Spiritual Reading

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SPIRITUAL READING

Christ in the Storm of the Sea of Galilee by Rembrandt
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Spiritual Reading

The following are a very small sample of reading material that in some cases have changedmany lives and brought them closer to the Way, the Truth and the Life of Jesus Christ. Thesebooks represent ideal reading for every practising Christian. In the case of the Bible it isessential reading and in the case ofImitation of Christ it is near essential reading.

The Holy Bible

The Four Gospels should be read and re read. The have God for their author, and containHis revelation of Himself in Jesus Christ.

The One Year Bible

This book is in fact the Bible but split into daily readings of the Old and New Testament andafter 365 days the reader has completed reading or praying the Bible.

The Daily Missal - the daily Gospel

In Conversation with God (a commentary on the daily Gospel by Francis Fernandez)

Meditations for every day of the year. The complete work has more than 550 meditations.These meditations deal with the main topics of the Christian doctrine and life.

Author Francis Fernandez-Carvajal makes generous use of the writings of the great saints ashe brings you focused and moving meditations on themes taken from the Mass readings forthat day, the liturgical season, and more. This work is rich and extensive enough to serve asyour spiritual reading for a lifetime, as it helps you relate the particulars of the message ofChrist to the ordinary circumstances of your day. Each volume is small enough for you tocarry it to Adoration or some other suitable place for meditation.

Imitation of Christ (suggest the translation by Leo Sherley-Price)

The Imitation of Christ takes first place among books on the spiritual life. The daily reading ofa page or two of this book cannot be too highly recommended.

It would be impossible to estimate the wide and profound influence that this wonderful littlebook has exercised throughout Christendom for over five hundred years. After the Bibleitself, no other work can compare with its profound wisdom, clarity of thought, and convertingpower. Christians of such widely differing period and outlook as S. Thomas More andGeneral Gordon, S. Ignatius Loyola and John Wesley, S. Francis Xavier and Dr Johnson, arebut a few of the thousands who have acknowledged their debt to this golden work.It may perhaps appear strange that a book written by one who spent nearly the whole of hislong life in the cloister, and who intended his works primarily for his fellow-religious, should

have such power to guide and inspire hundreds who have little knowledge of monastic life :but the writer's deep and burning love of God, his deep humility, his profound knowledge ofthe Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers, coupled with his understanding of humannature and its needs, make him a wise and trustworthy counsellor to all who seek to knowand fulfil the true purpose of human life -'to praise, love and serve God their Lord, and bydoing these things, to save their souls'. Accordingly, while Thomas a Kempis writes in thefirst place for his fellow-religious, an ascetic for ascetics, a mystic for those who aspire tomystical union with God through the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and


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obedience, yet his counsels are a proved guide And inspiration to men and women of everyage and nation.

The secret of the amazing influence and converting power of this little book is the secret ofthe lives of all the Saints - their nearness to God, and the reflection of His love in their livesand writings. Thomas's theme is the love, mercy, and holiness of God; with vivid clarity he

shows man's complete dependence on, and need of, God, and the empty futility of life livedapart from its only source of true Life and Light: he stirs us to seek our own good and lastinghappiness in the knowledge and service of God. In the words of S. Augustine, Patron of theOrder of Canons Regular to which Thomas himself belonged, 0 God, Thou halt made us forThyself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.' In simple and burning words,Thomas shows that the only road to this sublime goal of oneness with God is by devotion toChrist Crucified, and by treading his `Royal Road to the Holy Cross'.

1Moreover, while the

author is both a mystic and a scholar, he is always - like S. Teresa of Avila - eminentlyrealistic and practical, and he shows us the `how' as well as the `why' of the spiritual life.

