The Mystery of Faith: An Introduction to Catholicism: An Introduction to Catholicism

by Michael Himes

In his familiar, conversational style, Father Himes invites the reader to consider ten basic truths of Catholicism. Beginning with discussions of Trinity, Grace, the Incarnation and Salvation, Himes moves into an exploration of Church as the continuting presence of Jesus Christ in the world today. After discussing what Baptism and the baptismal commitment really involves, he focuses on Eucharist, showing the importance of the sacrament for personal growth and for the building of community. After discussing the Sacraments of Matrimony and Holy Orders, Himes explores the importance of the sacrament of reconciliation in the Christian community, and concludes with a discussion of the great gift to the church that we know as tradition.

Based on Father Himes popular video series, The Mystery of Faith, this book includes questions for reflection and discussion at the conclusion of each chapter. An excellent resource for small groups or parish learning communities seeking to revitalize and deepen their understanding of basic Catholic beliefs.

80 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 7, 2011

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read this for a religious studies course during my Freshman year of college. When I first saw it I was not at all impressed, but hey don't judge a book by its cover right? Now I'm a Christian but I've always had trouble following certain aspects. I was raised Roman Catholic and as I got older I started to not agree with certain things that kept being drilled into our minds at school. The things I wasn't agreeing with weren't major things such as reincarnation, I believe in that, they were things such as annulments and minor rules that the Catholic Church has, and after years of learning Catholicism I never found any answer to my questions. What I love so much about this book is that it does what no religious teacher was able to do during 12 years of schooling, which is answer many of my questions. Although I still have some disagreements this book was able to help me find answers to many of the problems I had. Now putting what it did for me personally aside, this is still a fantastic read. I would highly recommend this to anyone no matter what religion because 1) it helps explain many of the things that people question about the Catholic Church; 2) it is a short read that could be read in a day; and 3) one could skip over certain chapters and just go to specific ones they wish to see. If you are religious read this book. If you are not and are looking for answers for questions on the Catholic Church that others have trouble answering themselves, then read this book.

[Rudy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful book! Fr. Himes who is a professor of theology at Boston College discusses some very difficult ideas in his introduction to the Catholic faith, but he does so in such an accessible way! Not only is this a great book for people wanting to learn more about the faith, it is a must read for any catechist or teacher of religion and/or theology! To me one of the great challenges of studying theology is that topics are often presented in isolation with the premise that the subject is connected to the faith operating in the background even though that connection is often not explicitly explored. In this book you clearly see the theme of the goodness and rightness of God's creation weaving through the individual chapters. The connection is quite clear which greatly aids in understanding. If only all theologians wrote as clearly! Bravo!

[Konrad]

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