Clearly intrigued, and impressed with Jeff’s insights, Tom said, “Are you saying that good Catholics can actually deepen their state of sin by following their conscience instead of a Church teaching that they find difficult or confusing? If you are, then where lies hope of Christian life? Where, indeed, is mercy?” With a quick glance at Rose, who was enjoying dialogue, Jeff responded, “Two issues, Tom. First, I am drawing that fine line between truly not knowing a certain teaching of faith versus knowing teaching in your heart and ignoring it willfully. This distinction is crucial. Do you think there’s a Catholic out there who does not know that Church is against all forms of artificial contraception? Yet, millions of Catholics wantonly disobey this teaching. How about capital punishment? The Church has come out in Catechism and in media against taking of human life for any reason, including those on death row. The position has been made clear many times. Now, poll your fellow Catholics next time an execution is scheduled. The result? ‘Kill guy,’ many will say. ‘An eye for an eye...’ and all usual clichés will come easily off tongue. Where’s support of Church’s teaching? Where’s deference to her authority? Where’s obedience? If Church does not possess one truth, who does? Once again we have “protestantized” faith. Pick any teaching of Church, it really doesn’t matter which one - from executive who thinks “white” lies are acceptable business practice, to feminist who refuses to acknowledge sacredness of new life, to student who insists that cheating he does now is offset by good he will do as a doctor in future. In each case, they know in their hearts that they are doing wrong but to absolve themselves they vilify Holy Mother Church for solemnly reminding them of Christ’s call to perfection.”

“Sounds to me like it’s better to not know faith at all and plead ignorance at feet of God when I die,” remarked Tom. “Sure, Tom,” responded Jeff, “and Our Lord should have just sat under a palm tree eating dates and not bothered to teach his flock. That brings me to second issue - never forget that we have an obligation to form our conscience. This obligation is serious, it is difficult and it is lifelong. We cannot hide behind the, ‘I’m following my conscience’ defense when we fail to properly form that conscience. We have resources to meet this obligation in form of Deposit of Faith. The Bible, Catechism, writings of Fathers, Saints, Doctors and Councils all provide insights into wisdom of ages, ably presented to us by our bishops, priests and deacons. With these profound resources we are equipped to handle life’s moral and spiritual challenges. The problem is that most Catholics attempt to get by with an eighth-grade understanding of Church’s teachings or, worse, they adopt society’s spin on profound issues of our day. That’s like turning to a Ford dealer to discuss virtues of owning a Chevy,” Jeff concluded.

Rounding curve into his subdivision, Tom seemed pensive. Jeff read his brother’s face and asked, “What is it, Tom? Are you still convinced that your pastor was wasting his breath today?” “Quite contrary,” replied Tom. “I now realize he was doing his job by keeping us aware of our Christian obligations. Like many in congregation, I put up my personal filter screen to block what I did not want to hear. It’s always easier to sit in pew and mock message.” He continued, “I feel somewhat overwhelmed by work I need to do to raise my level of understanding. What do you recommend?” Jeff, sensing his brother’s sincerity, replied, “I recommend we start with a pot of Linda’s excellent Colombian coffee, then we’ll crack open that beautiful Catechism you have in your study. You know... one still in shrink wrap,” he teased, as only a brother could do.

A. The Sacraments of Initiation, Healing, and Vocation

B. Sacramentals

Life in Christ - This part of Catechism encapsulates teachings of faith on inestimable value and dignity of human life. It is here where we explore those issues that often put Church at odds with global “culture of death.” We learn about how, from earliest years of faith, Christians honored human life from conception to natural death. We go on to learn how, contrary to societal notions, sin and its devastating effects cannot be masked behind euphemisms or “relative” morality. The Catechism conducts an exhaustive review of Ten Commandments, reminding us that they are still in force and how they must serve as template to shape our lives. In summary, this part of Catechism explains:

A. Dignity of Human Person

B. Christian Morality

C. Virtues

D. Sin

E. Social Justice

F. The Ten Commandments

Christian Prayer - The last section of Catechism offers insights into importance of maintaining intimate contact with our Creator through prayer. We learn about various types of prayer, intrinsic value of prayer and obstructions that can affect quality of our prayer life. Prayer is essential to our pilgrimage but, like any endeavor, it takes practice and commitment. Saints have reminded us that God is interested in quality, not quantity. The Catechism closes with a superb exposition of Our Father, prayer taught to us by Lord himself. In summary, this part of Catechism explains:

A. The Revelation of Prayer

B. The Tradition of Prayer

C. The Life of Prayer

D. The Lord’s Prayer

A wonderful feature of book is that, after every few pages, there is a bullet-type summary (known as In Brief) encapsulating major points presented. In a culture grown accustomed to sound bites, each In Brief section gives us a quick review and provides cross-reference back to main text. These summaries come in handy when material is especially deep or theologically complex.

A journey through this profound document would be extremely difficult were it not for supporting material that comprises almost one-fourth of book’s total pages. Located at very back of Catechism, this material gives us tools to pursue source of Catholic beliefs and doctrines. It starts off with Index of Citations which give us source reference of each footnote, from Sacred Scripture (all taken from Revised Standard Version or New Revised Standard Version of Bible) to Ecumenical Councils, Pontifical Documents, Canon Law, and Ecclesiastical Writers.

Perhaps most important navigation tool is Index of Topics, an improvement made to second edition of Catechism. This comprehensive Index is a wonderful pathway to vast array of topics inside. Those new to faith find it especially helpful to go here first. They find a topic of interest or concern to them and zero in on appropriate paragraph in text to see where Church stands on that issue. Coming from a “Bible only” background, it is often a revelation for them to see that Church has squarely faced difficult issues of age and given a clear, supported teaching. For those of us who grew up in Catholic faith, we find comfort in fact that Catholic Church is consistent, i.e. that her commitment to virtue, piety and moral living is always same no matter what new challenge comes along. The difficult topics addressed by Catechism remind us that Holy Mother Church never was, nor will ever be, afraid to stand as a moral voice for all ages. A helpful Glossary follows Index, which aids in understanding some liturgical or theological terms we may not come across every day.

The Catechism of Catholic Church is a treasure. Its riches are wide open to faithful, reminding us that we are members of an ancient Church, “...so old yet so new.” In mining wisdom of its pages we hear, once again, voices of Apostles, Popes, Fathers, and Saints. They remind us that, in our humility before world, we can still be proud to be members of one true Church founded by Jesus Christ.