Thursday, September 28, 2006

Compendium, ch. 1

The first paragraph in this chapter reminded me of something I had read the day before. Both are about man's desire and need of God:
"2. Why does man have a desire for God?
God himself, in creating man in his own image, has written upon his heart the desire to see him. Even if this desire is often ignored, God never ceases to draw man to himself because only in God will he find and live the fullness of truth and happiness for which he never stops searching. By nature and by vocation, therefore, man is a religious being, capable of entering into communion with God. This intimate and vital bond with God confers on man his fundamental dignity."
~Compendium



"There is no man nor woman...who does not love and fear God, but 'tis because our hearts are divided twixt love of God and fear of the devil and fondness for the world and the flesh, that we are unhappy in life and death. For if a man had not any yearning after God and God's being, then should he thrive in hell, and 'twould be we alone who would not understand that there he had gotten what his heart desired. For there the fire would not burn him if he did not long for coolness, nor would he feel the torment of the serpents' bite, if he knew not the yearning after peace."
~Kristen Lavransdatter, The Bridal Wreath, p.38



They mean, of course, that because we were made to know, love, and serve God we will be miserable without him, which is easy to understand. At the same time however, you have to wonder: the angels were created to know love and serve God, too; why isn't the devil unhappy? Or is he? Does he take genuine delight in being the promoter of sin? I'd really appreciate your thoughts on this subject.




Saturday, September 23, 2006

The Catechism as a "Sign of Contradiction"

I thought this was a really interesting quote about the intended effect of the Catechism on the society as a whole...

It is no surprise that the Catechism proved to be a sign of contradiction from its very inception, even before anyone had read a single line of it. This only goes to show the timeliness of a work that is not merely a book but an event in the history of the Church. Anything that does not meet with opposition has obviously not dealt at all with the urgent needs of its time. The worst thing that Christianity has experienced in the twentieth century has not been open antagonism. The fact that powerful regimes persecute a powerless minority of believers with every means at their disposal is a sign of how much inner strength they attribute to the faith that animates this little flock. What oppressive, however, is indifference toward Christianity, which is apparently no longer worth a struggle but is rearded as an insignificant antique that we can safely let go to ruin, or even maintain as a museum piece. In contrast, the Catechism was and is an event that has reached far beyond intra-ecclesial debates to stir a secularized society. The Catechism was and is a breach in the soundproof walls of indifference. Faith is once more becoming salt that wounds and heals, a summons that challenges us to take a position.

(from Gospel, Catechesis, Catechism by Cardinal Ratzinger)

Thursday, September 21, 2006

A Map of Life, chapter 2

During chapter 2 I took more notes and this was my favorite quote from this chapter:

"A man might very well say that he would not be bound by the law of
gravity: yet he would be well advised to keep his affirmation within the sphere
of words. Let him push it to act, and he will no longer be a modern man, but a
corpse, part of that history which in his newness, he so despised."

I thought it was a pretty good summary of the chapter, plus I really liked the quote, in fact it sounds rather Chestertonian to me. Again any suggestions for a discussion will be more than welcome.

Monday, September 18, 2006

A Map of Life, post 1

I have finally started A Map of Life, and I collected some quotes that
summarize this first chapter:

"It is of his (man's) nature to be a union of matter and spirit."

"In no case is intellegent living- that is, living consciously for the true purpose of
our being- possible to us unless we are told by God what the purpose is."


Any questions or comments? I'm not much good at starting a discussion but if anyone else has an idea for a discussion please post or comment.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, the first of many posts

I started reading the CCC last week and took some notes. Here they are:
On Laetamur Magnopere, which is an apostolic letter from Pope John Paul II I took these notes:

This project was begun in 1986 it was worked on by the 'Indicasterial
Commission' and presided over by Cardinal Ratzinger.
The latin edition was published in 1992.


On another apostolic letter, Fidei Depositum, I took these notes:
Vatican II was for Pope John Paul II "... the constant reference point of
my every pastoral action..."
The CCC was written over a period of 6 years.
A summary of the four parts was given in this letter:

Part 1: The Christian mystery is the object of faith
Part 2: It is celebrated and communicated in liturgical actions.
Part 3: It is present to enlighten and sustain the children of God in their
actions.
Part 4: It is the basis for our prayer, the privileged expression of which
is the Our Father and it represents the object of our supplication, our prause
and our intercession.


In the prolouge I took these notes and numbered them according to the paragraph in the CCC.

1. God, who is perfect, loves us.
3. We are called to spread the good news.
4 and 5. Catechisis is an "education in the faith" therefore those are in
the process of becoming Catholics or Catechists.
13. The catechism is based on the "four pillars" which are: The Creed ( or
the baptismal profession of faith), the sacraments of the faith, the life
of faith (the commandments), and the prayer of believer ( the Lord's
Prayer).

Monday, September 11, 2006

Cardinal Ratzinger on the Four Parts of the Catechism

I just came across this reference by Cardinal Ratzinger on the four parts that the Catechism of the Catholic Church is divided into (Profession of Faith (The Creed), The Celebration of the Christian Mystery (Liturgy), Life in Christ (Ten Commandments), and Christian Prayer). This quote is little challenging. I thought it was especially interesting because it shows the connections between this "new" Catechism and Church tradition.

The quote is from Handing on the Faith in an Age of Disbelief (written in 1983 - about ten years before the new Catechism was published):

...in the earliest period a catechetical structure developed that at its core goes back to the origins of the Church, a structure as old as or even older than the canon of biblical writings. Luther used this structure for his catechism, taking it for granted just as the authors of the Roman Catechism [a.k.a. The Catechism of the Council of Trent] did. This was possible because it was a question, not of an artificial system, but of a simple arrangement of the requisited memorized material of the faith, which at the same time mirrors the elements of the Church's life: the Apostles' Creed, the sacraments, the Ten Commandments and the Lord's Prayer. These four classical "principal divisions" of catechesis have sufficed over the centuries as organizational subdivisions and collecting points for catechetical instruction...

We have just said that they correspond to the dimensions of Christian life; the Roman Catechism spells this out when it says that it presents what the Christian must belief (Creed), what he must hope (Our Father), and what he must do (the Ten Commandments as an interpretation of the greatest Commandment and that it also defines the environment in which all of this is anchored (sacrament and Church).

1st Assignment (approximately 4 weeks)

Instructions:

Take notes on all the readings - make sure you understand the Compendium Catechism even if some parts of the full Catechism are hard to understand.

Have a discussion here for the introductory parts of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the two paintings in the Compendium and at least one for each chapter of A Map of Life.

Be prepared for discussions here on the following topics:

Why was this new Catechism written?
Name the Four Parts of the Catechism.
Why Do You Think These Were Chosen? Would You Have Chosen the Same Four Parts? (Why or Why Not)
How should the Catechism be used?
How can we know about God?

Readings:

Catechism of the Catholic Church:
read pages xiii-xvi and pages 1-13

Compendium Catechism:

Study two paintings right before part I (Adoration of the Magi and Illumination on the Days of Creation)
Read paragraphs 1-5

Catechism of the Catholic Church:
paragraphs 26-49

Read:

A Map of Life by Frank Sheed