This small book, free from intellectual pretensions, has had great appeal to anyoneinterested in probing beneath the surface of life. "A poor peasant who serves God," Thomaswrote in it, "is better than a proud philosopher who ponders the courses of the stars." The

book advised the ordering of one's priorities along religious lines. "Vain and brief is all humancomfort. Blessed and true is that comfort which is derived inwardly from the Truth." Thomasadvised where to look for happiness. "The glory of the good is in their own consciences, andnot in the mouths of men."

Butlers Lives of the Saints

Butler's great work, The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints ("Butler'sLives"), the result of thirty years study (first published in four volumes, London, 17561759),has passed through many editions and translations (best edition, including valuable notes,Dublin, 12 vols. 17791780). It is a popular and compendious reproduction of the ActaSanctorum, exhibiting great industry and research, and is in all respects the bestcompendium ofActain English.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

This is basically a reference book concerning the believers of the Catholic Church. It is veryeloquent but at the same times being very instructed. It covers everything a Catholic wouldwant to know about the Church and faith.

Part of a quotation from Pope John Paul:

This Catechism confirms its purpose of being presented as a full, complete exposition ofCatholic doctrine, enabling everyone to know what the Church professes, celebrates, lives,and prays in her daily life. At the same time it draws attention to the eager desire of all to

make their contribution so that the Christian faith, whose essential and necessary elementsare summarized in the Catechism, can be presented to the people of our day in the mostsuitable way possible.

The Story of a Soul by St. Therese of Lisieux (translation by John Beevers)

Saint Therese of Lisieux is a Saint whom one should meet early in ones reading.
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The Story of a Soul(l'Histoire d'une me) is the autobiography ofThrse of Lisieux. It wasfirst published on September 30, 1898, a year to the day after her death fromtuberculosisatthe age of 24, on September 30, 1897.

"The greatest saint of modern times. This famous statement of Pope Pius Xhimself a greatsaintwas prophetic. When he paid Therese Martin this extraordinary tribute, she had not

yet even been beatified. But in a few brief years Catholics the world over were echoing hiswords.

That an unknown French girl, born only yesterday in 1873, could in a mere half century havebecome one of the best-loved saints in the Church is a phenomenon that cannot beexplained in purely human terms. It is unique in the history of modern Christianity, a prodigyof divine grace.

Therese was the youngest of five daughters. Her father, a prosperous businessman, gavehis family a comfortable home. Above all, it was a devout home. The first sorrow ofTherese's life, the death of her mother, came when she was only four, M. Martin then movedhis family to Lisieux, where his late wife's brother and sister-in-law helped care for thechildren. The older girls, Marie and Pauline, also rose to the occasion, taking over many of

their mother's duties, and gradually the Martins were able to pick up the threads of familyhappiness.

Five years later Therese endured another heartbreaking experience. Pauline, her littlemother," left home to enter the local Carmelite convent. Marie followed her four years later.Shortly after, Therese was seized by the same calling. Though only fifteen, she begged to beallowed to follow them. Her father agreed, but both the Carmelite superiors and the bishopthought she was too young. The bishop, however, changed his mind and Therese entered afew months later. Her ideal was simple, direct, heroic: "I want to be a saint."

The rest of her short life was, from any external standpoint, as uneventful as her early years.She was formally received into the order in 1889 and took her final vows the following year.In 1893 she was made assistant to the misstress of novices. Early in 1895 she began, inobedience to her Superior, to write the story of her childhood, afterwards expanded to thisfull autobiography. In 1896 she suffered the first attack of the illness that was to prove fatal; ayear later she was dead at the age of twenty-four.

But this bare outline gives no clue as to why Pope Pius XI decreed that Therese of Lisieuxwas to be the equal patron, with St. Francis Xavier, of all the missions and the secondarypatron of France with St. Joan of Arc. How did an obscure nun achieve such honors so soonafter her death?

The answer, of course, is her holiness, a holiness founded on unshakeable confidence inGod, absolute love for Him. Her doctrine of sanctity is enshrined for the ages in her ownphrase, "the little way of spiritual childhood." This teaching was not original with St Thrse.

