The presence of the Catholic Church in the United States reaches back to the founding days of our country through the leadership of Archbishop John Carroll, the first Catholic bishop in the United States. His story, like other stories at the start of the chapters in the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, gives us a glimpse into the lives of Catholics who lived out their faith throughout our country's history. Tolisten to an audio sample.
REVIEW
U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults This book is helpful in explaining the Catholic faith, what we believe and why we believe it. In addition to the Holy Bible this book will help you to deepen your relationship with God. It provides the reader with clarity and opens up a better understanding of Catholic tradition that has been handed down over the centuries.
Try It, You'll Like It I heartily agree with the statement from the introduction to Reader's Journal: "(it) provides rich opportunities to articulate your faith and to reflect on how to live that faith in new and deeper ways." As the book's full title suggests, this is a companion to the U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults (2006). I recall being impressed by the quality and content of that work, then putting it on my shelf, where it sat largely unused.
A trial run with the Reader'sJournal changed all that. I read over the ideas for using the journal for individuals, groups, and RCIA candidates. They started with "refer often" to the suggested pages in the catechism as you approach the parallel read-reflect-respond and meditate-pray-act sections in the journal. Conceivably, the journal could be used as a stand-alone; however I decided to give it a full try. I chose to cover one chapter (Bring about the Obedience of Faith) over two days, and to read all the pages in the catechism and write all my responses. The result was amazing. I have long thought about a spiritualjournal, now I had started one. I spent about 40 minutes the first day, writing a summary of my thoughts before quitting. The next day I began by rereading what I had written, then worked through the remaining sections. Again, I closed with a paragraph on the whole experience. Altogether I spent about an hour.
The themes that bubbled up are closely related to my life in the here and now as well as expectations for the hereafter. I was pleased with the things I wrote and the decisions that evolved; obviously the Spirit was at work. Determined to make this journal activity a regular exercise, I tried several of the scheduling options from the introduction to find the best fit for me. I also began recommending the catechism - journal practice to my friends, especially those in faith sharing groups.
This digital document is an article from First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life, published by Institute on Religion and Public Life on December 1, 2008. The length of the article is 515 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details Title: Daniel Burke of the Washington Post covers a miniature brouhaha over a change voted by the American bishops in the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults.(While We're At It) Author: Richard John Neuhaus Publication:First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life (Magazine/Journal) Date: December 1, 2008 Publisher: Institute on Religion and Public Life Issue: 188 Page: 66(2)
