Ratzinger, one of the key persons responsible for the compilation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, offers new insights on the catechetical character and Biblical foundation of the worldwide bestselling Catechism that has had such a positive response from ordinary Catholics across the globe. But he acknowledges that the response of many theologians and “professional religionists” has been negative toward the Catechism.
He says that if theologians don’t want to be “shut out” of this worldwide development of sensus fidei and lose touch with the common Catholic, they will have to engage the Catechism positively. The main purpose of this book is to offer an invitation to this changed approach to the Catechism. He wants people to see, as he shows here, how the Catechism is an excellent teaching tool that responds to man’s deepest questions about the meaning of life, how to live a good life, and how to attain happiness in this life and in eternal life. He shows how the Catechism affirms that man’s happiness is love, and that the essence of true love has been manifested in the person of Jesus Christ.
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“Faith is an orientation of our existence as a whole” (Page 25)
“No one can believe alone, just as no one can live alone. You have not given yourself faith as you have not given yourself life.” (Page 26)
“faith is an obedience ‘from the heart to the form of doctrine into which you were handed over’ (Rom 6:17” (Pages 29–30)
“Faith cannot be presupposed; it must be proposed. This is the purpose of the Catechism. It aims to propose the faith in its fullness and wealth, but also in its unity and simplicity.” (Page 24)
“The word of faith first enters the mind, but it cannot stay there: thought must always become word and deed again” (Page 31)
This modern Father of the Church offers us a rare insight into how the Catechism was written and, therefore, how it ought to be interpreted. It is eminently readable while never sacrificing precision of thought or language.
—Peter M. J. Stravinskas, editor of The Catholic Answer