Christ Himself held out the same ideal time and again, as when He urged His followers tobecome "as little children." God chose Therese to dramatize this truth anew, reminding usthat great love, not great deeds, is the essence of sanctity.

As we become acquainted with the histories of those in whom, in long succession, God hasbeen pleased to show forth examples of holiness of life, it seems as if every phase of humanexistence had in the history of the Church received its consecration as a power to bring mennearer to their Maker. But there is no limit to the types of sanctity which the Creator ispleased to unfold before His Creatures. To many, on reading for the first time the story of
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Sister Teresa of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, it came almost as a shock to find avery youthful member of an austere Order, strictly retired from the world, engaged in hiddenprayer and mortification, appearing before us to reveal to the whole world the wonders of theclose intimacy of friendship to which her Divine Spouse had been pleased to call her.Certainly the way by which Soeur Therese was led is not the normal life of Carmel, nor hersthe manner whereby most Carmelites are called to accomplish the wondrous apostolate of

intercession to which their lives are given. But no less certain is it that, in her particular case,her work for God and her apostolate were not to be confined between the walls of herreligious home, or to be limited by her few years on earth. In the first place, we know that itwas by obedience that the record of God's dealings with her soul were set down in writing.

And again, the long tale of graces granted in such strange profusion through her intercessionis proof sufficient that it was not without Divine permission and guidance that the history ofher special and peculiar vocation has become the property of all Catholics in every land. It isfor God to keep, and for Him to make known the secrets of His Love for men. And in thecase of Soeur Therese it has been His Will to divulge His secrets in most generousconsideration for our needs. What are the hidden treasures which Our Divine Master thusreveals to us through His chosen little servant? It is the old story of simplicity in God'sservice, of the perfect accomplishment of small recurring duties, of trustful confidence in Hewho made and has redeemed and sanctified us. Humility, self-effacement, obedience,

hiddenness, unfaltering charity, with all the self-control and constant effort that they imply,are written on every page of the history of this little Saint. And, as we turn its pages, thelesson is borne in upon our souls that there is no surer nor safer way of pleasing Our FatherWho is in Heaven than by remaining ever as little children in His sight. Doubtless for manyof her clients whose hearts are kindled as they read this book, Soeur Therese will obtain, asshe has done so often in the past, wonderful gifts for health of soul and body. But may shewin for all of us without exception a deep and fruitful conviction of the unchanging truth, thatunless we become as little children in the doing of our Heavenly Father's Will, we cannotenter into our Eternal Home.

FRANCIS CARDINAL BOURNE, Archbishop of Westminster. Feast of the Presentation ofOur Blessed Lady, 1912.

The heart of St. Therese's message is found in her autobiography. Indeed, as Pope BenedictXV affirmed, she could not have fulfilled her mission "without the world-wide circulation ofTheStory ofa Soul."

A Short History of the Catholic Church by J. Derek Holmes and Bernard W. Bickers

The Church of Jesus Christ is a thoroughly unique phenomenon, which can be studied fromall kinds of perspectives, and which has been evolving for two millennia by forces rangingfrom true re-birth to politics, demagogy or personal greed. It is truly amazing therefore thatHolmes and Bickers manage to give a continuously fascinating record of that history withoutcluttering the pages with names and numbers.

A Short History of the Catholic Churchcovers the period from New Testament times unto theelection of John Paul II, and does so in 300 pages (that's roughly 6 years and 7 months perpage). The result of this roller coaster ride through history is a clear view on the generalevolution of the church, much rather than on specific issues or people. Famous churchfathers, kings or heretics are mentioned and explained in a paragraph or two, to serve as adot on a graph and as our minds connect the dots we see the millennial dance of a rock inthe tide.I was especially endeared by reading the intentions of the latter few popes: to engage inconversation with the forms of Christianity other than that of the Catholic Church and discuss


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some kind of reunion. It will be a true work of art to forge a handshake between movementsthat exist on the merits of their mutually exclusive beliefs. And the irony is that the only wayin which this is possible is through that which drives them all: the love of Jesus Christ.

Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis De Sales

Introduction to the Devout Life is one of the best of all books for the beginner in spiritualeducation. Another St. Francis De Sales book is The Love of God is a world classic.

Do I need to go into full-time ministry to live a truly Christian life? Am I really a Christian if I'mnot out preaching the gospel in dangerous places where people have never heard of Christ?Can secular work benefit the kingdom of God? All Christians struggle to discern God's callon their life, but God does call all to live a Christ-centered life. Introduction to the Devout Lifeby St. Francis of Sales attempts to help Christians discern what it means to be a child of Godin a secular world. We can glorify God in a secular world, and be a testimony to the world ofGod's abounding grace and love.

The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola edited by Robert Blackhouse

The Spiritual Exercises ofSt. Ignatius of Loyola, (composed from 1522-1524) are a set ofChristian meditations, prayers and mental exercises, divided into four thematic 'weeks' ofvariable length, designed to be carried out over a period of 28 to 30 days.[1] They werecomposed with the intention of helping the retreatant to discern Jesus in his life, leading thento a personal commitment to follow him. Though the underlying spiritual outlook is Catholic,the exercises are often made nowadays by non-Catholics.

Written by the founder of the Society of Jesus, the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius is apowerful book. Derived mostly from St. Ignatius' conversion experiences in 1521-3, SpiritualExercises has provided guidance and encouragement to its readers for several hundredyears. The aim of Spiritual Exercises is to assist people in finding God's will for their life, andto give them the motivation and courage to follow that will. It is not a continuous piece ofwriting, but more like a program of sorts, containing a collection of thoughts, rules,encouragements, readings, meditations, prayers, warnings, and notes. Nevertheless thecondensed writing is organized into four "weeks," or periods of time, with each week focusingupon a different theme--the first, human sin; the second, Christ's life on earth; the third,Christ's death on the cross; the fourth, Christ's risen life. A key theme throughout theSpiritual Exercises is discernment--the need to discern between good desires and evildesires in one's life. It is by following the four weeks, and by utilizing such discernment, thata person can better realize God's will for his or her own life. Although more profitably workedthrough with another person or spiritual director, Spiritual Exercises can be extremelybeneficial for private personal study.

The Practice of the Presence of God by Bother Lawrence (translation by E.M.Blaiklock)

Brother Lawrence is one of the most admired and imitated sons of the Catholic church. Heworked for a time as a soldier before entering the Discalced Carmelite Prior in Paris.Lawrence was uneducated, and so had to enter the monastery as a layman. He worked inthe kitchens and as a cobbler there for the remainder of his life. Lawrence is known for hisdevotion and ability to bring God into every aspect of his life. His classic Christian work,Practice of the Presence of God, details how to gain that constant and comforting connectionto God. Readers have treasured this short and easy book for centuries because ofLawrence's honest advice and his obvious passion for spiritual matters. He rejoiced ineveryday tasks, prayed constantly, and was known around the monastery for his kindness
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and willingness to help others. Practice of the Presence of God is a creative Christian workthat is required reading according to many believers. Readers will come away with greatpeace and joy, and a better understanding of what it means to constantly be in God'spresence.

The Cloud of Unknowing (translation by Halcyon Backhouse)

Some things never change, including the human need to connect with our creator. Prayerand meditation on the divine are techniques that have been used for millennia to grow in theknowledge of God. Cloud of Unknowing documents techniques used by the medievalmonastic community to build and maintain that contemplative knowledge of God. Scholarsdate the anonymous authorship of Cloud of Unknowing to 1375, during the height ofEuropean monasticism. Written as a primer for the young monastic, the work is instructional,but does not have an austere didactic tone. Rather, the work embraces the reader with amaternal call to grow closer to God through meditation and prayer.

