Luther kept reading the Small Catechism every day.
It is a prayer book and a meditation book and a life book. It keeps offering more for prayer, meditation, and living. It comes to us in daily life, when we know it well, frequently think on it, and pray from it.
There are many good reading plans for growth in prayer, meditation, and living from the catechism. Here is one that is simple and realistic for a person just starting.
If you miss a day, don’t condemn yourself. The part you missed will come again next week. Today you can read the little part for this day, never mind whatever might have happened yesterday. God will bless you with wisdom without upbraiding you about yesterday. He will give liberally, generously, ungrudgingly. He will give without reproach, without criticizing, and without rebuke (James 1:5 — KJV, NKJV, ESV, NABRE, ISV, NET). If you ask for bread, your Father will not give you a stone. (Matthew 7:9). If you ask for a fish, He will not give you a snake (Luke 11:11). If you ask for an egg, He will not give you a scorpion (Luke 11:12).
| Monday | Ten Commandments |
| Tuesday | Creed |
| Wednesday | Lord’s Prayer |
| Thursday | Sacrament of Baptism |
| Friday | Sacrament of the Altar |
| Saturday | Table of Duties |
| Sunday before Divine Service |
Christian Questions with Their Answers |
| Sunday anytime later in the day |
Confession |
| Each Morning | Morning Prayer |
| Each Evening | Evening Prayer |
We split up the Lord’s prayer into two days because it is long (at least, with its explanations). Also we view Sunday as the first day of the week but it seems there’s no good way to reinforce this idea with the weekly Catechism schedule taking it in order. We don’t get to the Table of Duties or Questions and Answers every week.
That is a significant point about what is the first day of the week. The reader who contributed his church-year reading plan (presented here in a separate post) said he saw value in “reasserting the Church’s time over the school year and other secular ways we measure our time.” He is on to something valuable there, and the same idea holds for the week too. With your suggestion, when we create a second version of a weekly plan, most likely it will commence with Sunday, not Monday. Thanks for your comment.
I think this is an excellent idea, I often go to my small catechism for clarity and explanation
Thiudans, do you have an idea of how to reorganize it to give two days to the Lord’s Prayer?