John O'Grady explores the origins of many revered Catholic beliefs and traditions in this comprehensive volume. Erudite yet approachable, this book appeals to both scholars seeking a unified vision of the Catholic church in all its diversity, as well as to spiritual seekers (whether Catholic or not) exploring the deeper nature of Catholicism and its practices over the past two millennia. The significant divergence in practices and beliefs within the Catholic Church both as it exists today (inclusive of the 22 Eastern Catholic Churches outside the Roman Church), and as it has developed over two millennia, surely suggests the difficulties the author faced in producing a cogent and unified work. But despite these problems, success was achieved. Indeed, the author believes that diversity actually contributes to unity and continues the perfection of the one Church of Jesus Christ. The book contains dozens of discussion and study questions which may be used for either group discussion or personal reflection. +