Jem Sullivan - Believe Celebrate Live Pray: A Weekly Walk with the Catechism

A Weekly Walk with the Catechism

Jem Sullivan, Ph.D.

Nihil Obstat

Msgr. Michael Heintz, Ph.D.

Censor Librorum

Imprimatur

Kevin C. Rhoades

Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend

June 22, 2020

The Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur are official declarations that a book is free from doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.

Except where noted, the Scripture citations used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C., and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All rights reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Copyright 2020 by Jem Sullivan

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ISBN: 978-1-68192-183-9 (Inventory No. T1893)

1. RELIGIONChristian LifeSpiritual Growth.

2. RELIGIONChristianityCatechisms.

3. RELIGIONChristianityCatholic.

eISBN: 978-1-68192-184-6

LCCN: 2020942683

Cover and interior design: Chelsea Alt

Cover art: Creative Commons - CC by NC

Printed in the United States of America

To my parents, Donald and Josephine, my first living catechisms, this book is dedicated with deep gratitude.

For their words and actions that witnessed daily to the transforming power of faith shared in joy, perseverance, and fidelity to God.

For being the first to illustrate how lived faith, as summarized in a catechism, is a steady path to lifelong friendship with God.

For (Wisdom) is an unfailing treasure; those who gain this treasure win the friendship of God.

WISDOM 7:14

For a journey to be successful, the traveler needs a dependable map, reliable directions, adequate supplies, and a trustworthy companion. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is all of these and more for a pilgrim on the journey of faith. This book is offered as a weekly guide, an accessible road map, and a spiritual companion to the Catechism. Here I hope to help you discover in the Catechism a treasured source for your growth in friendship with God. The Catechism is more than a written summary of Church doctrines and teachings; it is an invitation to discover the daily wisdom for life that permeates everything the Church believes, celebrates, lives, and prays.

I was a young, eager catechist and a student of catechetics when the Catechism was first published in 1992. It was presented to the universal Church as a compendium of Catholic doctrine regarding faith and morals, a sure norm for teaching the faith, an instrument for ecclesial communion, a support to ecumenical efforts, and a sure and authentic reference text for local catechisms and catechetical materials. Some thirty years later, it continues to serve these good aims.

The Catechisms Prologue points to its primary audience of bishops and pastors, priests, catechists, and authors of catechetical texts. It notes that this universal expression of the symphony of faith will also be particularly useful reading for all the Christian faithful. The Catechism is thus offered to anyone who seeks an account of the hope that is in us (cf. 1 Pt 3:15) or looks to Christian faith for answers to the questions of life.

Whether youre familiar with the Catechism or not, this weekly companion offers you the opportunity to turn, or return, to it as a road map for your spiritual journey. Why accept this invitation? Because at the center of the Catechism is the person of Jesus Christ, who desires your friendship! By his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus reconciled us to friendship with God in the power of the Holy Spirit within the community of the Church. In reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II said in his 1992 apostolic constitution, we can perceive the wonderous unity of the mystery of God, his saving will, as well as the central place of Jesus Christ sent by the Father, made man in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, to be our Savior. Having died and risen, Christ is always present in his Church, especially in the sacraments; he is the source of our faith, the model of Christian conduct, and the Teacher of our prayer (