John

Scott Hahns clear explications of the Faith.

The discussion of the Mass.

Again the section about the Mass.

His discussion about Lent.

This I would recommend to new Catholics (like me) as well as those just cerious about the Church.

What struck me was that this book seemed balanced. No doubt many will say that the author has some kind of agenda but I did not get that impression. Yes he is a commited capitalist with liberatian views, but he kept them checked. This is a fresh look at why nations fail, recommended.

Let me first get this out of the way, I am a committed Catholic. I also firmly beleive what the church teaches and do my best to practice that. I also can not imagine living in a country where there is no seperation between religious and civil law, such as Iran. I also beleive that seperation of church and state is a fundemendal principle that should stand firm. What Faircloth brought to light are disturbing trends in America that anyone watching should notice. What I object to is that he gives scant acknowlagement of the good the Church, Catholic and Protestent, has done while highlighting the scandal that has plaged it recently (and I do wish to point out that it is something we Catholics should be shamed by and pray that it never happens again). Having said that I do agree this is something that has to be countered before we find ourselves living under Christianed Sharia style law.

What stood out for me was not so much what our Lord did as a child but the roles that Mary and Joseph played in his early years. Pope Benedict took what could have easly been a dry, theological work and brings it to life and makes it relevent to all of us. In particular I came away from this short work with a very new impression of Saint Joseph and the role model he provides for all Christian Fathers and indeed any man no mater their faith. A must Read!!!

This is one of those books that was hard to stop listening to. I had started listening to audiobooks when I started running out of time to just sit and read. This book, on the other hand, had me stoping just to listen to it. In particular his insights into how the "mainstream" Protestent and Catholic churches crippled themselves by moving away from their respective core values were thought provoking. I am a Catholic who joined the Church as a late middle age adult. Personally I am aware of some of what he talks about in the Protestent churches but have not seen much of it in the Catholic churches. Nevertheless this is well worth looking at and listening too!!