CATHOLIC BOOKS AND BIBLE

Although Catholics differ from other Christian denominations in a number of beliefs, one common bond they share is that of a belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ, who is believed to be the son of God and one who came to the earth to redeem the sins of humanity through His death and resurrection. All Catholics follow His teachings as mentioned in the New Testament and place their trust and faith in God's promise of eternal life with Him.

However, the Catholic Church is different from other Christian churches in both its organisation and its teaching.

Doctrines

The Catholic doctrine is based on the scriptures and the traditions of the church. The Catholic Church believes that its doctrines were revealed to the apostles and have been preserved in the continuous tradition since then. The Catholic doctrines are different from other Churches in the following aspects:

• It is especially devoted to Christ's mother, the Virgin Mary. The Catholics believe that she gave birth to Jesus without having sex. Later, she is believed to have been raised, body and soul into heaven where she holds a special place interceding between God and His people.
• In its belief in transubstantiation: during the celebration of the mass, the priest repeats Christ's words from the Last Supper and the bread and wine become Christ's body and blood respectively, although their outward appearance does not change.
• It opposes artificial methods of contraception because they interfere with the transmission of human life and the sacred purpose of sex as stated in the 1968 papal encyclical Humanae vitae and reiterated on numerous occasions by Pope John Paul II too.
• In its undaunted condemnation of abortion as the destruction of human life which, it believes, begins at the moment of conception.

Popular Catholic Books

The Confessions of St. Augustine by Saint Augustine

Written between 397 AD and 398 AD by St. Augustine of Hippo, The Confessions traces St. Augustine’s sinful youth up to his conversion to Christianity. It is widely perceived as the first Western autobiography and was very influential piece of writing for Christian writers throughout the Middle Ages.

Ratzinger's Faith: The Theology of Pope Benedict XVI by Tracey Rowland

Ratzinger’s Faith is a general introduction to the theology of Pope Benedict XVI and talks about his approach to issues in moral and political theology, liturgy, ecclesiology, interpretations of the of the documents of the Second Vatican Council, and the theology of history. The author also talks about Pope Benedict as an Augustinian and his place in the constellation of contemporary Catholic theologians.

Here are a few other popular Catholic Books: