Comments on: XXI. Catechisms

By: Jacqueline Y.

Jacqueline Y. — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 19:04:02 +0000

Of course the Baltimore Catechism is not all-sufficient for catechesis, or pedagogically problem-free. But I think a lot of cradle Catholics underestimate its value (even those who don’t denigrate it, and those seem to be many).

True story: When I was a 16 year old Baptist, a conversation took place between a group of us girls on a retreat that went like this. “Why did God make us?” Silence, furrowed brows. Then someone finally said, “Maybe He was bored?” Someone a little more thoughtful sighed, “I guess we won’t find out until we get to heaven.” We were trained to find any Bible verse with lightening speed, and were taught to revere and familiarise ourselves with the Scriptures, but a lot was missing in our Christian formation. Even Luther’s Small Catechism would have helped us considerably. I didn’t discover the Baltimore Catechism until after I became a Catholic, but I treasure it, despite its (few, IMO) flaws.

By: Sister Mary Martha

Sister Mary Martha — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 18:42:55 +0000

Ah, the Baltimore Cathechism. I am on the receiving end of hearing it recited. I think I could recite it backwards.

By: novus744

novus744 — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:21:12 +0000

My children will be memorizing the book pictured above, though it is somewhat different from the original Baltimore Catechism.

In fact, they will memorize the whole thing every year for about 8 years. By the end of the 1st year of this they will know the Faith much better than Claire’s friends, and they will understand the basics of Church teaching behind theology, which is a subject that can’t properly be understood without such a catechesis.

By: Jean

Jean — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 08:55:06 +0000

There’s nothing like a good catechism! I’m the speediest of speed readers but have taken 3 months to read 48 pages of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I’ve spent the last 4 days mulling over “Believing is an act of the intellect assenting to the divine truth by the command of the will moved by God through grace.” Catechismless protestants don’t know what they’re missing.

By: Claire

Claire — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 01:29:40 +0000

I shocked my friends by revealing that I had to memorize (and still remember!) large portions of the Baltimore Catechism in grade school. (I’m 20, so yeah… 1990s.) It was a truly horrendous exercise and did nothing to teach me theology.

Then, in high school, we had a small booklet that was basically the catechism in outline form. Our teacher made us write outlines of the booklet. That was already an outline.

It’s a wonder any of us managed to learn anything.

By: ASimpleSinner

ASimpleSinner — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 01:14:20 +0000

Monsignor: Who made us?

Tiny Student: God made us.

Monsignor: That’s correct. Now your studies are complete.

Silliness is what I hope you are going for.

3 decades on, my parents still remember EVERY answer they had… And as tough or unforgiving as it sounds to make kids memorize something, my parents STILL have every answer and thought about the catechisms they learned in their mind, as part of their psyche, as part of their identity.

I did what I could to learn some of it myself – from old catechisms of theirs…

Q: Who made you?
A: God made me.

Q: Why did God make you?
A: God made me to know Him, love Him and serve Him in this life and be happy with Him for all eternity in the next.

Something any 5 year old could learn, this stays with us a lifetime and is far more wrought with truth and hope than any of the garbage a 5 year old will be spoon fed in his or her next 10 decades.