Add to Your Collection: Catholic Dictionary

The Catholic Dictionary: An Abridged and Updated Edition of Modern Catholic Dictionary by John A. Hardon, S.J. is a must have for any Catholic who likes to study the faith, doesn’t like to study the faith or doesn’t even know how to read…it’s that good. 

I have been wanting to review this book after first being introduced to it through Stuart’s Study. I read his review and knew this was a book I had to have. Just to be sure, I ran up to Barnes and Noble and paged through it, the rest is history.

Top 5 Things I like about Catholic Dictionary

1. Concise: This dictionary contains a lot of information, but it doesn’t explode or overflow with too much information like some long run on sentences can, if you catch my drift, and if you don’t by now, well then maybe if I just keep going….

2. Accessible/Easy to use: It opens with a very short introduction along with three pages of how to use the dictionary that basically just outline some terms and sources. The majority of the book is the Dictionary of Terms, which covers everything from Lex Fundamentalis and my new favorite Catholic related term, Concomitance, to Dark Night of the Soul and Oblates. It also includes the etymology of some of the words. Concomitance: Etym. Latin concomitantia, accompaniment.

3. Nice Design: Perhaps this isn’t a selling point for you, but I like pretty things. The cover design is beautiful, the pages are a nice texture, and the layout is beautiful. The terms are bolded making it easy to browse through. The spacing is excellent between the terms, which makes for easy reading. It’s a soft cover book, which some might not enjoy for a dictionary, but I totally dig. The cover photo is taken from the Interior of the Monastery of Lluc Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain. Simply beautiful.

4. Great Tool:  It’s more of a reference guide than just a dictionary. This is an excellent tool for those studying Theology. It is also a great resource for any Religious Education Instructor, Confirmation teacher or Campus Minister.

5. Economical: You can’t beat the price point with this one. It retails at $19.99 and you get a wealth of information. Pair it with your favorite Bible, Concordance and the Catechism and you are all set for your first semester at the Augustine Institute!

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.