A History of the Society of Jesus by William V.Bangert, S.J.

Fr. Bangert's book is, quite simply, the most comprehensive and up-to-date one-volume

history of the Jesuits in any language. In a reliable, scholarly, and documented narrative, theauthor tells the story of the Jesuits from their founding in 1540 up to recent times. Thefootnotes and extensive bibliography furnish leads to the most important books andperiodicals for further study of the various periods or topics treated in this volume. Since itspublication, this book has been translated into several languages.

Throughout the four and a half centuries of their existence, the Jesuits have engagedthemselves wholeheartedly in the life of the Church and in the religious, intellectual, andcultural currents of their time. Their educational institutions and evangelizing activities havereached from one end of the world to the other. Out of the insights of their founder, Ignatiusof Loyola, as expressed in the Spiritual Exercises and the Constitutions of the Society, theJesuits have developed a spirituality that is deeply rooted both in prayer and in the convictionthat God is at work in all the activities of the world.

This presentation of the history of the Society of Jesus is basically chronological, but at thesame time it keeps in view the ever-changing ecclesiastical, political, social, and culturalcontexts within which the Jesuits carried on their lives and activities.

Chapters 1 through 5 relate the Society's history to 1759, when Portugal started the series ofactions that lead to the order's suppression by Pope Clement XIV in 1773. Chapter 6 treatsof that suppression itself, the unexpected survival of the Society under extraordinarycircumstances, and the subsequent universal restoration by Pope Pius VII in 1814. Chapters7 and 8 bring the history up to the present time.

The Way, the Forge, the Furrow (Daily thoughts to ponder) by Saint Josemaria Escriva

Founder ofOpus Dei

Saint Josemaria is another Saint one should meet early in ones spiritual formation.

(The Way from the author's preface:) "Read these counsels slowly. Pause to meditate onthese thoughts. They are things that I whisper in your ear-confiding them-as a friend, as abrother, as a father. And they are being heard by God. I won't tell you anything new. I willonly stir your memory, so that some thought will arise and strike you; and so you will better


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your life and set out along ways of prayer and of Love. And in the end you will be a moreworthy soul."

The book follows the interior itinerary of a Christian as he seeks an ever closer identificationwith Christ. "The Forge accompanies the soul on the path of its sanctification, from themoment one's Christian vocation is first glimpsed right to the final light of eternity" (Bishop

Alvaro del Portillo, Foreword).

(from author's prologue:) "My friend and reader let me help your soul contemplate the humanvirtues, for grace builds upon nature. But don't forget that these considerations of mine,though they may seem very human to you, must be priestly as well, since I have written themfor you and for myself-I have put them into practice too-before God. I ask our Lord that thesepages may be of use for us. May we profit by them and be moved by them to leave behindus in our life a deep and fertile 'furrow', left by our deeds."

Christ is Passing By and Friends of God (36 homilies) bySaint Josemaria Escriva

Christ Is Passing Bycollects 18 homilies given by St. Josemaria between 1951 and 1971, onthe occasion of various liturgical feast days. The guiding thread is divine filiation, and the

universal call to holiness entailed by this reality. Other important themes are thesanctification of ordinary work, contemplation in the midst of the world, and unity of life.

Friends of God first published in 1977, this is the first posthumous work of St. Josemaria.Collecting in one volume 18 homilies given between 1941-68 the book seeks to lead thereader to a deeper friendship with the "God who is close to us."

Meditation for Lay Folk by Father Bede Jarrett

It is felt that a book of meditation for the use of layfolk is a necessity of our times This is abook for anyone and is made up several short commentaries of practical Christian life.

Meditation is essential for all Christian if they really want to live out their vocation to becomeSaints. This is a book to help all to get started.

