Reddit Reddit reviews Catechism of the Catholic Church: Second Edition

We found 28 Reddit comments about Catechism of the Catholic Church: Second Edition. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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28 Reddit comments about Catechism of the Catholic Church: Second Edition:

u/HotBedForHobos · 16 pointsr/Catholicism

I converted from Buddhism, and I learned about the Mass by going to it and just learning all the steps, so to speak. Hang in there, as it really is a thing that you get used to the more you do it.

Eventually, I joined RCIA (Rites of Christian Initiation for Adults), which is a no-pressure presentation of the Faith. Your local Catholic Church will have one, and it usually runs from Aug/Sept till a month or so after Easter. You can contact your Church and ask more about it. While I entered RCIA in order to become Catholic, there are folks who sit in the classes just to learn about the Faith -- so it's okay either way.

In terms of reading, I got a copy of the Catechism -- free online or print copy or check your public library -- and read the subjects that interested me most. I've never read it straight through (though some have), but I've read the whole thing by reading a little here and a little there. There are other books that explain the Faith, but this is the one that drew me in.

Just curious. I did do some reading on Taoism, especially in my Zen period, but I didn't realize that one could be a Taoist -- or at least there were no Taoist "centers" or temples in my neck of the woods. How does one go about being a Taoist?

EDIT: fixed link! ;)

u/bit_pusher · 14 pointsr/AcademicBiblical

You should read the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Catholicism by McBrien, it will be incredibly hard to unpack Catholic tradition and theology from just the Bible itself.

u/emprags · 8 pointsr/Sidehugs

No. True Christians ^^TM stick to the Catechism

u/EpistemicFaithCri5is · 8 pointsr/Catholicism

You need the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Don't neglect the references!

u/Elvis_von_Fonz · 8 pointsr/Catholicism

> I was thinking about just showing up at a Catholic church but my co-worker was telling me that would be sort of frowned upon.

Anyone can attend Mass. The first time I went to one I had no idea what was going on.

> Especially if I took part in communion apparently.

Yeah, don't do that. Sit, kneel, shake hands, say the responses as you get to know them -- but don't go up for communion.

>Has anybody else here become Catholic later in life?

I came to the faith in my mid 30s as someone who had never been baptized and was essentially unchurched throughout my entire life.

> This is probably a silly question but is there some sort of process to become a Catholic?

RCIA (Rites of Christian Initiation for Adults). It runs from fall to the Easter Vigil (where you're officially received into the Church)and a little beyond. Most parishes have a director (probably won't be the priest) that you will contact and tell them what you're going through.

One of the things that really helped me was getting a Catechism and reading through it, as well as just reading a bunch about Catholicism. I also started attending Mass every Sunday.

u/Ibrey · 7 pointsr/Christianity

Some key concepts and interesting facts:

  • The deposit of faith comprises not just the Bible, but also sacred tradition. Traditions that have been passed down from the days of the apostles are as authoritative as the Bible.
  • Catholic Bibles contain 73 books rather than the 66 you're probably used to, with longer versions of Daniel and Esther. The difference is known to Catholics as the deuterocanon, and to Protestants as the Apocrypha.

  • The Catholic hierarchy derives its authority from apostolic succession. Each bishop has been consecrated by another bishop, who was consecrated by another bishop, who was consecrated by another bishop, in a line going all the way back to the twelve apostles, and they have inherited the teaching authority of the apostles.
  • The Pope is a bishop specially elected to succeed to the place of the apostle Peter, whom Jesus named the head of the apostles and the rock on which he would build his church. The Pope is the Bishop of Rome because that's where Peter was bishop when he died.
  • The body of bishops, when united with Peter's successor as its head, is infallible. That is, the Holy Spirit will prevent the bishops from teaching an error in faith or morals as binding on the faithful. The Pope individually can also make infallible pronouncements. This doesn't mean that the bishops are free from sin, or that they are infallible on other subjects like physics, economics, or geography.
  • The Eastern Orthodox Churches believe almost all the same stuff as Catholics and also have valid apostolic succession, but deny that the primacy of the Pope is anything more than honorary. The Anglican Church claims apostolic succession, but Catholics reject the validity of their orders due to changes in the ordination rite in the 16th Century.

