What is the Catholic Church? - Stephen Wang - CTS Books

What is the Catholic Church?

Fr. Stephen Wang (Editor)

Catholic Truth Society

ISBN 9781860824517 

eISBN 9781784693251

ASIN B072XR4TRC

CTS Booklet DO763

Over the last few years I have read over 450 books and booklets from the Catholic Truth Society. Every time I finish one, I find 2 or three more that I want to read. There are so many great series, and excellent authors. Everything I have read by Father Stephen Wang has been excellent. And I still have a few of his volumes on my ‘to be read’ list. I have read several books that are part of the CTS Devotions and Prayer Series. I have read many in the CTS Biographies and also Saints of the Isles Series, and the Great Saints Series. But back to this volume. The description states:

“This booklet shows the Catholic Church’s special place in God’s plan for humanity; how Jesus Christ founded his Church and guides it throughout history and is present with us today. 

Many people are puzzled by the idea of the Church, and especially by the claims of the Catholic Church. This booklet shows the Catholic Church's special place in God's plan for humanity; how Jesus Christ founded his Church and guides it throughout history; how he is present with us, especially through the sacraments; and how he guides and teaches us through its official leaders. The Catholic Church is a home for all, for saints and for sinners, and only in this home can we discover all the gifts that Christ wants to share with us.”

This volume was published in 1991; the eBook was released in 2017. It is the earliest published by Father Wang that I have read. It is an excellent little volume. The chapters in the booklet are:

Some important questions

Why do we need the Church?

How does Christ teach us through the Church today?

Why do we need the Sacraments?

How does the Catholic Church relate to other Christian communities?

What Catholics believe

What can I do now?

Further reading and research

I highlighted many passages while reading this volume. Some of them are:

“It shows that the Church is a gift from God, founded by Jesus Christ himself; that Jesus continues to teach us through his Church; that Jesus is present with us through his Church, especially in the sacraments, and above all in the sacrament of the Eucharist; and that the Catholic Church has a special place in history because it contains the fullness of all the gifts that Christ wants to give to the world.”

“The life of this Church can be traced continuously through the last two thousand years of history right down to the Roman Catholic Church today. The same fullness of life and truth that was given to the apostles is still given to the Catholic Church today.”

“In their daily lives individual Catholics try to live out their faith in fuller and more realistic ways. They constantly struggle simply to remain faithful, and this faithfulness changes lives and helps the whole Church to remain faithful.”

“Through all the changes, the heart of being a Catholic now is exactly the same as it was in 40AD. The Catholic Church today, in a direct and historical and visible line, is the same Church as the Church of the first apostles. Jesus Christ is the same today as he was yesterday and as he will be forever. Christian lives of prayer and love and sacrifice, lived in the faith of the Church, are at heart the same now as they always have been.”

“Catholics do not believe that the Church is faultless. In every generation, including our own, individual Catholics have done terrible wrongs, by themselves and in the name of the Church. This fact should sadden us, as all sin should sadden us, but it shouldn’t surprise us.”

“For many centuries Christians have believed that the Bible was inspired by God because the Catholic Church taught this, because it was the book of the Church. It would be strange to believe in the Bible without believing in the Church that wrote it and approved it and has been nourished by it throughout the centuries.”

“Jesus spoke with authority and taught his followers: words are important, truth is important. It matters what we believe. It matters what we say about God and what he says to us.”

“We need to hear God’s living and guiding voice today, the same voice that Jesus’ disciples heard. It’s not enough to trust our feelings about what is right. It’s not even enough to trust the Bible-we can fool ourselves too easily and twist its meanings to suit ourselves. God knows this only too well, and he has given us a way of hearing his living, teaching voice today, through the teaching of the Catholic Church.”

“The sacraments are sacred signs through which Christ gives his divine life to us. Through them we worship God, he shows his love to us, and his work of making us holy is carried out.”

“All the gifts that belong to the Catholic Church are really only the expression of one simple thing-Jesus Christ. Nothing matters more than our union with him, our union with each other in him, and our being caught up in his life with the Father and the Holy Spirit. This is what holiness is; this is what life is about.” 

I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. This booklet is written for someone curious about the Catholic Church, but I greatly enjoyed it and I have a Religious Studies Degree and a specialization in Roman Catholic Thought. I love the language and how clearly this little volume is written. It would be great as a beginning text either in prep or at the start or RCIA, or just for any Catholic to have a quick refresher.

This is a volume that could be easily returned to many times. And the reader would benefit from it each time, as would their family. It is written such that you can read from beginning to end, or jump around topics. But no matter how you choose to read it you would be blessed by the reading.

It is another great read by Father Stephen Wang and from the Catholic Truth Society.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan! For other reviews of books from the Catholic Truth Society click here.

Books by Steven Wang:
The Long Road To Freedom: The Story Of Wang Mingdao
The Christian Faith: A Mini-Catechism for Catholics
Aquinas & Sartre: On Freedom, Personal Identity, and the Possibility of Happiness
Meeting Christ in the Eucharist
The New Evangelisation
What is the Catholic Church?
Being a Parent Today
A Way Of Life For Young Catholics
How to Discover your Vocation
Sycamore The Catholic Faith Explained

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Available in French:
Comment découvrir sa vocation
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