Ascent of Mount Carmel

One of St. John of the Cross' most important and insightful works, Ascent of Mount Carmel isa brilliant work of Christian mysticism. Considered one of the great Spanish poets, St. Johndepicts the soul's ascent to Mount Carmel--allegorically, the place of God--and the "darknight" that the soul must endure to reach it. St. John describes the different mysticexperiences the soul encounters on its way to union with God through the dark night.

Although St. John continues to describe the dark night in Dark Night of the Soul, the sequelto Ascent of Mount Carmel, this book provides a hauntingly beautiful, profound, and mysticalaccount of Christian spirituality. It is highly recommended.

Bede's The Ecclesiastical History of England

The Ecclesiastical History of England examines the religious and political history of theAnglo-Saxons from the fifth century to 731 AD. St. Bede's historical survey opens with abroad outline of Roman Britain's geography and history. St. Bede pays special attention tothe disagreement between Roman and Celtic Christians, the dates and locations ofsignificant events in the Christian calendar, and political upheaval during the 600's. St. Bedecollected information from a variety of monasteries, early Church and government writings,


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towards the "spiritual marriage"--i.e. union--with God in the seventh mansion. One begins onthis path through prayer and meditation. She also describes the resistance that the Devilplaces in various rooms, to keep believers from union with God. Throughout, she providesencouragements and advice for spiritual development. Beyond its spiritual merit, InteriorCastle also contains much literary merit as a piece of Spanish Renaissance literature. Aspiritually challenging book, Interior Castle stands on par with other great works of this time,

such as Dark Night of the Soul.

Way of Perfection bySt. Teresa of Avila

Although she designed her book for her fellow sisters of the Carmelite Order, St. Teresa'sWay of Perfection remains accessible to modern readers. In it, she sets out to lead othersalong the way to union with God through prayer, silence, and meditation. A few of the book's42 chapters could be called a collection of rules, but the majority of the book more rightly fitsthe description of advice. As she suggests ways for readers to seek self-perfection, herwords are practical, heartfelt, and drawn from personal experience. Not only this, butbecause of the book's less formal and less poetically obscure nature, it offers up a moredirect articulation of St. Teresa's theological views than do her autobiography or her mostfamous work, The Interior Castle.

Uniformity with God's Will by Saint Alphonsus de Liguori

Written in 1755, Uniformity with God's Will is a wonderful little treatise on the true love ofGod. Saint Alphonsus de Liguori writes to encourage believers to unify their wills with that ofGod's, so that they may love God perfectly: "the more one unites his will with the divine will,the greater will be his love of God." To choose otherwise--i.e. to choose not to unify one's willwith God's--is "a kind of idolatry." These seven short chapters, not simply prone to abstractspeculation, explore concretely how to make one's own will uniform with God's through thehardships of this life. Further, the book discusses the fruit of such a union with God's will:happiness. De Liguori concludes by noting how, in all things, Christians must remainsteadfast in their union with God's will. For in so doing, God will "press us to his heart."Challenging and encouraging, Uniformity with God's Will has the power to remind us of whattrue love of God really is.

Catechism of the Catholic Church - APOSTOLIC LETTER

To my Venerable Brother Cardinals, Patriarchs, Archbishops, Bishops, Priests, Deacons andto other members of the People of God.

It is a Cause for Great Joy that the Latin Typical Edition of the CATECHISM OF THECATHOLIC CHURCH is Being Published. It is approved and promulgated by me in thisApostolic Letter and thus becomes the definitive text of the aforementioned Catechism. Thisis occurring about five years after the Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum of October 11,1992, which, on the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council,

accompanied the publication of the first, Frenchlanguage text of the Catechism.

We have all been able to note with pleasure the broad positive reception and widedissemination of the Catechism in these years, especially in the particular Churches, whichhave had it translated into their respective languages, thus making it as accessible aspossible to the various linguistic communities of the world. This fact confirms how fitting wasthe request submitted to me in 1985 by the Extraordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishopsthat a catechism or compendium of all Catholic doctrine regarding faith and morals becomposed.