  • A saint is anyone who is in heaven. The Church declares some people to be saints after a rigorous investigation, but this isn't meant to imply that no other people are saints.
  • Catholics honour the Blessed Virgin Mary above all other saints for her special participation in Jesus' mission of salvation. It is Catholic dogma that she was conceived free from original sin, remained sinless her entire life, and was assumed body and soul into heaven. (Note that she didn't ascend of her own power like Jesus, but was assumed.) However, this doesn't mean she didn't require salvation by Jesus.
  • People have reported Marian apparitions going all the way back to 40 AD (when she was still alive!). The Church declares some of these to be "worthy of belief," but they're considered private revelations no matter how many people witness them, and do not add to the deposit of faith. Catholics are not required to believe in them.
  • Saints can pray for people on Earth. When Catholics pray for the intercession of saints, they're not asking a saint to make some direct intervention of their own, but to pray to God on their behalf.
  • Catholics do not worship the saints, nor Mary, nor anything other than God as the Trinity.

  • The Mass is not just an hour or so of worship music, prayers, and a sermon, though all of those are included; Jesus' sacrifice on the cross is re-presented (not represented) in the Eucharist. It is the same sacrifice, in that it is offered by the same person (Jesus), it has the same victim (Jesus), and it has the same effect (the remission of sins).
  • The doctrine of transubstantiation holds that when the priest holds the bread and wine over the altar at Mass and says the words of consecration (in which moment he acts in persona Christi), they cease to be bread and wine and become the actual body and blood of Jesus, although to the senses they remain indistinguishable from bread and wine.
  • A consecrated host is often publicly displayed for purposes of Eucharistic adoration, a practice which became popular around the 14th Century. Since the host is Jesus, it is right to worship it.
  • If you visit a Catholic Mass, you should know that non-Catholics normally aren't supposed to receive the Eucharist.

    Further reading:

  • Catholicism for Dummies
  • Rome Sweet Home
  • New American Bible
  • Catechism of the Catholic Church
u/digifork · 7 pointsr/Catholicism

> I would just love some advice from you guys, where to go first, maybe some recommendations on reading.

Welcome home, brother!

Here is a listing of parishes that are close to North Dallas (75230 zip code). Hopefully one of those locations are close to where you will live. Once you find a parish, go to Confession and start going to Mass again. If you need help with following the Mass, pick up a missal.

As for what to read, grab yourself a Catholic Study Bible and a Catechism. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask us here at /r/Catholicism.

u/baddspellar · 5 pointsr/Christianity

From simpler to harder:

A Well-Built Faith: A Catholic’s Guide to Knowing and Sharing What We Believe

Short, simple introduction to Catholicism

Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith, by Bishop Barron

A very readable overview.

YOUCAT

A book that tries to explain the Catechism to Teens and Young Adults. More thorough than the above books.

United States Catholic Catechism
for Adults


Similar to the above, but targeted to adults

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Really a reference, but included here for completeness

u/Captain_Sabatini · 4 pointsr/facepalm

Are you sure you went to a Catholic school? I went through Catholic school and was taught the Big Bang theory in Theology as what most likely happened.

Was also taught natural selection and evolution in Biology.

>According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#337), the book of Genesis "symbolically" presents God's work of creation. In other words, the Biblical story of creation is like a parable in that the plot does not have to be literally true in order for the story to convey profound religious truths, such as the sequential and increasingly complex nature of God's creative activity. Interestingly, the idea of evolution seems to be supported by Genesis 1:24, which states, "Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures." Genesis does not say that God directly created plants and animals in their final form, only that they came forth from "the earth."

-Source

I would throw in more stuff but I am lazy and at work.

u/Cordelia_Fitzgerald · 4 pointsr/Catholicism

What are your goals? Do you want to learn Catholic teaching? Know and understand the Bible stories? Do you want to read casually or do you want to put in some serious study?

If you just plan on using it every so often but are curious to learn more about Catholicism, there's the New Catholic Answer Bible. It's a New American Bible translation, which most of us on here don't like. This Bible has lots of inserts that answer common questions about Catholicism (Why do we confess to a priest? Why do we think Jesus is God? Why do we venerate Mary? What are saints? etc). My parish uses this Bible as the textbook for those in the RCIA program (the class for adults who want to join the Catholic Church), so it's a good way to learn.

If you want to learn the Bible story in an easy to read way-- The Great Adventure Bible just came out and breaks down the story of salvation into an easy to understand narrative. It helps you see how the Old Testament and the New fit together. If you want to really understand the Bible and want to commit to reading through a good chunk of it, this is the one to get (they have you start off with what they believe to be the 14 most important books to the story of salvation and then you can go back and read the "supplementary" books). **It's sold out right now, but it may be worth waiting for if you really want to learn the Bible story.

