Prayer for the New Year by John MacDuff, 1885

Almighty and everlasting God, You are the Alpha and the Omega—the First and the Last. Amid all the vicissitudes of a changing world, You change not. All things below must perish—but You remain the same. You have mercifully preserved us to see the commencement of another year. We desire to begin this new period of our existence by consecrating its hours to You. Before we enter on its manifold duties, and its unknown trials—we beseech You to impart to us Your gracious benediction. We would seek to connect its coming blessings with You—to own Your hand and Your wisdom in its coming sorrows. We would seek to feel that it can only be to us a happy year by being a holy one—spent in Your service and devoted to Your praise. It is one of the many new years we have seen; we cannot tell how few we may have yet to see.

Our prayer is, that we may live this year as if it were to be our last. Lord, we desire to begin the year, where we would wish to begin and to end its every day—at the opened Fountain. We desire to take as our motto and superscription throughout its course "God forbid that we should glory, save in the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ." We desire to connect this new year's morning with the great atoning sacrifice, without which no years could have revolved to us. Our every temporal comfort, as well as every spiritual blessing, flow to us entirely from Jesus. Oh, do enkindle in our hearts a flame of more ardent devotedness to Him, whose amazing love it is, which crowns every year with goodness, and makes all its paths to drop fatness.

Gracious Lord, we desire, this morning, to make a fresh consecration of ourselves and our household unto You. Sprinkle our lintels with the blood of the everlasting covenant. Set Your own seal and mark on our foreheads. If in past years there has been forgetfulness of You—if Your kindness has been abused, and Your mercies slighted, and Your name dishonored—enable each and all of us to make this year one of more undivided surrender to Your service. May it be a new year of love, and meekness, and forgiveness, and close walking with God. May sin be more dreaded, and holiness more loved. May the lessons of eternity come more powerfully and impressively home to us. Let us live as immortal beings. Let us live a dying life. Let it not be the impression of a solemn anniversary like the present, but a habitual conviction, that "The fashion of this world is passing away." 

O Lord, accept of this our united new year's sacrifice. We would light our flickering lamps at Your holy altar—do replenish them day by day with the oil of Your grace; that should any of us be summoned in the course of the year to meet our Lord, we may not have to make the mournful confession, "Our lamps have gone out." 

Good Lord, bless all our dear friends; we would remember them, as we trust they are remembering us, this day, at Your footstool. Hear our mutual prayers: may the cloud of mercy descend on all our heads. Though absent from one another on earth, may faith bring us near, by having our tents pitched by the gate of heaven. Bless our native land; may it ever remain a center of holy influences, distinguished by that righteousness which exalts a nation. Bless our rulers, our senators, our magistrates. Bless the ministers of the everlasting Gospel; may they be wise to win souls; and may every religious privilege we now enjoy, be handed down unimpaired to the last posterity. God of all grace, undertake for us. Let the pillar of Your presence go before us. Direct, control, suggest throughout this year, all that we design or do—so that every power of our bodies, and every faculty of our souls, may unite for the showing forth of Your praise and glory. And all that we ask is for the sake of Jesus—Your only Son and our Savior. Amen.

"Practical Predestination?" by Octavius Winslow

There are no guesses, conjectures, or contingencies with God as to the future. Not only does He know all, but He has fixed, appointed, and ordered "all things after the counsel of his own will."

It would seem impossible to form any correct idea of God, disassociated from the idea of predestination. The sole basis of predestination is the 'practical' belief that God is eternal and infinite in and over all.

Predestination is God's pre determined appointment and fore arrangement of all things beforehand, according to His divine and supreme will.

God prearranges, predetermines, and supremely rules in all the concerns of our world. He fixes a constellation in the heavens, guides the gyrations of a bird in the air, directs the falling of an autumn leaf in the pathless desert, and conveys the seed, borne upon the wind, to the spot where it should fall.

