The Light of Christ: An Introduction to Catholicism

Fr. Thomas Joseph White, O.P. played a large role in spurring my original interest in Catholicism. I heard him speak at a Thomistic Institute talk at Rutgers University. I was struck by the witness of a highly intelligent man who took the vows of poverty, celibacy, and obedience – all to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At the time, I was still more-or-less an atheist. During the talk, I became increasingly impressed by the use of reason in thinking about faith. After the talk, I had the chance to ask Fr. White my one question: What's the real meaning of this existence, of my life? Fr. White smiled and said, "Happiness, which we will only ever find in God." The simplicity of that answer struck me – and led me home to the Catholic Church.When I saw that Fr. White had written this book, I knew I had to read it. Indeed, Fr. White, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, has produced a masterpiece. There are certain books which can be picked up at any time, read at any place, and shed light on an important question. These books are rare. This is one of those books.Others more well-read than myself can dissect the contents of the book. I only wish to say this: if you are interested in the Catholic Church, you are being drawn into the Church by God Himself. If you want to learn about the Church from a well-read and perceptive author, who's aware of all of the major objections to the Church's teachings, you will not do better than this book. Truly, it is remarkable how much ground Fr. White manages to cover in one volume. Further, Fr. White offers an excellent bibliography for further reading for your further interest. If you give this book a fair shot, I think it is safe to say that you will have given Catholicism a fair shot.

I really can't add anything to the very informative reviews that have already been given, but I wanted to endorse the book. A fewmonths ago I reviewed Robert Royal's "A Deeper Vision" and then happened to check his column at the Catholic Thing (whichI check but not often since I read too many blogs). He strongly endorsed Fr. White's book. My first response was "great, anotherCatholic author tries to write a book that explains absolutely everything!" As others have noted, it's already been done by RonnieKnox, Frank Sheed, etc. And yet this was well worthwhile. One meditation I like to do is just to review his chapter titles. I oftenmemorize the chapters while I'm reading a book, but forget them afterward. But this time, I remember them. 1. Reason andRevelation. 2. God and Trinity 3. Creation and the Human Person 4. Incarnation and Atonement 5. The Church 6. SocialDoctrine (which makes sense in the context of White's book, but often doesn't when SJWs explain it! LOL!) 7. The Last Things8. Prayer.There's a beautiful section toward the end that explains how our bodies in this world are preoccupied with procreation, but inheaven will be directed to friendship, contemplation and worship, a development of Jesus' comments to the Sadducees aboutthe resurrection and being "like the angels in heaven".Here's a great quote from the Last Things chapter."Despite the important setback of the Fall and its catastrophic effects, the history of man is a history of intellectual discovery,moral and political development, artistic innovation, and religious inquiry...ontologically speaking, the evolution of our cosmosreaches its summit in the Incarnation and the resurrection of Christ. In the first man, Adam, the cosmos became spirituallyself-aware due to the new creation of the human spiritual soul. In the last man, Christ, the cosmos began to live forever inGod. The resurrection of Christ is like a second "Big Bang", a second creation or "re-creation" in which God begins the processof making all things new...the sacraments-especially the Eucharist-prepare us for the life of the world to come. Consequently,the kingdom of God is already present in seed in the visible life of the Catholic Church in this world. Despite all the setbacksof death and human evil that remain present in all our fallen history, that history is also marked by the mysterious presenceof the victory of Christ, his saints and his physical miracles, giving hope in the eventual transformation of all things in the lifeof the world to come. Christ is the "Omega point" or developmental endpoint of all things, the one in whom all things reachtheir final goal.This passage doesn't mention Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, but the reference to Omega point seems to be an unmistakableallusion to him. It seems to me that even though Teilhard has often been invoked in a pantheistic or New Agey direction,many aspects of his project can be incorporated into, to use Royal's phrase, a deeper vision.

This is easily the most significant book I have read in a decade or more. The rational foundations of Catholicism are all here, presented in a well-written, engaging style that kept me turning the pages; the overall purpose, structure, and function of the faith become beautifully clear and begin to make sense. For me it was like a series of lights being turned on, showing that Catholicism is in fact palatial -- so much grander, more complex, and more consistent with lived human existence than I had ever imagined. There were one or two chapters in the middle of the book where I found the argumentation somewhat incomplete, but I will follow up with some of the sources, and I expect to learn more.Like many cradle Catholics, I had a religious education that was totally haphazard and ended at confirmation, leaving me with no theological understanding whatsoever -- only a vague idea that being Catholic was basically the same as being nice (so why bother with the Church?). News flash: disaster followed. I wish I'd encountered a book like this one when I was 16, or 22, or 30; it would have saved a lot of heartache.

A scholarly but easy to read and easy to understand work on the role of Christ as the Light of human conscience. Answered many of my questions.

Good book if you like to read about why you believe what you believe. It’s got some heady topics so it’s not light summer reading.

This is a very clear exposition of the Catholic worldview. He doesn't spend time on the details like why we use holy water, or when to stand, sit or kneel during the mass. Instead he deals with the big issues like creation, the incarnation, the atonement, the nature of God, the church, Catholic social teaching and the final destiny of humans. Not light reading, but very well done.Note: I accidentally posted this review on an Edward Feser book that I bought at the same time. I haven't read Ed's book yet. So I've removed the review from there.......

After reading so many Protestant works of theology (for that is what I am), it truly was a joy to read this Catholic Introduction to Theology. It has been written in a fresh and lively manner, and not only captures the essence of Christian Theology, but adds, for this Prot, a considerable number of theological strands to consider. I welcome this book and would want it on non-Catholic reading lists for undergraduate students. It would also be a great read for thoughtful lay Christians too.

Frater Thomas Joseph White consegue escrever com um estilo que mescla profundidade e simplicidade. Ainda que alguns temas apresentados (como a santíssima trindade por exemplo) sejam per si, de difícil compreensão e explicação, o autor consegue dar conta do recado. recomendado não só para aqueles que querem conhecer a igreja católica, mas para os fiéis que já tem algum conhecimento dos temas do livro.

Great book. Very well written and easy to follow.

This is an excellent, very informative, very well written, explanation of the Catholic view of reality

And well written, accessible and profound book explaining Catholic teaching, theology and philosophy. I would recommend this to any Catholic looking to understand better what the Catholic church teaches and why. Written in a style that conveys both truth and faith, i think it provides a great stepping stone to plunge into specific topics which are addressed at an introductory level in this book.