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Talking with Catholic
Friends and Family
Available August
2005 from Harvest House Publishers
What former Roman
Catholic priests and nuns are saying about
Talking with Catholic
Friends and Family
Talking
with Catholic Friends and Family is a refreshingly
accurate and readable presentation of Catholic thinking
in laymen’s terms. McCarthy has chosen typical, not
exceptional, examples of his conversations with real
people and interwoven biblical with Catholic doctrine to
create a brightly contrasting mosaic. I recognized every
one of the situations and couldn’t help thinking as I
read: What oft was thought, but ne’er so well
expressed.
Mary Kraus, Former Franciscan Sister
Talking with Catholic Friends and Family goes
to the heart of the matter. The author has a unique gift
for explaining complex issues in an uncomplicated way. I
wholeheartedly recommend this book both to seeking
Catholics and to those who would help them.
Vince O’Shaughnessy, Former Diocesan Priest
If you like true stories, you’ll love Talking with
Catholic Friends and Family. It’s about real people and events (including some related to
my own life). I highly recommend this book to anyone
interested in the spiritual needs of Catholics.
Bob Bush, Former Jesuit Priest
Talking with Catholic Friends and Family
will make you laugh and will make you cry. A collection
of real life stories, it illustrates both the humorous
and the tragic sides of living life as a Catholic. May
God use this book to bring many into the full light of
the gospel.
Bartholomew F. Brewer, Former Discalced Carmelite Priest
Talking with Catholic Friends and Family
is
a down to earth account of the beliefs, hopes, doubts,
and fears of the Catholic people. Loaded with practical
insights from God’s Word, it provides the truth that
sets people free.
Wilma
Sullivan, Former Sister of Mercy
Through the mouths of Catholics, this book presents
what is really going on inside Roman Catholicism. A
valuable tool for those who want to understand
Catholicism.
Joseph Tremblay, Former Priest of the Oblates of Mary
Immaculate
This book is an excellent resource. Loaded with
carefully researched information, it provides a biblical
analysis of where Roman Catholicism has gone wrong.
Through it you will better understand how Catholics
think and be able to explain to them the good news of
Jesus Christ.
Yvonne Freeman, Former Sister of the Holy Family
I
read this book with enthusiasm and identification.
Enthusiasm because the author has explained so well how
the doctrines of Roman Catholicism affect the lives of
the Catholic people. Identification because the many
stories found in it caused me to recall my own search
for God as a Catholic nun.
Rocio Pestańa Segovia, Former Franciscan Nun
In
sharing the gospel with Catholics, I have long prayed
for a book that would clearly explain the good news of
Jesus Christ through stories. I thank God that such a
book now exists. In How to Talk to Catholics the reader
will find the message of God’s grace spoken in love. To
God be the glory.
Richard Bennett, Former Dominican Priest
Table
of Contents
& Internet Links
Links to each of the
Internet websites mentioned in this book are maintained
at this website for the convenience of the reader. Refer
below to the chapter in which the link is mentioned.
Prologue
Part
One—Talking to Catholics About Salvation
1.
Nobody Knows
2.
Are You Calling Me a Pharisee?
3.
Christ Has Done His 99%
4.
Give Me the Works, Father
5.
Good People Go to Heaven
6.
What Must I Do to be Saved?
Part
Two—Talking to Catholics About the Mass
7.
Is It Really?
8.
I Never Heard That at Mass
9.
We Got It in a Flash!
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http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab |
Knowing which Bible
passages will be read at Mass each Sunday
can be a useful aid when talking to
Catholics. The Church determines the
readings. This means that on a given day the
readings are the same in every Catholic
Church throughout the world. The readings
are on a three year cycle, known as Years A,
B, and C. The rotation is sometimes printed
at the back of Catholic Bibles. You can also
find it on the Internet, such as at the site
for the Catholic New American Bible. |
Part
Three—Talking to Catholics About Authority
10.
Be Not Afraid
11.
Lord, I Apologize in Advance
12.
Once a Catholic, Always a Catholic
Part
Four—Talking to Catholics About Leaving
13.
My Children Are All Defecting
14.
I Love My Parents
15.
The Reformation is Over!
16.
Will I Be Excommunicated?
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http://www.osv.com |
An effective way to keep current on the
Roman Catholic faith is to subscribe to a
Catholic periodical. If you want to
understand the American scene from a
conservative perspective, subscribe to
Our Sunday Visitor. |
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http://www.natcath.com |
If
you want a progressive viewpoint of the
Church internationally and in America,
consider an independent newsweekly such as
the National Catholic Reporter. |
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http://www.vatican.va/news_services/or/or_eng/index.html |
For local Catholic news, subscribe to the
official paper of your Catholic diocese. If
you want the Church’s official position,
subscribe to its international weekly
newspaper L’Osservatore Romano. |
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http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/ccc_toc.htm |
The
most useful aid to understanding Catholicism
is the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
It is the official summary of the Catholic
faith produced by the Vatican. It’s
available in bookstores everywhere. It’s
also accessible online at the Vatican’s
website. |
Appendix A—Cards for Sharing the Gospel with
Catholics
Appendix B—Doctrinal Index to the Catechism of
the Catholic Church
Notes
Subject
Index
Authors’
Prologue
A
Vast Mission Field
Over one
billion people strong, and more all the time, they make
up one sixth of the world’s population. They are Central
and South Americans (89%), Europeans (41%), Oceanians
(27%), North Americans (24%), Africans (17%), and Asians
(3%). They live in Brazil (135 million), Mexico (84
million), and the United States (70 million). They are
Hispanic, Filipino, French, Irish, Polish, Italian,
German, Vietnamese, Indian, Korean, Chinese—you name it;
they’re it. They’re your neighbor, your grocer, your
doctor, your local politician, the guy who takes your
money at the gas station. They’re the professional
athlete on television, the big-time criminal in the
papers, the actor/director with a shelf full of Academy
Awards. They may be your mother, your father, sister,
brother, aunt and uncle, the whole clan. From the pope
in his jet to the penniless immigrant newly arrived in
your country, they’re your neighbors, your coworkers,
the people all around you. Collectively they form the
membership of the largest organization on earth. They’re
Catholics, meaning universal, and as their name
indicates they’re everywhere.
They are also a people who need your help. A
long time ago—it’d be hard to say when—the bishops of
the Catholic Church veered off course, taking the
Catholic people with them. At first the errors were
small, but with time they accumulated. Eventually
priests, theologians, and even average church-going
Catholics noticed they were in uncharted waters. Some
complained, calling for reform. They received only
trouble for their efforts. Headstrong and angry, the
bishops of the Catholic Church arrested some, executed
others. They called a council, and formally denounced
the dissenters as heretics, putting them outside the
Church and the salvation it offered. The bishops
codified their many errors, making them dogmas
(irrevocable doctrines which all Catholics must
believe). The result is that today, some 450 years
later, the gospel of Jesus Christ is no longer preached
from Catholic pulpits, and the people, though often
zealous for the practice of religion, are for the most
part unsaved and without a true knowledge of God.
This book is about how you can help them. It
is written for Christians who love God and love the
Catholic people. It’s a book about how to understand
Catholics and how to communicate to them the gospel of
Jesus Christ.
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