Title: YOUCAT: A Spiritual Treasure for the Whole Family

Translated by: Michael J. Miller

Have you heard of YOUCAT? YOUCAT is short for Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church. The book will be officially launched on World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid.

However, you can buy it already. This is a great spiritual resource for the whole family. It was developed with the help of young Catholics and written for high-school age students and young adults. YOUCAT is an accessible, contemporary expression of the Catholic Faith. It has an appealing graphic Questions-and-Answers format, a very readable commentary, summary definitions of key terms, Bible citations and many inspiring and thought-provoking quotes from Saints and other Christian thinkers in the margins. What's more, YOUCAT is keyed to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, so people can go deeper into the faith.

The book is divided into the following four main parts:

A) What do Catholics believe and why. This is the doctrine of the faith. B) How Catholics celebrate the mysteries of the faith. This section covers the sacraments. C) How Catholics are to live. This deals with moral life; and D) How should Catholics pray? This part is all about prayer and spirituality.

The material is mostly covered in a Question and Answer method. The questions are direct and honest; the answers are straightforward, relevant, and compelling. As you read the answers, you rediscover just how much sense the Catholic faith makes. YOUCAT will likely become the "go-to" place for young people, teachers and families to learn the truth about the Catholic faith.

Here’s part of what Pope Benedict XVI writes in the book’s Forward:

"Dear young friends!

Today I recommend for your reading an unusual book.... Should we not attempt to translate the Catechism of the Catholic Church into the language of young people? Should we not bring its great riches into the world of today's youth? Of course, there are many differences even among the youth of today's world. And so now, under the capable direction of the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, YOUCAT has been produced for young people. I hope that many young people will let themselves be fascinated by this book.

Many people say to me: The youth of today are not interested in this. I disagree, and I am certain that I am right. The youth of today are not as superficial as some think. They want to know what life is all about.... This book is exciting because it speaks of our own destiny and so deeply engages every one of use.

So I invite you: Study this Catechism! That is my heartfelt desire. This catechism was not written to please you. It will not make life easy for you, because it demands of you a new life. It places before you the Gospel message as the "pearl of great value" (Mt 13:45) for which you must give everything. So I beg you: Study this Catechism with passion and perseverance. Make a sacrifice of you time for it! Study it in the quiet of your room; read it with a friend; form study groups and networks; share with each other on the Internet. By all means continue to talk with each other about your faith.

You need to know what you believe. You need to know your faith with that same precision with which an IT specialist knows the inner workings of a computer. You need to understand it like a good musician knows the piece he is playing. Yes, you need to be more deeply rooted in the faith than the generation of your parents so that you can engage the challenges and temptations of this time with strength and determination. You need God’s help if your faith is not going to dry up like a dewdrop in the sun, if you want to resist the blandishments of consumerism, if your love is not to drown in pornography, if you are not going to betray the weak and leave the vulnerable helpless. … “

That’s good and loving advice for anyone, anywhere and anytime, but more so when it comes from the Vicar of Christ. It’s a love letter to the youth. You will want to read the entire statement by getting a copy. The Forward alone is worth the price of the book.

The book reminds us of the useful and practical Church teaching that we can use to confront the secular issues we face, just think of the popularity of the Harry Potter books and the Twilight series. This is the material many teenagers are reading. We know that neo-pagan and New Age religions such as Wicca are alive and well today and can even be found in some of our local schools. What can parents or anybody do? We need God’s help. Introduce your family and together study YOUCAT. The answer for question 355 that explains one of the Ten Commandments, “You shall not have strange Gods before me”, is a good example of the practical value in knowing the faith:

“This commandment forbids us:

• to adore other gods and pagan deities or to worship an earthly idol or to devote oneself entirely to some earthly good (money, influence, success, beauty, youth and so on)
  
• to be superstitious, which means to adhere to esoteric, magic, or occult or New Age practices or to get involved with fortune telling or spiritualism, instead of believing in God’s power, providence and blessings.
• to provoke God by word or deed
• to commit a sacrilege
• to acquire spiritual power through corruption and to desecrate what is holy through trafficking (simony).”

The first thing to note is the details in the response. Once the reader/parent has the information from such a reliable source such as this you can then give your children the proper advice. Truth always wins over lies. YOUCAT provides this wonderful spiritual resource about our faith. As you can see, it does not dodge the hard questions. There are so many more that I cannot cover in this short review such as those dealing with prayer, the purpose of life, sin, sexuality and the sacraments. I hope you add this text to your Catholic library. Local parishes would benefit by using it as teaching tool to spread the Word. Why not buy a copy for your children and together learn and explore the really big and important questions in trying to live a life in Christ? Nothing else really matters!

Reviewed by: Lou Iacobelli

You can contact Lou at louiac@hotmail.com

Past Book reviews: