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| Introduction | |
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| About This Book | |
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| Conventions Used in This Book | |
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| Foolish Assumptions | |
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| How This Book Is Organized | |
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| Icons Used in This Book | |
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| Where to Go from Here | |
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| Getting Familiar with the Basics | |
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| What It Means to Be Catholic | |
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| What Exactly Is Catholicism Anyway? | |
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| The General Ground Rules | |
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| Celebrating Year-Round | |
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| Understanding the Four Marks of the Church | |
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| Membership Has Its Privileges | |
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| Who's Who in the Catholic Church | |
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| Getting to Know the Pope | |
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| Who's Next in the Ecclesiastical Scheme of Things | |
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| Understanding All Those Beliefs | |
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| Ya Gotta Have Faith | |
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| How Do You Know If You Have Faith? | |
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| Having Faith in Revelations | |
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| Seeking the Truth | |
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| Believing in Jesus | |
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| Understanding Jesus, the God-Man | |
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| Looking At the Gospel Truth | |
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| Dealing with Heresy and Some Other $10 Words | |
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| Worshipping Catholic Style | |
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| Getting Body and Soul into the Act | |
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| Understanding Some Symbols and Gestures | |
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| Sensing God | |
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| The Seven Sacraments | |
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| The Sacraments of Initiation | |
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| Come On in--the Water's Fine | |
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| The Holy Eucharist | |
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| Coming of Age: Confirmation | |
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| The Sacraments of Community and Mercy | |
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| The Sacraments of Community | |
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| The Sacraments of Mercy | |
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| Celebrating the Catholic Mass | |
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| What Exactly Is the Mass? | |
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| The Two Parts of the Mass | |
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| Vatican II and Latin | |
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| Dressing for the Occasion | |
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| Spiritual Seasons of the Year | |
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| Behaving Like a Saint | |
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| Catholic Law 101 | |
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| Following the Eternal Law of God | |
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| Playing by the Rules | |
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| Loving and Honoring: The Ten Commandments | |
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| Demonstrating Love for God | |
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| Loving Your Neighbor | |
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| Coming Out Even Steven | |
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| Being Good When Sinning Is So Easy | |
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| Cultivating Good Habits | |
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| The Seven Deadly Sins | |
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| The Church's Stand on Some Sticky Issues | |
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| Celibacy and the Male Priesthood | |
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| Matters of Life and Death | |
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| Planning Your Family Naturally | |
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| Practicing Catholicism through Devotions | |
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| Showing Your Love for God | |
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| Going Beyond Your Basic Duty | |
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| Running the Gamut of Devotions | |
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| Expressing Affection for Mary | |
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| No, Catholics Don't Worship Mary | |
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| The Official Scoop on Mary | |
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| Up Close and Personal with Mary | |
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| Calling on the Canonized | |
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| Having a Place in the Hearts of Catholics | |
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| Honoring God's Good Friends | |
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| It's All about Intercession | |
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| Recognizing a Saint | |
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| The Communion of Saints | |
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| A Saint for Every Day of the Year | |
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| Catholic Traditions | |
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| Adoring the Blessed Sacrament | |
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| Religious Processions | |
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| Meatless Fridays | |
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| The Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy | |
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| The Scoop on Sacramentals | |
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| The Part of Tens | |
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| Ten Famous Catholics | |
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| Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997) | |
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| Pope John Paul II (1920- ) | |
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| Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1979) | |
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| Mother Angelica (1923- ) | |
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| John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) | |
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| Alfred E. Smith (1873-1944) | |
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| Father Edward Flanagan (1886-1948) | |
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| John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) | |
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| Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) | |
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| Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) | |
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| Ten Popular Catholic Saints | |
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| St. Peter (Died around A.D. 64) | |
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| St. Jude (Died during first century A.D.) | |
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| St. Benedict (480-543) | |
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| St. Dominic de Guzman (1170-1221) | |
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| St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) | |
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| St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) | |
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| St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) | |
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| St. Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879) | |
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| St. Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897) | |
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| St. Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968) | |
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| Ten Popular Catholic Places | |
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| The Basilica de Guadalupe | |
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| San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy | |
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| The Basilica of Czestochowa, Poland | |
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| The Basilica of Lourdes, France | |
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| Fatima, Portugal | |
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| Rome | |
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| The Cathedral of Notre Dame | |
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| The National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception | |
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| The Minor Basilica of Saint Anne de Beaupre | |
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| The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament | |
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| Appendixes | |
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| A Brief History of Catholicism | |
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| Ancient Times (A.D. 33-741) | |
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| The Middle Ages (A.D. 800-1500) | |
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| The Reformation to the Modern Era (1517-Today) | |
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| Fun Facts for the Faithful | |
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| All the Popes | |
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| Solemnities, Feasts, and Memorials for the Year | |
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| Index | |