Cursillo – The “Via Fidelis” & Catechesis (Part 2)

by | Jun 21, 2026 | Catechesis

De Colores and Happy Father’s Day!

Last month I wrote about the relationship between our Cursillo Movement, Bishop Jacques’s call to a 5-Year Journey of Faith, the “Via Fidelis,” and its focus this year on Catechesis. Today, the focus will be on the structure of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and what — and why — it is that we “Study.”

Our 3-day weekend encounter, Cursillo de Christiandad, is a “short course in Christianity.” While a very powerful introduction, its intent is to open us to embrace friendship with God and to bring that friendship to others. Our 4th Day is therefore our ongoing, deeper dive into what it means to be a follower of Christ. As adults we should have an “adult” understanding of the faith, in order for us to respond to Christ’s call to “follow Me”… and to share our faith, to Evangelize. But in order to do that, we must know our faith. It was St. Jerome who said, “ignorance of scriptures is ignorance of Christ,” which means that to truly know Jesus, one must engage with the Bible and Church doctrine. So, “Catechesis,” the Church’s work of forming believers in Christian doctrine and faith, is critical to that end. Catechesis aids us in our journey to respond to Jesus’ call to know, love, and serve God. These three calls directly relate to our Cursillo three-legged “Friendship with God” tripod:

Study — knowing God
Piety — loving God
Apostolic Action — serving God

So, in that previous reflection, my intent was to show that the Via Fidelis, Cursillo, and catechesis all share the same purpose: helping believers know Christ more deeply, love Him more fully, and serve Him more faithfully so they can lead others to Him… “Make a Friend, Be a Friend, Bring a Friend to Christ.”

“Lord Jesus, let me know myself and know You”

— A prayer by Saint Augustine

Study

Let’s now talk about how Study and the Catechism fit in. A National Cursillo article on the Study Rollo from 2005 says:

“When we speak about study in Cursillo, we are not referring to a ‘knowing’ or ‘to know much.’ While study is important to understand the truths of our Faith and know ourselves and others… the point of Christianity is not to know much, but rather to love much.”

While it is clear that it is necessary to Study, we should not give it more importance than what it is. No one should just study for the sake of studying. Study is only a means and should not be made an end. Loving God (Piety) and Knowing God (Study) are important, but without Apostolic Action (Serving God), we are not following His command. The ultimate aim of our Study (and Piety) in Cursillo is Apostolic Action — sharing our faith and God’s love with others. But first we need to know ourselves and know God, which is reflected in the prayer of St. Augustine: “Lord Jesus, let me know myself and know You.” We do this by actively searching for the truths of our faith — by reading scripture, Catholic documents, and visiting Catholic media sites; by growing in our faith with others in Group Reunion, Ultreya, and personal piety and prayer; and by receiving the Sacraments. The operative word in all of this is “action” — we have to be engaged with our faith. After all… Christianity is not a spectator sport!

The Catechism

Read any good books… er… Catechism’s lately?

Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) — What is it?

The CCC is a comprehensive reference book that systematically presents the foundational teachings of Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium (the Church’s teaching authority).

Catechism 101: I may be preaching to the choir, but every Catholic should have a Catechism. While it’s not something you necessarily curl up with at night, it is an invaluable reference book with a very logical structure. The text is arranged systematically into 2,865 numbered paragraphs, divided into a Prologue and then four main pillars (parts):

  • Part 1: The Profession of Faith — Breaks down the Apostles’ Creed.
  • Part 2: The Celebration of the Christian Mystery — Details the liturgy and the seven sacraments.
  • Part 3: Life in Christ — Covers Catholic morality, including the Ten Commandments.
  • Part 4: Christian Prayer — Explains prayer and specifically breaks down the Lord’s Prayer.

The Catechism also has over 100 pages at the end with citations for Scripture, Church Council, and Encyclical references, and it includes a subject index. Individual paragraphs are cross-referenced to other related paragraphs in the margins on each page, and Scripture citations appear at the bottom of each page.

You can view the Catechism online, or purchase it from Amazon or any Catholic media site.

There is also the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (also available online or in bookstores), which has the same four pillars but summarizes what’s in the Catechism, so it is much shorter — 598 paragraphs. It is formatted as Questions and Answers (more like the Baltimore Catechism). It has two Appendices: one on Common Prayers and another on Formulas of Catholic Doctrine.

Other Online Resources

There are dozens of Catholic sites with courses and reflections. A few worth exploring:

If you’ve got the Hallow app, you can get daily readings and other reflections. You may have already done Bible in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz, as I did several years ago. This year I’m walking with Fr. Mike in The Catechism in a Year (today is Day 172, and we’re in the 2nd Pillar, studying the liturgy and the sacraments).

Final Thoughts

As today is Father’s Day, I want to end with a catechetical reflection from a homily given by a Deacon at Holy Family this morning — both as an example of the richness of the teaching to be found in the Catechism, and to tie together the concept of Study and the Catechism. As part of the homily, he read from the Catechism from a section of the 3rd Pillar, Life in Christ, specifically about the family (4th Commandment): the importance of the family, the relationship of parents to their children, and the responsibilities of each. While his focus was of necessity narrow and centered on what it means to be a father, this section on the family includes discussion of:

  • The Family in God’s Plan
  • The Family and Society
  • The Duties of Family Members
  • The Family and the Kingdom

If you haven’t looked at the Catechism in a while (or at all), I would encourage you — in this season of celebrating Fathers, and when many young couples are getting married — to study this section of the Catechism (paragraphs 2201–2233) to learn about the teaching of the Church on this most essential part of our Christian life. Then use it as an ongoing resource to study and learn more about other aspects of our faith.

Until next time.

Your Brother in Christ,
Denny Mahoney, Diocese of Charleston