SACRAMENTS OF INITIATION

The advantage of having a theologian capable of writing for anyone interested in the subject in a way to promote fuller comprehension of what he has set out to demonstrate is evident in this volume of Baptism and Confirmation. Father Davis has become better known in recent years for his unusual but satisfying approaches to religion and man in his ""Theological Asides"" which have appeared periodically in America magazine. His book, Theology for Today, has established him as one of the fresh and effective voices interpreting the science of God for the everyday man. This contribution to the field of understanding the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation will be sought by those who are most concerned. It inevitably will be in competition with other books now available including Baptism in the New Testament, reviewed on p. 721 at least as far as the Sacrament of Baptism is concerned. But in this age of renewal it is fortunate to have several excellent books available on the same subject. Father Davis approach is particualry unique as is the case with students of a given subject. His study of these two Sacraments is both clear and exact, and cannot help but increase the understanding of the benefits to be derived from these sources of personal grace.