The Great Mysteries: Experiencing Catholic Faith from the Inside Out [Paperback]

Andrew M. Greeley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 20, 2007

The Great Mysteries responds with passion and skill to the growing concerns of spiritual seekers and teachers of the Catholic faith. In radical, refreshing fashion, Greeley explores 12 essential questions of faith and grounds them in human experience. With the skill of a master storyteller and the passion of a deep believer, Greeley contemplates questions at the heart of human life--is there any purpose in my life? Are there any grounds for hope? Why is there evil in the world?--and reveals how the symbols, rituals, teachings and mysteries of Catholicism both shape and respond to these profound uncertainties.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Although literary critics have often roundly disparaged his best-selling fiction, few religious scholars have been able to distill the often-arcane mysteries of Catholicism with the passion and the clarity of Father Greeley. A sociologist by training, he has the ability of communicating complex theological ideas in digestible lay prose. Classifying the fundamental questions of Christian faith into comprehensible categories, he addresses the mysteries of God, Jesus, Mary, the spirit, the cross, salvation, grace, the Eucharist, the Church, baptism, heaven, and the Last Judgment. Grounding these spiritual concepts and symbols firmly in the story of the human experience, Greeley is able to fashion a readily accessible "catechism for our times." This deceptively simple catechesis is actually an invaluable primer of Catholic beliefs and traditions that will intrigue both the faithful and the merely curious. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

Within the Catholic Church, Greeley's staunchly against-the-grain stances on such hot-button issues as birth control, female clergy and abortion, as well as his sex-and-corruption-tinged novels, have made enemies and waves. (Mike Thomas Chicago Sun-Times )

This deceptively simple catechesis is actually an invaluable primer of Catholic beliefs and traditions that will intrigue both the faithful and the merely curious. (Booklist )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 182 pages
• Publisher: Sheed & Ward (August 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580512208
• ISBN-13: 978-1580512206
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #134,547 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Message of Hope and Salvation, June 1, 2005

By 

Patrice Fagnant-macarthur (Springfield, MA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Great Mysteries: Experiencing Catholic Faith from the Inside Out (Hardcover)

Fr. Andrew Greeley, noted sociologist, novelist, and Catholic priest, originally wrote and published "The Great Mysteries: Experiencing Catholic Faith from the Inside Out" over twenty years ago. This new revised edition features a forward by Rev. Robert Barron. Barron states that "The Great Mysteries" is an attempt by Greeley to "re-attach faith and life, doctrine and experience." Greeley relies on the teaching method used by Jesus and the apostles. They depended on story-telling rooted in the experience of their listeners to make their point. In his introduction, Greeley states that he "begins in human experience, in the story of our lives, and puts these stories and experiences in dialogue with the richness of the Catholic faith tradition."

Each chapter begins with a question based on a query from the traditional "Baltimore Catechism" which generations of Catholics learned by rote. Greeley then describes the human experience that relates to the question and then offers insight into how the Catholic faith helps to provide an answer.

For example, Chapter One "The Mystery of God" asks, "Is there any purpose in my life?" which restates the previous question of "Why did God make me?" Greeley describes the feeling of discouragement that we all get when life loses its newness, our plans fail, and our sense of purpose eludes us. He then acknowledges that despite that sense of disillusionment, there are those "occasional flashes that shake us out of the dull routine, the ordered chaos, the noisy desperation of every day - and they make us wonder."
What, then, does Catholicism offer in response to the basic human yearning for purpose? It answers that the reason for our existence is that God is "hopelessly in love with us" and that we exist in order to respond to that love.

Other chapters in "The Great Mysteries" focus on Jesus, the Holy Spirit, evil, salvation, forgiveness, the Holy Eucharist, what it means to be Church, baptism, the role of Mary, heaven, and the last judgment. While obviously all the nuances of Catholicism could not be addressed in this relatively slim volume, Greeley does a wonderful job of addressing all the big questions. This is a catechism for a humanity trying to make the best of life and its relationship with God. It acknowledges a world that includes many shades of gray and does not pretend to offer black and white answers. "The Great Mysteries" is essentially a message of hope and salvation. It is well-worth reading.


Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur is editor of www.spiritualwoman.net and author of "Letters to Mary from a Young Mother" (iUniverse 2004).

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deja Vue, April 8, 2004

By 

Robert J. Giuntini (Purchase, New York USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Great Mysteries: Experiencing Catholic Faith from the Inside Out (Hardcover)

Why isn't anyone telling us that this version is simply a reprint of the brilliant book published in 1976 ? There is no indication at the Amazon site nor in the book itself that what we will be buying and reading is merely a copy of what was printed a quarter of a century ago.
Back then the material was brilliant but it has become dated. I'm disapponted that Fr. Greeley did not chose to update even some of this material before he issued this reprint.
If you haven't read the original, this survey of the credal beliefs are very well done. If you already own the original, this book is redundant.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scattered, Reflective, Relevant, November 2, 2006

By 

H. Gallegos (Milwaukee, WI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Great Mysteries: Experiencing Catholic Faith from the Inside Out (Hardcover)

This is my 2nd Andrew Greeley book (The Catholic Imagination was the first) and I found this one highly meaningful for a few reasons. He tackles the mysteries of Catholicism, and explains them in a way that is both reflective and relevant to any human being today. This book is especially meaningful for any Catholic who has forgotten the WHY's of what we do, such as the importance of the Eucharist and Mary. He does a beautiful job explaining the history of these rituals and traditions, along with the relevance to today. This would also be meaningful to any person who is trying to understand Catholicism, and the rituals that are sometimes hard to comprehend. What is also nice is at the end of each chapter, the author has theological and scriptural notes. This is always important in opening your mind to a religious book in any form.