Newbie Questions

1. A catechism is a document used to teach the faith. When people refer to the Catechism, they mean the one called The Catechism of the Catholic Church, which is much newer than the Catechism of Trent.

2. Franciscans actually have their own rosary variant, the Franciscan Crown Rosary, but the use of the Tau cross is just an aesthetic choice. Wikipedia is often a good place to start for basic information, but most Catholics learn those little things or don't based on experience with the order in question.

3. If you make the knots in the right configuration this is more than appropriate. Generally, a standard rosary should have a crucifix, but there are no hard and fast rules, since it's a popular devotion and not something more formal or required.

4. I'm not up on my Jesuit history (I'm allergic to early modernity), so hopefully somebody else will come along for this one.

5. Protestants sometimes have a quasi-gnostic tendency to devalue the physical and material's role in the spiritual life. We fully embrace the importance of physical objects in the life of the believer, and think that what we touch and see and taste is part of what helps us grow in virtue (or in vice). These things help us connect to God and remind us of the goals we strive for as Christians.

6. If you wanna DM with me you can. If you want an in person interaction, maybe see if there's a theology on tap or similar event being run by a parish, then go and make a friend.

For 1, a catechism is a tool for teaching the faith. You know how the Scriptures mostly use literary tools to teach? That’s fantastic and beautiful and has deep emotional resonance, but it’s not the most accessible. Same thing with the liturgies of the sacraments and the divine office. They’re amazing and great for teaching, but they aren’t especially direct. A catechism is; it’s style is didactic.

The Catechism of Trent was a catechism created, unsurprisingly, after the Council of Trent in 1566. It’s what we call a universal catechism; it was created as a project of the Vatican for the whole church. Another universal catechism was created in the late 20th century called the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It’s one of my favorite books, and I highly recommend it if you have an adult’s reading comprehension. It’s a beautiful systemic compendium of the teachings of the Church.

There are also regional catechisms, designed by and for the Church in a local area. In the 19th century here in the US, the bishops created the Baltimore Catechism, which is still pretty popular. There is also the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults.

For number 4, I also love the Jesuits! I went to a Jesuit high school and was considering joining them as part of my process of discernment. There are some great materials out there, and I recommend the writings of Pedro Arrupe and Walter Ciszec specifically. Ciszec was a priest imprisoned in the Soviet Union, and you can really see how the exercises come out in that period of trial.

I will say to be careful with what you find on YouTube about the Jesuits. For a few reasons, conspiracy theorists throughout the centuries have fixated on the society, and there is some gnarly stuff out there. Anything about cabals or masonry or the like should be taken with a Dead Sea amount of salt.

Happy learning! There’s a lot, so enjoy!

I can't lie, I'm pretty new myself, so I can't help you with everything, but I'll answer what I can.

1. The Catechism is essentially just an explanation of what Catholics believe, so its a good way to simply know Church teaching on the main topics. The Trent one is pretty good, especially since the council itself was infallible. The 'official one' for today's age is the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This one has a 'second edition' that's the most current. I'm using that and its definitely does the job.

2. I can't help you much there personally, but I'm sure you can research this stuff over the internet with relative effort.

3. Yeah making a rosary is completely fine, and pretty cool as well. Just get it blessed when you're done making it. You should consider the spacing between each decade of the rosary so that its easy to differentiate, and the type of beads.

4. Its not that they have any power, its that they help Catholics contemplate on
   mysteries, Christ, the lives of Saints etc. It's much easier to do these things
   when you have the visual representation of what you have. It's not idolatry
   because we don't worship them. God himself commissioned images of
   Cherubim on the Ark, and thats just one example of images being approved.
   Christ himself entered the world in a physical and visual form, becoming the
   image of the invisible God, essentially becoming the ultimate 'icon' so to
   speak. Its simply an expression of worship that we are especially drawn to
   because humans appreciate visual representations of things.