Baltimore Catechism

I goofed in class today.  It was question #6, not Question #1:  Why did God make me?


It's been something that has bothered men for centuries: what is our purpose?  The answer according to the original Baltimore Catechism?  God made me so that I can know Him, love Him, and serve Him so that I can be happy with him for eternity in heaven.  There is great simplicity in that answer as well as great depth.  God did not create out of need, for God is perfect and needs nothing.  God brought us forth out of a sheer, gratuitous act of love--a reality that ought to make us both joyful and humble. God is Love in the most profound and deepest sense of that simple statement.  When we glorify God,  God then reflects that glory back on those He loves for all of creation to see.  And that is how the revised version answers that question: God made us to show forth His goodness and to share with us His everlasting happiness in heaven.  There is a lifetime of meditation in those two statements alone.

As I said in class, the Baltimore Catechism, originally written in 1891, is a local catechism (that is, one published by a local diocese or in a particular place, but still one taken from the official Catechism of the Universal Church) in a Q and A format.  It was meant for children, many of them the children of immigrants faced with the necessity of catechesis in a new land and a new language.  It was revised in 1941 and used up until the time of Vatican II (mid-sixties) in many locales--ask a cradle Catholic over 50 why God made him and odds are the answer you get will harken back to the Baltimore Catechism. Here's a link to the original, and one to the 1941 revision.


Take a look for yourself--bring questions on the questions to class.  This catechism is intended to get you started thinking about these mysteries--it's not a black and white, be-all, do-all substitute for thinking!  I hope you find it a useful supplement to the materials you already have, and a way to jump-start your own inquiries. You might want to look at what the Baltimore Catechism says about sacraments as we move deeper into our discussion of the sacramental life of the Church.  At any rate--enjoy!

Two Turtle Doves...

Remember the old song? It accurately reflects the Liturgical Calendar. Christmas BEGAN yesterday with the Feat of the Nativity (the Feast of the Incarnation) and will not end until the Feast of the Epiphany, traditionally January 6, but moved to the nearest Sunday, this year January 8--so Christmas has 14 days this year!

The Season of Christmas has many other feasts embedded in it---today's is the Feast of St. Stephen, martyr. You have heard of it in the Carol of King Wenceslas. Read the story in Acts 6:8-8:1. Note, also that they coats of the mob were laid at the feet of Saul, later to be St. Paul...Paul himself will speak of this in his letters. St. Stephen was a deacon in the early Church, and he is the patron Saint of Deacons, stone masons, and coffin makers as well as against headaches (no doubt he got one from being stoned..) and for horses--go figure.... (and a bunch of towns--check this link_). And remember--doves were a traditional animal used for sacrifice in the Temple.....Stephen sacrificed his life for his faith in Christ.

It may seem odd that the first day after the Feast of the Nativity is a feast of a martyr, but the Church wants us to realize that the cross is always near us--that as Christ was persecuted, so will we be for no servant is greater than his Master (John 15:18-29)

Consider these words of St. Augustine:

Do not say that Christians are not persecuted. The Apostle's (Paul's) words are always true....all who desire to live a Godly life in Christ will be persecuted. (2 Tim 3:12). All, he says, with no one being excluded or exempted. If you want to test the truth of this saying, you have only to begin leading a pious life and you will see what good reason he had for saying this....In former times, Christians were incited to renounce Christ; now they are taught to deny Christ. Then they were forced, now they are taught. The violence was used, now it is deception. Then, one heard the shouts of the enemy, now he prowls around, gentle and insinuating; it is difficult to recognize him. Everyone nows how he tried to force Christians to deny Christ; he tried to attract them to himself so that they would renounce HIm but they confessed Christ and were crowned by HIm. Now they are taught to deny Christ by trickery because he doesn't want them to realize he is drawing them away from Christ....

These were in my morning meditation, and I read them with increasing realization that they are more true now than when he wrote them almost 1600 years ago. It caused me to reflect on the subtle ways society tries to draw me away from my love of Christ and my service to Him--in ways that seem innocuous, pleasant and completely ordinary. The presence of the Feast of St. Stephen in the great Season of Christmas reminds us that if Christ is born in our lives, so is the cross--and we must accept them both, together. Faith is not just an act of the intellect, it is an act of the will, a living out in daily life that which we have accepted in our hearts with th birth of the Christ Child in our world---and in our lives....