In this book, Cardinal Ratzinger has raised and answered some of the most essential issues any Catholic, or for that matter any Christian, can face. He treads where only a deep faith founded in clear understanding can lead him, and through him, us. The essential nature of this book is seen right from the beginning. On page 17 he introduces the critial necessity of worshiping God as God desires, not as man desires. It is why God led Israel through the desert, why He prescribed precisely how He was to be worshiped, and why this is true for us today. God has an absolute right to be worshiped as He chooses. Our response is to obey. This creates the relationship between man and God. When we decide to worship God as we want, when we make worship, we clutch empty space and create a self-affirmation, a form of entertainment instead of a faithful worship of God. How God demands we worship Him, and why, is the central thread of this book, and is a critical point for every Christian to understand. If we do otherwise, we unbalance our relationship with God by injecting too much self, putting entertainment and "feeling good" ahead of the will of God, and in doing so we create disorder in all else we do. Every Christian needs this book.

Scott Hahn, a former Presbyterian minister, has taken a scholarly topic which has been part of the official teaching of the Catholic Church since the time of the early Church Fathers, but which in recent years has not been part of the common teaching for the faithful, and explained this teaching to the faithful in a profoundly lucid way. No one who understands what Scott is saying could ever again attend Mass or read Revelation without being profoundly affected. It is a masterful treatment of a complex subject that will cause anyone who who reads it, Catholic or otherwise, to seriously question why they are not present at Mass every day of the year. I used this book as the base for an adult education class at our parish with great success. It was a true eyeopener for every participant. James H. Dobbins, Ph.D.

This book is very important for anyone who is being introduced to icons. Several important themes emerge. Icons are not just art; icons are a way into contemplative prayer, and are therefore one way to let God speak to you. This book is very practical as well as very spiritual. The author provides a series of meditations on four different icons. Through those meditations we discover new things about our own relationship with God while we get a glimpse into the author's relationship. He also shows us how we must become accustomed to using icons for prayer, a process that is not natural for many of us who grew up in the western Church. The book takes us away from the shallow view of icons as mere art, even primitive art, and shows us why icons are said to be written, not painted. The book shows how icons speak to us of the relationship we each have with God, and how that can be expressed through our use of icons for contemplative prayer. I highly recommend this book. James H. Dobbins, Ph.D. jdobbins@nishanet.com