Book Review: The Witness of Early Christian Women by Mike Aquilina

The Witness of Early Christian Women: Mothers of the Church by Mike Aquilina

Aquilina has written many books about early Church history. Here, he profiles many women who were examples of the radical shift in attitudes towards women instituted by Jesus Christ. In the ancient world, women were, at best, secondary people. They had no direct influence over government and could not testify in court. They were esteemed for their beauty and their ability to bring new men into the world. By contrast, Christ treated women as equals and ministered to them as much as to men. Only one male disciple was at the foot of the cross; four to six women were there (including His mom). In the first four centuries of the Christian era, many women witnessed to their Christian faith in diverse ways.

Aquilina groups these mothers of the church according to those ways. Some were martyrs to the faith, including popular ones like Saint Agnes, Saint Perpetua, and Saint Felicity. Others are less famous, like Saint Thecla, who was a contemporary of the apostle Paul. Her story comes down from the earliest centuries though The Acts of Paul and Thecla are not canonical. Like many other virgin martyrs, she defied her parents' and her society's wishes, refusing to marry and instead following a life a prayer into her old age.

Other women were writers and thinkers, roles almost unheard of for women in antiquity. Proba the Poet wrote an epic in the Roman style but she retold Christ's life. Saint Marcella started a monastic group for herself and other women, learning and praying together. Aquilina includes Saint Monica in this group, who not only prayed for her son Augustine's conversion but also argued with the great doctor of the Church. 

The final group is independent women, of whom Saint Helena is the most famous. She was the mother of Emperor Constantine, the ruler who legalized Christianity in AD 313. Helena embraced the Faith and went to the Holy Land to find the sites where Jesus lived and died. She ran the expedition herself, the first archeological effort in Israel, which had fallen into ruin. I found Egeria the Tourist the most charming. She wrote letters to her community at home (southern France), describing her pilgrimages to holy sites around the Mediterranean. She was free to travel and had no regular group with her. No male companions are ever mentioned. She climbs Mount Sinai and visits Thecla's tomb, drawing inspiration and grace from her adventurous life.

This book is a quick read at 160 pages. It provides a lot of interesting insights into how the world changed for the better with the coming of Christianity and how women played important roles in the early Church. Aquilina's style is easy to read and he presents many passages from ancient texts describing these mothers of the early Christian Church.

Highly recommended.

Book Review: Praying in the Presence of Our Lord by Mike Aquilina

Praying in the Presence of Our Lord: With Saint Thomas Aquinas by Mike Aquilina

Thomas Aquinas, a great technical and precise theologian of the 1200s, was given the task of creating poems to be part of the liturgy for the newly-declared Feast of Corpus Christi. The feast celebrates the Incarnation, the Second Person of the Trinity made flesh like us, especially in the Eucharist, the sacrament whereby we receive His very Body and Blood. Thomas's poetry has became a staple in the Catholic Church, though few know that he wrote Pange, Lingua or Panis Angelicus or Adoro Te Devote. They are different in style from the Scholastic precision of his Summa Theologiae. The Summa is dry and hard to read with out some preparation and training in scholastic writing. The hymns are lyrical and vivid. But all his writings are one in content, having the love of and for God at their centers.

Aquilina presents these five poems (the other two being Lauda, Sion and Verbum Supernum) in Latin and English with seven short meditations, each on a few lines from the poem. Aquilina draws insights from Thomas's other works to expand the meaning and the significance of the hymns. He also connects them to our spiritual lives. In the introduction, Aquilina recommends using these meditations the way Thomas usually prayed, in the Eucharistic presence. I did not have that luxury with this reading but hopefully in a future re-read I can. The book ends with Thomas's prayers before and after communion, so the book would be handy to take to daily Mass.

This book is a fine devotional for spending a good, long month with Thomas and Jesus.

Highly recommended.

Book Review: A Joyful Noise by Mike Aquilina

A Joyful Noise: Praying the Psalms with the Early Church by Mike Aquilina

Aquilina changes up his usual devotional format in this book that explores the Psalms through the eyes of the Church Fathers. Each Psalm has a brief introductory comment, the Psalms itself, followed by a callout of a few lines from the Psalm that show a key insight. Then he has a commentary from one or two of the Church Fathers. The end has another callout with questions to reflect on, looking at ways to apply the messages in your own life. The book only covers thirty-five Psalms, to keep it a manageable length (just over 200 pages). The book ends with a bunch of biographies of the cited Church Fathers which have their own charm, life stories ever ancient and ever new.

