One of the greatest gifts the Universal Church has given us in recent decades is the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It is a thick book and sometimes a difficult read. Yet, it is worth reading in its entirety, and we are very fortunate to have it available to us.

As we have journeyed together along the Via Fidelis during this year devoted to catechesis, we have looked at the calling of the whole Church to catechize, as well as particular forms of catechetical ministry in the Church. 

Most recently, we have considered the ways in which catechesis in both of these senses is an imitation of God’s own pedagogy, that is, God’s way of teaching us. We have discussed how this “divine pedagogy” takes shape gradually and over time, like human relationships.

As God’s revelation unfolds over time throughout salvation history, we also see that God’s pedagogy is all encompassing and embraces the totality of life. This is evident in the ebbs and flows of the story of God and his people passed on to us through Scripture. But this sense of God’s revelation is not just found in the ups and downs. It is also displayed in the variety of ways that God is encountered.

In the Old Testament, we see the communication of God through his messengers, in the ways in which God asks his people to live, how they must worship and in the prayer of individuals and groups. This shows us that the handing on of the faith is far from one dimensional, because faith itself is far from one dimensional. Another major point is that when we think of catechesis as teaching the faith to others, it does not simply refer to teaching the content of the faith but also teaching the entire life of faith, the life of the disciple. After all, our Christian baptismal calling is to “make disciples” (Mt 28:19).

But what makes up this life of the disciple? We should look back to the beginning for the answer. If we visit the Acts of the Apostles, we get a brief description of what the life of the Church looked like in its earliest, foundational times just after Pentecost. We are told of our ancestors in the faith: “They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers” (2:42).

Four things described in Acts give us an early description of the basics of the life of the disciple. Essentially, it is one rooted in the apostolic teaching (passed on through Scripture and Tradition), striving to live in love of God and neighbor, living a life shaped by the liturgy and the sacraments (especially the Eucharist) and praying constantly and consistently. These timeless elements remain essential to our Christian life today.

At this point, you may be wondering what all of this has to do with the Catechism. When we open its Table of Contents, we get a sense of the organization of the material presented therein. We quickly notice four major parts dividing the text. These are often referred to as the “pillars” of the Catechism. They are the Profession of Faith, Celebration of the Christian Mystery, Life in Christ and Christian Prayer. If we look closely at these, we will notice that these pillars are none other than the four elements that characterized the early Church. This, of course, is no coincidence.

In fact, the Catechism was put together not simply to be a reference book that we keep on our shelves and dust off once in while whenever we are confused or wondering about a teaching of the Church. Instead, it is meant to express, unfold and nourish the whole of the Christian, the whole life of the disciple.

Perhaps because it’s a book, we often think about the Catechism as nourishment for the Christian mind. And while it is very good at that, if we follow the logic of its structure, we see an invitation to let it nourish our hearts. The Catechism is something we can study, something we can take to prayer, something we can live.

Like our Bible, our Catechism should be an integral part of our lives.