Customer Reviews

We Believe...: A Survey of the Catholic Faith : Revised and Cross-Referenced to the Catechism of the Catholic Church

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As a life long Catholic and a product of Catholic education, I was thrilled with how much I was able to learn from this book. We Believe is a terrific resource weather you are new to the Catholic faith or if you are a life long Catholic. This book is all emcompassing as far as the biblical materials, catechism, and writings of the early fathers of our faith. It covers any issue and makes sence out of the difficult areas of faith such as the Trinity. We Believe covers so much material and explains the Catholic faith so simplistically, that anybody will benefit from reading this book. For me, it was difficult to put this book down

This book is a "MUST HAVE" for everyone! Catholic, non-catholic, future catholic, you name it! It's rare to come across books that pack so much information from start to finish - you'll keep this on your shelf nearby for frequent reference!

Fr. Lukefahr's orthodox little catechism has proved to be a valuable guide to the Faith since it was first published ten years ago. The most recent version is fully indexed to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and includes suggestions for further reading and reflection.

The advantage of this catechism vs. others available is that it doesn't merely replicate the CCC, but rather provides details interesting to the lightly catechized or new Catholic. (Fr. Lukefahr's highly-recommended "The Catechism Handbook" is in fact an abbreviated CCC.) For instance, in the chapters on the New Testament, Fr. Lukefahr includes the findings of authentic Catholic scholarship on the identity of the evangelists and apostles but excludes fads popular in less orthodox circles.

He also explains things like the importance of the "priesthood of the faithful" without diminishing the unique role of the ordained priesthood in the life of the Church. Unfortunately, many other guides to the Faith either blur or confuse such teachings.

Much like that other master catechist Fr. Alfred McBride, Fr. Lukefahr purposely writes at a "Reader's Digest" level of sophistication. At roughly 200 pages, the book is an ideal text for an RCIA class or program of self-study.

Readers can enroll in a free "We Believe ..." home study course by "Googling" the words "Fr. Lukefahr" and "Catholic home study".

This a great book if you're in the RCIA program and trying to learn as much as you can. I read this after I completed the RCIA program because I had so many more questions. I've read several of this author's book and this has been my favorite.

As others have posted, "We Believe" is truly a resource for anyone interested in Catholicism. It should be added, however, that Father Lukefahr has a natural ability to write for his audience.

Most clergy are very well educated and spend years obtaining multiple advanced degrees. Although this may make them experts in their fields, somewhere along the way they also obtain a dialect that their flock no longer understands. "We Believe" is written in layman's terms which allows the reader to actually digest the material rather than chew on it for days in an attempt to acquire the flavor of it.

The material has been here for over 2000 years. Father Lukefahr simply has a knack of presenting it in a manner that makes it all seem new.

This book is an excellent resource for anyone interested in Catholocism for any reason. It provides clear scripture, references to the catechism and insightful illustrations to bring even more clarity to the ideas presented.

While you can find no greater authority on the beliefs in the Catholic faith like the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "We Believe..." is a wonderful starting point for non-Catholics interested in Catholicism and for any Catholic looking to "freshen up" their wisdom of the Church. Fr. Oscar Lukefahr breaks down the Catechism into easily digestable chapters divided into the main divisions of the Catechism, those being Belief, Worship, Christian Life, and Prayer. Each chapter gives a solid, Catechetical and Biblical explanation of its specific topic.

Fr. Lukefahr does a wonderful job of explaining things without losing the reader's attention by going into deep theological points. He provides plenty of cross-references in the Catechism that one can (and probably should) check out to see just where certain beliefs are derived.

Overall, this is a wonderful introductory look at the faith of Catholics. If you are not Catholic and just want know what we believe or if you're interested in joining the Church, this would be a wonderful place to start your journey. I was unaware of this book whenever I went through the RCIA process. This would have been a wonderful book to have back then.

As another reviewer has stated, there's a workbook full of multiple-choice and true/false questions available to those who want an even deeper study of the Catholic faith available for this book. I used it and it greatly enhances the reading experience. I highly recommend this book and its workbook companion.

As a non-denominational Protestant Christian with a family history in Catholicism, this book was extremely helpful in understanding true Catholocism. I realized that we both believe the same essential Christian doctrine and, for the truly faithful, we are brothers and sisters in Christ. I still dont understand or agree with some of the non-essential doctrines, but that's ok. Christianity is a matter of the heart and relationship with Jesus as revealed in the Bible - on this we both agree and that is all that matters. I think it as important if not more important for Catholics to read this book as it is for Protestants.

This is a favorite book of mine, I just gave one away, to a young man leaving for Iraq, so this is a replacement. I use it often in teaching and recommend it for personal use for those who like to study on their own, or who can't get to regular meetings or study groups. All of Fr. Lukefahr books are helpful in learning and teaching about the faith.

Beautifully written and an easy read. This is the perfect way to introduce the Catholic faith to a non-Catholic as well as a great refresher for those of us a little rusty in referencing the Catechism. Fr. Lukefahr is amazingly brilliant in his simplicity!!! Excellent gift and a "must have" for your own Catholic library.