In predestination we see the everlasting love of God to, and His most free choice of, His people, to be His special and peculiar treasure. What doctrine is more emptying, humbling, and therefore sanctifying, than predestination? It lays the axe at the root of all human boasting. In the light of this truth, the most holy believer sees that there is no difference between him and the vilest sinner that crawls the earth, but what the mere grace of God has made.

One blessing accruing from the doctrine of predestination is the sweet and holy submission into which it brings the mind under all afflictive dispensations. Each step of his pilgrimage, and each incident of his history, the believer sees appointed in the everlasting covenant of grace. He recognizes the 'discipline' of the covenant to be as much a part of the original plan as any positive mercy that it contains. That all the hairs of his head are numbered; that affliction springs not out of the earth, and therefore is not the result of accident or chance, but is in harmony with God's purposes of love; and, thus ordained and permitted, must work together for good.

The radiance which predestination reflects upon the entire history of the child of God, and the calm repose which it diffuses over the mind in all the perplexing, painful, and mysterious events of that history, can only be understood by those whose hearts have fully received this doctrine. Whatever betides him; inexplicable in its character, enshrouded in the deepest gloom, as may be the circumstance; the believer in this truth can 'stand still', and, calmly surveying the scene, exclaim: "This also comes forth from the Lord of Hosts, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working. He who works all things after the counsel of His own will has done it, and I am satisfied that it is well done!"

Ruth Bryan's Prayers for the New Year

1830
Be pleased, dear Lord, to grant me during the present year—more of Your gracious presence, more tenderness of conscience and fear of offending You; more humility, stronger faith, and more entire devotedness to Your cause. Enable me to leave my temporal concerns entirely with You, to walk by faith, to have my treasure in heaven, and to manifest by my conduct—that I am Your disciple. Let me not grow cold or lukewarm—but may "I lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily beset me, and may I run with patience the race set before me, looking unto Jesus. Amen."

1832
"Here I raise my Ebenezer." Thus far the Lord has brought me. Though the past has been a year of multiplied transgressions and backslidings, I trust, through His abundant mercy, my face is still Zionward, and that my prevailing desire is to be devoted entirely to His service. Take me, dearest Lord, and form me for Your own glory. I feel much bodily weakness. Oh, that through the crevices of this frail tabernacle, I may see some of the glories of the eternal world!

1840
Most dear and precious Christ, I had not thought to see another new-year's day—but hoped before now—to have beheld You face to face! Like him of old, who was possessed of a legion of demons, I besought that I might be with You. But for a season, You have seen good to withhold the full answer to my request. "May Your will be done!" Glorify Yourself in me, and be much, very much with me, until You shall say, "Arise, my love, and come away," to be with Me forever! I desire most humbly and unreservedly, in Your own strength, to yield to Your Divine disposal—all I have and am, and to continually lose my wish and will, in Yours. I would lay at Your feet all creatures and created good, with every seeming evil—and embrace Yourself, my Jesus, as my joy, portion, happiness, wisdom, strength, peace—yes, my all in all—for the coming year, or so much of it as I tarry upon earth; and then, as my joyful, blissful portion through eternity! Oh, lead me, Holy Comforter, more into Christ—and out of SELF! I have had much of blessing—but I long and pray for more; in Jesus' name. Enlarge my expectations more, I beg You—and more I shall receive. "Lord, increase my faith."

1842
Precious Christ, I come with a large request for 1842: it is that You would be the "Alpha and Omega" of it. Do You not say, "Ask what I shall give you?" Yourself, Lord! You have most blessedly given Yourself to me. But I find sweet liberty to entreat more unfolding, revealing, and opening of Your glorious person, amazing work, and matchless love, than I have yet had; and more losing and treading down of SELF, too—that I may be lost in Your fullness, and forgotten and forsaken in Your soul-absorbing glories. Oh! raise me higher, draw me nearer, that I may daily die, and You live in me more manifestly. I just give myself to You, to live on You, to live in You, to live for You, more and more than heretofore, and that by the power of the Spirit resting on me. I humbly ask that mine may be a large and still-increasing portion; that, under fresh anointings, You, most lovely Jesus, may be more fully known, more loved, more served; for it is to You the Holy Spirit leads, of You He testifies.

