Foundations of Faith: A Journey Through the Catechism of the Catholic Church

Alexis Dallara-Marsh reviews a new program from Ascension Press that makes the Catechism of the Catholic Church more useful and accessible.

Foundations of Faith: A Journey Through the Catechism of the Catholic Church

By Edward Sri

Published by Ascension Press

I believe in 2020 my spirit was saved. For a long time I had asked God for help in knowing Him. Through the institution of the Hallow app and the podcasts of Father Mike Schmitz and Jeff Cavins, I finally felt able to start to form a relationship God in an accessible way. I initially started with their #1 podcast, The Bible in a Year, but since that time have branched out to so many of their other publications. On a near-daily basis, I am dumbfounded by their level of insight into understanding the Word of God and abilities to apply it to our lives in the modern world.  

Once completing The Bible in the Year, Father Mike then published The Catechism in a Year podcast, which I tried to follow. I had more difficulty just listening to that podcast without having the book readily alongside in my hand. The concepts were often harder for me to grasp, with the source material having more technical language. I needed a simplified guide more similar to Jeff Cavins' Great Adventure Timeline for the Bible. 

Building on the success of The Catechism in a Year, Foundations of Faith is a new, 20-session study from Ascension that combines use of a workbook and video sessions in conjunction with small group meetings.

Using Ascension’s Foundations of Faith approach, the program reveals the big picture of the Catechism and shows you how its parts fit together. (Ascension)

The study examines the "four pillars: What We Believe, How We Worship, How We Live, and How We Pray" and where the sources for the Catechism come from, such as Scripture, and later from different pontifical meetings and documents. A historical timeline of how the Catechism came together is included on an easy-to-follow Catechism at a Glance Chart. The workbook includes an outline for each video presentation, including important teachings from the Saints, and ending in prayers that put into words so much of what I wish I could say to God but can't seem to formulate myself.

I find the outlines visually appealing, with their bright colors (including use of color-coding to help organize) and photographs, and a nice amount of space to record one's own responses, in conjunction with the video's highlights outlined alongside. There is easy-to-understand language and there are basic fundamental questions to help reinforce learning points. Introductory pages to each chapter look like a scrapbook with pictures of different locations around the world with spiritual relevance (i.e. from the Mount of Olives to the cities of various saints). Seeing the historical sites brings the teachings alive through video presentations, with various renowned speakers reflecting on how to apply the Catechism in our every day. There are backdrops of various holy sites (from the Vatican to Mount Sinai, Egypt, and Philadelphia).  

We all study differently, but I have learned I often need to first see the big picture and then continue to break it down from there into smaller and smaller pieces. As some of us learn visually, a reference chart can be extremely useful for study, and I find extremely helpful for tracking the Church's long history of various historical events and meetings. Others may learn better through audio, which is why the videos can also be so useful, particularly to listen to during our busy day-to-day chores or maybe even on a commute. The visuals, engaging speakers, layout and format would be wonderful even for pre-teens.

Most important for me personally is that the simple language and high yield points in this course make it something I want to share with my children who can also learn. The speaker's speed can be slowed, so that we can dwell on the teachings over a longer period of time. I also may need more space to take notes, at least on the computer which is my preferred method of writing.  

Despite all the many distractions in life, we must always first strive to find God. We must actively seek out a relationship with Christ rather than passively go about daily motions and routines without further insight. The Foundations of Faith program is one in which can help save souls by sharing knowledge and momentum of who we are as Catholics. Embracing our identity, we can progress forward, living Christianity as "an encounter; a love story; an event" (Pope Benedict XVI). Growing in our understanding of the Faith must be a lifelong  process. Our relationship with our Lord must continuously be alive and ablaze. As stated at the end of the program's first chapter: 

Give me, then, the grace to love you with my whole heart, to love you continually and to seek constantly, in this life, the grace to love you, that persevering in your holy love unto death, a day may come when I shall love you with all my strength in heaven, and shall never cease to love you for all eternity. (Saint Alphonsus Liguori) 

Is this a book you'd like to read? Share your thoughts with the Catholic Mom community! You'll find the comment box below the author's bio and list of recommended articles.

Copyright 2025 Alexis Dallara-Marsh
Images: (top) copyright 2025 Ascension Press, all rights reserved