The Seeker's Catechism: The Basics of Catholicism : Presented in Light of the New Catechism of the Catholic Church

My husband and I both use this text - him for the Jail/Prison ministry he coordinates and me for RCIA inquirers before we begin session in the fall. If the people who read this understand it, they're better catechized than most of the people sitting in the pews.

Excellent book, grew up catholic and strayed from the church in my late 20's, now in my lated 30's I was looking for help in the faith dept. and in the knowledge of the church. I have a 7 yr old who is attending religous education and I felt I should have known more than I do. So I was also looking for some education. This book helped me see the catholic church thru different eyes. It's not hard core catechism, but it is factual. Just what I needed.

As a former RCIA student, and current practicing Catholic, I found this book an invaluable introduction to the Catholic faith. Pennock writes in a style that is very approachable, and provides concise answers to questions that a neophyte is likely to ask. One may quibble with the organization, or dissect particular statements that Pennock makes, but I think that this misses the point. The books is meant to be a quick reference, not an exhaustive commentary on the entirety of the Catholic Faith. I guess that the best recommendation that I can make is that Pennocks words were probably what most inspired me to become a practicing Catholic. Few other works, with the possible exception of Raymond Brown, whose works I also highly recommend, have done son.

Michael Pennock once again provides the "basics" of the Catholic faith in a highly approachable format. Like his earlier text, "This is Our Faith" (also from Ave Maria Press), he reviews the teachings of the Church - the Trinity, the Sacraments, Prayer, you name it - without getting bogged down in too many details. Unlike his earlier work, he gives us the barest of the essentials without sacrificing scope. "The Seeker's Catechism" is simply that - a tool for catechesis (teaching), R.C.I.A., and general reference to Catholicism. The very size of this text - it can fit in your back pocket - matches its accessibility of the text. Anyone working in parish offices or programs - clergy, religious, religious educators - should own a copy, at the ready for those inevitable questions which come from visitors, students and the occasional detractor. By making frequent reference to the "Catechism of the Catholic Church" and several important Church documents, he enables his readers to refer to the larger texts. This is important for those in catechetical programs (R.C.I.A. for example) as well as those Catholics looking for more information. One minor criticism here - Pennock makes reference to official Church documents by their English titles. Most publishers and Catholic church employees refer to the Latin titles of these publications, which could lead to some confusion. Also, I would have liked more scriptural references - a necessity when working with evangelicals and other Christians - but this does not detract from the strength of the text as a whole.Given the near-vacuum of many Catholics with regard to many topics of the faith, not to mention the need of so many others who are seeking to join the Church, Pennock's text is a much-needed and highly usable instrument. I recommend this text to anyone and everyone.