review: YOUCAT
Here’s a review I recently wrote for Tiber River Reviewing on the YOUCAT.
I’ll start with this–I’m 15 years old. So going into the new YOUCAT, I was definitely excited. I had heard so many good things and there was a lot of publicity going up to the YOUCAT’s release.
For the most part, I think it is a great book. However, it is definitely not a replacement for the full Catechism. In some ways, I felt like it watered- down aspects of the faith. Stick figure prostitutes, obscure quotes from Martin Luther, a picture with a guy getting shot….there were places that just felt a little irreverent. The intent of the YOUCAT was wonderful. Pope Benedict XVI himself said, “Study this Catechism! ….You need to be more deeply rooted in the faith than the generation of your parents.” That’s definitely true, but I didn’t feel as though the YOUCAT was doing that for me. I think there were a lot of places that the faith could easily be misunderstood, and I don’t feel like watering down our faith will help us to be more rooted in it.
However, it did have some good information. The YOUCAT is written in question-and-answer format which makes it easy to find related topics. It is well organized and a good resource to just pick up if you have a question about Catholic teaching. It included paragraphs from the original Catechism for each question as well. I also really liked the fact that the questions were relatable to teens. The YOUCAT addresses everything from Holy Orders to why we shouldn’t do drugs to chastity in relationships to Saints. I think it is a great beginning resource to anyone who is coming into the faith or just wants to learn a little more without such a serious approach, and it can be used as a gateway or introduction to the full Catechism.
I wrote this review of YOUCAT for the free Catholic book review program, created by Aquinas and More Catholic Goods.
Tiber River is the first Catholic book review site, started in 2000 to help you make informed decisions about Catholic book purchases.
I receive the books that I review for free as compensation for writing reviews for Tiber River.
LifeTeen.com Presents: Matt Maher – “Every Little Prison”
Check out this video that I saw today on the LifeTeen YouTube channel where Catholic-Christian recording artist, Matt Maher discusses his song “Every Little Prison,” one of his new songs from his most recent album. Share your comments on Matt’s song and thoughts on the message of the song in the comments of this post.
Don’t be afraid to question.
Never be afraid to learn more about Christ. Live WTL Ministries is a safe, non judging environment where you can do just that. Send in your questions today, let’s all grow together!
Grant us the Serenity
This is a beautiful prayer and one I really like to include in my morning. I think if everyone prayed this on a daily basis and really took it to heart, our world would be a wonderfully different place.
God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
–Reinhold Niebuhr
John 3:30. That’s what this is all about.
Series on the Sacraments
Dear friends and fellow Live WTL readers,
It is great to be back blogging for the ministry. I have been taking time off to take care of some personal stuff. However, i am back!.
I just recently started writing some postings for VirtuousPla.net which is part of a series of postings on the Sacraments that i am doing for the website.
Besides writing for VirtuousPlan.net and my own personal blog, I will continue writing here at Live WTL as well.
Pax,
Joe