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The People's Catechism: Catholic Faith for Adults
An accessible introduction to some of the major themes of Catholic faith. This volume is organized in four parts—faith, sacraments, morals, and prayer. Each section features several chapters that begin with a passage from scripture, and then offer a Catholic way of seeing the importance of the passage for Christian life today.
264 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1995
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May 18, 2024
A PRESENTATION OF CATHOLICISM, LINKING TO THE CATHOLIC CATECHISM
The editors wrote in the Introduction to this 1996 book, “The Catechism of the Catholic Church … [is] adding foundational clarity to the essence of the Catholic expression of Christianity… [This book] is yet another tool to assist in the Church’s evangelical-catechetical mission…. [The book] attempts to bring life and a fresh understanding of the truths of faith contained in The Catechism… the truths of faith are presented in a style and format that makes it a useable tool in adult faith formation sessions, small groups or Christian communities, ministry training programs, and personal enrichment or study… It may be used for small faith-sharing groups or for those who have experienced a remarkable conversion as part of RENEW, the Cursillo movement, Marriage Encounter, or other renewal programs. Catechis is a lifelong process involving especially adults living in a community of believers.”
William J. O’Malley, S.J., states in the first chapter, “Real faith—living faith---is not just about truths or doctrines or ‘proofs.’ Of course we have to explain (first to ourselves) what we believe and on what objective grounds we believe it. But Jesus did not do for the head; he was going for the heart. He did not aim for logical completeness but for a change of values, priorities, attitudes; conversion---a complete turnabout in the direction in the direction of one’s living.” (Pg. 11)
Later, O’Malley observes, “Catholic pedagogy has too often flown directly in the fact of the psychology of conversion: trying to make people Roman Catholics before they have internalized the message of Christianity… Therefore, before moving on directly to Scripture (as most such texts do), let us pause to set things in their proper order; first, we discover God and God’s importance; then we enter into a personal relationship with God---without which any further study seems merely academic. Only then can we profitably push onward into the revelations of and about that God that we discover through Scripture.” (Pg. 32)
He acknowledges, “A great many not-yet-convinced Christians are harmed by well-meaning instructors who leave them with the false impression that the Bible is ‘nothing but a bunch of myths.’ The teachers do not seem to have realized---or been able to convey----that there are two quite different (in fact contrary) meanings of the word ‘myth.’ … In the positive sense, ‘myth’ means a story what attempts to express or explain a basic truth…. This is the sense in which a great deal of Scripture is myth: stories trying to embody truths. The author of Genesis… did not expect his audience to believe snakes used to talk to naked ladies in the park, but he was trying to capture a very real truth: only human beings go against God’s will for them.” (Pg. 40)
Mitch and Kathy Finley note, “Sometimes people use God’s command to ‘subdue’ the earth to justify
abuse of the earth’s natural resources… True, we are to master the earth, but as stewards or caretakers. We are to respect God’s creation and our environment. We are to use the earth’s natural resources gently and take care that we leave the environment the way we find it. We must guard against spoiling the creation out of greed or thoughtlessness, for our ‘dominion…’ is not absolute; it is limited by concern for the quality of life of [our] neighbor[s], including generations to come.” (Pg. 65)
They state, “Throughout the New Testament, it is true, we find certain types of anti-Jewish polemic. For example, the New Testament frequently echoes the belief that Judaism has been superseded or rendered irrelevant by Christianity… Today, however, it is both possible and necessary for Christians to reject any such belief… Jesus was an observant Jew… thus Christianity’s roots are in Judaism. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Mosaic Law and the prophets … but Judaism remains a valid religion in its own right… as Pope John Paul II said, the Jewish people are, in truth, our elder brothers and sisters. In fact, we must insist that in a way the Jewish people are part of the people of God.” (Pg. 92-93)
They explain, “We, the Church, are called to be for the world what Christ is for the world, teaching, serving, healing, and forgiving. In particular, the council said, married couples are a special sign of the living intimacy between Christ and his Church… From marriage comes the family…. We depend upon families for our continued existence as the Church. Therefore, the nourishment and support of family life in its various forms---two-percent families, single-parent families, childless couples, and single and widowed persons in their extended family networks---should be basic to the life of the Church.” (Pg. 113)
Kathleen Hughes and Barbara Quinn say, “Conversion begins with a personal, internal experience, a grace-full invitation to a new or deeper life with God. The invitation may take the form of forgiveness, healing, service of others, self-donation in love, or countless others. Sacraments are celebrated when we are ready to embrace that divine invitation to become more deeply human and holy. Sacraments are the public, ritual celebrations of our ‘yes’ to conversion. They give visible expression to these invisible realities, and in the process that commit us to live, in deed, what we have proclaimed in word and ritual actions.” (Pg. 140)
Timothy E. O’Connell points out, “we live in a complicated world, a world of alternatives, of competing values… Because we humans are FINITE, our efforts to do what is helpful and avoid is harmful are burdened by the limits of what is concretely possible. That is why many of the wise teachers in the Catholic tradition have declared that the skill most needed for living the moral life is PRUDENCE, not a mealy-mouthed cowardice, but a down-to-earth ability to sort through life’s complexity in order to discover how best to be responsible.” (Pg. 186)
He acknowledges, “our tradition of strong moral teaching can be both attractive and troubling… Some people can be inclined to Catholicism precisely for its aura of certitude… The truth is that on very few matters does the Church claim absolute certitude. In moral matters, particularly those that attempt to explore very concrete, complex current questions, we do not claim absolute certitude. Othe individuals find the teaching practices of the Church troubling. They note that church teachings, at least on some questions, seem terribly conservative. It is probably best to simply acknowledge that fact… there is a bias … to remain faithful to past wisdom until and unless it becomes absolutely change is called for. There are cases, to be sure, where the Church has come to realize that past teaching was in error. The condemnation of Galileo… is a classic example. There are other cases where… circumstances have substantially changed the state of the question… But until such calls for change… one will hear from the Catholic Church traditional value commitments.” (Pg. 200)
He explains, “The core of Catholic teaching is, of course, that God wishes marriage to last forever… Of course, we can fail in this human challenge of faithful loving. All of us know examples of the tragedy of marital failure… But our God is a God of forgiveness, not of retribution. And embodied existence must also be able to allow for starting over and learning. In our day, the Catholic community struggles to find the best way of manifesting compassion in the area of marital failure while continuing to hold clearly the challenge to seek marital fidelity…” (Pg. 229)
This book will be of keen interest to those seeking a relatively ‘mainstream’ interpretation of Catholicism, that is firmly grounded in the Catechism.
The editors wrote in the Introduction to this 1996 book, “The Catechism of the Catholic Church … [is] adding foundational clarity to the essence of the Catholic expression of Christianity… [This book] is yet another tool to assist in the Church’s evangelical-catechetical mission…. [The book] attempts to bring life and a fresh understanding of the truths of faith contained in The Catechism… the truths of faith are presented in a style and format that makes it a useable tool in adult faith formation sessions, small groups or Christian communities, ministry training programs, and personal enrichment or study… It may be used for small faith-sharing groups or for those who have experienced a remarkable conversion as part of RENEW, the Cursillo movement, Marriage Encounter, or other renewal programs. Catechis is a lifelong process involving especially adults living in a community of believers.”
