Customer Reviews

Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church

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Bishop Donald Wuerl, past chairman and current member of the American bishops' Committee on Catechesis, had this to say about the Compendium, "[It] offers a concise yet complete presentation of the faith. It presents an overview of the whole Cathechism [of the Catholic Church] without going into all of the details that enrich the Catechism. Its primary focus is to provide ready access in a concise manner to the content of the faith."

To the delight of seekers everywhere, the Compendium reintroduces new generations of Catholics to the reliable Q&A format. Twenty five years ago, Silvio Cardinal Oddi, the Prefect for the Sacred Congregation of the Clergy, defended this time-tested format from the attacks of members of supposedly "progressive" catechetical schools. He wisely observed that "specialists in internal medicine, engineering, and chemistry arm themselves with question and answer manuals to check themselves on recent developments in their respective fields." The good cardinal then addressed the progressive complaint directly:

"Captious critics have objected that the Faith is not a series of answers to contrived questions but a way of life. The answer to this objection might well be another question: How can we live a Christian life until we first 'know the truth' (John 8:32)?"

To that end, the Q&A format enables readers to commit the truths of the faith to memory. Indeed, "memorization" is one of the reasons Pope Benedict cites for issuing the Compendium. And thanks to its beautiful, crisp language, doing so can be a labor of love. Read the following excerpt from the section explaining the "Our Father":

"596. What does 'Lead us not into temptation' mean?

We ask God our Father not to leave us alone and in the power of temptation. We ask the Holy Spirit to help us know how to discern, on the one hand, between a trial that makes us grow in goodness and a temptation that leads to sin and death and, on the other hand, between being tempted and consenting to temptation. This petition unites us to Jesus who overcame temptation by his prayer. It requests the grace of vigilance and of final perseverance."

For about the price of a movie ticket, and in a mere 200 pages, you can learn the path to salvation Christ entrusted to His Church. Bargains don't get any better.

What makes the Compendium so compelling is the format. I pick it up and read a few pages of Questions and Answers and usually find some nugget that stays with me for the rest of the day. For example, Question #43 is: "What does it mean to believe in only one God?" Part of the answer is that it means that we are "living in thanksgiving and trusting in him {God} always even in adversity." That is an awesome and practical answer. It can immediately be used in examining how we are living our lives. Do I live my life like I believe in only one God? Am I giving thanks to God when I'm stuck in traffic or when even worst things happen? How about when good things happen?

The Compendium is not a long book, so one can get an overview of the Catholic faith in 204 pages including a survey of Catholic art, Latin prayers to memorize (most will need a pronounciation guide for these)and prayers in English--even a "Coptic Incense Prayer."

Even those who have the Catechism of the Catholic Church will find the Compendium new and very informative.

I am the author of The How-To Book of the Mass: Everything You Need to Know but No One Ever Taught You

As a catechist I was overjoyed to see the new Compendium of the Catechism. It is an excellent tool for adult catechesis. Although the big "Catechism of the Catholic Church" is indespensable for the catechist, this new smaller Compendium is less intimidating to those who are new to the Catholic faith and it contains all of the teachings of the larger Catechism in a way that is much more accesible. The Catholic Prayers section is excellent, too.

The question and answer format has always been useful. Thomas Aquinas used it his Summa and people have found it helpful ever since.

This is an outstanding condensation of the Catechism.

The book is a much slimmer than the brick-sized catechism. The style is easy to read and will not turn off anyone.

This is NOT a replacement for the Catechism book, but a rather wonderful companion.

Speaking of companions, please do not forget to look at these two.

# "Companion to Catechism of the Catholic Church". That book has ALL of the text referred to by all the footnotes in the Catechism. A resource two-millennia in the making!

# "Introduction to the Catechism" by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI.

This is a great synopsis of the Catholic Faith. If you ever wanted to know what the Church REALLY teaches, then pick this book up. In a simple Question and Answer format, it goes through the entire Catechism in about 1/10th the size to bring you a short synopsis of everything we believe.

It will be a great aid to me in the classes I teach and I think it will be a great help to all those seeking to learn more about the Church established by Christ.

The only possible "criticism" which could be leveled at the Catechism of the Catholic Church is that it is not an easy read. By contrast, the Compendium reads beautifully, easily, and magnificently. In addition to print versions, the Compendium (& the Catechism, itself) can be found in its entirety at the Vatican web site.

Pope John Paul II oversaw the issue of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 1992, which was directed primarily to bishops and priests, to provide a sure norm of Catholic doctrine, and to aid in the development of regional/diocesan catechesis.

