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"In places where widespread unbelief and invasive
secularism makes real religious growth practically impossible, "the
church of the home" remains the one place where children can receive an
authentic catechesis."
Pope John Paul II, Catechesi Tradendae
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No child can believe in God
without knowing Him. Thus, it is one thing when children lose
faith and turn away from God, it is quite another when they never learn
the faith to begin with.
"How then shall they call on Him
in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe Him of whom
they have not heard?"
St. Paul, Romans 10:14
CLAA CATECHISM
Our children need systematic
instruction in the faith and the Church has provided parents and
teachers with an excellent tool in the Baltimore Catechism. The
Baltimore Catechism stands at the end of a long tradition of
catechetical instruction which anchors our children in timeless Catholic
teaching--even while the Church currently works to develop new resources
to serve the Church's modern challenges.
While many families use the
Baltimore Catechism, we provide a unique set of resources for
explaining, exercising and assessing student lessons. Every lesson
provides prayers, catechism questions, explanatory lessons and
examinations that require no preparation by the parent. Our rigorous examinations at the end of each lesson
help us to pinpoint Christian doctrines that our
children do not understand. This ensures no important
teaching is neglected.
The lessons in the Academy's
Classic Catechism include nothing but the text of the original Baltimore
Catechism. The
Catechism used by the CLAA was published by the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore in
1885 as the Catholic Church was established in America. Nothing is added to
or taken away from these trustworthy sources in our catechism
materials.
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WHAT IS 'CATECHISM'?
Catechism is the ancient
method of systematic instruction in the Catholic Christian faith.
The essential points of the Christian faith are taught in a simple
question and answer format that anyone can teach or learn.
It's mission is described in the St. Cyril's Prologue to his
Catechetical Lectures:
"Suppose that the Catechising is a
kind of building. Stone must follow stone by course, and corner match
with corner, and by our smoothing off inequalities the building must
thus rise evenly. In like manner we are bringing to thee stones, as it
were, of knowledge. But unless thou fit them together in the one whole,
and remember what is first, and what is second, the builder may build,
but thou wilt find the building unsound."
Unfortunately, in our
generation, this is hardly being done. Schools have grown
secular to avoid controversy and maintain high enrollments, and
religious instruction has been pushed out of the curriculum.
Today, the restoration of classic catechesis begins with
individual families. St. Cyril encourages us further:
"Thou art receiving armor against the
adverse power, armor against heresies... Thou hast many enemies; take to
thee many arrows, for thou hast many to hurl them at: and thou hast need
to learn how to strike down the unbeliever, how to contend against the
heretic."
This is the goal of
our Catechism program. As with all of our courses, nothing is new
except the technology, since the truth today is nothing but what it was
in St. Cyril's day. |
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CATECHESIS
and
PRAYER
Pope John Paul II taught that
true catechesis leads men to intimacy with the truth--Jesus Christ
himself. The CLAA Catechism program
also teaches the meaning of the prayers of the Church and provides for
their regular use. From basic daily prayers like the Sign of the
Cross, the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary and the 'Angel of God' to
devotion that includes the Litany of the Blessed Virgin and the Litany
of the Most Holy Name, students learn their traditional meaning and use.
Prayer is a habit that must be cultivated by learning and practice.
"The Magisterium of the Church has
the task of discerning the fidelity of these ways of praying. It is for
pastors and catechists to explain their meaning."
Catechism of
the Catholic Church (2663)
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