If you really plan on doing some serious study of Catholicism and putting time into it, get the Didache Bible. It cross-references the Catechism and is a good way to learn Catholic teaching in a more in depth way, but it's not nicely laid out for you like the other two I suggested. You have to be willing to do a lot more work going back and forth to the Catechism.

Either way, I suggest getting a Catechism to go along with your Bible. Ideally you should be going back and forth between the two as the Catechism explains the Catholic applications of the Bible. You can also find the complete Catechism online for free (you can find the Bible online for free, too), but I prefer the physical book.

u/DKowalsky2 · 3 pointsr/Catholicism

For study Bibles (if that's what you're referring to) I would recommend the Didache Bible (+ Catechism of the Catholic Church), the Great Adventure Bible (Ascension Press's supplemental material is worth it, too) and the Ignatius New Testament Study Bible. There's also the Douay-Rheims Version with Fr. George Leo Haydock's excellent commentary, or the Navarre Bible series, but good luck finding them without taking out a second mortgage. :)

If you're talking strictly about Biblical background and history from a Catholic perspective, Scott Hahn's Catholic Bible Dictionary should fit the bill.

u/versorverbi · 3 pointsr/Catholicism

There is no standardized curriculum for RCIA, so it may be beneficial to receive it all in the same place. At the same time, it is possible for priests/bishops to waive attendance to RCIA if you learn the faith on your own. (I was given the option to skip RCIA, but I considered it an important humbling experience to submit to the ordinary method of entering the Church.)

So, in theory, you could go to RCIA in multiple parishes (even though they won't line up consistently) and speak to a chaplain (assuming he's Catholic) or other priest and learn what you need to know. You could also pick up a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church to read on your own.

RCIA typically starts in the fall and runs on a weekly or biweekly fortnightly basis until Holy Week, at the end of which you would be received into the Church. But again, variation is possible depending on your circumstances; any priest worth his salt will do whatever he can to get you into the Church, provided you learn about it and know what you're doing. I have heard of folks being baptized and confirmed at other times of the year, too, but that's less common.

And as others have mentioned, Mass attendance is highly recommended, but do not receive the Eucharist until after you have formally entered the Church.

u/brainfreeze91 · 3 pointsr/Catholicism

There's a Catechism book for adults too, that covers pretty much all of what we believe, in case you didn't know about it. Every Catholic household should have a copy in my opinion.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0385508190/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_EC.Yzb3MPNVJC

Edit: I think you can view this version for free online too: http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catechism/catechism-of-the-catholic-church/

u/nofapandchill55 · 3 pointsr/Catholicism

If God wasn't real, why would you be here? ;)

The Catholic Church is the biggest, most loving family on Earth. This book contains the summary of our beliefs, but you can learn a lot about Catholicism by lurking here on this sub.

u/amslucy · 3 pointsr/Catholicism

> To my knowledge there's no hardcover edition of the Catechism.

There is indeed. I own this one (ISBN 1574551094), and there's also a smaller hardcover version.

u/cdubose · 3 pointsr/Catholicism

Books: (I would double-check to make sure they don't already have some of these prior to purchase, though)

  • Nice hardback version of the Catechism
  • Good Catholic Study Bible (Pope-Urban-III mentioned some good ones)
  • Lamb's Supper by Scott Hahn
  • Priority of Christ by Bishop Robert Barron
  • subscription to Magnificat
  • Book about or written by their confirmation saint
  • Good Catholic Prayer Book
  • Letters to a Young Catholic by George Weigel (if they're younger)
  • Finding True Happiness by Dr. Robert Spitzer, SJ

    Not books:

  • A nice rosary (a Catholic can never have too many rosaries)
  • A wall crucifix (as in one they can hang on the wall at home)
  • A necklace with a crucifix on it
  • A nice nativity set
  • An artistic picture of the pope? (a great gift if they're a fan of Pope Francis--if they aren't, find out what Pope they are a fan of and get a picture of that pope)
u/catholic_dayseeker · 2 pointsr/exatheist

Well there are many in my experience in Catholicism that live a dry faith, meaning they don't feel fancy feelings rather they know through knowledge and study.

