Cata-Whatsit?

Let’s face it: Catholicism isn’t always easy to understand. From Scripture to the Sacraments, and social teaching to doctrine, it sometimes seems like an impossibly daunting task to decipher the truths of even the most basic cornerstones of our faith. There are literally thousands of texts floating around about Catholicism, and figuring out whom and what to trust can be overwhelming. But for a true Catholic, apathy is not an option. The tools for understanding your faith are available to you – all you need to do is be willing to look. If you truly want to understand and embrace your faith, here are two places to start.

The Bible

In many homes, the Bible is known for being that large, ungainly book that sits on a corner table, doing an exceptional job of collecting dust. If you really mean to embrace your faith, however, the first step is to crack it open - regularly. Even if you feel like you remember most of the stories from Sunday school or your own reading, don’t let that fool you. There is always something more to be learned from God’s Word to us – don’t miss out!

The initial challenge is finding a Catholic translation of the Bible. There are literally dozens of translations on bookshelves – and a majority of them are not Catholic. Why is this important? To put it simply, other versions of the Bible are incomplete. The Catholic Bible contains 7 canonical books that other translations do not (they were removed after the Protestant Reformation). Catholic translations available are: the Revised Standard Version, the New Revised Standard Version, and the New American Bible.

Scripture is the bedrock of our Catholic faith - but as we all know, sometimes it can be more of a challenge than a joy to read and understand. That’s where a Catholic Study Bible comes in. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible is the most recent such text, and is considered by many to be the best available for Catholics. Study Bibles are designed to present and contextualize Scripture for us, making it that much easier to embrace God’s Word. 

For a little more information on translations of the Bible.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Throughout its history, the Church has issued documents designed to present the doctrines of the faith to believers. Most well known among these in the past was the Baltimore Catechism, in use from 1885 until the early 1990’s. In 1992, Blessed Pope John Paul II approved the issuance of a new Catechism of the Catholic Church, which is still used today.

So where did this Catechism come from, and why should we rely on it? For starters, the new Catechism was nearly ten years in the making – it was no rush job. In 1985, Blessed Pope John Paul II convened a commission of Cardinals and Bishops to begin compiling a new document of Catholic doctrine (Incidentally, the head of that Commission was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger – now Pope Benedict XVI). In 1989, the Commission sent out the first draft of the document to every bishop in the Church for their feedback and suggestions. In 1992, the Pope approved the final version of the text, and by 1994 it was in worldwide circulation. It is literally a compendium of the universal faith of the Church, not just the opinions of a chosen few.

The Pope stated that the Catechism "is given to serve as a sure and authentic source book for the teaching of Catholic doctrine." It isn’t necessarily meant to be read from cover to cover, so don’t let the size daunt you. It is designed to concisely present every aspect of Catholic doctrine, in a format that is easy to break down and understand. It’s an invaluable resource for any Catholic.

By Matt Hurd

Matt Hurd is a summer intern for the Office of Lifelong Faith Formation in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland. He is currently a junior theology major at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire and is interested in pursuing youth ministry work as a career.