This section is pretty amazing! Check out this quote:

“God, who ‘dwells in unapproachable light,’ wants to communicate his own divine
life to the men he freely created, in order to adopt them as his sons in his
only-begotten Son.” (CCC 52)
That sort of leaves me speechless! Why
does God care to reveal himself to us?
“By revealing himself God wishes to
make them capable of responding to him, and of knowing him, and of loving him
far beyond their own natural capacity.” (CCC 52)

What a gift! And I love how this section is titled "God's Plan of Loving Goodness", before I converted I always feared the Bible contained "God's Plan of Infinitely Painful Sinner Smiting"!

Now we move on to how God reveals himself to us, and CCC 52 gives us the answer. God reveals himself through both actions and words, and he reveals himself to man gradually!
Be sure to check out the quote from St. Irenaeus about God and man needing to become accustomed to each other! I wonder if He needs extra time to become accustomed to some of us :)

II The Stages of Revelation
God reveals himself to man in stages. We read about our first parents Adam and Eve, and how God manifested ourselves to them, and did not forsake us even after the Fall, but gave us a promise of redemption.
Then we read about Noah, and God’s plan to save humanity part by part. Biblical figures Abel, Melchizedek, Noah, Daniel and Job are mentioned as Gentiles who were able to reach the heights of sanctity under the covenant of Noah, while the world awaited Christ.
Next in the line-up of Salvation History is Abraham, the father of God’s chosen people who were “called to prepare for that day when God would gather all his children into the unity of the Church.” (CCC 60)
After the patriarchs we read of Israel and how God freed them from slavery in Egypt, established a covenant on Mount Sinai and gave them his law, so that they might know him as their Father and look forward to the coming of a Savior.
Then we have the prophets and a list of holy women (Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Judith, and Esther) keeping alive the hope of Israel’s salvation. And finally, the purest of all, Mary.
This all leads us to....

III Christ Jesus- “Mediator and Fullness of All Revelation”

“God has said everything in his Word” (CCC 65)

And there you go, no other words are necessary :)
We are to expect no new revelation, we are living the Christian Covenant! This is it people, the party is NOW!!!!

And then we get a note about private revelation and its role in the Church and finally this good bit about “new revelations” which someone ought to send to Oprah:

“Christian faith cannot accept ‘revelations’ that claim to surpass or correct
the Revelation of which Christ is the fulfillment, as is the case in certain
non-Christian religions and also in certain recent sects which base themselves
on such ‘revelations’” (CCC 93)

Article 2 The Transmission of Divine Revelation

“God graciously arranged that the things he had once revealed for the salvation
of all peoples should remain in their entirety, throughout the ages, and be
transmitted to all generations.” (CCC 74)

And I was worried the Catechism would be boring! Not only did we just read that God chose to reveal himself to us so that he could adopt us as children, but now we hear how he arranged for his Revelation to be kept safe and transmitted to everyone throughout the ages!
He did this through Apostolic preaching (both oral teachings and writings under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) and continues this transmission through apostolic succession. This living transmission is also known as Tradition, and is distinct from Sacred Scripture.

II The Relationship Between Tradition and Sacred Scripture

“’Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together and
communicate one with the other. For both of them flowing out from the same
divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing and move
towards the same goal.’ Each of them makes present and fruitful in the Church
the mystery of Christ, who promised to remain with his own ‘always, to the close
of the age’” (CCC 80)

I’ll have to try to remember to say THAT next time someone tells me how the Church teaches things that aren’t in the Bible.
The difference between Tradition and tradition (Big T versus little t) is also discussed and then we are on to the next section.

III. The Interpretation of the Heritage of Faith
Here the role of the Magisterium is discussed. The Magisterium alone exercises authority in the Name of Jesus Christ to give an authentic interpretation of the Word of God revealed in Scripture and Tradition.
The faithful are instructed to be “mindful of Christ’s words to his apostles: ‘He who hears you, hear me,’” and to “receive with docility the teachings and directives that their pastors give them in different forms.” (CCC 87)
Ok, I’m going to need to work on that docility thing :)

And now we get to discuss dogma, or truths we as Christians are obliged to believe as an “irrevocable adherence of faith”. (CCC 88)
I’ve always felt the word “dogma” had quite negative connotations, almost synonymous with “multitude of persnickety rules that are impossible to follow made up to torment us all” so I was excited to read this:

“There is an organic connection between our spiritual life and the dogmas.
Dogmas are lights along the path of faith; they illuminate it and make it
secure. Conversely, if our life is upright, our intellect and heart will
be open to welcome the light shed by the dogmas of faith.” (CCC 89)

Bring on the light! Stumbling around in the dark does get wearisome after awhile.

And CCC 90 reminds us of the coherence and order of Catholic doctrine.
We then read about the supernatural sense of faith through which the body of the faithful is able to “manifest a universal consent in the matters of faith and morals.” (CCC 92)
We can grow in our understanding of faith through the assistance of the Holy Spirit, by means of contemplation and study, reading Scriptures, and listening to preaching.

