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Saturday, January 4, 2014

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, in the beginning...


PROLOGUE
"FATHER, . . . this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ
whom you have sent."1 "God our Savior desires all men to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth."2 "There is no other name under heaven given among men by which
we must be saved"3 - than the name of JESUS.
I. THE LIFE OF MAN - TO KNOW AND LOVE GOD
1 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. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to
man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men,
scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church. To accomplish this, when the
fullness of time had come, God sent his Son as Redeemer and Savior. 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.
2 So that this call should resound throughout the world, Christ sent forth the apostles he had chosen,
commissioning them to proclaim the gospel: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that
I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age."4 Strengthened by this
mission, the apostles "went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and
confirmed the message by the signs that attended it."5
3 Those who with God's help have welcomed Christ's call and freely responded to it are urged on by
love of Christ to proclaim the Good News everywhere in the world. This treasure, received from the
apostles, has been faithfully guarded by their successors. All Christ's faithful are called to hand it on
from generation to generation, by professing the faith, by living it in fraternal sharing, and by
celebrating it in liturgy and prayer.6
II. HANDING ON THE FAITH: CATECHESIS
4 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 so that believing they might have life in his
name, and to educate and instruct them in this life, thus building up the body of Christ.7
5 "Catechesis is an education in the faith of children, young people and adults which includes especially
the teaching of Christian doctrine imparted, generally speaking, in an organic and systematic way, with
a view to initiating the hearers into the fullness of Christian life."8
6 While not being formally identified with them, catechesis is built on a certain number of elements of
the Church's pastoral mission which have a catechetical aspect, that prepare for catechesis, or spring
from it. They are: the initial proclamation of the Gospel or missionary preaching 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.9
7 "Catechesis is intimately bound up with the whole of the Church's life. Not only her geographical
extension and numerical increase, but even more her inner growth and correspondence with God's
plan depend essentially on catechesis."10
8 Periods of renewal in the Church are also intense moments of catechesis. In the great era of the
Fathers of the Church, saintly bishops devoted an important part of their ministry to catechesis. St.
Cyril of Jerusalem and St. John Chrysostom, St. Ambrose and St. Augustine, and many other Fathers
wrote catechetical works that remain models for us.11
9 "The ministry of catechesis draws ever fresh energy from the councils. The Council of Trent is a
noteworthy example of this. It gave catechesis priority in its constitutions and decrees. It lies at the
origin of the Roman Catechism, which is also known by the name of that council and which is a work of
the first rank as a summary of Christian teaching. . . ."12 The Council of Trent initiated a remarkable
organization of the Church's catechesis. Thanks to the work of holy bishops and theologians such as St.
Peter Canisius, St. Charles Borromeo, St. Turibius of Mongrovejo or St. Robert Bellarmine, it occasioned
the publication of numerous catechisms.
10 It is therefore no surprise that catechesis in the Church has again attracted attention in the wake of
the Second Vatican Council, which Pope Paul VI considered the great catechism of modern times. The
General Catechetical Directory (1971) the sessions of the Synod of Bishops devoted to evangelization
(1974) and catechesis (1977), the apostolic exhortations Evangelii nuntiandi (1975) and Catechesi
tradendae (1979), attest to this. The Extraordinary Synod of Bishops in 1985 asked "that a catechism or
compendium of all Catholic doctrine regarding both faith and morals be composed"13 The Holy Father,
Pope John Paul II, made the Synod's wish his own, acknowledging that "this desire wholly corresponds
to a real need of the universal Church and of the particular Churches."14 He set in motion everything
needed to carry out the Synod Fathers' wish.
III. THE AIM AND INTENDED READERSHIP OF THE CATECHISM
11 This catechism aims at presenting an organic synthesis of the essential and fundamental contents of
Catholic doctrine, as regards both faith and morals, in the light of the Second Vatican Council and the
whole of the Church's Tradition. Its principal sources are the Sacred Scriptures, the Fathers of the
Church, the liturgy, and the Church's Magisterium. It is intended to serve "as a point of reference for
the catechisms or compendia that are composed in the various countries".15
12 This work is intended primarily for those responsible for catechesis: first of all the bishops, as
teachers of the faith and pastors of the Church. It is offered to them as an instrument in fulfilling their
responsibility of teaching the People of God. Through the bishops, it is addressed to redactors of
