“The Busy Parent’s Guide to the Catholic Faith”
By Steven R. Hemler
(Scepter Publishers, 2026)
What is your home parish, and how did you become affiliated with the Arlington diocese? Since we moved from Saudi Arabia to Culpeper in 2011, my wife, Linda, and I have been active in catechetical, liturgical and pro-life ministries at our home parish, Precious Blood Church. As founding president of the Catholic Apologetics Institute of North America, or CAINA, I have also done about 300 apologetics presentations at 35 parishes and schools in the diocese, many under the auspices of the diocesan Office of Faith Formation. For more information about these presentations, go to cainaweb.org.
Why did you write this book? For decades, I have written summaries to help answer the big faith questions young people ask, and this book is the fruit of that work. This book will help equip young people and their parents/grandparents for contemporary challenges to faith they are facing or will likely face in the future from our increasingly secularist society, especially when in college.
Can you synopsize the book in a few sentences, or share the dust jacket write-up? The “Busy Parent’s Guide” provides clear, concise, and compelling answers to important questions about the Catholic faith that young people are likely to ask their parents, grandparents, confirmation sponsors, catechists, teachers, godparents, etc. It is principally intended to equip parents in their role as the primary religious educators of their children, although it also makes a great read for teens and young adults looking for honest, accessible answers to the real questions Catholics face today.
What’s something else the average Catholic in the pew should know about it? Whether you’re preparing your child for confirmation, navigating college conversations, or rediscovering your own faith, this book is a trusted guide for making sense of Catholicism, and passing it on with love and clarity. Readers can be assured that the content of this book is theologically sound because it was granted an imprimatur by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge.
