Father Smith Instructs Jackson (Noll Library)

Book excerpt: “I want God to become especially interested in you, just as you, prompted by his grace, are beginning to become interested in him.” This iconic masterpiece in apologetics, written by Our Sunday Visitor’s founder Archbishop John Francis Noll and first published in 1913, presents the foundations of Catholicism through an engaging dialogue between a Catholic priest and a young man seeking truth. In Father Smith Instructs Jackson, Mr. Jackson poses questions about Church doctrine and practices, and Father Smith responds with grace, humor, Scripture, and Catholic tradition. This special edition features both Archbishop Noll’s original text and extensive notes, drawn from Church documents and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, for further reading and reflection. With an introduction by Scott P. Richert.