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Believing in Jesus: A Popular Overview of the Catholic Faith
Designed to help cradle Catholics come to a deeper understanding of the beliefs and practices they have held all their lives and to make Catholic belief more accessible for those new to the church.
216 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 28, 2010
16 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 13, 2025
Read this with my new besties who are both Baptized but uncatechized and who reached out to the parish at the same time to complete their initiation. Book club! I found it to be an acceptable basic overview. Like a red catechism for the red catechism. Which is not my favorite thing but we had a bunch of copies of it on hand and it did the trick since we only had 8 weeks. Some parts made me raise an eyebrow but it has a nihi obstat so okay. But we had great conversation so worth it.
April 29, 2012
"The Tenth Commandment probes our mind and heart, where all sin begins, and forbids injustice in willful desire and intention. It forbids coveting what belongs to another, and rules out greed and avarice arising from an excessive desire for wealth and power (see Catechism, #2536)." Page 269
"We are to regard our lawful possessions not merely as our own, but also as common property in the sense that they can be of benefit also to others. All the children of God are obliged to come to the relief of the poor (see Catechism, #2443) Page 266
"What I may not do - in fact, cannot do - is judge the internal morality of anyone's actions but my own." Page 253
These are just a few examples of how aligned my personal values and beliefs are with the teachings of the Catholic Church. I do not see how a person can truly internalize these teachings of Jesus and still vote for individuals who wish to continue us down this horrible path and want things to go back the way they were before. After reading this book and being finally confirmed in the Catholic faith, I am more convinced than ever that Jesus was, indeed, a liberal.
I also would like to address the successful way that this book dealt with touchy subjects regarding Catholicism, especially how the faith is viewed and depicted by Protestants and other people outside the faith. Other faiths were not demonized at all, but the errors in perception were gently corrected. Especially beautiful is the chapter on Mary and how the Catholic community holds her in reverence (Chapter 26).
I am very glad my RCIA class assigned this book, as I probably would not have read it otherwise.
"We are to regard our lawful possessions not merely as our own, but also as common property in the sense that they can be of benefit also to others. All the children of God are obliged to come to the relief of the poor (see Catechism, #2443) Page 266
"What I may not do - in fact, cannot do - is judge the internal morality of anyone's actions but my own." Page 253
These are just a few examples of how aligned my personal values and beliefs are with the teachings of the Catholic Church. I do not see how a person can truly internalize these teachings of Jesus and still vote for individuals who wish to continue us down this horrible path and want things to go back the way they were before. After reading this book and being finally confirmed in the Catholic faith, I am more convinced than ever that Jesus was, indeed, a liberal.
I also would like to address the successful way that this book dealt with touchy subjects regarding Catholicism, especially how the faith is viewed and depicted by Protestants and other people outside the faith. Other faiths were not demonized at all, but the errors in perception were gently corrected. Especially beautiful is the chapter on Mary and how the Catholic community holds her in reverence (Chapter 26).
I am very glad my RCIA class assigned this book, as I probably would not have read it otherwise.
October 19, 2010
I didn't actually get all the way through this book. Some of it was interesting; some was dry; some was complicated. And as someone fairly well-versed in Catholic teaching, I didn't learn as much as I had hoped.
September 23, 2010
Boring.
January 1, 2026
The foundation for this book is a good start for any RCIA/OCIA group. there are however several grammatical errors and spelling errors. This book definitely needs revisions.
October 22, 2015
This book was a pleasant surprise. The use of the word “Overview” made me think of the words basic, beginner, or just too easy. On the contrary this book goes very deep into the meaning of our Catholic faith. I found myself rereading some lines over and over, not because it was hard to understand but just beautifully stated by the author. It touches on topics such as why Jesus had to die for us and there was no other way for salvation, dying to self and choosing God everyday and continual conversion. From Appendix A, you read “Ours is a lifetime journey, always a “becoming” as we reflect, pray, learn, search, and ever deepening our insights.”