Oh, do make this a large, rich, full year! You being increasingly honored in me, and I increasingly lost in You, and made an increasing blessing to Your dear people. An Ebenezer for past mercies befits me; large and magnificent have been Your bestowments; bountiful and constant Your favors to me—a poor worthless nothing! "Bless the Lord, O my soul—and all that is within me, bless His holy name!"

A Gospel Song, "Where Could I Go But To The Lord?"

 Here is a great Gospel song.  Hope you enjoy it during this time of Christmas.  Let the Holy Trinity be honored by this wonderful song. 

Living below in this old sinful world
Hardly a comfort can afford
Striving alone to face temptations sore
Where could I go but to the Lord

Where could I go oh where could I go
Seeking a refuge for my soul
Needing a friend to save me in the end
Where could I go but to the Lord

Neighbors are kind, I love them everyone.
We get along in sweet accord.
But when my soul needs manna from above,
Where could I go but to the lord

Where could I go oh where could I go
Seeking a refuge for my soul
Needing a friend to save me in the end
Where could I go but to the Lord

Life here is grand with friends I love so dear
Comfort I get from God's own Word
Yet when I face the chilling hand of death
Where could I go but to the Lord

Where could I go oh where could I go
Seeking a refuge for my soul
Needing a friend to save me in the end
Where could I go but to the Lord

More on the Catholic Catechism, Paragraphs 26-30

26 We begin our profession of faith by saying: "I believe" or "We believe". Before expounding the Church's faith, as confessed in the Creed, celebrated in the liturgy and lived in observance of God's commandments and in prayer, we must first ask what "to believe" means. Faith is man's response to God, who reveals himself and gives himself to man, at the same time bringing man a superabundant light as he searches for the ultimate meaning of his life. Thus we shall consider first that search (Chapter One), then the divine Revelation by which God comes to meet man (Chapter Two), and finally the response of faith (Chapter Three).

The problem is, Rome has given precedence to myths of the Virgin Mary.  She has added to the Creed she espouses.  She has added to the work of Christ alone.  To pray to Mary is contrary to the law of God of having no god besides him.  We must honor God the Trinity over Marian veneration. 

27 The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for:

The dignity of man rests above all on the fact that he is called to communion with God. This invitation to converse with God is addressed to man as soon as he comes into being. For if man exists it is because God has created him through love, and through love continues to hold him in existence. He cannot live fully according to truth unless he freely acknowledges that love and entrusts himself to his creator.

The God of the Bible does not allow image worship.  The God of the Bible does not understand the truth to be the so-called plus religion.  That is, I mean the following: Mary plus Jesus, faith plus works, grace plus merit, and Scripture plus tradition.  This is an unsafe balance that will lead to eternal ruin. 

28 In many ways, throughout history down to the present day, men have given expression to their quest for God in their religious beliefs and behavior: in their prayers, sacrifices, rituals, meditations, and so forth. These forms of religious expression, despite the ambiguities they often bring with them, are so universal that one may well call man a religious being:

From one ancestor [God] made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him - though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For "in him we live and move and have our being."

No one seeks after God.  There is an unseeking seeking by men.  That is, it will not led to grace but to self-righteousness.  Mankind cannot seek after God because they are dead in transgressions and sins.  Mankind is religious but it’s a form of godliness not conforming to the doctrine of Christ. 

29 But this "intimate and vital bond of man to God" (GS 19 § 1) can be forgotten, overlooked, or even explicitly rejected by man. Such attitudes can have different causes: revolt against evil in the world; religious ignorance or indifference; the cares and riches of this world; the scandal of bad example on the part of believers; currents of thought hostile to religion; finally, that attitude of sinful man which makes him hide from God out of fear and flee his call.

The Bible calls men to the highest standard of living and righteousness.  However, this righteousness cannot be of mere mankind but it is from Christ alone.

30 "Let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice." Although man can forget God or reject him, He never ceases to call every man to seek him, so as to find life and happiness. But this search for God demands of man every effort of intellect, a sound will, "an upright heart", as well as the witness of others who teach him to seek God.

You are great, O Lord, and greatly to be praised: great is your power and your wisdom is without measure. And man, so small a part of your creation, wants to praise you: this man, though clothed with mortality and bearing the evidence of sin and the proof that you withstand the proud. Despite everything, man, though but a small a part of your creation, wants to praise you. You yourself encourage him to delight in your praise, for you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.

The Christian is the one who seeks after God.  It is not the other way around.  That is, it is not the unbeliever who seeks God.  Rather it is the Christian who is called to seek God because he has been born from above by the Spirit and the Word.  Only Christians rejoice at God’s will.  Unbelievers do not rejoice nor seek after God.  The moment someone seeks after God they have become a Christian. 

A Small Study on a 40-Point Proclamation in a Christmas Study on Limited Atonement

“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”  (Matthew 1:21 KJV).

1. The mother of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is from the Virgin Mary.

2. We profess the Virgin Birth of our Lord and Redeemer Jesus Christ.

3. Jesus was the first-born Son of the Virgin Mary.

4. Jesus means to save and He literally saves His people from their sins.

5. The people He saves is particular and specific; that is, He saves a particular group of people.

6. Jesus dies in behalf of His people or His bride.

7. The work of Jesus on the Cross actually accomplishes redemption.

8. The power of Jesus is not limited to save.

9. It is the extent of Jesus’ Cross that is limited to save.

10. Limited atonement defines an important part of the Gospel.

11. It means that Jesus died for a limited amount of people.

12. He did not redeem all peoples but He redeemed some people.

13. The power of His death could have saved all people if He wanted it to.

14. He blood has the power to save endless worlds.

15. The intention of the Cross is meant for the elect only.

16. The intention of the Cross is not a mere possibility but an actuality to save.

17. The scope of the intention of the Cross is limited to all the believing ones.

18. Like the sacrifice of lambs in the Old Testament, Jesus died for some people.

19. The death of Jesus took away sin but imputed unified righteousness to those who place their trust in Jesus by the Holy Spirit.

20. Christ accomplished redemption on the Cross but people cannot save themselves.

21. Jesus died for all kinds of men from every tribe, tongue, people and nation.

22. Jesus did not die for Judas or Pharaoh but He did die for Peter and James.

23. Jesus gave His life for those who place their trust in Him by His Spirit.

24. All the ones who believe He imputes His righteousness unto them.

25. “All the sins of some men” is the proper position.

26. Jesus did His saving on the Cross and this was His sacrifice.

27. The atonement is not a hypothetical atonement but an actual atonement.

28. Hypothetical atonement is salvation for no one, because no one can save themselves.

29. John 6:37-40 teach limited atonement because He loses none that are His.

30. According to Matthew 1:21 He saves a particular people.

31. According to John 10:15 Jesus knows who His sheep are and He lays down His life for them.

32. According to John 15:13 He lays down His life for His own friends.

33. According to Acts 20:28 He purchased His own with His own blood.

34. Ephesians 5:25 teaches that God the Son gave Himself for His people.

35. Limited atonement is also known as definite atonement or particular redemption.

36. The work of the Cross was a substitutionary work of redemption.

37. The work of the Cross saves a particular people of sinners.  He was born to die and give His life a ransom for many.  The resurrection of Christ is the guarantee that His birth, life, and death are from God. 

38. The birth of Christ is the guarantee that Christ would die on a Cross for His people.

39. The hour of Christ was His atonement for His sheep.

40. Christmas also involves the life and work of Christ, because His birth begins all things of Christ our God and Savior.

The Error and Sin of Self-Destruction

      We ought to obey the words of life; that is, the words of life are the very words of God contained in the Holy Bible; however, the Bible warns us of self-destruction. 

(Proverbs 15:11, “Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?”).  (Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”).  (Isaiah 1:28, “And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed”).  (Matthew 7:13, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat”). 

     The error and sin of self-destruction is contrary to godliness and grace; that is, it is contrary to a faithful repentance.  Anyone on the road to self-destruction forsakes repentance and faith.  It is contrary to what is right to make souls cease repentance.  We ought to repent daily of our sins and turn to God.  Scientology teaches that people should not repent.  This is not only contrary to the Bible (Mark 1:15) but it is also contrary to common sense.  We are not perfect people.  We need to ask for forgiveness to God for what we have done in this body of death.  Never let anyone take away your repentance.  Stand on Christ the Rock of Ages! 

     Christ purchased His own from every tribe, tongue, people and nation.  We ought to understand that His atonement has intention to save whomsoever it is intended for.  Everyone that Christ has died has been delivered from self-destruction.  However, it may be a constant conflict in our Christian life.  We are to stand for what is right and good.  We are to live for Jesus our Lord and Redeemer! 

     Sin is the essence of self-destruction.  It was seen in Judas and King Saul.  There are lessons to be learned from this.  Suicide after the manner of Judas is contrary to dignity and righteous living.  Attending the presence of a medium as King Saul did is contrary to the law of God and the mind of God. 

     We are to live apart from self-destruction and personal madness.  Let us go onto purer things and focus on Jesus.  Amen. 

A Small Study on the Roman Catechism, Paragraphs 16-25

16 The third part of the Catechism deals with the final end of man created in the image of God: beatitude, and the ways of reaching it - through right conduct freely chosen, with the help of God's law and grace (Section One), and through conduct that fulfills the twofold commandment of charity, specified in God's Ten Commandments (Section Two).

The law points us to Christ but we cannot earn salvation with it with faith.  The right way to salvation is through Christ alone by faith alone.  The Ten Commandments are different then the Reformed Ten Commandments.  I believe we shall see that the Protestant Ten Commandments honor Scripture above Rome.  We ought to be conformed to the image of God through Jesus Christ.  The image of God does not mean we are good but that we have dignity. 

17 The last part of the Catechism deals with the meaning and importance of prayer in the life of believers (Section One). It concludes with a brief commentary on the seven petitions of the Lord's Prayer (Section Two), for indeed we find in these the sum of all the good things which we must hope for, and which our heavenly Father wants to grant us.

A Christian always prays.  We ought to pray all the time.  Certainly someone who does not pray is not a Christian.  The Lord’s Prayer is a good tool to use to form our prayer requests.  However, saying it in a repetitious way is meaningless and cannot earn for us anything.

18 This catechism is conceived as an organic presentation of the Catholic faith in its entirety. It should be seen therefore as a unified whole. Numerous cross-references in the margin of the text (numbers found at the end of a sentence referring to other paragraphs that deal with the same theme), as well as the analytical index at the end of the volume, allow the reader to view each theme in its relationship with the entirety of the faith.

It is interesting to see the Catholic faith presented; however, it does not correspond to the Word of God alone but to a corrupted tradition. 

19 The texts of Sacred Scripture are often not quoted word for word but are merely indicated by a reference (cf.). For a deeper understanding of such passages, the reader should refer to the Scriptural texts themselves. Such Biblical references are a valuable working-tool in catechesis.

The Scriptures in some cases are distorted.  We ought to quote the whole of Scripture and the essence of its meaning. 

20 The use of small print in certain passages indicates observations of an historical or apologetic nature, or supplementary doctrinal explanations.

Apologetics means defending what the Bible alone teaches; however, it could manifest itself in church history among the early fathers.  Its not what tradition teaches that is our ultimate authority.  We must submit to Scripture alone because it is God-breathed. 

21 The quotations, also in small print, from patristic, liturgical, magisterial or hagiographical sources, are intended to enrich the doctrinal presentations. These texts have often been chosen with a view to direct catechetical use.