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Drawn up by the special Commission of Cardinals and Bishops established in 1986, theCatechism was approved and promulgated by me in the aforementioned ApostolicConstitution, which today retains all its validity and timeliness, and finds its definitiveachievement in this Latin typical edition.

This edition was prepared by an Interdicasterial Commission which I appointed for thispurpose in 1993. Presided over by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, this Commission workeddiligently to fulfill the mandate it received. It devoted particular attention to a study of themany suggested changes to the contents of the text, which in these years had come fromaround the world and from various parts of the ecclesial community.

In this regard one can certainly understand that such a remarkable number of suggestedimprovements shows the extraordinary interest that the Catechism has raised throughout theworld, even among nonChristians, and confirms its purpose of being presented as a full,complete exposition of Catholic doctrine, enabling everyone to know what the Churchprofesses, celebrates, lives, and prays in her daily life. At the same time it draws attention tothe eager desire of all to make their contribution so that the Christian faith, whose essentialand necessary elements are summarized in the Catechism, can be presented to the people

of our day in the most suitable way possible. Furthermore, this collaboration of the variousmembers of the Church will once again achieve what I wrote in the Apostolic ConstitutionFidei Depositum: The harmony of so many voices truly expresses what could be called thesymphony of the faith (no. 2).

For these reasons too, the Commission seriously considered the suggestions offered,carefully examined them at various levels and submitted its conclusions for my approval.These conclusions, insofar as they allow for a better expression of the Catechisms contentsregarding the deposit of the Catholic faith, or enable certain truths of this faith to beformulated in a way more suited to the requirements of contemporary catecheticalinstruction, have been approved by me and thus have been incorporated into this Latintypical edition. Therefore it faithfully repeats the doctrinal content which I officially presentedto the Church and to the world in December 1992.

With todays promulgation of the Latin typical edition, therefore, the task of composing theCatechism, begun in 1986, is brought to a close and the desire of the aforementionedExtraordinary Synod of Bishops is happily fulfilled. The Church now has at her disposal thisnew, authoritative exposition of the one and perennial apostolic faith, and it will serve as avalid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion and as a sure norm for teachingthe faith, as well as a sure and authentic reference text for preparing local catechisms (cf.Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum, no. 4).

Catechesis will find in this genuine, systematic presentation of the faith and of Catholicdoctrine a totally reliable way to present, with renewed fervor, each and every part of theChristian message to the people of our time. This text will provide every catechist with sound

help for communicating the one, perennial deposit of faith within the local Church, whileseeking, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to link the wondrous unity of the Christian mysterywith the varied needs and conditions of those to whom this message is addressed. Allcatechetical activity will be able to experience a new, widespread impetus among the Peopleof God, if it can properly use and appreciate this postconciliar Catechism.

All this seems even more important today with the approach of the third millennium. For anextraordinary commitment to evangelization is urgently needed so that everyone can know


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and receive the Gospel message and thus grow to the measure of the stature of the fullnessof Christ (Eph 4:13).

I therefore strongly urge my Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate, for whom the Catechismis primarily intended, to take the excellent opportunity afforded by the promulgation of thisLatin edition to intensify their efforts to disseminate the text more widely and to ensure that it

is well received as an outstanding gift for the communities entrusted to them, which will thusbe able to rediscover the inexhaustible riches of the faith.

Through the harmonious and complementary efforts of all the ranks of the People of God,may this Catechism be known and shared by everyone, so that the unity in faith whosesupreme model and origin is found in the Unity of the Trinity may be strengthened andextended to the ends of the earth.

To Mary, Mother of Christ, whose Assumption body and soul into heaven we celebratetoday, I entrust these wishes so that they may be brought to fulfillment for the spiritual goodof all humanity.

From Castel Gandolfo, August 15, 1997, the nineteenth year of the Pontificate.

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