What Makes a Catholic Fully Formed?
Most Catholics know their faith could be deeper. But what does deeper actually mean? The Katechon is the answer: 164 Catholic practices drawn from Church teaching, organised into five formation stages. Your Faith Map and Faith Plan are built on it.
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The Church's answer
The Katechon began with one question: What is a perfect Catholic?
What a Catholic needs to know and do, according to the teachings of the Church, is the answer to that question. The practices in the Katechon are drawn from: Sacred scripture, the Magisterium, canon law, the sacramental system, Catholic social teaching, and two thousand years of tradition. Each practice is ranked by the weight the Church places on it, from grave obligations to encouraged devotions.
The Katechon is built entirely on positive practices: what the Church invites you to do and become, not what to avoid. St Finian of Clonard, one of the fathers of Irish monasticism, expressed the principle: “Let the vices be cured by their contraries.”
Most Catholics are living only a fraction of the practices that the Church invites us to make part of our faith routine – often without realising it. The question is: which fraction, and what should come next? That is what your Faith Plan answers.
By the numbers
5
Formation stages
24
Practice areas
164
Individual practices
κατέχων
Katechon
The word St Paul uses in his second letter to the Thessalonians (2:6–7) for the mysterious force that holds back evil in the world.
A Catholic who knows and lives the faith is that force.
The five formation stages
The formation stages move in a deliberate order. Interior formation comes first, because grace must be received before it can be given. This is the classical shape of Christian formation, from the early Church fathers to the Directory for Catechesis today.
1. Divine Life
Faith, hope, and charity; the gifts of the Holy Spirit; prayer and reverence. Everything else is built on this foundation.
2. Sacramental Encounter
The sacraments, the Mass, liturgy, devotions, and the domestic Church. Grace received and renewed.
3. Moral Formation
Cardinal virtues, the beatitudes, fasting, and ascetical discipline. The virtuous life that flows from grace.
4. Ecclesial Communion
Parish life, vocation, works of mercy, and spiritual gifts. Faith lived with and for others.
5. Apostolic Mission
Evangelisation, witness, and Catholic culture. Giving what you have received.
What's in each practice guide?
Every one of the 164 practices has its own dedicated practice guide. Each one is a formation resource, not just a definition.
Definition
Plain English: what the practice is and what it means in a Catholic life.
Why it matters
Why the Church commends or requires this practice, and what fruit it produces.
Church sources
The Scripture, Magisterium, or tradition the practice is grounded in, shown in every practice guide.
Video guides
Curated talks from Catholic clergy and theologians, hand-picked to approach the practice from different angles.
How to grow it
Practical steps for making the practice part of your faith routine.
Your Faith Map and your Faith Plan are built on the Katechon
Faith Map
Answer 40 questions and see where you stand across all five formation stages. A clear, honest formation picture in under 15 minutes.
Faith Plan
A full assessment of all 164 practices. For each one, you tell us what you currently know and what you currently practise. Your Faith Plan works out your personal priorities: where the Church's weight of obligation meets your biggest gaps. Every time you study a new practice or practise one, your Faith Plan updates and reprioritises automatically.