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Book Review |
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The Catholic Source Book
Edited by Rev. Peter Klein
540 pages
Harcourt Religion Publishers, 2000
Retail Price: $18.95
www.harcourtreligion.com
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Amazon's discount price.
From the Publisher
Completely revised and given a fresh new look, The Catholic Source Book contains the essential teachings and basic texts of Catholic
beliefs, prayers, practices, and traditions with extensive reference
to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
It is filled with clear, concise, accurate information on scripture,
sacraments, doctrine, the liturgical year, devotions, saints and heroes,
councils and popes, church history, religious practices and customs,
Catholic symbols, and much more. It also contains an extensive glossary
and index of religious words and terms.
Better than any almanac and more useful than an encyclopedia or dictionary,
this is the one Catholic reference book that every home, parish and
classroom needs.
The Catholic Source Book is a vast collection of information
to help people of faith learn, renew, teach, and live the risen life
of Jesus Christ in the Catholic Church. The ten chapters include:
- Prayers
- An Overview of Tradition
- Scripture
- Church
- Liturgy
- The Liturgical Year
- Devotions in Catholic Tradition
- Veneration of Saints and Heroes
- Catholic Symbols
- Word and Phrase Origins
Book
Review
This handy reference tool is a parish catechist’s one-stop shop
for information on things Catholic. Forgot the seven corporal works
of mercy? Need to put your finger on Scripture passages dealing with
the end of the world, because your senior high youth are watching too
many horror films and want to talk about the blood and the guts they
expect at Jesus’ Second Coming?
Laid out in a user-friendly USA Today style format, The Catholic Source Book scans the 2000-year-old Catholic tradition for fact
“McNuggets,” digging up the essential, the important, and
the downright strange.
Perhaps you need a strange fact to tickle the minds of your catechumens
while you try to engage them with heavier issues like the meaning of
the sacraments. Look no farther than St. Lawrence, the braveheart, who
notified to his murderers that “one side was done” when they
burned him at the stake for his faith. Such Catholic folklore is sure
to win squeals of disgust and delight from junior high school youth.
But, there is also plenty of information for more reasoned and mature
individuals, like the legend that Galileo got the idea for the pendulum
clock by watching a gently swinging sanctuary lamp in the cathedral
of Pisa, Italy.
From Catholic symbols and devotions, to common prayers and the origins
of words and phrases, The Catholic Source Book is a great catechetical
resource. It provides an easy reference for basic facts, but also useful
trivia for keeping young minds engaged with the depth and beauty of
the Catholic faith tradition.
Mark Markuly
Associate Director of Religious Education
Diocese of Belleville, IL.
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