catechisms, to priests, and to catechists. It will also be useful reading for all other Christian faithful.
IV. STRUCTURE OF THIS CATECHISM
13 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).
Part One: The Profession of Faith
14 Those who belong to Christ through faith and Baptism must confess their baptismal faith before
men.16 First therefore the Catechism expounds revelation, by which God addresses and gives himself to
man, and the faith by which man responds to God (Section One). The profession of faith summarizes
the gifts that God gives man: as the Author of all that is good; as Redeemer; and as Sanctifier. It
develops these in the three chapters on our baptismal faith in the one God: the almighty Father, the
Creator; his Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior; and the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, in the Holy Church
(Section Two).
Part Two: The Sacraments of Faith
15 The second part of the Catechism explains how God's salvation, accomplished once for all through
Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit, is made present in the sacred actions of the Church's liturgy (Section
One), especially in the seven sacraments (Section Two).
Part Three: The Life of Faith
16 The third part of the Catechism deals with the final end of man created in the image of God:
beatitude, and the ways of reaching it - through right conduct freely chosen, with the help of God's law
and grace (Section One), and through conduct that fulfills the twofold commandment of charity,
specified in God's Ten Commandments (Section Two).
Part Four: Prayer in the Life of Faith
17 The last part of the Catechism deals with the meaning and importance of prayer in the life of
believers (Section One). It concludes with a brief commentary on the seven petitions of the Lord's
Prayer (Section Two), for indeed we find in these the sum of all the good things which we must hope
for, and which our heavenly Father wants to grant us.
V. PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS FOR USING THIS CATECHISM
18 This catechism is conceived as an organic presentation of the Catholic faith in its entirety. It should
be seen therefore as a unified whole. Numerous cross-references in the margin of the text (numbers
found at the end of a sentence referring to other paragraphs that deal with the same theme), as well
as the analytical index at the end of the volume, allow the reader to view each theme in its relationship
with the entirety of the faith.
19 The texts of Sacred Scripture are often not quoted word for word but are merely indicated by a
reference (cf.). For a deeper understanding of such passages, the reader should refer to the Scriptural
texts themselves. Such Biblical references are a valuable working-tool in catechesis.
20 The use of small print in certain passages indicates observations of an historical or apologetic
nature, or supplementary doctrinal explanations.
21 The quotations, also in small print, from patristic, liturgical, magisterial or hagiographical sources,
are intended to enrich the doctrinal presentations. These texts have often been chosen with a view to
direct catechetical use.
22 At the end of each thematic unit, a series of brief texts in small italics sums up the essentials of that
unit's teaching in condensed formula. These IN BRIEF summaries may suggest to local catechists brief
summary formula that could be memorized.
VI. NECESSARY ADAPTATIONS
23 The Catechism emphasizes the exposition of doctrine. It seeks to help deepen understanding of
faith. In this way it is oriented towards the maturing of that faith, its putting down roots in personal
life, and its shining forth in personal conduct.17
24 By design, this Catechism does not set out to provide the adaptation of doctrinal presentations and
catechetical methods required by the differences of culture, age, spiritual maturity, and social and
ecclesial condition among all those to whom it is addressed. Such indispensable adaptations are the
responsibility of particular catechisms and, even more, of those who instruct the faithful:
Whoever teaches must become "all things to all men" (1 Cor 9:22), to win everyone to Christ.
. . . Above all, teachers must not imagine that a single kind of soul has been entrusted to them,
and that consequently it is lawful to teach and form equally all the faithful in true piety with
one and the same method! Let them realize that some are in Christ as newborn babes, others
as adolescents, and still others as adults in full command of their powers. . . . Those who are
called to the ministry of preaching must suit their words to the maturity and understanding of
their hearers, as they hand on the teaching of the mysteries of faith and the rules of moral
conduct.18
Above all - Charity
25 To conclude this Prologue, it is fitting to recall this pastoral principle stated by the Roman
Catechism:
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.19
1 Jn 17 3.
2 1 Tim 2:3-4.
3 Acts 4:12.
4 Mt 28:19-20.
5 Mk 16:20.
6 Cf. Acts 2:42.
7 Cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Catechesi tradendae 1; 2.
8 CT 18.
9 CT 18.
10 CT 13.
11 Cf. CT 12.
12 CT 13.
13 Extraordinary Synod of Bishops 1985, Final Report, II B a, 4.
14 John Paul II, Discourse at the Closing Of the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops, 7 December 1985: AAS
78, (1986).
15 Extraordinary Synod of Bishops 1985, Final Report II B a, 4.
16 Cf. Mt 10:32; Rom 10:9.
17 Cf. CT 20-22; 25.
18 Roman Catechism, Preface II; cf. 1 Cor 9:22; 1 Pt 2:2.
19 Roman Catechism, Preface 10; cf. 1 Cor 13:8.

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