There are many great references at the end of the book. You can spend a long time delving into all the book has to offer. In the Postscript, you read “Being saved is being cleansed, liberated, and raised up to the life of Jesus daily.
You can use this book for groups or individual study with questions for contemplation at the end of each chapter. These questions are open ended and great for discussion. This book has cleared up some of my questions and re-enlivened my sense of the beauty of our Catholic faith.
I definitely recommend this book in our time of the “New Evangelization”. It is for those new to the Catholic faith and those re-opened to the faith. The better you know your faith, the better you can love, live and share your faith.
There are many great references at the end of the book. You can spend a long time delving into all the book has to offer. In the Postscript, you read “Being saved is being cleansed, liberated, and raised up to the life of Jesus daily.
You can use this book for groups or individual study with questions for contemplation at the end of each chapter. These questions are open ended and great for discussion. This book has cleared up some of my questions and re-enlivened my sense of the beauty of our Catholic faith.
I definitely recommend this book in our time of the “New Evangelization”. It is for those new to the Catholic faith and those re-opened to the faith. The better you know your faith, the better you can love, live and share your faith.
August 28, 2010
When I first picked up this book, I kind of had the impression I'd be reading a dry textbook, something akin to trying to read the Catechism cover to cover. I was pleasantly surprised to find that that wasn't the case.
Believing in Jesus offers insight and explanations for many things that Catholics do and believe. As a "cradle Catholics", many of us have grown up knowing that the church teaches this or that, but not necessarily understanding why. This book answers many of those questions.
I particularly enjoyed Chapter 13: Jesus Living in His Members. It talks about the fact that the church is like the humans who make up the church... sometimes there are flaws and sometimes there are bad choices made by those who are supposed to lead. The metaphor puts things into perspective in terms of the church not being the perfect institution many expect it to be.
I received my copy of this book through the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company.
Believing in Jesus offers insight and explanations for many things that Catholics do and believe. As a "cradle Catholics", many of us have grown up knowing that the church teaches this or that, but not necessarily understanding why. This book answers many of those questions.
I particularly enjoyed Chapter 13: Jesus Living in His Members. It talks about the fact that the church is like the humans who make up the church... sometimes there are flaws and sometimes there are bad choices made by those who are supposed to lead. The metaphor puts things into perspective in terms of the church not being the perfect institution many expect it to be.
I received my copy of this book through the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company.
November 19, 2009
An excellent little primer about the Catholic Faith, which is wholly Jesus centered. Highly recommended for anyone who would like a refresher course in Catholicism, is in/or considering RCIA, or just curious about the basic tenets of the oldest and largest Christian faith. It dispels a lot of myths and falsehoods for those not familiar with Catholicism, and does a pretty good job at explaining tough subjects, like: The Triinity, Hypostatic Union, etc....
A strong message of concious personal responsiblility is intertwined with the Christo-centric demands of faith and our life here on earth....
A strong message of concious personal responsiblility is intertwined with the Christo-centric demands of faith and our life here on earth....
August 11, 2016
This is a great basic book on what Catholics believe and what the Church teaches. The title itself reminds us that this is the Church that Christ established. What does it mean to believe in Jesus? This book answers that question. If you believe in Jesus, you will do as He says, come to know Him, and love as He loves.
April 4, 2010
I finding this book is making me believe more and more that the Holy Bible is a manual for us all to read, study and put the lessons into our daily lives. I intend to buy this book. It helped me realize where my life direction is going and what I want to do for the rest of my life...
June 23, 2012
A book that simply looks at the Catholic faith and explains the basic hows and whys behind it all. Written in a style easy to read yet presented with enough depth to make you realize what a wonderful gift our faith is.
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April 24, 2008nonfiction,theology
April 17, 2016
I hadn't read this in about 10 years and re-read it today. It is a great resource for Catholic beliefs.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews