Easy Books to Introduce the Faith to luke-warm Muslim Mom

[CommonWeal]

I didn’t know where else to post this. First I wanted to post in non-Catholic religions but then I thought this might be construed as proselytizing.

Some background: My Mother, a 59 year old Iranian, claims to be Muslim, though she does not practice. She is, however, a pious woman who prays frequently, and it was she who set me on my path to eventually discover Jesus Christ and the Church he established. Oddly enough, my Mother has a picture of Jesus holding a lamb in her bedroom and no pictures of Muhammad. She is something of a mystic; she believes she receives messages from Angels. In sum, she tries to live a moral, God-pleasing life but is a very spiritually confused lady, as are most people who are ignorant of history and have been led astray by wolves.

So, I was wondering if anyone knew of any good books to introduce her to Jesus Christ, the Catholic Faith, or “mere Christianity.” The book I’m looking for should be really easy to read; that is, nothing hyper technical, theologically sophisticated, etc. She is a simple lady and her English reading and comprehension isn’t that good.

I’ve spent the last few days with her and so far I have learned of the following prejudices:

1. 
   *]The 16th century was an awful, evil time in history (according to movies she’s watched).
   *]Palestrina and other sacred music got two giant thumbs down (reminded her of the 16th century and awful movies she’s watched).
   *]The “Church” killed many people “in the name of God.”

 

[TheRealJuliane]

Well, you mentioned “mere Christianity,” so why not C.S. Lewis? He’s a good basic apologist for Christianity. If she can understand him, with his infallible logic, maybe she can move on to other apologetics over time.

 

[Ontheway]

I didn’t know where else to post this. First I wanted to post in non-Catholic religions but then I thought this might be construed as proselytizing.

Some background: My Mother, a 59 year old Iranian, claims to be Muslim, though she does not practice. She is, however, a pious woman who prays frequently, and it was she who set me on my path to eventually discover Jesus Christ and the Church he established. Oddly enough, my Mother has a picture of Jesus holding a lamb in her bedroom and no pictures of Muhammad. She is something of a mystic; she believes she receives messages from Angels. In sum, she tries to live a moral, God-pleasing life but is a very spiritually confused lady, as are most people who are ignorant of history and have been led astray by wolves.

So, I was wondering if anyone knew of any good books to introduce her to Jesus Christ, the Catholic Faith, or “mere Christianity.” The book I’m looking for should be really easy to read; that is, nothing hyper technical, theologically sophisticated, etc. She is a simple lady and her English reading and comprehension isn’t that good.

I’ve spent the last few days with her and so far I have learned of the following prejudices:

1. 
   *]The 16th century was an awful, evil time in history (according to movies she’s watched).
   *]Palestrina and other sacred music got two giant thumbs down (reminded her of the 16th century and awful movies she’s watched).
   *]The “Church” killed many people “in the name of God.”

1. 
   A good place to start might be something about our Lady of Fatima. It has a Muslim connection, while our Blessed Mother is venerated by the Muslims as well. There is an old BW movie about it and plenty of books about the Fatima prophecies and miracles.

 

[Auntie_A]

I agree with the Fatima stories. But I also thought of St Therese of Lisieux’s “The Story of a Soul”. It has a depth and simplicity that reaches many.

 

[Contra_Mundum_1]

St. Therese also crossed my mind.

Perhaps you should get her some movies to watch. “Jesus of Nazareth” is great. Maybe something like “Of Gods and Men” would resonate with her: a true story of Trappist monks in Algeria who lived side by side with Muslims and end up killed by a radical Islamic group.
"The Song of Bernardette " is also wonderful.

 

[CommonWeal]

Thank you all. These suggestions are great. I will look into them.