I cannot of course say that my feelings are more valid than another's we're all biased but that would be a terrible thing to say overall. As if someone else's personal feeling are less important than my own. However, I cannot also say that my feelings are no different from a muslim or mormon or any other religious because then it would seem that other religious feel the same as I do, so therefore something must be amiss as if there is a true religion in this world, feelings such as those should under reasoning only happen with that particular one.

I do not deny their feelings or doubt my own so what else do I have up my sleeve.

I'm a Catholic as you can probably tell from my username (also I hope you enjoy your time I reddit since I think you're new?). This means that along with feelings of ecstasy or not, how would I ever believe the Catholic Church to be the one correct religion.

Catholicism is easy to understand at a basic level, but going further reveals a large web of complicated reasoning dating back hundreds even over a thousand years ago.

  1. The Church's age, the Catholic Church by most estimates date it back to the early 1st century. Church teaching says the official church was founded at Pentecost would be ~33 CE. This means that by age alone, The Catholic Church is the oldest institution in the West, surviving Romans, the early Umayyad Caliphate as well as the ones afterwards in the wake of the founding of Islam, the black death which came from the East, and even modern dangers such as fascism from Mussolini, Nazism from Hitler and company and communism from eastern Europe.

  2. Through these almost ~2,000 years, the church has not taught against itself, in that I mean contradicting or changing a teaching. The day that the church changes a teaching is the day I am no longer a Catholic and more likely an agnostic or perhaps a deist and living my life in peace.

  3. Unlike a lot of other religions, Catholicism (and Christianity in general for the most part) talk about giving things up in our current earthly life to receive rewards in the afterlife as opposed to receiving material rewards while still alive here on this Earth.

    Honestly I could ramble all day, verring off topic at the slightest thought, but I'll stop here and just give some resources if that may interest you.

    The first is New Advent which is a completely free site where you can have access to church documents (in the library) access to the bible in both Greek, Latin and English, a full version of the Summa written by Thomas Aquinas and many other writing of some early Christian figures that helped define many of the beliefs of Christianity in the world of the 1st century and onward.

    The second is r/Catholicism, assuming you don't spam (I believe the limit is 3 posts a week) you can ask all the questions you like from people who may correct misunderstandings or give additional resources.

    For two book recommendations I recommend The Catechism of the Catholic Church which can found online for free on the Vatican's website keep in the mind it's a very small font or by buying it from Amazon which also offers a kindle version for very cheap and an audiobook if that is more your thing.

    The other is (the less subtlety named) Answering Atheism which I've heard many good things about from some friends of mine and folks from r/Catholicism.

    I thank you most of all for being polite and courteous and I hope our exchange was educational for both of us. Always feel free to DM me for anything else.
u/theWayitHas2Bee · 2 pointsr/Anglicanism

If you have $10 to spare or $0.99 on kindle then you should pick up the CCC and try to read it cover to cover and see for yourself if the Anglican Church is more legalistic than Rome. Anyways I'm not set on anything I'm taking my making time making sure I join a true bible based church with no additions one that uses the KJV.

u/imapadawan · 2 pointsr/Catholicism

The US Catholic Church uses the New American Bible, so that's the translation you'll be hearing at Mass if you're in the US. So, just search New American Bible and go with that. I would even recommend getting a study Bible to help you understand what's happening and how things relate to other parts of the Bible, because it can be confusing. Just as a recommendation, this one is fantastic.


There are quite a few sources on understanding the Mass. I would look up the Order of the Mass and maybe try reading through that and following along during Mass, so you understand what is being said and also know what to say.


The Catechism is fantastic. Here is a pretty safe bet on getting started with reading that and something to use as reference.


If you're interested in reading the Summa Theologica, there are shorter versions like Summa of the Summa, which, while still not too short, condense down the most important information and make it easier for somebody without as much time to at least get the general idea.


Good luck on your journey, as I am currently doing the same and am in RCIA, but I've been doing my research for quite a while and am very excited for the coming year!

u/Tirrikindir · 2 pointsr/Catholicism

I want to repeat what others have said in gratitude for your respectful approach to our faith and your position. It says very good things about you as a person, and it means a lot to us as a community.

I don't have much to recommend for your kids, but I can suggest a few things for you.

First, although it is a bit odd to recommend a Protestant to introduce you to Catholicism, I do recommend Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. It is a very good introduction to some of the essential ideas of Christianity, and as a bonus it is written by C.S. Lewis, so it is very enjoyable to read.