I like the format Aquilina uses which is more robust than other devotionals. The presentation is a nice way to get more insight into some of the PsalmsIt also inspires the reader to explore the rest of the Psalter and of the Church Fathers too.

Highly recommended.

Book Review: St. Joseph and His World by Mike Aquilina

St. Joseph and His World by Mike Aquilina

This short book (about 120 pages) gives a history and some theology about Saint Joseph, the foster-father of Jesus Christ. Source material about Joseph is very sparse, little more than a few chapters in the gospel accounts of Jesus's birth and childhood, and a reference or two later in Jesus's ministry ("Can this guy be the carpenter's son?!?"). Aquilina fills in some gaps in a few different ways.

First, Aquilina looks at the salvation history leading up to the time of Jesus. The Jews had an expectation of a savior coming from the line of David. Since David lived a thousand years before, he has a lot of descendants. The Jewish faith was centered around the Promised Land and the Temple of Jerusalem, the only place where sacrifices are made, the very heart of Judaism. Synagogues are places of teaching and fellowship, the lifeblood of the religious community. By the first century B.C., Israel was the homeland again and the Romans were more tolerant (for a time) towards their religious practices than other empires had been. Jerusalem grew architecturally and economically during the reign of Herod the Great, one of the most troubled leaders in history.

Joseph lived in a small town and probably knew Mary growing up. Aquilina discusses the life of small towns and how Joseph's trade as a carpenter was in high demand with all of the civic projects Herod initiated. They lived close enough to Jerusalem and other cities that work would be plentiful. Joseph  would have knowledge of the larger world and probably knew Greek, at least well enough to do business. He also knew his faith and lived a just and upright life. He'd make the three pilgrimages each year to Jerusalem that all Jewish men were required to do. He'd make the proper offerings and was familiar with the Passover supper. He shared that faith and devotion with his soon-to-be wife.

Then the hard times happened. Mary was with child before they came together in the fullness of marriage. Joseph listened attentively when angels gave him guidance and reassurance. His obedience was prompt and his prudence enabled him to make good choices, as when they returned from Egypt and he had to decide under which of Herod's children his family would live. Joseph used his faith as a resource and a guide in the hardships of life.

Aquilina also looks at the traditions that have grown up around Saint Joseph, both good and bad. Early in the church's history, the emphasis on Mary's virginity led to assumptions and depictions of Joseph as an old man who probably couldn't have children anyway. In some Nativity paintings, he's off in a corner looking grouchy because he isn't really involved in the birth of the savior. Nothing could be further from the truth. Attitudes changed later on, especially in the second millennium of the church. Many saints, including Thomas Aquinas and Teresa of Avila, praised his virtue and plumbed the depths of gospel references to understand him better. Joseph was a father to Jesus, the second Person of the Trinity. He taught Him how to celebrate the Passover meal and took Him to Jerusalem to fulfill the law given to Moses. Jesus made Himself obedient to Joseph. Joseph is not just an image of a father, he was the image of the Father to the Son. Surely he is worthy of study and veneration. 

The book is well worth reading. I happen to have read it at the end of the Year of Saint Joseph (2020-2021) and just before the beginning of Advent. The book serves both quite well. I am sure to put it on my short list of Christmas-prep reading for Advent (along with Benedict XVI's Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives and Fr. Dwight Longenecker's The Mystery of the Magi, among others). 

Highly recommended, even if it isn't Advent or the Year of Saint Joseph!

Book Review: A Year with the Angels by Mike Aquilina

A Year with the Angels: Daily Meditations with the Messengers of God by Mike Aquilina

Following the successful format of A Year with the Church Fathers, Aquilina offers daily meditations that center around angels. He uses the same structure: each page has a title with a brief explanation and then a longer citation from the Church Fathers (no medieval or modern stuff, so very much like the first book), followed by a reflection question and a prayer, both following on the theme of the text. Many of the reflections are about the presence and the help that the angels offer to us--they are aids and guardians in our earthly life. Other texts look to them as examples for good behavior, consistent effort, or hope for the glorious life in Heaven. This book has been helpful to remind me constantly of the presence and the power of angels.

The book has a nice leather cover, gold foil edges, and a ribbon attached to keep your place as you make progress. The paper is high quality and each right-hand page has an unobtrusive water mark in the corner of a statue of an angel. It looks good on your shelf and feels good in your hands. The book is a handsome volume.

