A catechism is the name given to a written work that contains an orderly summary of all the beliefs of the faith that is used as a teaching tool. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) was promulgated by John Paul II on October 11, 1992. In the Introduction, St. John Paul II explains why this new Catechism was published:

“…so that we can perceive that “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” (Fidei Depositum, #2).

Roots of the Catechism. This catechism, which is only the second universal catechism written by the Church, was born out of the documents of Vatican II. It guards and presents more effectively the deposit of Christian doctrine, to make it more accessible to the Christian faithful and all people of goodwill in the contemporary world.

For American Catholics who grew up in the second half of the twentieth century, the word catechism meant the Baltimore Catechism, which originated at the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1884 when the bishops of the United States decided to publish a national catechism. Many of us remember memorizing some of the 421 questions and answers in thirty-seven chapters.

The new Catechism expands on these same teachings, providing a deeper understanding of how our faith is based on the Bible and Catholic Tradition. It is organized into four pillars of Catholic teaching: the Creed, the Sacraments, the Commandments, and Prayer.

Using the Catechism in Lesson Planning. The Catechism Connection found on the Resources page in each unit of Blest Are We Faith in Action Teacher Edition supplies paragraph references to the CCC. Each paragraph of the CCC is numbered (in bold, to the left). Almost every paragraph is accompanied by cross-references that we can look up to see how one topic (like the Gifts of the Holy Spirit) can be found throughout the four pillars of our faith. You will notice, that the CCC references not just Sacred Scripture, but also the best of everything that’s been said on the topic by Councils, Popes, Saints and other holy writers in over 2000 years of Catholic tradition. The Index of Citations shows where a Bible verse is reflected in the Catechism. If you want to know more about a certain topic, look it up in the Index. The index refers to paragraph numbers, not page numbers. Handy summary statements on each topic are in the “In Brief” sections.

The Catechism’s text is found both in print and online. It is valuable to have your own print copy, so that you can highlight the passages that speak to you. A searchable flipbook version is available online: https://www.usccb.org/sites/default/files/flipbooks/catechism/index.html

Classroom Applications. Your students will encounter references to the CCC in their Blest Are We Faith in Action lessons. Explain that the CCC contains the reliable and orderly deposit of our faith. Point out the four pillars and the paragraph numbers. Guide older students in looking up a topic in the Index and then locating it in the text. Show how to look up vocabulary words in the CCC Glossary section.