The Ecumenical Christian Dialogues and the Catechism of the Catholic Church Book

The United States Catholic Catechism for Adults proves that love and mercy were the foundation of Catholic faith long before Pope Francis. As a returning Catholic, I decided to read this book to learn about Catholicism and grow my faith. Frankly, I was afraid to read the Catechism of the Catholic Church itself because the numbered paragraphs were daunting. This catechism takes to heart Pope John Paul II's direction to promulgate local catechisms to help people understand how to apply Church teachings in the face of the unique problems facing their societies. It does a very good job.

What I like most about USCCA is that it is broken into12-20 page chapters written in clear prose based on the Creed, the Sacraments, the Ten Commandments and prayer. Each chapter begins with a short biography of a person of faith who exemplifies the topic under discussion and then proceeds with a short explanation of Church teachings followed by a summary, questions for thought, meditation and a prayer.

For me, the chapters were just long enough. Longer and I might not have tried to tackle 500 pages of religious text! Being short, they allowed me to dip my toe in without too much apprehension. The short biographies were well written and instructive, and the meditations relevant. Although this is not a short book, it doesn't delve deep into issues. Instead it gives you the basic teachings in easily understandable prose with good examples derived from life in the United States. I have a much more complete understanding of Catholic teachings now and have a good idea of how to continue my learning. It will be a book I will return too again and again and now that I have read it, I may just be able to tackle the Catechism of the Catholic Church with less fear.