What Catholics Believe

by Mike Aquilina and Kris D., Fr. Stubna

Book Overview

Catholics of a certain age fondly remember the Baltimore Catechism, the gold standard question-and-answer catechism that provided an entire generation of Catholics with easy-to-understand-and-memorize answers to the basic truths of the Catholic Church.

The authors have taken this time-honored question-and-answer format and written a new catechism rooted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the documents of Vatican...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0879735740
• ISBN13: 9780879735746
• Release Date: February 1999
• Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor
• Length: 111 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 3.8" x 5.6"

Customer Reviews

A great first step to explore essential Catholic beliefs

Many Catholics (and others) would like to be better informed about the central tenets of the faith, but don't know where to turn. Some books about the Church are too obscure or idiosyncratic, too vague or too controversial--or just too boring. Well "What Catholics Believe" would be a terrific first step to get a simple, balanced overview of the essence of the faith. In the mid-1990's the Catholic Church published its first new Catechism in 400 years, an authoritative summary of beliefs and practices. But it's a far cry from the traditional school catechisms, designed for memorization with simple question and answer format. Comprising 2,865 numbered paragraphs, its very completeness can be intimidating for many. What Mike Aquilina and Fr. Kris Stubna have accomplished is nothing short of amazing. Returning to the traditional approach, they have distilled the entire Catechism down to 160 short, deceptively simple questions. The concise answers are perfect for memorization--even if you're not trying. The pocket size makes it easy to carry around so you can read it whenever you have the time. The second half of this little gem includes the most common prayers, an excellent overview of the Mass, and a guide to Reconciliation (that is, going to confession). Catholics would want to know that it's based on the 1997 Edition Typica of the Catechism, and it carries the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur. I took a chance on this book, because I loved Mike Aquilina's "The Fathers of the Church" (an accessible popular overview of the first Christians, their controversies, and insights).

A good primer on the Catholic faith (even for the heathen!)

The author of this book is my cousin, and he sent this book last year as a wedding gift to my wife and me. I put the book aside and thought I'd just look at it when I had some free time, out of some sort of family obligation. But when I finally got around to looking at this cute little book, I was surprised at the ease with which Father Kris (as we call him) discusses some pretty deep dogmatic matters. I understood certain things about the faith for the first time after reading this, and really dug his writing style. A good alternative title to this book might be "Catholicism in Plain English." One critique, though: Father Kris mentions the existence of the Holy Spirit as "objective fact." Nothing supernatural is "objective fact." But otherwise, I recommend this book (and not just because the writer is related to me!)