Sadly, 14 years after the release of the CCC, we in the U.S. can see, in general, just how "well" our previous Holy Father's exhortation was heeded. In my home diocese of Albany, NY, for example, catechetical materials from Bishop Hubbard's office--a bureaucracy openly hostile to Catholic orthodoxy--are just about uniformly heretical. The adjoining diocese (of Syracuse, NY) isn't much better, either, I'm afraid. So much for the U.S. Bishops' response to the Pope's call to orthodoxy . . .

Happily, in June 2005 (its English edition released to the U.S. in March 2006), Pope Benedict XVI promulgated the Compendium as "a faithful and sure synthesis of the [CCC]," aimed primarily at the rank-and-file Catholic laity. Thank God that the Pope has done for us what our bishops, by-and-large, have miserably failed to do: made the dense volume of the CCC digestable in the 175-page Compendium, an accessible and completely trustworthy summary of the CCC!

The question-and-answer format of the Compendium, with marginal cross references to corresponding sections of the CCC parent text, offer brief, but powerful statements of our precious Catholic faith: bite-sized, but full of nutritionally ample Catholic teaching. One paragraph will keep you going for a whole day--usually more!

The critical teaching office that our regional (U.S.) bishops have pretty much abandoned still functions--Praise be to God!--at the level of our universal Bishop. Thanks again, Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. It's comforting indeed to know that at least one bishop, i.e., the Supreme Pontiff, still cares deeply--with the love of the Chief Shepherd of our souls, Jesus Christ--for his sheep!

Viva Papa!!

If you're Catholic or interested in exploring the Catholic faith, the Compendium should be on your bookshelf and will quickly become one of your regularly consulted resources.

The concise question and answer format lends itself to quick answers to those complex questions that may arise. For greater exploration, catechetical citations are provided. I particularly enjoyed the lovely color illustrations and the addition of common prayers in Latin.

I would not say that the Compendium is a replacement for the Catechism, but rather an effective companion to the original and a wonderful resource for anyone looking to grow in knowledge and faith.

In its question and answer format, the newly published Compendium of the Catechism is a simple, clear, and precise dictation of the truth (that is to say God Himself).

Having ordered this book long before the English translation was complete, I was delighted to finally see it in my mailbox. In little less than a week, the Compendium took its place among my three most cherished books - The Bible, The Catechism, and now the Compendium. In addition to the question and answer format, which is very appealing to lay people and those who studied the Baltimore Catechism, the book has plenty to offer, such as:

1. The Size: The book is small enough to accompany anyone in their everyday activities, and throughout life's journey.

2. The Approval: Pope Benedict's letter of approval offers a clear synthesis of the origins of the Compendium, a promulgation of its content, and a petition to Our Lady.

3. The Icons: Perhaps the most noticed addition in the Compendium is the use of Icons (displayed in full color). Fifteen to be exact, starting with Christ the Pantocrator - a mirror to the Compendium because this Icon is described as "an invitation to contemplate and to follow the Lord Jesus through the Church His bride and His mystical body." Additionally, Pope Benedict describes the potency of the Icons with these words: "The sacred images, with their beauty, are also a proclamation of the Gospel and express the splendor of the Catholic truth."

4. Concordances: The Compendium contains concordances to similar topics in the larger Catechism. This is handy for those wishing to delve deeper into a given subject.

5. Common Prayers and Formulas: At the end of the book, the Church presents the faithful a summary of the common prayers in both English and Latin, and the formulas of the Church - especially helpful to me since I haven't memorized them all!

If I was asked to concisely describe the benefits of reading the Compendium to a faithful Catholic, my reply would be that it enlightens the soul to the eternal ways of the ever living God; and likewise, to the inherent truths of Humanity. Considering that the price is equivalent to 4 gallons of gasoline - most likely covering production and distribution by a small margin - the Church is practically giving us this gift.

And to that I say, Gratias Tibi Ago Benedictus PP. XVI!

Pope John Paul II's Catechism of the Catholic Church came out in 1992. It is not a book for casual reading but represents the documented teachings of the Catholic Church on issues of faith.

This compendium by his close companion Pope Benedict XVI is a point by point enrichment using many scriptural and other resources. I find that it adds depth to the previous rather dry document. Good and brief explanations specially for those who have to teach and to answer questions. His artistic touch shines through even in the layout of this book.

I highly recommend it to pastors and lay catechists alike.