Over the past 20 years, Matthew Kelly has seen more of the world than most presidents and more of the Church than most bishops. Now, in this unique and timely book, he proposes that Catholicism is not a lifeless set of rules and regulations, but a way of life designed by God to help each person reach his or her full potential. With remarkable insight, Kelly dispels dozens of myths that surround the rejection of Catholicism today and provides a profound and practical vision of what will lead the Catholic Church to thrive again in the future. Rediscover Catholicism is quickly becoming the most read catholic book of our times. From the spellbinding opening story, Kelly grips his readers and takes them on a life-changing journey to rediscover the genius of Catholicism.

journeying toward

While I do not agree with all of Kelly's observations, this is a good look at Catholicism for Catholics. ( )

This book is one of several books in the apologetics genre that I have recently read and while perhaps the best of them, it still is not that good. So my issues with the book- First, like other titles I have read in this genre, it does not really seem to answer the questions that people have about religion and God. He seems to presume that all problems or issues with Catholicism come out of the “New Atheist” school. My experience is that most people do not know or could explain what they think. Rather, the “New Atheists” give a type of permission to allow people to not believe anymore, their reason for that lack of faith are probably varied but can be summed up that the experience that this book writes about is not the experience that many people have in their day-to-day interactions with people. Most important however is that he explanation of why one believes is off the mark. Essentially, one is Catholic so that you can be the best you can be. It is a version of the Prosperity Gospel heresy. Finally, at times, the tone was a bit negative. Several times he writes that the secular world has no moral code. This is fundamentally untrue. While it may not be systematically articulated or agree with the moral code of the Catholic Church or most Christian churches, there is a moral code. This thought ignores the history of theological thought that we can come to know God through natural law.
While I did not have some problems, I did begin by writing that this book is the best of the apologetic works that I have read recently. The best part of this book is the Third Part- The Seven Pillars of Catholic Spirituality. In this part he briefly goes over a different aspect of what he considers the essentials of Catholic spirituality. These are usually accompanied by an anecdote that shows how these played out in his own life. While I may have wished he emphasized some other things they were the most practical parts of the book. ( )

Kelly's book is both thought-provoking, inspiring and infuriating. I don't like his hard sell style, his habit of setting up straw men to make a point that can be presented in less inflammatory ways, or his perhaps unconscious equation of holiness with monastic spirituality. His examples of models tend to be vowed religious, not laypeople and married couples. On the other hand, he challenges readers to live their faith fully, to pray and too educate themselves through reading and bible study. ( )