I’ve shared that encountering the Catechism as a teenager was a defining moment in my journey of faith. Here in an authoritative text was all that Christ had taught, clearly outlined and explained for me to then study and apply to my life. Growing up in the Deep South, this discovery came at a critical time — when my Catholic faith was being challenged by well-meaning non-Catholic peers. The Catechism felt like a weapon to use when my devotion to Mary or belief in purgatory was challenged.

It wasn’t until my catechetics classes in college that I was assigned a reflection paper on the first 25 paragraphs of the Catechism — the prologue — and I experienced a profound renewal in my understanding of what this document was for myself and all Catholics. Prior to this assignment I had skipped the prologue to get straight to what was necessary to explain and defend points of doctrine. However, now I had begun classes that were preparing me to teach my faith systematically. This was a shift from my prior approach, which was to jump to defending controversial topics.

Now, I was encouraged to see the text in its entirety. My professors regularly referenced paragraph No. 25, which quoted the Roman Catechism, stating: “The whole concern of doctrine and its teaching must be directed to the love that never ends.…” The paragraph goes on to state that in teaching our Catholic faith, it should always be paramount that “the works of perfect Christian virtue spring from love and have no other objective than to arrive at love” (CCC 25).

Admittedly, until this point, I had seen the Catechism as a way to prove that I was right about my Catholic beliefs. However, as I began my studies to be formed as a catechist, my instructors shared that at the heart of our faith was not an argument to be won but a person, Christ, to be in relationship with. The study of our Catholic faith is first an invitation to relationship with Christ and all that he taught while on earth and continues to teach in his Church. It is an invitation to discover his unending love for us and grow in love for him.

The Prologue quotes St. John Paul II’s apostolic exhortation Catechesi Tradendae (On Catechesis in Our Time), stating that the term catechesis describes “the totality of the Church’s efforts to make disciples, to help men believe that Jesus is the Son of God and so that believing they might have life in his name …” (CCC 4).

My experience of needing to defend my Catholic faith is likely one that many in our diocese can relate to. In my years of working on the staff of several Catholic churches, it was often questions posed by non-Catholics that led Catholics to begin studying the Catechism. However, to see this text as simply a defense of our Catholic faith is to miss that the prologue invites us first to a relationship with Christ — the love that never ends. 

When I prayerfully read the prologue of the Catechism, it reframed everything that followed. In the journey through this text, paragraphs 1-25 are well worth your time and consideration.