Excerpts of
Introduction by Pope John Paul II
·
To all the
People of God …
·
At a Synod of Bishops meeting in 1985 “very many
have expressed the desire that a catechism of all catholic doctrine regarding
both faith and morals be composed … a point of reference. The presentation of doctrine (in it) must be
biblical and liturgical. It must be
sound doctrine suited to the present life of Christians”. … (This resulted in)
this ‘reference text’, entitled the Catechism
of the Catholic Church.
·
I declare it to be a sure norm for the teaching
of the faith. … Therefore, I ask all the Church’s Pastors and the Christian
faithful to receive this catechism and to use it.
·
It is meant to support ecumenical efforts that
are moved by the holy desire for the unity of all Christians, showing carefully
the content and wondrous harmony of the catholic faith.
Prologue
·
The Life of Man – To Know and Love God. 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 his
Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted
children and thus heirs of his blessed life.
·
Handing on the Faith: Catechesis. Quite early on, the name catechesis was given to the totality of the Church’s efforts to
make disciples, to help men believe that
Jesus is the Son of God. … the teaching of Christian doctrine … in an
organic and systematic way.
·
Catechesis is built on elements of the Church’s
pastoral mission: initial proclamation of the Gospel to arouse faith;
examination of the reasons for belief; experience of Christian living;
celebration of the sacraments; integration into the ecclesial community; and
apostolic and missionary witness.
·
The Aim and Intended Readership of This
Catechism. This catechism aims at
presenting an organic synthesis of the
essential and fundamental contents of Catholic doctrine, as regards both
faith and morals. Its principle sources
are the Sacred Scriptures, the Fathers of the Church, the liturgy, and the
Church’s Magisterium.
·
It is offered as an instrument in fulfilling
their responsibility of teaching the People of God. It will also be useful reading for all other
Christian faithful.
·
The plan of this catechism is inspired by the great
tradition of catechisms which build catechesis on four pillars: the baptismal profession of faith (the Creed), the sacraments of faith, the
life of faith (the Commandments) and
the prayer of the believer (the Lord’s
Prayer).
I am planning to
begin the Catechism study with Part Three:
The life of faith. There are two reasons for this. 1) This section talks about the “ways we can
achieve the image of God through
right conduct freely chosen, with the help of God’s law and grace.” It is practical and can be immediately
applied. 2) Sections on the Creed or
sacraments or Our Father might seem “old hat” --- “I already know that.” I don’t want to bore myself, or anyone
else. Since the catechism is constructed
as a whole, there is a risk that jumping to Part Three I may miss some
foundations found in Parts One and Two, but I’m hoping footnotes and references
will minimize this. If not, I’ll go back
as necessary. The timing for readings each week is in the Study Agenda (attached
separately). June 26: pp 421-429
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