Best catechism books according to redditors

Of course anything we try to say must be a itsy-bit-tiny fraction of the real deal...however...the comparison that better resonated to me was something like that.

Imagine a soldier that was promised in matrimony, but gets drafted to war! He then endure war with loyalty to his fiancee! He writes her letters, he thinks about her, he refuses to be a dishonorable man and go with part of his troops have some fun with the girls from the city they just liberated. Finally, when the war is over...he gets sent back home. Waiting in the platform, his fiancee (who also showed similar virtues during his absence) awaits. They search for each other faces in the crowd, and when they lock eyes with each other...BLAM!!! That moment! That moment of joy locked forever is somewhat like Heaven! It's the satisfaction of the soul with finding his ultimate Love!

Notice that if the soldier hadn't developed the relationship this moment would not have happened! They would be like strangers to one another. Similarly, if he acted in a dishonorable way...he wouldn't feel the joy of that encounter! And that is Hell... it's... not standing or not being able to see God when the encounter was supposed to happen in its fullest form!

All this explanation/metaphor can be found in this book. None of this is from my head.

https://www.amazon.com/Faith-Explained-Leo-J-Trese/dp/1889334294

http://www.amazon.com/The-Invention-Air-Steven-Johnson/dp/1594488525

I believe this would be related to your interest in the concept of air.

A traditional catechism in Q & A format.

https://www.amazon.com/Saint-Joseph-First-Communion-Catechism/dp/0899422403/

https://www.amazon.com/Saint-Joseph-Baltimore-Catechism-Catecisms/dp/0899422411

https://www.amazon.com/New-Saint-Joseph-Baltimore-Catechism/dp/089942242X/

Of course the top "reformed book" is Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion.

A great and useful book is the Heidelberg Catechism (or the Baptist version).

And, something put together this century is Valley of Vision, a great book of prayers to help learn to pray better.

You are looking for The Book of Confessions. It's published by the PC(USA) general assembly who also has a free pdf available. The contents:

• The Nicene Creed
  
• The Apostles' Creed
  
• The Scots Confession
  
• The Heidelberg Catechism
  
• The Second Helvetic Confession
  
• The Westminster Confession of Faith
  
• The Shorter Catechism
  
• The Larger Catechism
  
• The Theological Declaration of Barmen
  
• The Confession of 1967
  
• The Brief Statement of Faith (PCUSA)
  
  For those of us of the Dutch persuasion there's Ecumenical Creeds and Reformed Confessions which includes
  
  
• Apostles' Creed
  
• Nicene Creed
  
• Athanasian creed
  
• Belgic Confession (1985)
  
• Heidelberg Catechism
  
• Canons of Dort
  
  I have the two of them on my bookshelf, right next to the Book of Concord - all the creeds and confessions I'll ever need.
  

https://www.amazon.com/Totally-Catholic-Catechism-Parents-Teachers/dp/0819874795

Get this! The little discussions they have after each section might have to be modified further since your kids are so young, but this seems to teach the faith well without getting overly academic or sophisticated. You'll still have to filter the information for your students, but it may serve as good base to do other activities.

Fr. Trese's The Faith Explained is a great book! It gives a great overview and is relatively small considering the rich tradition of the Catholic Church.

I'm not qualified to make a recommendation on basic physics, but here are some of the best examples of science writing I've come across for the other subjects you've listed:

1. Scientific History and Chemistry - The Invention of Air, by Steven Johnson. This book is about Joseph Priestley, and his contribution to the discovery of oxygen. Priestley was incredibly prolific, and made a ton of contributions to completely unrelated fields. It also touches on why science started to really take off at this point in history, and the necessary conditions for good science to occur.
   
   
2. Natural Sciences - Why Evolution Is True. Jerry Coyne takes a college-level biology class on evolution, and condenses it into a single book. It is very easy to understand, even if you don't have a biology background.
   
   
3. Scientific History and Astronomy - The Big Bang by Simon Singh. This is probably the best popular science book I've ever read. A lot of these books will tell you how scientists think the universe works, and stop there. This book is different, it explains the reasons why scientists think the universe is a particular way, and lays out the history of how these ideas changed during the development of astronomy.

You'll want to check out The Invention of Air

I am confused what 'fallen in'' means and what your grandparents have to do with your question about your step-brother (or brother?).

