Customer Reviews

The Companion to the Catechism of the Catholic Church: A Compendium of Texts Referred to in the Catechism of the Catholic Church Including an Addendum

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Companion to the Catechism of the Catholic Church is a wonderful resource for the inquiring mind or the serious academic. It is a treasure of all of the quote sources from the Catechism of the Catholic Church and allows you to go much deeper in your study without having to carry a giant reference library with you, or to have a stack or 10 or 20 books beside your desk.

One of my fellow-reviewers here (who rated the book two stars) is asking the Companion to do something it was not intended to do. It does not explain the Catechism, it provides the background material from which the Catechism is based. It is a marvelous piece of work which provides all the cited material in an easy to use format. Useful to all who want to verify, backup, or defend the material in the Catechism. Bravo to the Church--who else puts together such a great Catechism and Companion.

Steve Ray

The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a ground-breaking document. However, it contains many, many footnotes, not only to scriptural passages but to various church documents and passages in the Church Fathers. This helpful companion volume lists all the quoted passages and saves the serious student hours of research trying to track down the documents referred to in the Catechism.

It's not a book for helping you understand the Catechism (as some have misunderstood it to be), but it is the perfect companion for studying the Catechism and appreciating its fullest meaning.

This is an excellent way to see the thousands of sources that the Catechism relies on in transmitting the Sacred Tradition of the Catholic Church to its reader. It is an invaluable resource for anyone who would like to understand the springs of Catholic Tradition as found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The full text of all the citations in the Catechism (except those in the Bible and those quoted in full) for *all* the footnotes in the Catechism in one volume is a remarkable achievement.

Another reviewer felt that one shortcoming was that sources quoted in full in the Catechism were not repeated here. Well, yes, that might be a problem for some, but then this book is not intended to be used alone. This is a straight footnote lookup from the Catechism.

Here you have a chance to trace the thoughts of those who wrote the Catechism. It is more than merely helpful or even enlightening. It opens the door to many wonderful works, including some which are hard to find in English.

The paper used is quite heavy for a book this size (980 pages) making it quite thick. The binding, even though it is paperback, is first-rate. This book is made to be used and to last.

In addition to this book and, of course the Catechism, please take a look at "Introduction to the Catechism" by Cardinal Ratzinger (Now Pope Benedict XVI). The new "Compendium of the Catechism" released in April 2006 by the USCCB, is a superb work as well.

If you are serious about your Catholic faith and want to learn more, this will certainly help.

This is a great resource book for use with the Catechism of the Catholic Church. When I am doing research using the Catechism, this companion guide saves time and trouble by giving you the MANY references right at your fingertips.

The idea behind this Companion is wonderful: collect into one book the texts that are referred to in the footnotes of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This would allow readers ready access to the church documents, biblical passages, and spiritual writings related to the material in the Catechism. BUT, this Companion includes only texts which appear as indirect references, that is, those indicated by "Cf." in a footnote. It does not contain texts that are quoted by the catechism -- even if only a few words are quoted. This is a serious shortcoming for someone interested in studying the background sources.

The book's Preface explains that it includes the texts of "indirect references," but I do not think the title of the book makes this clear. The Reader should be aware of what is lacking.

Jesus is wonderful and the Bible, the Catechism and the Compendium are always with me. I read the catechism, then the compendium together. The footnotes are all there and all match number for number so it's easy to jump around the catechism and follow along in the compendium. It's an awesome resource and saves a lot of time. Plus, when you find something like Lumen Gentium, that you like in part in the compendium, then you have your sample of the text and can go to other resources to read more of the doc. All footnotes and scriputure quotes are there. A must have for the serious Catholic or serious study of Catholicism. It's the bomb! Peace be with you.

References cited in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. For the serious theological study of the Catehism.

I bought this guide several weeks back. It is handy and actually fun to read and to thumb though it. I also bought the Compendium which is also a good tool. The Compendium is a good first look at the Catechism. Knowing the basics provide a good base to further study and appreciation of our belief as Catholic Christians in the Catechism. Does everyone require the Companion Guide? No. However, having it will not hurt if you want the details.