Another thing I recommend is trying to make sense of the liturgical calendar. The big themes of Catholicism are given space on the calendar to help Catholics absorb them in a regular and balanced way. As a teacher, you will have opportunities to talk to the kids about what's currently going on last Sunday/the coming Sunday/this current season, and I imagine you can find ways to tie in the lessons you already had planned. If you can get your hands on a missal, it will give you relatively detailed information on the liturgical calendar and the scheduled scripture readings, and I'm guessing Catholicism for Dummies, which someone else mentioned, probably has a good summary for each liturgical season. Once you get a sense of what each season is, you might google reflections based on each Sunday's readings to see how different parts of the Bible fit into the season's broader themes.

You might also want to get a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church as a reference book. If you have time, reading through the whole thing would teach you an enormous amount, but it would take some time to read. Each section has a little summary at the end, so you might start by just reading all of the summaries. Regardless of whether you get around to reading the whole thing, it can be very useful as a reference tool. If you don't want to buy a hard copy and/or you want to be able to search faster, you can find it online here. There's also a chance that there's a copy around the school somewhere.

u/PianoShredder111 · 1 pointr/Catholicism

Buying a good Catechism is a great place to start. This one I bought awhile back is small, well written and has a lot of scriptural references for you to look up

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385508190/


This youtube channel is also a really good source for a lot of traditional Catholic lectures and speeches. I can't sign off neccesarily on every single one but it was a big help for me and continues to feature very good content

https://www.youtube.com/user/onearmsteve4192

u/Smyrnasty · 1 pointr/Catholicism

God calls us all in different ways for sure. Thanks for sharing your background... If it helps at all, I was a very big Bill Maher fan and very much socially liberal prior to my conversion into Catholicism. My personal advice would be to start researching some teachings of the Catholic faith through a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church https://smile.amazon.com/Catechism-Catholic-Church-Second-U-S/dp/0385508190/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=cathechism&qid=1572979421&sr=8-1 or a local RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) at a nearby parish. If you're into podcasts, please check out "Word on Fire" from Bishop Robert Barron... He's excellent at explaining the faith.

My recommendation would be to focus on the truth of some of the main teachings of the faith first instead of focusing on the "below the belt" sexual issues like abortion, LGBT, etc. I had similar concerns about some of those teachings until I really got my head around the Catholic concept of original sin, concupiscence, fallen/disordered natures for all of us, and that someone's same sex attraction is no different in the eyes of God than my attraction to drink too much, lust, or be selfish. Feel free to reach out to me at any point with any questions, book recommendations, etc.

u/ludifex · 1 pointr/Christianity

I've always wondered, is there a Mormon equivalent of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, where it's spelled out in clear terms exactly what Mormonism does and doesn't teach? I'd find it really useful, because there is so much conflicting information online. I've tried using Mormon Doctrine before, but I've heard from some Mormons that it isn't accurate.

u/bananajr6000 · 1 pointr/exmormon

If only the LDS church had a book like the Catholics do, The Catechism of the Catholic Church, perhaps a book of doctrine and covenants published by the LDS church ...

The existing Doctrine and Covenants of the LDS church just muddies the waters as it allows and promotes confusion by the members by not containing the doctrines of the church. Just as the leadership wants it.

u/sweetcaviar · 1 pointr/Catholicism

Yes, my brother, please do read the Catechism! The Lord Jesus established the Catholic Church here on earth to guide us until the end of the age [Matthew 28:20]. He gave Saint Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven and with them the power to bind and loose here on earth [Matthew 16:18-19]. The Church therefore does have the full authority to add and remove obligations for ritual cleanliness, for example, and other proscriptions not related to moral teaching. Moral teaching itself is part of the Church Magisterium that absolutely cannot be removed or rescinded and is infallibly binding for all time. All of this is made explicit in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which very beautifully and concisely summarizes what we believe and why we believe it. I promise you, you will be blessed with a much greater understanding of the faith, and the grace of being able to explain it and profess it with much more strength by reading this document. In case you want a hard copy (I would certainly recommend that), I linked the Amazon listing below.

https://www.amazon.com/Catechism-Catholic-Church-Second-U-S/dp/0385508190/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1519744875&sr=1-2&keywords=catechism

u/tommiesaquinas · 1 pointr/Catholicism

In addition to u/philosofik advice, here are two more books I'd recommend:

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Introduction to the Devout Life - St Francis de Sales