In a time of discouragement, how can the Church renew itself and its outreach to all people? Bishop Robert Barron, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, insists that a “dumbed down” Catholicism cannot succeed in today’s highly educated society—instead, the Church needs to draw upon its great theological heritage in order to renew its hope in Christ.

With Renewing Our Hope: Essays for the New Evangelization, Bishop Barron traces this renewal through four stages. “Renewing Our Mission” lays out the challenges that call for Catholics to become more aware of their own intellectual resources in encountering the “Nones.” “Renewing Our Minds” showcases the importance of theological reflection as a font of wisdom and sanity in the Church, touching on Thomas Aquinas, Hans Urs von Balthasar, the recently canonized John Henry Newman, and Pope Francis. In “Renewing the Church,” he proceeds to look at how Scripture, the family, the seminary, and Catholic college graduates can each contribute to this renewal. Finally, in “Renewing Our Culture,” Barron returns to the judgments Catholics must make in assessing contemporary culture, specifically, family life, liberalism, relativism, and (surprisingly) the beauty of cinema.