Regarding your question, it seems that since your brother(s) is already 16, it is too late to have your mom make them get the sacraments. The spiritual life is now something that he needs to take ownership. Obviously, the love and guidance of you and your mom may help him in this endeavor.

In any case, I would encourage you to live and love the faith. Nothing changes hearts better than example (with God's grace, of course).
It seems that your mother is not the spiritual type. Evangelizing one's own family is a very difficult thing to do. I would talk with your mother about the spiritual life. Help her see that while she may have provided things like food and shelter (which are very good things), that isn't enough. Tell her that you realize in your own life, that need more than just physical life, but spiritual life too. You can tactfully extend this to your brothers whom you love. Over the course of some time, along with your own example and prayers, maybe she will see her responsibility to nourish her children's spiritual lives. You can also lovingly talk to your brothers. Also some books might help, they helped me when I first starting thinking about the spiritual life. My Daily Bread, The Faith Explained, Story of a Soul

The Faith Explained

Get a Bible you would read. I like the RSV-CE, but you can also go with the Douay Rheims if you want archaic English or the NAB. Of the Bibles, the Navarre Bible (RSV) has commentary sections from Saints throughout the centuries. They have a single volume version of the New Testament that I use. (Also good, the Ignatius Study Bible, also New Testament only).

I recommend Thomas Howard's If Your Mind Wanders At Mass and Healing Through the Mass by Fr. Robert DeGrandis.

Get the Official Catechism of the Catholic Church, and get the helps put out by Ignatius Press (which contain the texts of all the footnotes). The Compendium is also good, if you want an abridgement.

For Philosophy, I recommend The Fulfillment of All Desire by Ralph Martin. In that book he takes the writings of seven doctors of the Church and encapsulates them so that a layperson can follow them. You can use that as a springboard to discover your own readings about St. Augustine, St. John of the Cross, etc.

These are all affiliate links, but you do not have to use them.

My copy of The Essential Rumi is a recent paperback edition that was published by Harper, and is in like new condition. And if you'll just send me a list of books telling me what you have for trade, then I'm sure we can work something out. Thanks!

The Invention of Air by Steven Johnson. One of my favorite books, about the intersection of science, religion, and politics.

I am terribly inconsistent with family worship.

Although our homeschooling does include singing, catechism, scripture memory, and Bible - it's just not the same. My kids get excited when we do family worship, which both encourages me and makes me feel awful for my inconsistency.

Catechism has been very helpful to us. We used First Catechism for our little ones; the older ones are on Westminster Shorter Catechism.

The awesome thing with First Catechism is that by the time you hit question 63, you've covered all the essential elements of the gospel. God was pleased to use this to call my first three kids to Himself.

> How sinful are you by nature?

> I am corrupt in every part of my being.

> Can anyone go to heaven with this sinful nature?

> No. Our hearts must be changed before we can believe in Jesus and go to heaven.

> Who can change a sinner's heart?

> The Holy Spirit alone.

> How does God justify you?

> God forgives all my sins and accepts me as righteous through Christ.

> What must you do to be saved?

> I must repent of my sin and believe in Christ as my Savior.

> How do you repent of your sin?

> I must be sorry for my sin, and hate and forsake it.

> Why must you hate and forsake your sin?

> Because sin displeases God.

> What does it mean to believe in Christ?

> To trust in Christ alone for my salvation.

> Can you repent and believe in Christ by your own power?

> No. I cannot repent and believe unless the Holy Spirit changes my heart.

> How can you get the help of the Holy Spirit?

> God has told us to pray for the Holy Spirit's help.

Parents, seriously, if you don't do family worship, start. Sit your kids down (which is also a good solution for the "kids won't sit through church" problem).

• If you want to get real fancy, do a call to worship. ("Come let us worship and bow down...")
  
• Read the Apostles' or Nicene creed.
  
• Sing a song or two.
  
• If you want, review catechism or memory verses. (Piper's Fighter Verses are good.)
  
• Read something from the Bible - we use this child's Bible.
  
• Take prayer requests, then pray for your family.
  
• Say the Lord's prayer together
  
• Sing the Doxology ("Praise God from Whom all blessings flow..." or "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son...")
  
• Dismiss them with the Aaronic blessing.
  
  And that's a fancy one. Takes 15-20 minutes. The essential parts are the singing, prayer, and reading. You could get it down to 10 minutes with a tiny bit of effort.
  
  OK now I'm convicted... gotta get this going again.