William J. O’Malley, S.J., states in the first chapter, “Real faith—living faith---is not just about truths or doctrines or ‘proofs.’ Of course we have to explain (first to ourselves) what we believe and on what objective grounds we believe it. But Jesus did not do for the head; he was going for the heart. He did not aim for logical completeness but for a change of values, priorities, attitudes; conversion---a complete turnabout in the direction in the direction of one’s living.” (Pg. 11)
Later, O’Malley observes, “Catholic pedagogy has too often flown directly in the fact of the psychology of conversion: trying to make people Roman Catholics before they have internalized the message of Christianity… Therefore, before moving on directly to Scripture (as most such texts do), let us pause to set things in their proper order; first, we discover God and God’s importance; then we enter into a personal relationship with God---without which any further study seems merely academic. Only then can we profitably push onward into the revelations of and about that God that we discover through Scripture.” (Pg. 32)
He acknowledges, “A great many not-yet-convinced Christians are harmed by well-meaning instructors who leave them with the false impression that the Bible is ‘nothing but a bunch of myths.’ The teachers do not seem to have realized---or been able to convey----that there are two quite different (in fact contrary) meanings of the word ‘myth.’ … In the positive sense, ‘myth’ means a story what attempts to express or explain a basic truth…. This is the sense in which a great deal of Scripture is myth: stories trying to embody truths. The author of Genesis… did not expect his audience to believe snakes used to talk to naked ladies in the park, but he was trying to capture a very real truth: only human beings go against God’s will for them.” (Pg. 40)
Mitch and Kathy Finley note, “Sometimes people use God’s command to ‘subdue’ the earth to justify
abuse of the earth’s natural resources… True, we are to master the earth, but as stewards or caretakers. We are to respect God’s creation and our environment. We are to use the earth’s natural resources gently and take care that we leave the environment the way we find it. We must guard against spoiling the creation out of greed or thoughtlessness, for our ‘dominion…’ is not absolute; it is limited by concern for the quality of life of [our] neighbor[s], including generations to come.” (Pg. 65)
They state, “Throughout the New Testament, it is true, we find certain types of anti-Jewish polemic. For example, the New Testament frequently echoes the belief that Judaism has been superseded or rendered irrelevant by Christianity… Today, however, it is both possible and necessary for Christians to reject any such belief… Jesus was an observant Jew… thus Christianity’s roots are in Judaism. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Mosaic Law and the prophets … but Judaism remains a valid religion in its own right… as Pope John Paul II said, the Jewish people are, in truth, our elder brothers and sisters. In fact, we must insist that in a way the Jewish people are part of the people of God.” (Pg. 92-93)
They explain, “We, the Church, are called to be for the world what Christ is for the world, teaching, serving, healing, and forgiving. In particular, the council said, married couples are a special sign of the living intimacy between Christ and his Church… From marriage comes the family…. We depend upon families for our continued existence as the Church. Therefore, the nourishment and support of family life in its various forms---two-percent families, single-parent families, childless couples, and single and widowed persons in their extended family networks---should be basic to the life of the Church.” (Pg. 113)
Kathleen Hughes and Barbara Quinn say, “Conversion begins with a personal, internal experience, a grace-full invitation to a new or deeper life with God. The invitation may take the form of forgiveness, healing, service of others, self-donation in love, or countless others. Sacraments are celebrated when we are ready to embrace that divine invitation to become more deeply human and holy. Sacraments are the public, ritual celebrations of our ‘yes’ to conversion. They give visible expression to these invisible realities, and in the process that commit us to live, in deed, what we have proclaimed in word and ritual actions.” (Pg. 140)
Timothy E. O’Connell points out, “we live in a complicated world, a world of alternatives, of competing values… Because we humans are FINITE, our efforts to do what is helpful and avoid is harmful are burdened by the limits of what is concretely possible. That is why many of the wise teachers in the Catholic tradition have declared that the skill most needed for living the moral life is PRUDENCE, not a mealy-mouthed cowardice, but a down-to-earth ability to sort through life’s complexity in order to discover how best to be responsible.” (Pg. 186)
He acknowledges, “our tradition of strong moral teaching can be both attractive and troubling… Some people can be inclined to Catholicism precisely for its aura of certitude… The truth is that on very few matters does the Church claim absolute certitude. In moral matters, particularly those that attempt to explore very concrete, complex current questions, we do not claim absolute certitude. Othe individuals find the teaching practices of the Church troubling. They note that church teachings, at least on some questions, seem terribly conservative. It is probably best to simply acknowledge that fact… there is a bias … to remain faithful to past wisdom until and unless it becomes absolutely change is called for. There are cases, to be sure, where the Church has come to realize that past teaching was in error. The condemnation of Galileo… is a classic example. There are other cases where… circumstances have substantially changed the state of the question… But until such calls for change… one will hear from the Catholic Church traditional value commitments.” (Pg. 200)
He explains, “The core of Catholic teaching is, of course, that God wishes marriage to last forever… Of course, we can fail in this human challenge of faithful loving. All of us know examples of the tragedy of marital failure… But our God is a God of forgiveness, not of retribution. And embodied existence must also be able to allow for starting over and learning. In our day, the Catholic community struggles to find the best way of manifesting compassion in the area of marital failure while continuing to hold clearly the challenge to seek marital fidelity…” (Pg. 229)
This book will be of keen interest to those seeking a relatively ‘mainstream’ interpretation of Catholicism, that is firmly grounded in the Catechism.
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