Peter A. Giersch - Day By Day With The Catechism: Minute Meditations For Every Day Containing An Excerpt from The Catechism, A Reflection, And A Prayer

DAY BY DAY WITH
THE CATECHISM

May this Catechism be known and shared by everyone, so that the unity in faith may be strengthened and extended to the ends of the earth.

Pope John Paul II, Laetamur Magnopere

DAY BY DAY WITH
THE CATECHISM

MINUTE MEDITATIONS FOR EVERY DAY
CONTAINING AN EXCERPT FROM
THE CATECHISM, A REFLECTION,
AND A PRAYER

By
Peter A. Giersch

Illustrated

CATHOLIC BOOK PUBLISHING CORP.

New Jersey

NIHIL OBSTAT: Rev. Msgr. James M. Cafone, M.A., S.T.D.

Censor Librorum

IMPRIMATUR: Most Rev. John J. Myers, J.C.D., D.D.

Archbishop of Newark

English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for the United States of America copyright 1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. Libreria Editrice Vaticana. English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Modifications from the Editio Typica copyright 1997, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. Libreria Editrice Vaticana. English translation of Laetamur Magnopere from LOsservatore Romano. Scripture quotations contained herein are adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1946, 1952, 1971, and the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, and are used by permission. All rights reserved. Excerpts from the Code of Canon Law, Latin/English Edition, are used with permission, copyright 1983 Canon Law Society of America, Washington, D.C. Citations of official Church documents from Neuner, Josef, SJ, and Dupuis, Jacques, SJ, eds., The Christian Faith: Doctrinal Documents of the Catholic Church, 5th ed. (New York: Alba House, 1992). Used with permission. Excerpts from Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents, New Revised Edition edited by Austin Flannery, OP, copyright 1992, Costello Publishing Company, Inc., Northport, NY, are used by permission of the publisher, all rights reserved. No part of these excerpts may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without express permission of Costello Publishing Company.

(T-l87)

eISBN 978-0-89942-098-1

2006 Catholic Book Publishing Corp., N.J.

CONTENTS CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

W HEN I first heard that a revised version of the Catechism was to be released in the early 1990s, I expected a multi-volume encyclopedia-like affair. After all, the Catechism of the Catholic Church is a compendium of all Catholic doctrine regarding faith and morals. That sounds rather daunting. Yet, the book itself is surprisingly shortthe paper-back version is no bigger than an airport novel.

Just being able to hold it in my hand, figure out the organization of it, and flip through the index in the back made it seem manageable to me. So I began to read it on Sunday afternoons when the house was quiet and the experience was almost always a devotional one for me.

The Catechism is essentially a reference book, but unlike other reference books, I didnt pick it up to settle a dispute or clarify an issue, and then close it up and place it back on the shelf again. Rather, like poetry or philosophy, I found myself reading two or three lines, then staring out the window for ten minutes with the book open on my lap to the same page while I pondered what I had just read.

And yet, in the Catholic circles I moved in I found very few other people who were reading the Catechism, and even heard some people saying that the Catechism wasnt meant for the laity to read. That is when I first got the idea for a book like this. When I discovered the Day by Day series from Catholic Book Publishing, I knew I had found the right format.

The book is arranged so that the reader can spend a few minutes every day with the official text of the Catechism. Selecting these 366 sound bites was probably the most difficult part of the whole project. There were many beautiful passages to choose from, but what is recorded here represents less than one paragraph from every other page.

Nevertheless, these short excerpts from the Catechism are rich and pregnant with meaning. Each is followed by a reflection, and a brief prayer rounds out each day.

Here is a traditional method for reading a devotional book like this. Pick it up each day either in the morning or in the evening when things are quiet and you wont be interrupted. First, read the excerpt from the Catechism for that day. Read it over several times until a sentence, a phrase, or even just a word, jumps out at you, and spend some time thinking about it.

Next, after you have read the quotation from the Catechism, read the reflection, which intends to illuminate the text. You may want to read the text again after reading the reflection. Finally, if you arent already talking to God about what youve read so far, use the prayer as an aid to raising your mind and heart to God.

It is my hope that this book will whet your appetite to interact with the full text of the Catechism yourself. The best place to begin is to make sure you have a copy of it on your shelf.

My special thanks go to Tom Harbecke for his invaluable help keying in the Catechism quotations, commenting on the content of the reflections, and proofreading the final version of the text.

Peter A. Giersch

September 30, 2005

Feast of St. Jerome

GOD in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man.

No. 1

R EFLECTION. The first and most amazing truth about life is this: God is seeking us. We so often feel that the Christian life is all about finding God, but in fact, it is about being found by God, who draws close to us.

P RAYER. Father of love, we long to draw close to you. Keep us from running away and hiding like Adam in the garden. Help us to accept your offer to share in the divine life.

THOSE who with Gods help have welcomed Christs call and freely responded to it are urged on by love of Christ to proclaim the Good News everywhere in the world.

No. 3

R EFLECTION. When the gospel writers compiled the events of Christs life, they called their work, evangelion, or good news. These two English words say much about our faith, of course, that it is good, but also that it is news, it must be shared.

P RAYER. Father of the Word Incarnate, help us to spread the Word and share the good news of Jesus life and work by what we say and how we live.

QUITE early on, the name catechesis was given to the totality of the Churchs efforts to make disciples, to help men believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

No. 4

R EFLECTION. The good news of the Gospel is set apart from contemporary news in that it is good, but more importantly because it builds up and strengthens those who hear it, inviting them into the Body of Christ.

P RAYER. Jesus, help us to live the dignity that is ours as members of your body. May we always look to you, our head, for guidance and example.

CT 1, 2.

CATECHESIS is an education in the faith which includes especially the teaching of Christian doctrine imparted in a systematic way.

No. 5

R EFLECTION. While the devout Catholic is always learning about his faith, through prayer, Bible reading, and attendance at Mass, true catechesis demands that there be times of systematic learning about the faith and an intentional commitment to grow in our knowledge of God.

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