What Makes Us Catholic by Thomas Groome

Title: What Makes Us Catholic

Author: Thomas Groome

First Published: 2002

No. of Pages: 299

Synopsis (from B&N): "What makes a Catholic a Catholic? According to Thomas Groome, an expert on the essential ingredients of Catholic Christianity, Catholics share certain vital features of life and identity. What Makes Us Catholic explains and illuminates that character, and invites Catholics of all kinds to connect more deeply and imaginatively with their own culture and spirituality."

Fiction or Nonfiction: Nonfiction

Comments and Critique: I found this book a bit boring at first, but about chapter 4 or 5 it started to pick up and offered a number of beautiful, soul-affirming sentiments. A major theme of the author is that humans are meant to follow God's will and that His will is for us to love Him and one another. Everything else proceeds from love. The author takes that theme and applies it across human relationships - with our family, friends, coworkers, and the world in general. Each chapter discusses a particular concept and then provides three spiritual practices to help the reader develop more fully in that area. All can be adapted to the individual or replaced with your own.

I found this book uplifting and inspiring, and I felt good both while reading it and after. I'll be keeping my copy to use as a reference in the future.

Challenges: 999 ("Catholicism")