Kateri Tekakwitha

Can a book calm your mind and still lead you away from God?

Millions of readers have turned to Anthony de Mello's Awareness for help letting go of anxiety, attachments, and the patterns that keep them from living freely. Yet in 1998, the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith warned that some of de Mello's ideas are incompatible with the Catholic faith.

Both things can be true. And that is precisely the difficulty.

Awareness or Faith? offers Catholics a clear, fair-minded way to understand the controversy without dismissing everything de Mello taught-or ignoring the Church's concerns. Reading Awareness alongside the Church's own documents, Edward P. Martin examines what the Vatican actually said, what it did not say, and why the theological differences matter.

Through these pages, you will discover:

• What the 1998 Notification and its Explanatory Note actually teach-and which passages in Awareness they address

• How de Mello's ideas about God, Jesus Christ, Scripture, doctrine, sin, conversion, prayer, and the Church compare with Catholic teaching

• Why detachment and love become especially important when applied to marriage, parenting, friendship, and everyday relationships

• What Catholics can genuinely retain from Awareness when its insights are understood within a Christian framework

• How to read de Mello wisely, whether individually or in a parish, catechetical, or study-group setting

The book also offers a simple fifteen-minute daily spiritual practice drawing from St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, the Desert Fathers, and Brother Lawrence, along with quick-reference tables and discussion questions.

This is not a book written to condemn Anthony de Mello. Nor is it an attempt to explain away the Church's warning. It is an invitation to discern-to recognize what is valuable, understand where the real theological boundaries lie, and place every spiritual insight within the larger horizon of Christian faith.

Awareness matters. But awareness is not the destination. Communion with God is.