Let’s pray for all of us brought together on this little blog as we “ponder these things in [our] hearts” in our search to “deepen our knowledge of revealed truth.” (CCC 94)

Article 3 Sacred Scripture

I. Christ – The Unique Word of Sacred Scripture
In order to speak to us God uses human words:

“Indeed the words of God, expressed in the words of men, are in every way like
human language, just as the Word of the eternal Father, when he took on himself
the flesh of human weakness, became like men.” (CCC 101)

All the many words of Sacred Scripture are really just one Word, the Word of God. The Church has always venerated Sacred Scripture as she venerates the Lord’s Body.

II. Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture
The Holy Spirit has inspired the authors of Sacred Scripture to write whatever he wanted written and no more. The books of Scripture teach the truth.
The following quote is a great way to conclude the reading!

“Still, the Christian faith is not a ‘religion of the book.’ Christianity is the
religion of the ‘Word’ of God, a word which is ‘not a written and mute word, but
the Word which is incarnate and living.’ If the Scriptures are not to
remain a dead letter, Christ, the eternal Word of the living God, must, through
the Holy Spirit, ‘open [our] minds to understand the Scriptures.’” (CCC
108)

Here are some questions for discussion:

In CCC 65 we read, “Any person questioning God or desiring some vision or revelation would be guilty not only of foolish behavior but also of offending him, by not fixing his eyes entirely upon Christ and by living with the desire for some other novelty.” Are you guilty of this? ‘Fess up!

In these readings we learned that Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture both make up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God. Do you rely more on one than the other in your day to day life? Actually as I am typing this, I am not entirely sure what “Tradition” encompasses? Would Mass be “Tradition”, even though in contains Scripture readings? I suppose they really are entwined. Thoughts?

Let’s talk dogma, have you found it to be a guiding light? Or perhaps not?

As usual feel free to comment about anything that strikes you from these readings! The more we are able to bring these words off the page and into our lives, the better chance we have of remembering and living these truths we profess to believe!

Week 1: Intro - 49

2008-04-06T17:04:00.000-07:00

It’s time for our first reading assignment! This week we will be reading and discussing the Introduction,or Prologue as my edition calls it, and passages (not pages!) 1-49, also known as days 1-7 on the printable CHN guide. Before you begin reading I strongly recommend that you say a prayer to the Holy Spirit, using the prayer I added to the right side bar, the shorter one in the CHN guide, or one of your own choosing.

Good news- the reading didn’t take me all that long. Hopefully they will stay a uniform length.
I found this link to the Compendium very useful. The Compendium is basically a shortened more concise version of the Catechism in a question and answer format. When I had trouble with a passage in the Catechism, I looked it up in the Compendium. Seeing it rephrased or even just reading the same information an additional time proved very helpful.

So without further ado, here are my notes and mommy-thoughts, I hope they will prove helpful and a starting point for reading and discussion.

Prologue

I The Life of Men- to know and love God.
I found this quote from the Compendium (a link I think I’ll be using a lot) that sums it up nicely:

"God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness
freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. In the fullness of
time, God the Father sent his Son as the Redeemer and Savior of mankind, fallen
into sin, thus calling all into his Church and, through the work of the Holy
Spirit, making them adopted children and heirs of his eternal happiness." (CCC
1-25)

The rest of the prologue (sections II-IV) deals with defining catechesis, and information on the history, structure, intended use of the Catechism. What is this crazy huge book anyway? Read the Prologue and find out!

“Catechesis is an education in the faith of children, young people, and adults
which includes especially the teaching if Christian doctrine imparted, generally
speaking, in an organic and systematic way, with a view to initiating the
hearers into the fullness of Christian life.” (CCC 5)

Traditionally catechisms are built on four pillars, and this one follows that tradition:
Profession of faith (the Creed)
Sacraments of faith
Life of faith (The Commandments)
Prayer of the believer (The Lord’s Prayer)

Hopefully in reading the Catechism from beginning to end we will be able to appreciate and understand it as a “united whole.” (CCC 18)The Prologue also contains a section that details how to adapt the Catechism for use in different cultures and situations. Truly we belong to a universal Church that has relevance to all places and circumstances!

And finally we are given an excellent reminder “Above All- Charity.”

“The whole concern of doctrine and its teaching must be directed to the love
that never ends. Whether something is proposed for belief, for hope or for
action, the love of our Lord must always be made accessible, so that anyone can
see that all the works of perfect Christian virtue spring from love and have no
other objective than to arrive at love.” (CCC 25)

And so ends the Prologue and we are on to Chapter 1- Man’s Capacity for God of Section 1- I Believe- We Believe of Part 1- Profession of Faith. Does anyone else find all these levels of division confusing? The chapter itself is divided into sections using Roman numerals, I have kept that format in my notes for clarity.