Highly recommended.

Book Review: A Year with the Church Fathers by Mike Aquilina

 A Year with the Church Fathers: Patristic Wisdom for Daily Living by Mike Aquilina

This book sets a great template for devotional books. It's set up for reading in one year. Each of the 365 devotions is limited to one page in the book, so the volume is not bulky and each devotion is easily done in under ten minutes. Each page has a title, a quick explanation of the text by Aquilina, an excerpt from one of the Church Fathers, a question or two for meditating about the important theme of the excerpt, and a short prayer. 

The Church Fathers are the theologians (mostly bishops, but not all bishops) who lived during the first four hundred years of the Christianity. Saint Augustine is generally considered the last of the Church Fathers; he died in AD 430. Even though they all lived over 1500 years ago, their insights on human nature, human relationships, God's love, and God's mercy, are universal truths. Those insights are applicable to us today. Their wisdom touches the human heart. That's why their writings have survived so long.

I started out reading this one page each morning but did not maintain my discipline. Now that I've finished, it took me three and a half years but was well worth it. I will hunt around for more books like this.

Highly recommended. 

Book Review: Signs and Mysteries by Mike Aquilina

Signs and Mysteries: Revealing Ancient Christian Symbols written by Mike Aquilina and illustrated by Lea Marie Ravotti

The earliest Christians used a wide variety of symbols in many different contexts. The most viewed nowadays are those on graves in catacombs. But Christians also used symbols in decorating where they worshiped (they didn't always have churches, so again some of those decorations are in catacombs where the superstitious Romans wouldn't go) and where the early Christians lived. Sacred vessels and vestments were adorned with images of fish, birds, vines, and wheat, among other symbols. Rings had an anchor or a Chi-Rho symbol on them; household items also had faith-inspired decorations. Aquilina goes through twenty-five different images that can be traced back to the earliest years of the church.

Each symbol has a meaning that is explained, though sometimes the intent of the artist can be ambiguous. When discussing depictions of the cross (which is now a central symbol of Christian Faith), Aquilina acknowledges that all sorts of intersecting lines could be interpreted as crosses. Some clearly are; others could be happenstance. The chapters end with references to ancient and modern authors who have discussed these symbols.

Each chapter includes five to ten images of ancient art and artifacts that have the symbol discussed. The images are black and white, giving a sense of their ancient and timeless character. The art is both distant and familiar. I am sure the black and white was also to save publishing costs, but it is effective nonetheless.

Highly recommended.

Book Review: A History of the Church in 100 Objects by Mike and Grace Aquilina

A History of the Church in 100 Objects by Mike and Grace Aquilina

The Catholic Church has existed for nearly two thousand years. Its history is rich and varied. Mike and Grace (his daughter) Aquilina provide an interesting overview of that history. They look at one hundred different objects spanning the time from the first century AD (a Jerusalem paving stone, item #2) to 2006 (a Polish bank note featuring John Paul II (#98)). Each item relates to a significant event or person in the Church's history.

The objects run a wide range. Some are famous, like Gutenberg's printing press (#52) or the American Declaration of Independence (#70). Some are obscure, like flasks and holy water bottles (#22, 24, 32, 44, 77). Some are great works of art, like Michelangelo's Pieta #57) or the Rose Window of Notre Dame (#43). Some are mundane tools, like pins (#97, 89), pens (#83), and parking passes (#92--the ones used at Vatican II since Roman parking was at a premium). They all provide a rich way into the story of the Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church is the oldest and most physical of the Christian Churches. It has survived persecutions (see Peter's Chains (#9) or a guillotine from the French Revolution(#71)) and heresies (#18--a Ravenna mosaic that shows Christ as merely a man according to the Arian heresy). It clings to the Faith that Christ is still physically present with us in the Eucharist, a trust that has only been more refined and more certain through the ages (witness the earliest First Communion cards from the 1910s (#82) after Pope Pius X encouraged parents and pastors to allow young children to receive communion; he also encouraged frequent communion by all the faithful as spiritual nourishment and medicine). This book mirrors the historic and physical reality of the Church in a beautiful way.

The book is also an easy read. Each object gets a full-page picture and two or three pages of text, detailing the object's history and significance. It reads well as individual bits or as larger representations of an age. I learned lots of little bits and made some larger connections between things. Each item also has two books as recommended reading for further study of an item, issue, or age.

Highly recommended.