Often the patristic information does not line up with the sources themselves!  Doctrine should be formed with the fathers of the church as a slave or servant of Scripture alone!  

22 At the end of each thematic unit, a series of brief texts in small italics sums up the essentials of that unit's teaching in condensed formula. These IN BRIEF summaries may suggest to local catechists brief summary formula that could be memorized.

We ought to memorize the Word of God and sources that CONFORM to it. 

23 The Catechism emphasizes the exposition of doctrine. It seeks to help deepen understanding of faith. In this way it is oriented towards the maturing of that faith, its putting down roots in personal life, and its shining forth in personal conduct.

Doctrine impacts life.  We are to live by doctrine and our lives should reflect that. 

24 By design, this Catechism does not set out to provide the adaptation of doctrinal presentations and catechetical methods required by the differences of culture, age, spiritual maturity, and social and ecclesial condition among all those to whom it is addressed. Such indispensable adaptations are the responsibility of particular catechisms and, even more, of those who instruct the faithful:

Whoever teaches must become "all things to all men" (1 Cor 9:22), to win everyone to Christ. . . . Above all, teachers must not imagine that a single kind of soul has been entrusted to them, and that consequently it is lawful to teach and form equally all the faithful in true piety with one and the same method! Let them realize that some are in Christ as newborn babes, others as adolescents, and still others as adults in full command of their powers. . . . Those who are called to the ministry of preaching must suit their words to the maturity and understanding of their hearers, as they hand on the teaching of the mysteries of faith and the rules of moral conduct.

Truth never changes.  To suggest it is limited to culture is false.  I am not sure if John Paul meant that but the sound exposition of the Word of God should be the centrality of worship for the believing Christian.

25 To conclude this Prologue, it is fitting to recall this pastoral principle stated by the Roman Catechism:

The whole concern of doctrine and its teaching must be directed to the love that never ends. Whether something is proposed for belief, for hope or for action, the love of our Lord must always be made accessible, so that anyone can see that all the works of perfect Christian virtue spring from love and have no other objective than to arrive at love.

Love is the greatest; however, why doesn’t the Roman Catechism state the awesomeness of the imputed righteousness of Christ alone?  It is no doubt the greatest gift of a believer in Christ.  There is no greater thing then Jesus’ death and resurrection.   We must focus on the gospel of grace and peace.  

Joy and Comfort to the Greatest Sinner

     The Bible is clear about God's mercy; that is, it is proclaimed to the greatest sinner.  God's mercy and love and lovingkindnesses is through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  All the believing ones will know the mercy of God in and through Christ Jesus our great God and King. 

Studying the Catechism from a Reformed Viewpoint

11 This catechism aims at presenting an organic synthesis of the essential and fundamental contents of Catholic doctrine, as regards both faith and morals, in the light of the Second Vatican Council and the whole of the Church's Tradition. Its principal sources are the Sacred Scriptures, the Fathers of the Church, the liturgy, and the Church's Magisterium. It is intended to serve "as a point of reference for the catechisms or compendia that are composed in the various countries".

The Fathers of the Church contradict the two sources of authority in Scripture and Tradition for they believe in sola scriptura. 

12 This work is intended primarily for those responsible for catechesis: first of all the bishops, as teachers of the faith and pastors of the Church. It is offered to them as an instrument in fulfilling their responsibility of teaching the People of God. Through the bishops, it is addressed to redactors of catechisms, to priests, and to catechists. It will also be useful reading for all other Christian faithful.

The training of God’s people is the Word of God and everything is subordinate to that alone because it is the very Voice of God.

13 The plan of this catechism is inspired by the great tradition of catechisms which build catechesis on four pillars: the baptismal profession of faith (the Creed), the sacraments of faith, the life of faith (the Commandments), and the prayer of the believer (the Lord's Prayer).

