Catechism definition: Difference between revisions
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(Created page with "Catechism * from == Forms of the word "catechism" == === Catechesis === * the instruction of the Catholic faith and life in Christ ** Catechesis is for "building up the body of Christ" (CCC 4) * from the Catechism (CCC 5): <pre>"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 i...") |
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Catechism | '''Catechism''' | ||
* from | * "instruction in Christian principles" | ||
* from Latin ''catechismus'' for "book of instruction" | |||
** from Greek ''katekhismos'' | |||
* "The Catechism" is the collection of those instructions, called '''The Catechism of the Catholic Church''' | |||
** digital "flip book" available [https://www.usccb.org/sites/default/files/flipbooks/catechism/ here (USCCB.org)] (US Conference of Catholic Bishops) | |||
** Catechism in html is available here (St. Borromeo Church) | |||
== | == Words related to "catechism" == | ||
=== Catechesis === | === Catechesis === | ||
* the instruction of the Catholic faith and life in Christ | * the instruction of the Catholic faith and life in Christ | ||
** Catechesis is for "building up the body of Christ" (CCC 4) | ** Catechesis is for "building up the body of Christ" ([https://www.usccb.org/sites/default/files/flipbooks/catechism/10/ CCC 4]) | ||
* from the Catechism (CCC 5): | * from the Catechism ([https://www.usccb.org/sites/default/files/flipbooks/catechism/10/ CCC 5]): | ||
<pre>"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." </pre> | <pre>"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." </pre> | ||
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* one who teaches the Catechism; a teacher of the faith and morals | * one who teaches the Catechism; a teacher of the faith and morals | ||
'''Catechumen ''' | === '''Catechumen ''' === | ||
* technically, one who is preparing for baptism | * technically, one who is preparing for baptism | ||
* "catechumen" is used generally to mean anyone undergoing the process of learning about the Catholic faith in preparation for the Sacraments of Initiation, usually Confirmation (and the Eucharist if not baptized) and life in Christ. | * "catechumen" is used generally to mean anyone undergoing the process of learning about the Catholic faith in preparation for the Sacraments of Initiation, usually Confirmation (and the Eucharist if not baptized) and life in Christ. | ||
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== St. Pope John Paul II's ''Catechesi Tradendae''== | == St. Pope John Paul II's ''Catechesi Tradendae''== | ||
In [https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_16101979_catechesi-tradendae.html ''Catechesi Tradendae'']] Saint Pope John Paul II note that catechesis is linked to liturgical and sacramental life, especially the Sacrament of the Eucharist, but: | |||
<pre>The primary and essential object of catechesis is, to use an expression dear to St. Paul and also to contemporary theology, "the mystery of Christ." Catechizing is in a way to lead a person to study this mystery in all its dimensions: "to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery...comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth ...know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge...(and be filled) with all the fullness of God." It is therefore to reveal in the Person of Christ the whole of God's eternal design reaching fulfillment in that Person. It is to seek to understand the meaning of Christ's actions and words and of the signs worked by Him, for they simultaneously hide and reveal His mystery. Accordingly, the definitive aim of catechesis is to put people not only in touch but in communion, in intimacy, with Jesus Christ: only He can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity.<pre> | |||
* practice of the faith without comprehension of it becomes "hollow ritualism" | |||
* and similarly hollow is "intellectualized" comprehension without faith : | |||
...sacramental life is impoverished and very soon turns into hollow ritualism if it is not based on serious knowledge of the meaning of the sacraments, and catechesis becomes intellectualized if it fails to come alive in the sacramental practice.(23) | |||
Saint John Paul II pointed to the need for "intimacy" with Christ and "His mystery" (emphasis added below):<pre>The primary and essential object of catechesis is, to use an expression dear to St. Paul and also to contemporary theology, "the mystery of Christ." Catechizing is in a way to lead a person to study this mystery in all its dimensions: "to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery...comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth ...know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge...(and be filled) with all the fullness of God." It is therefore to reveal in the Person of Christ the whole of God's eternal design reaching fulfillment in that Person. It is to seek to understand the meaning of Christ's actions and words and of the signs worked by Him, for they simultaneously hide and reveal His mystery. '''Accordingly, the definitive aim of catechesis is to put people not only in touch but in communion, in intimacy, with Jesus Christ: only He can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity'''. (5)<pre> | |||