Part 1, Section1, Chapter 1

I The Desire For God

“The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created
by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in
God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for.” (CCC
27)

Man is a religious being, and we can find evidence of this throughout history across all cultures.
However, this “intimate and vital bond” with God is often easily forgotten. Several causes are given for this forgetting:
1. Revolt against evil in the world
2. Religious ignorance
3. Cares and troubles of the world
4. Scandal or bad example of believers
5. Currents of thought hostile to religion
6. Attitude of sinful man which makes him hide from God out of fear and flee his call

Wow, I know can personally relate to causes # 2, 3, 5, and 6, and not just in my life BC (before conversion). I think these things are just more subtle now. I really noticed myself doing #6 just this week. I noticed this at times when I was engaged in a conflict with my son (who has developed quite a sassy attitude of late). I start to lose my temper, and the farther I go from a charitable and loving parental response (deeper into sin), the less likely I am to turn to God in prayer, both at the moment and even for hours/days afterward. Yes, I actually try to hide from God.

I’m sure I look just as foolish to our Lord as my 6-year-old did to me the other day when I discovered him sitting on the white bathroom rug with a guilty look all over his face and an empty bottle of blue paint next to him. In a misguided attempt to avoid discovery he even told me in all earnestness, “Nothing happened here, I am sitting on this rug for NO reason in particular.” The funny part was, it was washable bath tub paint, so if he would have told me immediately about the mess I could have washed it easily. Hmmm, I’m sure there is a message for me here, I am going to make a pointed effort to bring all my messes to God right away!

Can you share an experience with any of these six factors that cause us to reject or forget God?

Despite all these ways that man can forget about God, God “never ceases to call every man to him, so as to find life and happiness.” (CCC 30) Definitely check out this passage which includes a great quote from St. Augustine!
Do you have a great "restless heart" story to share?

II Ways of Coming to Know God
This section discusses ways of coming to know God: through the beauty and order creation and through the human person and his soul (referred to as the “seed of eternity we bear in ourselves, irreducible to the merely material”).

This reminds me of the importance of getting kids outside to experience God’s creation. I try to incorporate nature study into my homeschooling, and I need the reminder that it is not just an extension of our science or phys. ed. curriculum, but an aspect of bringing them up in the faith. In fact I think we can look at all the school subjects in this light, marveling at the order and wonder in the universe through science, exploring the orderliness and patterns of mathematics, the beauty of art and music, all these things can help our children to know and love God.

III The Knowledge of God According to The Church
This section is all about the role of the Church. Although man IS capable of coming to know God by reason alone (because he is created in the image of God) there are many obstacles to his doing so including the impact of the senses, imagination, and “disordered appetites which are the consequence of original sin”. (CCC 37)
So we need divine revelation to enlighten us, “not only about those things that exceed [our] understanding, but also ‘about those religious and moral truths which of themselves are not beyond the grasps of human reason, so that even in the present condition of the human race, they can be known by all men with ease, with firm certainty and with no admixture of error.’” (CCC 38)

IV How Can We Speak About God?
This section is about how we can use our human ways of knowing and thinking and our words which are human and describe earthly things to describe God- “the inexpressible, the incomprehensible, the invisible, the ungraspable”. (CCC 42)
From the Compendium:

"By taking as our starting point the perfections of man and of the other
creatures which are a reflection, albeit a limited one, of the infinite
perfection of God, we are able to speak about God with all people. We must,
however, continually purify our language insofar as it is image-bound and
imperfect, realizing that we can never fully express the infinite mystery of
God." (CCC 39-4348-49)

At the end of each chapter, there is a review section called “In Brief” which provides a handy point by point review! Notice these points have their own reference numbers, so don’t skip them as they are part of the assigned reading.

So now your job is to go do the reading, and come back here and post any questions, comments, insights, favorite passages, or anything else Catechism related! Go, go, go!!!!

Introductions

2008-03-31T10:39:00.000-07:00

I'm getting excited about this! Let's introduce ourselves, before we get started. If you want leave a comment with some info about yourself, how many kids you have, what you hope to get out of reading the catechism, how you found my site, etc! Just remember this is the internet so nothing too personal :) I think everyone knows me, or if you don't check out my homeschooling blog: GrayFamilyCircus.
I'll post the first reading April 7th. I am planning to use the printable Guide from CHN and just cover seven days of reading in a week. So if you want to do daily readings or read ahead go ahead and print that out, you could also use it to check off what we have covered. The guide also has daily Scripture readings, but I think we'll just stick with the catechism here.
So are you in? Post a comment below!

Welcome!

2008-03-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hello! Thank you so much for visiting my blog! I hope you will stick around :)
Here is what I'm planning:

On Monday (starting 4/7) I will post a weekly reading assignment from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. If you don't have a copy click on the Amazon link the right side bar and get yourself one! Along with the assignment (which I will be taking straight from the CHN Guide to Read Through the Catechism in a Year) I will aim to cover 7 daily reading assigments in a week, and yes I'll be reading all seven days on Sunday night most likely. I will offer some of my notes, random thoughts on how this applies to me, a wife and homeschooling mother of four, and perhaps some related links. Your mission- should you choose to accept it- is to read the assignment (or just my notes, we are busy moms afterall, LOL) and post some comments.

Let's "encourage each other daily while it is still today"!!! (Hebrews 3:13)