Customer Reviews

Why the Church?

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In an age in which the perception of Catholic Christianity tends to be marred by ideological bias, it is refreshing to see a book that explicates the existence of the Church as the continuation of the presence of Jesus Christ in history. Giussani's goal makes clear that it is possible to have a concrete, historical relationship with Christ--not as a figure of our imagination or a product of wishful thinking (we know that would be as flawed as we ourselves are) but as God who is present and still acts through the Holy Spirit's use of men and women who are both saints and sinners. Giussani clarifies how it is that our individual temperaments and personalities can remain vehicles for the divine in time and space, and how throughout the history of revelation, those chosen to carry out God's plan in history, beginning with Abraham, Moses, David, were not perfect, but rather, were human beings as prone to weakness as we ourselves are. Nevertheless, this is only a part of the book's thesis. The entire work itself is a fitting and complete elucidation of Giussani's thought, beginning with "The Religious Sense" and continuing with "At the Origin of the Christian Claim." This is an author who brings the newness of his personal charism to truths that are eternal, and the mix of these two aspects of his work are both thrilling and life-giving.

This book explains that the Church is a life - not a place where people follow a bunch of old rules. Giussani brilliantly explains what constitutes this church, what its mission is, what it claims to be, and what it is not. A great book to enter into an understanding of what the Catholic Church really is, from someone on the inside of this life. If you are not a believer I would venture to say it would make you curious about this phenomenon that was started 2000 years ago by a carpenter's son from Nazareth. If already a believer, I think that it will educate you to a deeper understanding of what it is and expel some notions about it that are false. An indispensable book for any Catholic or any person who really wants to know what the church claims to be in history.

First of all, read this book in the School of Community of Communion and Liberation if you can find one. Much of the stuff is too dense to unpack on your own. Second, I never read the first two books of the trilogy and that might have been the reason I missed out on a lot of things. But this book isn't for someone who just wants to start learning about the Catholic Church. You'll need some easier books under your belt first. Third, the translation sucks. If you can read Italian, Spanish, or French, I'd recommend you picking up one of those. Hopefully a new translation will come out. Also there are a couple typos and some paragraphs missing. So I would have given Don Giussani's work 4 or 5 stars, but the edition itself isn't the best.