Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith Author: Robert Father Barron | Language: English | ISBN:
B004KPM1KS | Format: EPUB
Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith Description
“What I propose to do in this book is to take you on a guided exploration of the Catholic world, but not in the manner of a docent, for I am not interested in showing you the artifacts of Catholicism as though they were dusty objets d’art in a museum of culture. I want to function rather as a mystagogue, conducting you ever deeper into the mystery of the incarnation in the hopes that you might be transformed by its power.” –
Father Robert Barron What is Catholicism? A 2,000 living tradition? A worldview? A way of life? A relationship? A mystery? In
Catholicism Father Robert Barron examines all these questions and more, seeking to capture the body, heart and mind of the Catholic faith.
Starting from the essential foundation of Jesus Christ’s incarnation, life, and teaching, Father Barron moves through the defining elements of Catholicism – from sacraments, worship, and prayer, to Mary, the Apostles, and Saints, to grace, salvation, heaven, and hell – using his distinct and dynamic grasp of art, literature, architecture, personal stories, Scripture, theology, philosophy, and history to present the Church to the world.
Paired with his documentary film series of the same title,
Catholicism is an intimate journey, capturing “The Catholic Thing” in all its depth and beauty. Eclectic, unique, and inspiring, Father Barron brings the faith to life for a new generation, in a style that is both faithful to timeless truths, while simultaneously speaking in the language of contemporary life.
Includes over 100 black and white and color photos.
- File Size: 18153 KB
- Print Length: 304 pages
- Publisher: Image (September 6, 2011)
- Sold by: Random House LLC
- Language: English
- ASIN: B004KPM1KS
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,247 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #17
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > History - #39
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- #17
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > History - #39
in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > History - #39
in Books > History > World > Religious > General
When defining Catholicism, many first turn to its unique practices and characters--the Mass, the sacraments, Mary, priests, and the Pope. Others point to its intellectual traits--its distinctive apologetics, theology, and philosophy.
In his new book, Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith (Image, hardcover, 304 pages), Fr. Robert Barron explores these typical characteristics but doesn't stop there. He looks through many more lenses to reveal the core of Catholicism.
Barron is not just concerned with what's good and true about the Catholic tradition but also what's beautiful. The Catholic faith is not just a matter of the mind and the soul but of the body and the senses. Therefore if we want to fully understand "the Catholic thing", we need to gaze on art, history, culture, music, literature, and architecture:
"In order to grasp (Catholicism) more fully, we have to read the Gospels, the Epistles of Paul, the Confessions of St. Augustine, the Summa Theologiae of Thomas Aquinas, The Divine Comedy of Dante, Saint John of the Cross' Ascent of Mount Carmel, The Story of a Soul of Therese of Lisieux, among many other texts. But we also have to look and listen.
We must consult the Cathedral of Chartres, the Sainte-Chapelle, the Arena Chapel, the Sistine Chapel ceiling, Bernini's Ecstasy of Saint Teresa; the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Grunewald's Crucifixion in the Isenheim Altarpiece, the soaring melodies of Gregorian chant, the Masses of Mozart, and the motets of Palestrina."
In his Catholicism book, as well as in his epic ten-part film series with the same name, that's exactly what Barron does.
Although Fr. Barron clearly, as the title itself indicates, intended this book to be an introduction to Catholicism, I think that what he has written here is an excellent introduction to Christianity as a whole. And I say that in spite of the two swipes (on pages 3 and 164) he takes at the Orthodox Church, of which I myself am a member. Other than perhaps his understanding of the interrelations of the three divine persons in the Trinity, which seems to be based largely around the filioque, and, of course, his discourse on papal infallibility, there was hardly a thing I could find with which I disagreed. In fact, that may be the greatest message that I took away from the book, probably contrary to Fr. Barron's desires: that perhaps East and West aren't so different after all.
Fr. Barron is, in turns, poetic and intellectual throughout the book. His initial descriptions of the Incarnation (pages 9-10) and the liturgy (pages 172-4), for instance, are so beautiful they could easily become verse. And his discussion of God (chapter 3), for example, wonderfully breaks down very difficult and rather heady concepts in language that anyone can understand. Adding to the beauty of the book are the black and white photographs of some of the most beautiful sites in Christendom sprinkled throughout the book and the wonder-evoking set of color photographs in the center.
Also contributing to the excellence of this book are the numerous short quotations, bits of wisdom, and anecdotes sprinkled throughout. For these, Fr.
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