Customer Reviews

General Directory for Catechesis

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

 

 

This is an official book of the Catholic Church on "catechesis" or teaching and handing on the faith. It is not a how-to manual, but a statement of vision, goals and methods. Published in 1997, it addresses the contemporary church and the challenges it faces, and it benefits from four decades of catechetical renewal and research following the Second Vatican Council.

Readers in the United States should also read the National Directory for Catechesis, which expands on this general text, applying its principles to the situation in the United States today.

I read the General Directory for Catechesis as part of a seminar class. I had an instructor and fellow students to help me read the GDC and make sense of it. Reflecting the ideas from this book with the National Directory of Catechesis was critical to my understanding of the Church's international direction for religious education. The GDC tells you the Church's international plan for religious education, and the NDC applies it to the American situation. I recommend buying them together. That said I was pleased to learn the Church puts adult catechesis above all else and considers all other religious education activities to radiate from the primary emphasis on grown-ups!

I had to purchase this book for a course I was taking. It has really come in handy outside of the course. I am also a catechist and use this book when planning lessons. It clarifies some of the deeper points found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. By referring to this book, I am able to better understand a lesson topic and in that way can teach a better lesson because I know the material better. If you are a catechist or someone looking to understand the Faith better, this is a useful reference book.

Perfect to go with the National Directory for Catechesis. Anyone involved in teaching, ministry, evangelization, and catechesis needs this book. It is one to review again and again - a great tool to stay Christocentric in all our undertakings serving the Church.

It is a used book but in good shape. Very pleased with my purchase.

Of course, this book doesn't contain anything bad (it's approved by the Pope). On the other hand:

- It's filled with typos, and the English translation is sometimes hard to understand.
- If you have a classroom filled with kids on one side, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the other side, and you're looking for help to make a connection between both, forget this book.
- With all this talk about "inculturation", adaptation, different cultures, etc., we almost start wondering whether evangelization is even possible! And the funniest thing is that Jesus in the Gospels speaks plainly, and the Gospels are translated in all the languages of the Earth, and everybody understands them, without having a "Ph.D. in Multi-Cultural Inculturation".
- One of the most "insulting" passages of the book is on page 279, footnote 35, were it is proclaimed that many practical textbooks exist, and that they are a treasure for the Church, except none are mentioned! That would have been the most bloody important part of the whole book! The whole book would have been worth it, if it had said: "Here are three good catechesis courses for children, three for adults, and three for special groups (like the handicapped, etc.), each one taken in a different cultural context, yet representative of an important part of the world population. All are approved by the Pope." That would have given us a much better idea of what good catechesis is, rather than a long and boring book.

Disclaimer: my religious affiliations are "www.inquisition.ca"