Day 1: To Know and Love God (1-10)


Prayer by Fr. Mike:  “Father in Heaven, we give you praise and thanks. You have made us. You have made us for yourself. And we are restless. Our hearts are restless until they rest in you. God, what is your plan for us? What is your plan for us, generally speaking? What is your plan for us, personally this day? Lord God, we just open our hearts to you today and open our minds to you. God, remove any sense of intimidation. Remove any sense of fear. Remove any sense of even resistance to what it is that you have revealed in your Scriptures and through the teachings of your Church for these last 2,000 years. Open our hearts and our minds today as we begin this journey. So that, again without fear, without resistance, without any hesitation, we just launch ourselves into your arms today. What is it that you want for us? What is it you want from us? And what is it that you can do in us this day if we just open our minds and open our hearts to you? Lord, reveal the answer to this. Reveal yourself to us. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.” 



1. The initial proclamation of The Gospel or missionary preaching to arouse faith…so we need catechesis to have any kind of apostolic preaching or missionary preaching.

2. The examination for the REASONS for belief

Scripture References & Reflections

- compiled by Andrew Adamany

Scripture Reflections (RSVCE)

CCC Prologue

John 17:3

“And this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.”


1 Timothy 2:3–4

God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.


Acts 4:10-12

“by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well. This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, but which has become the head of the corner. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”


CCC 1- "God sent his Son as Redeemer and Savior. In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life."


Galatians 4:3-7

“So with us; when we were children, we were slaves to the elemental spirits of the universe. But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir.”


CCC 2 “So that this call should resound throughout the world, Christ sent forth the apostles he had chosen, commissioning them to proclaim the gospel”


Matthew 28:18–20 

“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” 


Mark 16:20 

“And they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it. Amen.” 


CCC 3 “This treasure (The Gospel), received from the apostles, has been faithfully guarded by their successors.”


1 Timothy 3:15

“If I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.” 


 2 Timothy 2:1–2 

“You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” 


II. HANDING ON THE FAITH: CATECHESIS

CCC 4 “Catechesis - to help men believe that Jesus is the Son of God so that believing they might have life in his name, and to educate and instruct them in this life, thus building up the body of Christ.”


Ephesians 4:4–8, 11-14

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it is said, 


“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”…


…And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ; so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles.”


CCC 5- “Catechesis- an education in the faith… the teaching of Christian doctrine imparted … initiating the hearers into the fullness of Christian life.”


1 Timothy 4:13–16 

"Till I come, attend to the public reading of scripture, to preaching, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophetic utterance when the council of elders laid their hands upon you. Practice these duties, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress. Take heed to yourself and to your teaching; hold to that, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers."


1 Corinthians 11:2

“I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you.”


2 Thessalonians 2:15

So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter.”


CCC 6  “catechesis is built on a certain number of elements of the Church's pastoral mission… They are: 


The initial proclamation of the Gospel or missionary preaching to arouse faith 

Acts 2:22-24

(Peter spoke) “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. But God raised him up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it…”


“examination of the reasons for belief”

Acts 2:25-36

“For David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before me,for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will dwell in hope. For thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let thy Holy One see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou wilt make me full of gladness with thy presence.’

 “Brethren, I may say to you confidently of the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne, he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens; but he himself says,

‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I make thy enemies a stool for thy feet.’

Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”


celebration of the sacraments”; integration into the ecclesial community; and apostolic and missionary witness.”


Acts 2:37-42

“Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him.” And he testified with many other words and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”


“experience of Christian living”

Acts 2:43-47

“And fear came upon every soul; and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they partook of food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”


CCC 7 "Catechesis is intimately bound up with the whole of the Church's life… her inner growth and correspondence with God's plan depend essentially on catechesis."


Colossians 1:9–12

“And so, from the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, to lead a life worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”