In September 2019, I felt the need to have greater and more in depth catechesis. Much of what I had received up to that point in various groups and events was good but it wasn't providing adequate detail. I had already been listening to a Youtube channel called "Sensus Fidelium" and in particular a priest by the name of Fr. Chad Ripperger. He would go into great amounts of detail in describing various tenets of the faith. I found that quite appealing in contrast to a trend I had noticed which was to aim for less and less detail.
With all of this in mind, I decided I wanted to start my own catechism group with some people I knew. I wanted to choose the right people, people who would contribute and be interested in the topics discussed. I didn't want people who would undermine what we were talking about or always bring it around to an unrelated topic.
I wasn't necessarily looking for people based on their level of knowledge. I just wanted some men who would be open to discussing the catechism. In fact, I sought high and low for a good guide to use when discussing these topics. I look at various books on moral theology, faith studies, guides, etc. I couldn't quite pick something. I even spoke to some priests. After giving it some more thought, I decided we could simply use the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
We used the latest edition from 2000 promulgated by Pope John Paul II. I know some people make take issue with this edition and prefer an older edition. There is nothing wrong with that. This one was just the most accessible. I will get into why the edition is not of grave concern later.
So once I had decided on who to invite and what reference we would use, I set about planning on how to best tackle this large resource. The catechism is 846 pages and has copious footnotes. For every footnote, you could find a whole other work with plenty to read. So it's something of a daunting task.
We started covering the catechism in September 2019. We have had some breaks and hiatuses throughout this period, but we are still not done over a year later. My approach was to divide the book into manageable sections for discussion. I would try to split it into logical sections, not just random page numbers. Once the sections were divided, there would be a new group member who would present their section each week. With 5 people in the group, each person would have 5 weeks to prepare their section.
To give you an example, right now we are covering the 10 commandments. This was easy to divvy up - one commandment per person. Some parts are a little more tricky. But the main thing is trying to have a connected theme.
This format has worked well. People have used all kinds of multimedia to make their presentations. It isn't a strict format and each person is allowed to create their own work and their own approach. Some like to be the only ones talking while others like to involve the audience a lot more. As long as the topics are being covered, that's the main thing.
I would encourage everyone who wants to learn their faith more to start one of these groups. We have our every Thursday around 7:00pm. This makes it nice and consistent. Our group consists entirely of men at the moment for the most part. I like this arrangement. It allows men to discuss things from their unique perspective. Women can certainly do the same thing.
Let me know in the comments section what you think about this idea for learning the faith. Look forward to hearing from you!
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