Customer Reviews

The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth

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The Catholic Faith Handbook For Youth is a basic guidebook concerning all things Catholic. Intended for young adults, yet accessible to anyone who may be fuzzy on the details of Catholicism, The Catholic Faith Handbook For Youth covers creed, sacraments, morality, and prayer, along with articles concerning information on current events from a Catholic point of view, advice for prayer, profiles of thirty-seven Catholic saints, notes on the history of the Catholic Church, and more. Full-color illustrations pepper this highly readible introduction to a spiritual way of life. Especially recommended reading to share with one's preteen and teenage children in order to teach them more about Catholicism and what it means to live one's life by Catholic religious principles.

While I applaud the authors' attempt to produce a comprehensive, single-volume guide to the faith for teens, this book is problematic. Far too often the authors make false distinctions between a supposed "old" Church that existed before Vatican II and a "new and improved" Church that exists now. For instance, they describe worshippers before the council as "not participants as much as watchers, separated by distance, architecture, and language." Nowhere in the documents of Vatican II or in authoritative pronouncements from the Magisterium will you find such a sweeping, negative assessment.

The authors also claim that Vatican II removed Latin from the liturgy, when in reality the Council fathers instructed that "[t]he use of the Latin language is to be preserved ..." (albeit with an allowance that some of the vernacular may be incorporated.) Likewise, Vatican II had nothing to do with communion in the hand, an innovation introduced in the United States and other Western countries years later; the authors list it as an achievement of the Council. A frequent theme of this book on liturgical matters is disruption instead of continuity.

In the chapter on the Bible, the authors operate from the presumption readers believe the Gospels were written soon after Jesus' death and Resurrection. To the extent teens have thought about this question at all, it's more likely that they believe the more pervasive false notion that the Gospels were written hundreds of years later. (See Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code.")

Perhaps one day someone will take the recently-released United States Catholic Catechism for Adults and adapt it for teens. In the meantime, this book is a flawed substitute. Excellent resources currently available are Father McBride's Teen Catechism, the multi-volume Didache series produced by the Midwest Theological Forum, and the Prove It! series written by Amy Welborn.

Working in a religious education office, we review many books. This one definitely stood out as an exception. It's a user friendly set-up and references the Bible and the CCC. There is a lot of information under this cover. This handbook is not just for teens, but also for adults. I've given them as gifts and they are well received from those distanced from their faith and those close to it. St. Mary's Press is an excellent publisher.

This book is a brave attempt at giving teenagers a comprehensive view of the Catholic faith, and it's not bad, but has some implied liberal social viewpoints that are really quite annoying and get in the way of instruction. Bad-mouthing corporations and "gas guzzlers" while promoting gun control is very simplistic, and misses the point.

Still, it's a least a starting point, and is more readable and probably connects to a youth audience far better than an old copy of The Baltimore Catechism or My Catholic Faith.

It's getting harder and harder these days to find good information on the Church that isn't tainted by polemic. I have used this resource as part of confirmation programs, RCIA, high school classes, and had people tell me it was great just to peruse through as a reference. Faithful to the Catechism and the broader Tradition, but also engaging and apropos to the interests and questions of most teens. I highly recommend it as a complement to the Catholic Youth Bible for every teen.

"The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth" is a very good resource for youth and adults wanting to learn more about the Catholic faith and tradition. It is up to date in it's theology. It provides not only the basic catechism of the church, but also gives great stories and descriptions of some of the lives of the saints. It is easy and enjoyable to read and understand. I use the book for my catechists to help them to pass on our tradition and beliefs to the children and youth they encounter in a language that can be understood.

I use this text as the confirmation text for Confirmation Candidates I sponsor in the Episcopal Church. The text succinctly presents the Catholic tradition of Christianity and provides ample material for discussion, thought and contemplation. It is not written for academics, yet it isn't banal or overly simplistic in its explanation of core dogma and doctrine. Very good for students from all traditions of Catholicism be they Anglican or Roman.

This is a beautiful book. I first found the book at the thrift store so I ordered two for my nephews. My one nephew already had one. I do remember one of them came kind of tattered but again I don't remember which one. But the inside contents was fine and well worth the book.

Purchased this for my kid's school book list. Much cheaper than typical text book sites and was excellent quality. Arrived fairly quickly with standard shipping.

I teach a 9th grade class and I think this book is perfect for them. The style that it's written in is definitely better than any boring books that I had. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone teaching middle or high school kids.