There shouldn’t be baptismal regeneration or seven sacraments but monergistic regeneration and two sacraments.  I agree that the Lord’s prayer is a prayer for believers. 

14 Those who belong to Christ through faith and Baptism must confess their baptismal faith before men. First therefore the Catechism expounds revelation, by which God addresses and gives himself to man, and the faith by which man responds to God (Section One). The profession of faith summarizes the gifts that God gives man: as the Author of all that is good; as Redeemer; and as Sanctifier. It develops these in the three chapters on our baptismal faith in the one God: the almighty Father, the Creator; his Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior; and the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, in the Holy Church (Section Two).

We do not enter the faith at baptism but the sovereign regeneration by the Holy Spirit that gives us faith and applies the work of Christ alone to us. 

15 The second part of the Catechism explains how God's salvation, accomplished once for all through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit, is made present in the sacred actions of the Church's liturgy (Section One), especially in the seven sacraments (Section Two).

We ought not to think we are sanctified through the merits of other saints but it is wholly the work of Christ alone in a past tense and in a progressive sense.

More on the Roman Catholic Catechism

6 While not being formally identified with them, catechesis is built on a certain number of elements of the Church's pastoral mission which have a catechetical aspect, that prepare for catechesis, or spring from it. They are: the initial proclamation of the Gospel or missionary preaching to arouse faith; examination of the reasons for belief; experience of Christian living; celebration of the sacraments; integration into the ecclesial community; and apostolic and missionary witness.

There is no doubt that the Christian faith is about repentance; however, the catechetical training should not include Marian dogma.  It is not apart of the Gospel to include Marian dogma. That is, the Gospel is about the imputed righteousness of Christ alone not infusion of grace.  Rome acknowledges the Gospel in the Apostles Creed, but she denies it when affirming the dogmas of Mary. 

7 "Catechesis is intimately bound up with the whole of the Church's life. Not only her geographical extension and numerical increase, but even more her inner growth and correspondence with God's plan depend essentially on catechesis."

Does this include Marian dogma?  How was that apart of the faith during the apostles?  How was a denial of imputed righteousness as a legal fiction something that was included in the Christian faith?

8 Periods of renewal in the Church are also intense moments of catechesis. In the great era of the Fathers of the Church, saintly bishops devoted an important part of their ministry to catechesis. St. Cyril of Jerusalem and St. John Chrysostom, St. Ambrose and St. Augustine, and many other Fathers wrote catechetical works that remain models for us.

These fathers of the Christian faith taught sola scriptura. They did not support the Roman dogma of Scripture and tradition as the final authority. 

9 "The ministry of catechesis draws ever fresh energy from the councils. The Council of Trent is a noteworthy example of this. It gave catechesis priority in its constitutions and decrees. It lies at the origin of the Roman Catechism, which is also known by the name of that council and which is a work of the first rank as a summary of Christian teaching. . . ." The Council of Trent initiated a remarkable organization of the Church's catechesis. Thanks to the work of holy bishops and theologians such as St. Peter Canisius, St. Charles Borromeo, St. Turibius of Mongrovejo or St. Robert Bellarmine, it occasioned the publication of numerous catechisms

The Council of Trent rejects faith alone through Christ alone, but Vatican II welcomes non-Christians and the Catechism also says that Muslims are apart of the Christian faith. 

10 It is therefore no surprise that catechesis in the Church has again attracted attention in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, which Pope Paul Vl considered the great catechism of modern times. The General Catechetical Directory (1971) the sessions of the Synod of Bishops devoted to evangelization (1974) and catechesis (1977), the apostolic exhortations Evangelii nuntiandi (1975) and Catechesi tradendae (1979), attest to this. The Extraordinary Synod of Bishops in 1985 asked "that a catechism or compendium of all Catholic doctrine regarding both faith and morals be composed" The Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, made the Synod's wish his own, acknowledging that "this desire wholly corresponds to a real need of the universal Church and of the particular Churches." He set in motion everything needed to carry out the Synod Fathers' wish.

