The eight books in Our Holy Faith series for Catholic students in grades one through eight are drastically revised from the Neumann Press editions published decades ago. The content has been rearranged, expanded, and updated. The excellent core teaching and inclusion of catechism questions have been retained, although catechism questions and answers are now taken from the TAN edition of The Third Council of Baltimore: Baltimore Catechism 1-4. Scripture verses are from the Douay-Rheims 1989 American Edition of the Bible. The publisher says, “To the extent possible, we have adapted the text to reflect both the ordinary and extraordinary forms of the Mass and liturgical calendars” (Book Eight, p. ix).
Full-color illustrations have been added to all levels, making the books attractive, and questions and tests have been added for grades three through eight. For the books with questions and tests, answer keys are provided at the back of each book. Books Six through Eight add lists of Terms to Know within each chapter. Because of lengthier instructional material and the inclusion of questions, tests, and answer keys, the books for third grade and above are about three times or more the length of the first two books. There are no separate teacher guides, so parents need to decide how much memorization of catechism questions to require.
Optional videos are available for these courses, but they seem quite dry. I think most children will benefit more from discussions with their parents.
Book One and Book Two
Book One and Book Two for first and second grade should be used for reading aloud and discussion. Book One: Good Shepherd teaches basic ideas about God and the Catholic Church through pictures and brief text. For example, page three has three pictures showing what we do as we enter church: bless ourselves with holy water, genuflect as we enter a pew, and pray in preparation for Mass. A few words explain each picture. A fourth picture on that same page shows a girl leaving Mass, and it says, “We walk out quietly.” The next page is taken up almost completely with a picture of Jesus with children, and it has four brief sentences of explanation. Book Two: Lamb of God tells the story of salvation in the first four of its 24 chapters. Then it tells stories of people who obeyed God in the next five chapters. Chapters 10 through 18 explain the first eight commandments and the precepts of the Church. The last six chapters teach about the sacraments of Baptism, Penance, and Holy Communion. Each chapter also includes five to fourteen catechism questions and answers related to the lesson material. Basic prayers are at the back of both Book One and Book Two. Book Two is intended to help prepare children for the reception of the sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion. It adds prayers for before and after Holy Communion at the back.
Book Three through Book Eight
The format for Books Three through Eight is basically the same but with minor differences. Some books have more chapters than others, but they are relatively short compared to some books with fewer, lengthier chapters. The books range in length from 250 pages for Book Three to 448 for Book Eight.
Each lesson includes instructional text with illustrations, a summary of key points, and “For Me To Do” suggestions that sometimes include creative activities. Most lessons include catechism questions and answers and/or other questions to answer. Some books include prayers within lessons, and all have common prayers near the back. The For Me To Do activities involve practical applications, academic work, and creative projects, but it's up to parents to decide which, if any, to use.
Book Three: Prince of Peace expands to 65 lessons, covering topics such as the nature of God, the sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion, angels, various types of sin, virtues, the promise of a Messiah, stories of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, grace, the organization and role of the Church, life after death, and the Ten Commandments. Detailed information about some sacraments is included in some lessons, such as Lesson 4’s explanation of how to receive the sacrament of Penance.
Book Four: Bread of Life teaches about God and the plan of salvation in the first four chapters. Chapters five and six are about the Church. The next six chapters teach about the liturgy, the Divine Office, the sacraments, sacramentals, and the liturgical year. The Christmas and Easter seasons and Ordinary Time are explained in the last seven chapters.
Book Five: Light of the World explains details of The Apostles’ Creed, the Ten Commandments, the laws of the Church, prayer, and the sacraments.
Book Six: King of Kings revisits topics introduced in Book Three, but at a deeper level that would also be appropriate for teens who have weak knowledge of their faith. It covers topics like the nature of God, the Holy Trinity, types of sin, our need for a savior, Jesus Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit, and attributes of the Church. This course is based on material from the first half of the Baltimore Catechism 2.
Book Seven: Messiah is a survey course on the Bible. It teaches key events from the Old Testament leading up to the coming of Jesus, our Redeemer. It includes a study of the gospels and Acts of the Apostles.
Book Eight: Alpha and Omega covers the second half of the Baltimore Catechism 2; the first half was covered in Book Six. Among the topics covered are an in-depth study of the Ten Commandments and the sacraments, the precepts of the Church, and sanctification through sacramentals and prayer. Teens and adults could easily use this book.
Summary
The Our Holy Faith series has solid content for Catholic students and includes significant content from the Baltimore Catechism volumes and some coverage of the Bible. This series should be of particular interest to families who want a traditional course that also reflects the current forms of the liturgy.
