The Faith of Our Fathers: A Plain Exposition and Vindication of the Church Founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ by James Cardinal Gibbons The Faith of Our Fathers always has been an incredibly popular and successful book explaining the basic tenets of the Catholic Faith and why we hold them. It delves into the historical background of virtually everything people find hard to understand about …

Fr. John Laux Mass and the Sacraments is a brief but very thorough and extremely precise and interesting explanation of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Seven Sacraments, Indulgences and the Sacramentals.  His explanation of the nature, institution and history of the Mass will prove enlightening to all but the very best informed of readers.  For there is not an important aspect of …

".The devil knows that, according to the promise Jesus Christ, they who receive Holy Communion worthily will not fall into his power but will obtain eternal life, and on this account he either tempts men to disbelieve the mystery, or he suggests every sort of pretext to keep them from receiving it. But he himself believes it and trembles. Would to God that all men had so strong a …

  In three separate sessions, from 1545 to 1564, the Fathers of the Church met in Ecumenical Council at a small town in the Austrian Tyrol, named Tridentum-in English, Trent. That meeting-the Council of Trent-produced a large number of canons and decrees, condemned the errors of the Protestant Reformation, and shown as a beacon to all the world. Of the twenty Ecumenical Councils of the …

Following the 1987 Synod of Bishops on the topic of the lay faithful in the Church, Pope John Paul II issued this letter detailing the theological and aspects of the role of the laity in the Church as well as their formation and mission. This document is divided into the following sections: Introduction I. I Am the Vine and You are the Branches - The Dignity of the Lay Faithful in the Church …

Called to Communion: Understanding the Church Today is a precious gift of Wisdom. It explains how providential are the trials through which the Catholic Church is now passing. The need of the Papal Primacy to ensure Christian unity; the true meaning of the Priesthood as a sacrament and not a mere ministry; the necessity of the Eucharist as the Sacrifice of the Savior now offering Himself on …

  The Biblical Basis for the Catholic Faith by John Salza There's a misconception that the Catholic Church "made up" a lot of its teachings. That much of what Catholics believe has no foundation in Scripture. How do you debunk that myth if you're a devout Catholic but your knowledge of Scripture is spotty? How do you get to the truth if you're a fervent non-Catholic but your …

The nature of the Church and the authority of the Pope explained Recent scandals have led many to claim that the Catholic Church is inherently flawed and that to save it, the Pope and bishops must yield decision-making authority to the laity. With clarity and verve, Ronald Knox here shows that by the very terms of its commission from Christ, the Catholic Church cannot become a democracy. …

As an Evangelical Protestant, Stephen Ray realized that the real issue dividing Catholics and Protestants was authority. Everything else was secondary to the issue of authority. Protestants accept the authority of the Bible alone, whereas Catholics understand the authority to be residing in the Magisterium, the Scriptures and the Sacred Tradition. Ray goes through the Scriptures and writings …

Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. The Treasury of Catholic Wisdom is a Catholic library in miniature, a one-volume microcosm of what the Church's great minds have thought and said since the apostolic age. Indeed, in The Treasury of Catholic Wisdom , noted theologian Fr. John A. Hardon has compiled the works of thirty-three of the greatest Catholic thinkers and writers, representing every period of the …

Introduction to Christianity by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger In this remarkable elucidation of the Apostles' Creed, Cardinal Ratzinger, a highly regarded theologian, gives an excellent, modern interpretation of the foundations of Christianity. This profound treatment of Christianity's basic truths combines a spiritual outlook with a deep knowledge of Scripture and the history of theology. A solid …

Christians often find the Creed as tedious as a contract, and orthodoxy dull as dirt. In these lively pages - written for Christians and non-Christians alike - Dwight Longnecker shows that, on the contrary, orthodoxy is exciting and the Creed the beginning of a grand, mysterious adventure! Longnecker demonstrates that, like an ornate cathedral rich with endless nuances of light and shade, the …

Hans Urs von Balthasar The fourth volume in von Balthasar's essays is built around the theme of Spirit and Institution, the two central features of the Church which Balthasar approaches from different angles. The third volume is built around the theme of the Holy Spirit as the Creator Spirit. The first volume was constructed around the mid-point of the Word become man, and the second volume …

"The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” Amazing as that is – and it is truly amazing! – perhaps even more amazing is the fact that the Word continues to dwell among us today, no longer in His Physical but in His Mystical Body, the Church. Object of love or hate, admiration or hostility, like Jesus Himself the Church is a sign of contradiction. In confrontation with …

Hans Urs von Balthasar In this volume, von Balthasar looks at the Church, ``the Bride of Christ," as both unspotted and unfaithful, the Church of saints and of sinners. He goes through Scripture and tradition looking at both sides of the Church and what they mean.

Born in Bavaria in 1927, Joseph Ratzinger, having been ordained priest in 1951, was to teach theology successively in Freising, Bonn, Munster and Tubingen, before being appointed professor of systematic theology in Regensburg in 1969. There he became the Dean of the Theological Faculty in 1976. The following year he was to be raised to the archiepiscopal See of Munich, and made a cardinal. He …

In 1998 Pope John Paul II issued this letter dealing with the authority of bishops' conferences. Among the issues discussed are the lack of binding authority of documents from conferences that aren't voted on by the entire conference. The letter is divided into the following sections: Introduction Collegial Union amon Bishops Episcopal Conferences Complimentary Norms Regarding the Conferences …

Paul Claudel This classic work by the great French poet and writer, Paul Claudel, is a soaring meditation on the profound Christian truths of the Apostle's Creed. Claudel, a deeply spiritual Catholic poet who meditated at length on what the Church taught him, is filled with ecstasy and wonder as he celebrates his faith, his hope and his love. The reader will be captivated by the profundity of …

Catholicism Christ and the Common Destiny of Man by Henri Cardinal de Lubac, S.J. This book first appeared just over fifty years ago. It is the pilgrimatic work of one of the 20th century's greatest theologians. Deeply rooted in tradition, it breaks ground and sows seeds which will bear their fruit in the Second Vatican Council's central documents on the Church. Here, de Lubac gathers from …

Soul of the World:  Notes on the Future of Public Catholicism By George Weigel What is distinctive about the Church in the world? What does the Church ask of the world, and what should the world expect of the Church? Soul of the World is George Weigel's exploration of the rich theological roots of the public witness of the Roman Catholic Church, especially during the pontificate of John …