Catechism of the Catholic Church

Do you want to know what the Catholic Church believes and why? This is the book for you! I would recommend it if for no other reason than the Scriptural Index at the back of this book. Only this full and unabridged version (with the Green cover) has that feature, and it is invaluable! But there is so much more! This is NOT like the Baltimore edition that it replaced. The Baltimore gives the essential elements of our beliefs in understandable form, and that is a beautiful thing. This edition takes one as deeply as desired into the why's of our belief. It references the saints, the Doctors of the Church, and all of the papal writings. I have and use the paperback version, but both my wife and I also use the Kindle versions of the RSV-CE and the CCC. These are inexpensive, can be used on your PC, Android, I-stuff, and Amazon's Kindle Readers. We are android users, and the Kindle software is wonderful! These electronic editions add wonderful capability to any study of Scripture. They are searchable (word occurrence) for individual words or phrases. You may take notes in them and leave bookmarks. The references to other parts of Scripture or CCC are hot links...just click and you're there (and going back to your original place is easy)! My recommendation? Just get it! You will love it! As for me, if I could only have 2 books for an exile to any place on earth, I would take the RSV-CE2 AND this Catechism of the Catholic Church! I would have spiritual and intellectual fodder for the rest of my life!

A fascinating great companion to the Catechism in a year program . Easy to read. This connects Everything with cross references, paragraph numbers, and so much more!

There are a number of different Catechisms that are in print. To name a few, Father John A. Hardon gave us The Catholic Catechism: A Contemporary Catechism of the Teachings of the Catholic Church and The Question & Answer Catholic Catechism . Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl authored the Teaching of Christ and later The Gift of Faith: A Question and Answer Catechism Version of the Teaching of Christ . Better known as the Roman Catechism (Resources for catechetical teachers) , there is the less known version of The Catechism of the Council of Trent . Each of these has its unique format. However, examining the Roman Catechism, one finds it is divided into four parts which correspond to the divisions followed by the Church since early Christian times: 1. Catholic belief presented in an explanation of the twelve articles of the Apostles' Creed. 2. The seven sacraments are explained at length, instituted by Christ as a means for the living of the demands of faith. 3. The Ten Commandments in a New Testament setting showing how Christ brought the Old Law to perfection. 4. After a detailed treatise on prayer: its nature, its necessity, and the practice of prayer in general, including an exposition of the seven petitions of the Lord's Prayer. If we look at the new Catechism of the Catholic Church, it corresponds to the format of the Roman Catechism, having four main divisions: 1. The Profession of Faith 2. The Celebration of the Christian Mystery (and the Sacraments) 3. Life in Christ 4. Christian Prayer So, we can say that the new Catechism in many ways is really nothing more than an update of the Roman Catechism and the teachings and practices that Church has clung to throughout the centuries from early Christian times. This gives much credibility to the permanence, and uninterrupted nature of the Church's beliefs, doctrine, and the Christian Life espoused for 2000 years. We could call the Catechism of the Catholic Church a "Defender of the Faith" for what it does.

If you want to know what the Catholic Church believes, worships, lives, and prays, the Catechism of the Catholic Church is for you. If you want to know what the greatest minds of 2000 years of Christianity have to say about how to understand the message of Sacred Scripture read this book. If you want to know how the holiest saints of the entire history of Christendom have approached the Christian faith and prayer, meditate on the words of this book. The 27-30 pages (depending on which edition of the Catechism you buy) on the "Our Father" will give you deep insights into how our Lord asks us to pray. The 100 plus pages on the 10 Commandments will teach you how to live a godly life in communion with the will of your Heavenly Father. This edition has the subject index, glossary and scripture index. It is the most recent, most complete edition. This hard cover, second edition is out of print. But, if you can find a reasonably priced copy in good condition, I would recommend it as the best edition. Or, you could get the full-size green paperback version (second edition) that is exactly the same, but without the hard cover. It can be found at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0879739762/ref=oh_o01_s00_i00_details Avoid the pocket editions as they do not have the glossary and citation index. There is also the Compendium of the Catechism - a short summary in question and answer format, and the You Cat (the new Youth Catechism). You can also access a full, word searchable, online version of the Catechism by googling "Catechism of the Catholic Church."

I’ve done my research. Now do yours. Before you claim to “know” what the Catholic Church teaches, actually dig in and discover what they actually teach.

The Kindle version of this edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is a great buy. This edition has always been more expensive than other editions because it provides more. It has a glossary in the back and this edition provides cross references in the appendix to scripture verses, Saints writings and Council documents. For example if you want to see where a particular Bible verse is referenced in the Catechism, you go to the appendix and look for the verse and it shows where in the Catechism it is used. Great for scripture studies. Now with the the Kindle version of this edition of the Catechism all these references are hyperlinked so you can just click and go to the cross references. Great for providing insights on the meaning of Bible verses. It sure makes studying the Christian faith a lot easier. I teach adult religious classes and appreciate having this edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on a kindle instead of carrying a large book around. This Kindle version of the Catechism is an invaluable tool to have. It is worth every penny and more!

This is an excellent ten dollar investment for any Catholic, but especially for me as a theology major! The best single source on Catholic doctrine right on my Kindle. Now I don't have to lug around the large, hardcover first edition my dad bought me in high school. Not a good idea when you're dealing with Steubenville hills :) Also one of the best formated ebooks I've seen so far in my couple months as a kindle user. The cross referencing is linked (and there is a ton of cross referencing in there!) Whoever put this together for kindle really put the work into it and, for this book at least, I'm not complaining that it costs more than a paperback copy. Be careful though because the other version of the catechism on the kindle store, with the skinny white cover, put out by the "US Catholic Church" (last I checked the official name for that is the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, so that doesn't seem legit to me...), is formatted horribly and I am very glad I sampled both and compared before purchasing!

Sometimes due to hearsay, lack of dialogue or just simply lack of research/study, we either have false assumptions or perhaps no clue at all, what the other Churches believe/understand or practice/teach. I'm not Catholic per say, but do get much illumination from studying literature from various well educated, spiritual theologians/scholars, past or present, from various Christian Churches. I don't self-limit my knowledge/understanding for spiritual growth, by being fed in-the-box thinking/indoctrination at the congregation, (denominational/nondenominational) that I attend. I find very applicable thoughts, illuminating settings/backgrounds, etc. in Catholic literature. Do I agree with or adhere to everything I read/study from other Churches?--No. Do I agree with everything from every prominent figure in the Church I attend?--No. There will always be room for deeper understanding and growth--but then we must be open in mind/intellect, and heart/will--the two parts of the soul. Raniero Cantalamessa's book "Come, Creator Spirit", converted me to a different level. I had read a number of books on Holy Spirit. Cantalamessa is Teacher/Preacher, at the Vatican. Possibly the reason I am giving this Catechism a four, rather than five star is that I am not yet familiar enough with how to use/reference it. I find no difficulty in understanding it.

The book provides the reality of being a Catholic and a perspective on the Church built from Simon Peter on the command of Jesus. Mankind has done great wrongs in the name of religion however the Church family to which I now belong sticks to the commandments of God and does not 'sway with the cultural wind'.

exactly as expecting