Analysis Of George Weigel 's Book ' Letters Of A Young Catholic '

He mentions that multiple challenges that the Catholic Church is struggling with and in addition urgent challenges they are facing. The lack of priest in countries, also the decline of priest in others is a topic covered in this chapter. He also explains how in the present time it is a great deal harder to have a family go to church every Sunday for example, then it was years ago. The last line is a message from John Paul II, the pope mentioned at the beginning of this book on Catholicism. It reads, “Open wide the doors to Christ, and you will find true life.”; . Gerald O’Collins believes that this is the central message that sums up the Catholic religion. The creative use of this line as the ending of the book, shows how much research and effort Gerald O’Collins put into his book. It was a smart way to tie up lose ends and relate back to the introduction.

The subject of the book, author’s purpose and intended audience: The history of Christian thought in the modern era was a quest of today’s Christian. Faith in a multi-denominational society decreases a sense of belonging. Since the Enlightenment some

For my Meet the Believers assignment, I focused on Catholicism and Nondenominational Christianity. My Catholic interviewee, who I’ll refer to as John, is middle aged and was raised Catholic. My Christian interviewee, who I’ll refer to as Jane, is a young adult and was similarly raised Christian. From my interviews and attendance of worship services of both groups, several themes and concepts came to the forefront: the tensions between fundamentalism and modernism, the important conversation of gender and ethnicity, and the “true” good understood by both believers through their respective religious groups.

The Protestant Reformation often gets the lion’s share of attention when discussing religious reform and renewal during the Early Modern period. However, to state that the Reformation was the only significant shift in the ideology and practice of Christianity would be to greatly undersell the importance of a myriad of religious reformers that denounced the decrepit and outdated relationship between mainstream religious practice and God. For this new wave of religious reformers, the traditions of the mainstream Church (whether Protestant or Catholic) were getting in the way of godly men and women forging a personal relationship with their savior, one in which the individual is brought into the grace of God through a true lasting connection

I grew up as a Catholic in Vietnam. I have never been in an environment truly united with faith outside of church. As I went to school, we Catholic students were surrounded and outnumbered by other religions or non-believers or agnostics. Though we usually receive an understanding and tolerating stance, some still find it a “cool” and funny act to tease or make fun of one’s religion and beliefs. At sixteen I traveled to America hoping I’ll get a better education. Here, I was introduced to a whole new environment: most of the people were Christians. The opportunity not only boosted my confidence but also enriched my knowledge and understanding in Christian belief. For the first time, it felt like “home” (I found no better way to express this

Mary Jo Weaver writes about American Catholics in the Twentieth Century. According to Weaver, Catholics on the 20th Century faced a tough challenge adapting to the new changes after Second Vatican Council. Catholics were a close circle and were forced to accept the new changes such as democracy and pluralism. The dialogue with other religions such as Jews and Protestants were more acceptable. Mary Jo Weaver concludes that the Second Vatican Council was to address pastoral problems, which was a big deal with the Catholic Church. Catholicism needed a new attitude towards their beliefs. The ghettos were no longer a closed circle for Catholics; they began to become more integrated in society. The hierarchal authority also changed, power move to

Tested in Every Way: the Catholic Priesthood in Today’s Church, written by Christopher Ruddy, is a report and at the same time a reflection on the Seventh Annual Cardinal Bernardin Conference which was held in the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, TX in 2003 . Ruddy reports the voices of academic and pastoral expertise sharing about the challenges and the identity of being a priest. Besides of giving a report, the book opens up and finishes with the Ruddy’s insightful reflections.

Catholicism is no longer about serving God, but changing and taking on a different persona entirely. Today, serving God seems to have fallen from priority, replaced by Gospel gossip and conforming. Much of this creates fairly hostile environments that pressure individuals to change themselves to fit the molds set before them. Members become very judgmental and tied in with the gossip of their faith. College professor Olivia spoke of the community’s aid to her in trying times, but recounts the many changes she underwent, such as “judging

The church traced its history to Jesus of Nazareth, embracing rich classical cultural history while demonstrating power over its 1.1 billion members . In light of the decline of the Roman Empire, the rise of power was manifested in the Catholic Church as it showed dominance throughout Europe. Under the ruling of Pope Leo X, the church began the sale of indulgences in Germany. The principle is linked to the belief that a person’s journey to eternal salvation could be accelerate by means of worldly doings.

H. Williams’ unique background allows him to build a bridge between the patristic heritage and “suspicious” Protestant Christians. D. H. Williams is an assistant professor of patristics and historical theology at Baylor University, but has also worked at Loyola University of Chicago – a Roman Catholic University. One the other hand, Williams is an ordained Baptist minister and pastor allowing him to sympathize with the “tradition” and perspective of Protestant Christians. D. H. Williams argues “that the church’s Tradition sits in indispensable relation – historically and theologically – to the Christian use of Scripture and to the development of doctrine and spirituality (pp. 6).” Thus, this work shows that embracing the “catholic” roots of the faith will not lead to the loss of Protestant distinctiveness but is essential for preserving the Christian vision in our rapidly changing

Part One: The Profession of Faith uses the Apostles’ Creed as the structure to define our beliefs as Catholics.

In Ireland, Catholicism is a major component of the everyday lifestyle, religion and culture. Religion was so inextricably intertwined within the Irish community that it even surpassed politics in that the priests hold all of the clout in society. The parish had an immense influence on society, and the priests were greatly respected as evidenced by the title “ Father,”

I interviewed a woman who practices and is very committed to Roman Catholicism, I’ll call her Lucy for the sake of anonymity. Lucy left her home in Puerto Rico when she was about thirty and is now raising a family here. Her faith came from her parents and was a very important thing to her family growing up. The values her family instilled into her are basically the same as the ones she holds now. Lucy’s faith has shaped much of who she is today. She believes her involvement in her youth group not only helped her develop leadership and social skills, but also inspired her to be a professor, a job she loves very much. An act of faith that she believes in deeply and revolves her life around is service, the act of helping others. Lucy does this

The family setting of Caryll Houselander played a significant role in defining her faith. Formal and repetitive prayers play a major role in the Catholic faith. Catholics understand their capacity in informing a mechanical form of religious conformity. During her younger days, Houselander led a carefree life without the rules and laws that she later found in the Catholic faith. However, it is the mystical healing of the Holy Communion that ultimately changed her faith and perspective on the role of Church in an individuals’ life. This occurred when she was healed immediately after receiving the Holy Communion at the time she had been struck by a strange disease which is evident from the fact “Afterwards, she was struck by a mysterious illness, which left her bedridden for months” (Rice 2). After the incident, Houselander believed that she was should have accepted the Catholic faith at an early age. This becomes evident

In this dialogue with the modern world comes inculturation and adapting of the local culture and customs in the liturgy. This prospect excited many of the faithful around the world. The documents of the church after Vatican II ended the Catholic Church’s retreat and isolation from the world after the Counter-Reformation. For years, the center of Catholicism has been in Europe, but in the 50 years since Vatican II, the majority of