to write and to edit.
Petroc Willey
Make my soul your heaven,
your beloved dwelling and the place of your rest.
— Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity, “Prayer to the Trinity”
If a man
Should chance to find this place three times in Time
His eyes are changed and make a summer silence.
— Edwin Muir, “The Sufficient Place”
Day 1
Introduction and Prologue
The Cover and Artworks
We begin our reading of the Catechism not from inside the covers of the book but with the cover itself. The Church has intended that the whole of this work proclaim Christ to us, including the small line drawing on the front cover. Inside, with the publication details, you will find a short account of the meaning of this picture.
You will see that it is a simple design, the symbolism easily decipherable and very familiar. It is a natural pastoral scene. We see in the center a shepherd seated, with a sheep at his feet looking expectantly up. This central figure is, of course, Christ the Good Shepherd, while the seated posture is the position taken, in the Jewish tradition, when one is speaking authoritatively. That understanding was carried over into the Christian faith, so that we now speak of a professor holding a “chair” in a particular subject, while a bishop teaches from his cathedral (from cathedra, Latin for “chair”). Here, then, is Christ as the Good Pastor of his people, teaching with authority and warding off danger. The sheep lies in the shade of a tree — the tree of the Cross, now bearing the fruit of an everlasting life of happiness won for us. The arching tree creates a frame, suggesting a window through which we look in order to see this summary of what the Catechism contains.
In addition to this graceful cover design, the authors asked for four works of art to be placed in the Catechism, one to introduce each of the Parts. Most publishers honored this intention (though not all did, for reasons of cost). Their presence is to manifest for us something of the indescribable beauty of Christ and of the Catholic faith, as well as to remind us of the capacity of art to attract us to the faith as we come to understand it through a contemplative gaze.
Day 2
The Contents Pages
One feature of the drawing on the cover points us directly to the importance of reading the contents pages carefully. The shepherd is playing panpipes, and the Catechism’s explanation of the logo informs us that the sheep is being held attentive by the “melodious symphony of the truth” being played. That symphony is presented in a concise format in the contents pages.
A review of the contents reveals four Parts, four “symphonic movements,” which faithfully unpack each of the four dimensions of the Christian life identified in the Acts of the Apostles. There we see that the first disciples attended to the apostles’ teaching, lived in fellowship together, and shared in the breaking of the bread and in the prayers (see Acts 2:42). The contents pages mirror these dimensions in the Profession of Faith, centered on the Creed (Part 1); in the Celebration of the Faith, gathered around the sacraments (Part 2); in Life in Christ, grounded in the commandments (Part 3); and in the Life of Prayer, at the heart of which is the Lord’s own prayer (Part 4). The numerous headings and titles in the contents pages are gathered within the overall structure of these four Parts.
The ordering of the Parts itself is significant: the Catechism first presents us with the infinite, gracious God and then a consideration of ourselves in relation to him. We begin with the divine works of creation, redemption, and sanctification (Part 1), and then move to God’s grace, healing, and elevating us in the sacraments (Part 2). From there we turn to our necessary response, in the obedience of a faithful life (Part 3) and constant prayer (Part 4).
We can think of the contents as a whole, the headings and the individual numbered paragraphs as bars of music making up the symphony. The contents pages invite us to a full reading, a full “listening,” of the work. Only in this complete reception will the power of this heavenly music be appreciated.
Day 3
Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum1
A Letter to the whole People of God from Pope Saint John Paul II introduces the Catechism. All official Church documents are known primarily by their Latin title and its abbreviation. The title is taken from the opening words of the document. The Latin title, Fidei Depositum (FD), is a term taken from the New Testament, from the first and second letters from Paul to Timothy, describing the precious heritage of faith that Christ has left with his Church. The young bishop is being exhorted to faithfulness in guarding and handing on this great treasure of the Church, in its fullness (see 1 Tm 6:20 and 2 Tm 1:14).
The Catechism offers us a definitive and inspiring account of this heritage for our own day. Its publication reflects the ongoing faithfulness to the Gospel of the successors of the apostles — the Pope, together with the whole episcopate. This Apostolic Constitution explains the process by which the Catechism was requested and composed and details the careful stages through which it passed, as befits this unique teaching document intended for use across the universal Church. This is a work to guide the whole Church, every adult member of the People of God.
Saint John Paul II explains that the Church offers us this account of the faith not in the format of a dictionary or an encyclopedia, as a list of definitions or as food for the mind only, but precisely as a catechism, as a work to assist in the formation of God’s people in the living faith of the Church by making “the truth of the Gospel shine forth.” Each of the four Parts has an essential role to play in this formation. Once you have read this important Letter, spend time making your own the prayer with which John Paul concludes it.
Day 4
Apostolic Letter Laetamur Magnopere
Today we read a second Letter. This Letter is again from Saint John Paul II and celebrates the publication of the definitive Latin edition in 1997. John Paul writes here of the lengthy and careful process of revision between the initial publication in 1992 and this definitive edition — a period almost as long as the initial period of its writing. Now, the work is finally complete, the last revisions concluded. The Letter from the Pope is fittingly titled “great joy.” The desire of the bishops for this Catechism is now “happily fulfilled.” One can sense the Pope’s own happiness pulsating through every line of this short Letter. This, at last, is the work that was needed, showing the “totally reliable” way to present the Christian message.
It is not just that there is a natural sense of relief and satisfaction in good work masterfully completed. John Paul is also overjoyed by the reception and impact of the Catechism all over the world. The ongoing engagement of so many in this project means that this work witnesses to a unique measure of agreement in the “harmony of so many voices.”
John Paul also writes here of the wider “extraordinary interest” the Catechism has raised, beyond the Church, and even among non-Christians. He sees here a deep confirmation of the need for this Catechism: this “extraordinary” interest, he says, must be matched by