There is a problem because Rome adheres to things outside and contrary to the Gospel of grace and peace.  That is, she believes the Marian dogmas are apart of the Gospel when they are not.  Why add to the Gospel when the Bible alone offers the true Gospel?  May God help Roman Catholics to see the light of imputed righteousness of Christ alone in His life and death alone as the foundation of what is most important!

An Old Gospel Hymn "I'd Rather Have Jesus"

1. I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold;
   I’d rather be His than have riches untold;
   I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands;
   I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand
• Refrain:
  Than to be the king of a vast domain
  And be held in sin’s dread sway;
  I’d rather have Jesus than anything
  This world affords today.
2. I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause;
   I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause;
   I’d rather have Jesus than worldwide fame;
   I’d rather be true to His holy name
3. He’s fairer than lilies of rarest bloom;
   He’s sweeter than honey from out the comb;
   He’s all that my hungering spirit needs;
   I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead

If it came down to Jesus or things in this old world, we must chose Jesus.  However, our Heavenly Father knows that we need a home to live in and other things pertaining to life.  He knows we need these things but it should be about getting them in the right way.  We ought to get things through Christian prayer and His elect angels are watching over us and they surround us.  This song should be our testimony for Jesus. Amen.

More Study of the Roman Catechism

2 So that this call should resound throughout the world, Christ sent forth the apostles he had chosen, commissioning them to proclaim the gospel: "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; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." Strengthened by this mission, the apostles "went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it."

It is one thing to say this devoid of the Roman context.  Are the Romanists successors of the apostles?  What is the gospel of Rome?  Isn’t works of satisfaction with a faith devoid of deadness?  How can faith and works justify a person?  The fact is we are justified by faith alone in Christ alone.  Grace is all-sufficient.

3 Those who with God's help have welcomed Christ's call and freely responded to it are urged on by love of Christ to proclaim the Good News everywhere in the world. This treasure, received from the apostles, has been faithfully guarded by their successors. All Christ's faithful are called to hand it on from generation to generation, by professing the faith, by living it in fraternal sharing, and by celebrating it in liturgy and prayer.

I agree that the Gospel is what has been passed down.  The Gospel is not apart of the assumption of Mary.  There was no belief in the Assumption of Mary in the early church but only a non-Christian account of the story of Mary and her assumption.  There is one pope in church history who rejected the story.  

4 Quite early on, the name catechesis was given to the totality of the Church's efforts to make disciples, 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.

What does it mean to believe in Jesus as the living Son of God?  It means that we trust His promises and His death and bodily resurrection.  Jesus is the eternal Son of God.  Rome does not disagree, but to add the immaculate conception as part of the Gospel because it is a dogma is a terrible thing. 

5 "Catechesis is an education in the faith of children, young people and adults which includes especially the teaching of Christian doctrine imparted, generally speaking, in an organic and systematic way, with a view to initiating the hearers into the fullness of Christian life."

The fullness of the Christian life is not apart of papal infallibility.  It is a life centered on the Word of God alone as the sole foundation of our faith.  We ought to educate our children but not with myths but sound doctrine. 

A Study of Paragraph 1 of the Roman Catechism

1 God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church. To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, 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.

I am going to do an apologetical study on each paragraph in the Roman Catechism.  I am not sure what the extent of my studies will take me or how long I will dwell on each paragraph.  I think it is important to study the Catechism.  I would say this paragraph is sort of misleading because one must go through Mary to get to our Redeemer.  It has a lot of good things to say but the Pope’s modified universalism and CCC 841 take away from the apparent exclusivity of Christ as Redeemer and Lord.  To go through Mary is to find our Savior through a different means then going directly to Him alone.  We ought to go to Christ alone and none other.  We are divided by sin but it is sin to ask the Roman Catholic to explicitly believe in Christ but not the Animist in the universalistic sense.  There is no universalism but only explicit belief in Jesus Christ our Lord and Redeemer.