If I were able to write with anything like the eloquence of Thomas Howard I might very well have written a book very much like this one. Like Howard I was raised in a fundamentalist church. Like Howard I felt that I was missing something very important in that setting and I moved to a liturgical church where I too spent almost twenty-five years. Like Howard I still felt that something was missing and the more I studied, the more I prayed and the more I reflected, the more I felt the call to come home to Christ's Church. And finally, like Howard I finally answered that call and am now more at peace and closer to God than I have ever been.

There is very little in the way of doctrinal discussion to be found in this book but where such issues are discussed they are handled in a very forthright and clear manner. The author makes it very clear that part of what led him to the Catholic Church is that this is the Church founded by the Apostles of Christ and that they or those who were taught by them set up the structure of both the Church itself and the Mass based on the first person teachings of Jesus. Basically he says that the Catholic Church is the only Church with a true Apostolic succession and an actual commission from Christ himself to act as a guardian of orthodoxy. I couldn't possibly agree more.

The basic argument about the authority of the Church is not the major theme of this book however for this book is the very personal story of the author's spiritual journey that led him home to the Catholic Church. This is the story of a man's search for spiritual fulfillment that includes a detailed but not at all dull explanation of the factors that led him to his ultimate destination. This is also a testimony to the difficulty faced by a life-long active Protestant in taking that final step across the threshold to Catholicism. Howard clearly explains the difficulties that include both trying to learn about doctrines that are completely new to the former Protestant and the reaction one will face from friends and family. The author makes no attempt to sugar coat the fact that this journey is sometimes a scary one but also a joyful one.

Having taken this same journey I highly recommend this book to anyone who is feeling the same call that Thomas Howard and I have felt. There is no doubt in my mind that my own journey would have been aided a great deal if I had found this book earlier. For those who are already Catholic, either cradle or convert, this book can not only clear up some common misconceptions but can also clearly remind us of the glorious heritage and faithful teachings that we share with the Apostles, Saints, and great teachers of the Church. It is indeed comforting to realize that St. Andrew or St. Paul would clearly recognize the Mass that we celebrate today as being the same Mass that they celebrated almost two-thousand years ago and until I read this book I just never thought of that.

Thomas Howard really did a great job of describing us "cradle Catholics" and our knowledge of the church and the bible. He is a great example of how excited we should be about all we have and what the church has to offer us in terms of who's in charge and where does the buck stop ~ with the Pope. A very well written books and an easy read. I'm now enjoying his next book ~ Why Catholic?".