Showing posts with label MAquilina. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MAquilina. Show all posts

Monday, 30 June 2025

Top Ten Fiction and Non-Fiction Books Second Quarter 2025

 Top Ten Fiction and Non-Fiction Books Second Quarter 2025


It has been a good year for reading so far. I am averaging just over a book a day. It my best second quarter’s ever and one of my top 5 of all time. 

In April of 2023 I wrote a piece called How I Read So Much? Because I get asked the question so often, read the piece linked above if you are looking for some ideas on ways to read more. But a lot of it goes back to my dyslexia, and once I learned to read there were all these worlds and all this knowledge out there. I have been addicted since then. I wrote about that in 2006 Confessions of a Bibliophile #5 - How I Became a Bibliophile, From Dyslexic to Addict. 

This quarter I read 118 books, my best second quarter since I started tracking, the comparison with the last 8 years:

     2025 - 118
     2024 - 78
     2023 – 109
     2022 – 110
     2021 – 104
     2020 – 85
     2019 – 102
     2018 – 102
     2017 – 112
     2016 – 36

But back to this quarter by the numbers:

Books Read: 118
First Time Reads: 105
Fiction: 39
Non-Fiction: 79
5/5 Stars: 72

As mentioned one of my best quarters since I have started keeping track. Here is my top ten fiction and non-fiction books of the second quarter of 2025.

Top Ten Non-Fiction Books:

 6. Great Spiritual Teachers Series - Ave Maria Press
 8. CTS Deeper Christianity Series - Catholic Truth Society 
Providence and Prayer - Francis Selman
Union with God Living the Christ Life - Father David Vincent Meconi

Bonus Books:
  
Top Ten Fiction Books:

 2. Armstrong Adventure Series  - Nick Donnelly (Unpublished manuscripts)
02 Snares of the Demons
03 Faith of the Armstrong
 7. Gordon Korman Books
          Swindle - Swindle Book 1
          The Contest - Everest Book 1 
          Shipwreck - Shipwreck Book 1 
          The Discovery - Dive Book 1 
          The Stowaway Solution - On The Run Book 4 
          Slap Shot Series:
          Monday Night Football Club Series:
          Nose Pickers from Outer Space Series:

Bonus Books:
Richard Paolinelli - Dreams of the Storyteller

My reading has been staying pretty consistent at about a book a day over the last several years. I attribute in part to Brandon Vogt’s course Read More Books Now, removing all games but 1 brain game from my devices. And I was commuting to work on a bus and read on the bus every day. Working from home reading took a little more discipline, and we are now back to a hybrid model with 5 days a month in the office, so things are changing again.  

Note: I do not include books that have been read in previous years and were reread this year in my top ten lists, they are sometimes in the bonus section.
 
 
But if you want more options check out my favourite books year by year list. 


Relates Posts: 
Top 10 Fiction Books 1st Quarter 2010
Top 10 Fiction Books 2nd Quarter 2010
Top 10 Reading Goals for 2010
Top 10 Fiction Books 3rd Quarter 2010
Top 10 Fiction Books 4th Quarter 2010
Top Ten Reading Goals For 2010 - Recap
Top 10 Fiction Books 2010
Top 10 Picture Books of 2010
Top 10 Non-Fiction Books of 2010
Top 10 Graphic Novels for 2010
Top Ten Reading Goals For 2011 
Top Ten Fiction Books 1st Quarter 2011
Top Ten Fiction Books 2nd Quarter 2011
Top Ten Reading Goals for 2011 Update 
Top Ten Fiction Books 3rd Quarter 2011 
Top Ten Fictions Books 4th Quarter 2011
Top Ten Fiction Books 2011
Top Ten Reading Goals 2011 - Recap
Top Ten Reading Goals 2012
Top Ten Fiction Books 1st Quarter 2012
Top Ten Fiction Books 2nd Quarter 2012
Top Ten Fiction Books 3rd Quarter 2012
Top Ten Fiction Books  4th Quarter 2012
Top Ten Fiction Books 2012
Top Ten Non-Fiction Books 2012
Top Ten Reading Goals 2012 - Recap
Top Ten Reading Goals 2013
Top 10 Fiction Books 1st Quarter 2013
Top 10 Fiction Books 2nd Quarter 2013
Top 10 Books Second Half 2013
Top Ten Fiction Books 2013
Top Ten Non-Fiction Books 2013 
Top Ten Books First Quarter 2014
Top Ten Books Second Quarter 2014
Top Ten Books Third Quarter 2014
Top Ten Books Fourth Quarter 2014
Top Ten Fiction Books 2014
Top Ten Non-Fiction Books 2014
Top Ten Books First Quarter 2015
Top Ten Books Second Quarter 2015
Top Ten Books Third Quarter 2015
Top Ten Books Fourth Quarter 2015
Top Ten Fiction Books 2015
Top Ten Non-Fiction Books 2015
Top Ten Books First Quarter 2016
Top Ten Books Second Quarter 2016
Top Ten Books Third Quarter 2016
Top Ten Books Fourth Quarter 2016
Top Ten Non- Fiction Books 2016
Top Ten Fiction Books 2016
Top Ten Catholic Books
Top Ten Books First Quarter 2017
Top Ten Books Second Quarter 2017
Top Ten Books Third Quarter 2017
Top Ten Books Fourth Quarter 2017
Top Ten Non-Fiction Books 2017
Top Ten Fiction Books 2017
Top Ten Books First Quarter 2018
Top Ten Books Second Quarter 2018
Top Ten Books Third Quarter 2018
Top Ten Books Fourth Quarter 2018
Top Ten Non-Fiction Books 2018
Top Ten Fiction Books 2018
Top Ten Books First Quarter 2019
Top Ten Books Second Quarter 2019
Top Ten Books Third Quarter 2019
Top Ten Books Fourth Quarter 2019
Top Ten Non-Fiction Books 2019
Top Ten Fiction Books 2019
Top Ten Books First Quarter 2020
Top Ten Books Second Quarter 2020
Top Ten Books Third Quarter 2020
Top Ten Books Fourth Quarter 2020 
Top Ten Books Third Quarter 2025
Top Ten Books Fourth Quarter 2025
...  

All Top Ten Lists on Book Reviews and More

Statistics Books Read By Year:
250 – 2025 January - June
363 - 2024  
455 - 2023 
438 - 2022
365 - 2021
317 - 2020 
392 - 2019
359 - 2018
380 - 2017 
272 - 2016 
177 - 2015 
130 - 2014 
 88 -  2013
176 - 2012 
163 - 2011
302 - 2010
142 - 2009
 98 - 2008
 83 - 2007
191 - 2006
151 - 2005
 60 - 2004
 52 - 2003
 97 - 2002
 50 - 2001
 41 - 2000
 71 - 1999
 73 - 1998
131 - 1997
101 - 1996



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Thursday, 8 May 2025

St. Patrick and His World - Mike Aquilina

St. Patrick and His World
ISBN 9781594175046
eISBN 9781594175053
ISBN B0DMXWDLPH
 
St. Patrick and His World - Mike Aquilina

Wow what an excellent read. Over the years I have read numerous volumes about Saint Patrick and a few different translations of his surviving 2 works. This one is a most excellent offering. It is a follow up to St. Joseph and His World, which is a worthy read as well. But back to the volume at hand.

The description of this book states:

“Once again, Mike Aquilina delves into the life and world of a legendary saint too often surrounded by more “legend” and less certainty. While traversing history in an imaginative and engaging way, Aquilina’s keen interest in both historical fact and storytelling combine artfully into a powerful reminder why St. Patrick came to be one of the most beloved and well-known saints of the Catholic Church.”

The chapters in this volume are:

Prologue 
Introduction 
What We Know 
Growing up in Britain 
The Ends of the Earth 
The Escape 
Preparing for the Mission (Patrick and His Sources) 
Patrick and His Prayer 
Patrick and His Work 
The Conversion of Ireland 
Patrick and His Legacy 
Sources 

I highlighted a number of passages while working through this book some of them are:

“As a Catholic Irishman I thank God for a book about St. Patrick that distinguishes between fact and legend, expertly presenting the historical evidence without inexpertly dismissing legend as a possible source of truth."

“We also know that a direct descendant and heir to the throne of King Niall later became a Christian in response to the evangelization of Patrick’s disciples, and then a monk, and then a saint: St. Colmcille (variations include Colum or Columba) of Derry, Ireland, and then Iona, Scotland, evangelizer of the Scottish (the Picts) and the English (the Angles and Saxons). St. Colum’s conversion had a huge social impact in the Ireland of his time. Many followed him into the Church’s embrace.”

“The historical and legendary dimensions of truly great men are often difficult to distinguish. According to one St. Patrick legend, for example, after initial failures in his missionary activity, he climbed Ireland’s sacred mountain, Croagh Patrick, to spend forty days and forty nights of prayer and penance on its summit, beseeching God to grant him the blessing of being the Abraham of Ireland with a multitude of descendants as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore. According to the legend, his prayers were answered.”

“St. Patrick is a man perhaps more beloved, revered, and celebrated than any other Father of the Church.”

“Everybody knows St. Patrick. He’s ubiquitous in popular culture. He is the patron saint of Ireland—and patron to the enormous Irish diaspora worldwide.”

“What we know for sure about Patrick is what we find in the two pieces of writing that are indisputably his—his Confession and his “Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus.””

“Actually, the first time the story of a saint banishing the snakes from Ireland comes up in literature, the saint isn’t Patrick. It’s St. Columba. Not until about 1200 do we find the story associated with St. Patrick.”

“In another way, though, we know everything that’s really important about St. Patrick. We know him from the inside—how he thought and how he felt. We know him because he put his heart and soul into his own writings.”

“Patrick wrote two things that everybody agrees are his. One is the little book known as the Confession, and the other is the “Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus.” Everyone agrees that they must be authentic, partly because they’re so badly written.”

“If you told Patrick he was a bad writer, he would certainly agree. “And so to-day I blush and am exceedingly afraid to lay bare my lack of education; because I am unable to make my meaning plain in a few words to the learned,” 1 he tells us in one of his many apologies for his poor style.”

“As far as historians know, there is precisely one person who saw Ireland in the 400s, wrote something about it, and left us a record that has survived to the present day. That one person is St. Patrick.”

“For a Roman like Patrick, Ireland was outside. It was outside the Roman Empire and outside Christendom. It was practically outside the world.”

“Almost everything that purports to be a history of that time was written down much later. In fact, there are only two writings in all of history that describe Ireland in the 400s from the point of view of a known eyewitness—and they’re both by St. Patrick.”

“Some people would have just said it was a bad dream. But Patrick remembered this as one of the most important events of his escape. That shows us something about the way he saw the world. Events on the surface were part of the more important spiritual struggle that had been going on since the world began.”

“Patrick’s creed is different. It has all the same ideas in it, but it hits us like an emotional outburst. He has taken the facts of Catholic theology and made them into a love poem. No one could doubt after reading this that Patrick’s theology was orthodox, but more than that, no one could doubt that it was more than mere theology. It was a personal relationship with all three Persons of the Trinity.”

“He would work with the local culture, and if judges expected gifts, then that was how he would deal with them. But he would not get the gifts in any way that was dishonest, or even in any way that might possibly look dishonest. He was too conscious of his status as a walking billboard for Christianity to make such a mistake in marketing. And the man who wrote the Confession was too fundamentally honest to try to get by with anything that his own conscience wouldn’t have approved of.”

“For example, Patrick made it a habit always to refuse gifts from his converts. He dwells on that at length in the Confession, because he was apparently answering accusations that he had profited from his mission.”

“Yet these legends are history themselves. They tell us what St. Patrick meant to the generations who came after him. Looking back from an Ireland that was thoroughly Christianized, they saw St. Patrick as nothing less than the founder of their people. He was the Moses of Ireland.”

“But the life span is not the important part of the parallel with Moses. Moses led his people out of slavery to the heathen Egyptians, and Patrick led his people out of slavery to the heathen Irish pagan religion.”

“For Patrick’s biographers, though, the pagan religion was “false” in a different sense. It had real power, but its power came from the devil. It was demonic. Its power was for the purpose of leading its followers to hell.”

“This is the real Patrick. In spite of his fury—which is boiling over even as he writes these words—he still hopes that Coroticus can be saved. His human instincts may want to see Coroticus in hell, but Patrick is a saint. His prayer is that he will see Coroticus in heaven.”

“Of course, you don’t have to be a botanist to appreciate the symbolism of three leaflets making up one leaf. The important thing is that Ireland identifies itself with Trinitarian theology, and the Irish attribute that Trinitarian tradition to St. Patrick. Even if Patrick himself never plucked a shamrock leaf, he was certainly devoted to the Trinity, and he would be pleased that his disciples had learned their lesson from him so well.”

“Ireland itself has had a famously difficult history. Conquered by the English, it was a second-rate colony of a Protestant power for hundreds of years. And the English did everything they could to bury Catholicism and turn the Irish into good, enlightened Protestants. But the Irish weren’t having it. No matter how difficult it was to be Catholic, the Irish Catholics persisted. The ones who emigrated from Ireland took their Catholic Faith with them. St. Patrick taught them his persistence.”

“Another thing Patrick can teach us is his charity. He could get furiously angry, but he never gave up on anybody.”

“We can learn from Patrick to see that the Bible really is a treasury of all human experience, and that there’s always something in Scripture to help us understand the things that happen in our own lives.”

I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. It is wonderfully written. It is engaging and entertaining. Aquilina does an excellent job highlighting what might be legend and why, and what is likely built on an older oral tradition. With each new chapter I was more deeply engrossed in the material and how Mike presented it. 

Being of Irish descent, and having a father named Patrick and a son; Saint Patrick has always had a certain devotion and fascination in our family. I am always on the lookout for a new volume to read about this saint and his times. My favourites to date had been some of the works of Alice Curtayne, but this is an excellent volume and has eclipsed many I have read about this saint and his times. 

This is an excellent volume. Anyone from a high school level or on could easily engage with it. It would be a wonderful addition to any home, school, or church library. I can easily recommend this and the companion volume, and hope that Mike continues the series with more books. I highly recommend this book!

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2021 Catholic Reading Plan!

For reviews of other books by Mike Aquilina click here.
For reviews of other books about Saint Patrickclick here.

Other articles about Saint Patrick:

Books by Mike Aquilina:
A Year with the Angels: Daily Meditations with the Messengers of God
A Year With The Church Fathers: Patristic Wisdom for Daily Living
Angels of God: The Bible, the Church and the Heavenly Hosts
Companion Guide to Pope Benedict's 'The Fathers' 
Faith of Our Fathers: Why the Early Christians Still Matter and Always Will
Fire of God's Love: 120 Reflections on the Eucharist
Good Pope, Bad Pope: Their Lives, Our Lessons 
Love in the Little Things: Tales of Family Life
Ministers & Martyrs: The Ultimate Catholic Guide to the Apostolic Age
Praying in the Presence of Our Lord: With St. Thomas Aquinas
Roots of the Faith: From the Church Fathers to You
Sharing Christ's Priesthood: A Bible Study for Catholics
Signs and Mysteries: Revealing Ancient Christian Symbols
Sweet Gridlock: Selected Love Poems 
Terms and Conditions: Assorted Poems
The Apostles and Their Times
The Church and the Roman Empire
The Fathers of the Church Bible
The Fathers of the Church: An Introduction to the First Christian Teachers
The Mass of the Early Christians
The Resilient Church: The Glory, the Shame, & the Hope for Tomorrow
The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church
The Way of the Fathers: Praying With the Early Christians
The Witness of Early Christian Women: Mothers of the Church
Understanding the Mass: 100 Questions, 100 Answers
Why Me? When Bad Things Happen
Yours Is the Church: How Catholicism Shapes Our World
...

Books co-written by Mike Aquilina:
A Pocket Catechism for Kids - Fr. Kris Stubna
Dion: The Wanderer Talks Truth - Dion DiMucci
Keeping Mary Close: Devotion to Our Lady through the Ages - Fr. Frederick Gruber
Living the Mysteries: A Guide for Unfinished Christians - Scott Hahn
Praying the Psalms the Early Christians - Christopher Bailey
Saint Monica and the Power of Persistent Prayer - Mark W. Sullivan
Seven Revolutions: How Christianity Changed the World and Can Change It Again - James Papandrea
Something More Pastoral: The Mission of Bishop, Archbishop, and Cardinal Donald Wuerl - Ann Rodgers
Take Five: Meditations John Henry Newman - Fr. Juan Velez
Take Five: Meditations Pope Benedict XVI - Fr. Kris Stubna
Take Five: On the Job Meditations With St. Ignatius - Fr. Kris Stubna
Talking to Youth About Sexuality: A Parents' Guide - Fr. Kris Stubna
The Ancient Path: Old Lessons from the Church Fathers for a New Life Today - John Michael Talbot
The Church: Unlocking the Secrets to the Places Catholics Call Home - Cardinal Donald Wuerl
The Doubter's Novena: Nine Steps to Trust the Apostle Thomas - Christopher Bailey
The Feasts: How the Church Year Forms Us as Catholics - Cardinal Donald Wuerl
The Grail Code: Quest for the Real Presence - Christopher Bailey
The Great Life: Essays on Doctrine and Holiness in Honor of Father Ronald Lawler, O.F.M. Cap. - Kenneth Ogorek
The Holy Land: A Guide for Pilgrims - Fr. Dave Halaiko
The How-To Book of Catholic Devotions - Regis J. Flaherty
The Mass: The Glory, the Mystery, the Tradition - Cardinal Donald Wuerl
The World's First Christmas: Jubilee 2000 - Regis J. Flaherty
Weapons of the Spirit: Selected Writings of Father John Hugo - David Scott
What Catholics Believe: A Pocket Catechism - Fr. Kris Stubna
...


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Saturday, 7 May 2022

How the Fathers Read the Bible - Mike Aquilina - Scripture, Liturgy, and the Early Church

How the Fathers Read the Bible: 
Scripture, Liturgy, and the Early Church
ISBN 9781645851707
eISBN 9781645851721
ASIN B09S23FD51
 

I have read and reviewed many books by Mike Aquilina, I have benefited from each. I believe this is the fourteenth volume I have read by him, and I have read a few others that he edited, or that he was the general editor for the series. I have many of his other volumes on my ‘to be read’ list. This book was another excellent read from his masterful pen. I have said it before about his works and say it again, this is one of those books that every Catholic, every Christian should read. The description of the book states:

““You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness to me.”—John 5:39

It takes some real imagination to go back fifteen or twenty centuries to an age when ordinary people didn’t have Bibles. But if we don’t put in that work, we’ll misunderstand the early Christians completely.

The early Christians didn’t live in our world, and their encounters with Scripture happened in one main context: the liturgy. That was where they heard Scripture. And just as important, that was where they heard Scripture interpreted.

In How the Fathers Read the Bible: Scripture, Liturgy, and the Early Church, Mike Aquilina takes readers back to the first centuries of Church life to show how the liturgy became the home of—and the interpretative lens for—Scripture. Aquilina shows how, both then and now, Scripture is only understood through the life of the Church—and in particular, through the liturgy.”

The Sections and chapters in this book are:

Introduction
1. The Bible In The Liturgy And The Liturgy In The Bible
2. The Apostolic Fathers
     St. Clement Of Rome
     St. Barnabas
3. The Apologists And The Fighters
     St. Justin Martyr
     Tertullian
     Lactantius
4. The Explosion In Alexandria
     St. Clement Of Alexandria
     Origen
     St. Athanasius
5. Eusebius And The Victory Of The Gospel
6. A Song From The East
     Aphrahat
     St. Ephrem The Syrian
7. St. John Chrysostom
8. St. Jerome
9. St. Ambrose
10. St. Augustine
11. Into The Dark Ages
     St. Gregory the Great
     St. John Damascene
Epilogue

I only highlighted one passage my first time through this book, I was using adaptive technology to listen to it. And would have marked more but I did not want to stop. I have plans to go back and reread it making detailed notes and highlights. But that one highlight was:

“We search the Scriptures all the time. Google or Duck-DuckGo is here to help. We can just send a search engine off to find whatever we want in the Bible. Every conceivable translation is in our pockets, along with millions and millions of words of commentaries to help us understand—or misunderstand—what we’re reading. Even before the age of the Internet, the Bible was everywhere. If you checked into a hotel, the Gideons had been there before you and made sure there was a Bible in the nightstand by the bed. Street preachers kept boxes of New Testaments to give away. You could get a cheap paperback Bible for a couple of dollars, or a lavishly illustrated coffee-table edition. It was slightly harder to find Catholic Bibles than Protestant Bibles, but only slightly—you didn’t have to work very hard.”

Mike is a master of many subjects and this draws two of them together. He is a modern day master of the Church Fathers, the early Church, Mary. With over 30 works to his name he is an expert. And many Catholics and other Christians recognize his expertise in these two fields. Some of Mike’s works are written for the general lay person, and some are very academic. This one is in the middle. I would not recommend this volume for someone in High school, but honestly any adult could read it and be blessed by the reading. The introduction ends with these words:

“Today we can read volume after volume of commentary on Scripture by the Fathers of the Church. But we forget that those commentaries had a context. Almost without exception, the Fathers were men who had congregations to look after. They wrote their commentaries and their interpretations because they had a flock who needed to know what Scripture meant in their own lives. 

Writing about Scripture was not an academic exercise for the Fathers. It was vital to get the interpretation right because souls depended on it—souls that had been committed to their care. Sometimes they were writing directly for their congregations, as St. Ephrem did when he made Scripture sing for them (see chapter 6). Other times they wrote to inform or correct fellow teachers, as St. Augustine and St. Jerome wrote to each other, sometimes vigorously disagreeing. But always they wrote to answer the one essential question: What shall the people be taught in church?

It was not always an easy question to answer. But it had to be answered. Christ gave his Church the mission of leading his people to salvation. That responsibility fell heavily on the shoulders of her teachers, who felt the full weight of it and put their whole hearts into the job. Piece by piece, century by century, they worked out the implications of Scripture for us. 

Today, with the Bible on every smartphone, we can easily forget that the Church is the home of Scripture. Turning back to the Fathers helps us remember that there is no Scripture without the Church. And to get into the proper frame of mind, it will help to imagine ourselves at Mass right now.”

What Mike does in this volume is bring home the centrality of the bible to scriptures, to the early church, to the mass, and ultimately to us and our participation in liturgy and the mass. Mike serves as our guide and director through the fathers. But he is not a stuffy academic talking about long dead people and beliefs. He writes from a place of personal experience and faith. And that faith shines through this work. And his faith will help shed light on the fathers, and on our own faith.

This is another work of great scholarship. It is an engaging read. And Aquilina is one of the greatest scholars of the early church and world of our times if not all time. As Saint Paul said in Corinthians about milk and solid food, this volume is solid food for our spiritual nourishment. It is an excellent book to read for your personal sanctity and growth. I recommend this volume. I am certain if you pick it up, you will not be disappointed!

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2021 Catholic Reading Plan!

For reviews of other books by Mike Aquilina click here.

Books by Mike Aquilina:
A Year with the Angels: Daily Meditations with the Messengers of God
A Year With The Church Fathers: Patristic Wisdom for Daily Living
Angels of God: The Bible, the Church and the Heavenly Hosts
Companion Guide to Pope Benedict's 'The Fathers' 
Faith of Our Fathers: Why the Early Christians Still Matter and Always Will
Fire of God's Love: 120 Reflections on the Eucharist
Good Pope, Bad Pope: Their Lives, Our Lessons 
Love in the Little Things: Tales of Family Life
Ministers & Martyrs: The Ultimate Catholic Guide to the Apostolic Age
Praying in the Presence of Our Lord: With St. Thomas Aquinas
Roots of the Faith: From the Church Fathers to You
Sharing Christ's Priesthood: A Bible Study for Catholics
Signs and Mysteries: Revealing Ancient Christian Symbols
Sweet Gridlock: Selected Love Poems 
Terms and Conditions: Assorted Poems
The Apostles and Their Times
The Church and the Roman Empire
The Fathers of the Church Bible
The Fathers of the Church: An Introduction to the First Christian Teachers
The Mass of the Early Christians
The Resilient Church: The Glory, the Shame, & the Hope for Tomorrow
The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church
The Way of the Fathers: Praying With the Early Christians
The Witness of Early Christian Women: Mothers of the Church
Understanding the Mass: 100 Questions, 100 Answers
Why Me? When Bad Things Happen
Yours Is the Church: How Catholicism Shapes Our World
...

Books co-written by Mike Aquilina:
A Pocket Catechism for Kids - Fr. Kris Stubna
Dion: The Wanderer Talks Truth - Dion DiMucci
Keeping Mary Close: Devotion to Our Lady through the Ages - Fr. Frederick Gruber
Living the Mysteries: A Guide for Unfinished Christians - Scott Hahn
Praying the Psalms the Early Christians - Christopher Bailey
Saint Monica and the Power of Persistent Prayer - Mark W. Sullivan
Seven Revolutions: How Christianity Changed the World and Can Change It Again - James Papandrea
Something More Pastoral: The Mission of Bishop, Archbishop, and Cardinal Donald Wuerl - Ann Rodgers
Take Five: Meditations John Henry Newman - Fr. Juan Velez
Take Five: Meditations Pope Benedict XVI - Fr. Kris Stubna
Take Five: On the Job Meditations With St. Ignatius - Fr. Kris Stubna
Talking to Youth About Sexuality: A Parents' Guide - Fr. Kris Stubna
The Ancient Path: Old Lessons from the Church Fathers for a New Life Today - John Michael Talbot
The Church: Unlocking the Secrets to the Places Catholics Call Home - Cardinal Donald Wuerl
The Doubter's Novena: Nine Steps to Trust the Apostle Thomas - Christopher Bailey
The Feasts: How the Church Year Forms Us as Catholics - Cardinal Donald Wuerl
The Grail Code: Quest for the Real Presence - Christopher Bailey
The Great Life: Essays on Doctrine and Holiness in Honor of Father Ronald Lawler, O.F.M. Cap. - Kenneth Ogorek
The Holy Land: A Guide for Pilgrims - Fr. Dave Halaiko
The How-To Book of Catholic Devotions - Regis J. Flaherty
The Mass: The Glory, the Mystery, the Tradition - Cardinal Donald Wuerl
The World's First Christmas: Jubilee 2000 - Regis J. Flaherty
Weapons of the Spirit: Selected Writings of Father John Hugo - David Scott
What Catholics Believe: A Pocket Catechism - Fr. Kris Stubna
...

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Friday, 14 May 2021

St. Joseph and His World - Mike Aquilina

St. Joseph and His World
Scott Hahn (Forward)
ISBN 9781594173936
eISBN 9781594173943
ASIN B08QDPNPXM
 

I have read and reviewed many books by Mike Aquilina, I have benefited from each. And have many of his other volumes on my ‘to be read’ list. I have also read many books about Saint Joseph. And the fact that this volume released at the beginning of a Year of Saint Joseph is a blessing. But even if you stumble across this review long after the Year dedicated to Saint Joseph you will be greatly blessed by picking up and working your way through this volume. It is an excellent read and wonderful resource!

This is the thirteenth volume from the pen of Mike Aquilina that I have read. And it is one of my favorites. I have said it before about his works and say it again, this is one of those books that every Catholic, every Christian should read. The description of the book states:

“A TREMENDOUS BREAKTHROUGH” in the study of St. Joseph...
...There are few subjects so challenging” to authors as St. Joseph. So says scholar Scott Hahn in his foreword to this book. Yet the pages that follow give not merely glimpses, but vistas, of St. Joseph’s world. Hahn continues: “You’ll learn about Nazareth — and how it was created almost ex nihilo shortly before Joseph’s birth. You’ll learn about religious practice and education in that place and time. You’ll travel to Egypt and encounter the fascinating settlements of Jews in that land. You’ll also find out how a carpenter worked in those days: what tools he used, what items he crafted, where he got his training, and how he got to and from his job sites.” This book provides an imaginative entry into one of the most important lives in all of history — a life too often obscured by later legends. " 

This book was a hard book to put down, and to be honest even harder to review. It was a book I loved. And one I know I will return to and read again. A few of the passages I highlighted on my first read through the book are:

“What we do know is that the descendants of David lived as a clan while exiled in Babylon. Once kings, they now plied common trades and crafts. They kept a low profile, but within the home they passed their royal identity from one generation to the next, and they kept meticulous records of the family’s genealogy.”

“Later in that century, one of the families in Nazareth— a family of artisans— gave birth to a boy and named him Joseph. His name, like the name of his birthplace, reflected the hope of his people. Joseph, in Hebrew, means “God will increase.””

“It is possible that Joseph and Mary knew from a very early age that they were intended for one another. It is possible, too, that a young couple, influenced by Essene asceticism, could commit themselves to continence within marriage.”

“The great difficulty in sketching the character of Joseph of Nazareth is that Scripture never shows him speaking. He never says yes or no. He never makes a nod or gesture. And not only is he never shown to speak, the Gospels never show a single human being speaking to him— not even his wife or son. 

No humans speak to him; but four times, an angel speaks to him. 

Christian tradition makes much of Mary’s Annunciation. The Church commemorates it by a feast day and dedicates a daily prayer to it (the Angelus). But Joseph’s “annunciations” are also worthy of scrutiny— certainly for what they reveal about him, but also for what they reveal about angels. The Gospels present almost every episode in Joseph’s life as an encounter with an angel.”

“Though God had chosen Joseph for the greatest mission ever, he was an ordinary workingman. And this is a supremely important fact: he was no less ordinary for the fact that he was close to the angels. 

Why is this fact so important? Because in the midst of every believer’s daily work, the angels are there; God wants everyone to be close to the angels, attentive to the angels, and alert to their promptings. This is not a gift or a skill for unusual people. This is for everyone, as it was for Joseph.”

“God calls ordinary believers, as he called Joseph, to be his messengers and guardians, his power and his voice. He calls ordinary believers to be contemplatives in the middle of their neighborhoods and workplaces.”

“The unspoken word behind God’s call is trust. Joseph was called to remember the marvels of the Lord— to remember the divine acts that were proclaimed in synagogue and temple and at home— and trust the Lord who had worked those marvels.”

“It was no shame to feel fear. To be fearless in such a time is to be truly mad. Fear is the instinctive human response to bodily danger. In a father, it triggers the actions that will preserve his family and himself. Fortitude means not a lack of fear, but a right ordering of fears. Joseph feared the possibility of failing God far more than he feared the wrath of Herod. And he feared the loss of his son more than the loss of his own life.”

I hope from those few quotes you will get a feel for this work. It is a book of great scholarship. It was a very engaging read. And Aquilina is one of the greatest scholars of the early church and world of our times if not all time.  But he writes not just an academic volume, but a volume with will stir your faith. It is not fluff. But a real feast. It is a fantastic book to read for your personal sanctity and growth. I highly recommend this volume. Pick it up, you will not be disappointed!

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2021 Catholic Reading Plan!

For reviews of other books by Mike Aquilina click here.
For reviews of other books about Saint Joseph click here.

Other reviews and articles about Saint Joseph:
Consecration to St. Joseph - Fr. Donald Calloway
Favorite Prayers to St. Joseph Compiled from Traditional Sources- TAN Books
Prayer to Saint Joseph Prayer of the Day
Joseph of Nazareth - Federico Suarez
Devotion to St. Joseph - F. Declaux
Go to St. Joseph: Do Whatever He Tells You - Brian Kiczek
Saint Joseph: Help for Life's Emergencies - Kathryn J. Hermes
Feast of Saint Joseph 2018 Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary Principal Patron of Canada
Companion to Saint Joseph - J.B. Midgley - CTS Companions Series
Saints of the Roman Canon - Julien Chilcott-Monk - CTS Living the Liturgy Series
Seven Saints for Seven Virtues - Jean M. Heimann


Books by Mike Aquilina:
A Year with the Angels: Daily Meditations with the Messengers of God
A Year With The Church Fathers: Patristic Wisdom for Daily Living
Angels of God: The Bible, the Church and the Heavenly Hosts
Companion Guide to Pope Benedict's 'The Fathers' 
Faith of Our Fathers: Why the Early Christians Still Matter and Always Will
Fire of God's Love: 120 Reflections on the Eucharist
Good Pope, Bad Pope: Their Lives, Our Lessons 
Love in the Little Things: Tales of Family Life
Ministers & Martyrs: The Ultimate Catholic Guide to the Apostolic Age
Praying in the Presence of Our Lord: With St. Thomas Aquinas
Roots of the Faith: From the Church Fathers to You
Sharing Christ's Priesthood: A Bible Study for Catholics
Signs and Mysteries: Revealing Ancient Christian Symbols
Sweet Gridlock: Selected Love Poems 
Terms and Conditions: Assorted Poems
The Apostles and Their Times
The Church and the Roman Empire
The Fathers of the Church Bible
The Fathers of the Church: An Introduction to the First Christian Teachers
The Mass of the Early Christians
The Resilient Church: The Glory, the Shame, & the Hope for Tomorrow
The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church
The Way of the Fathers: Praying With the Early Christians
The Witness of Early Christian Women: Mothers of the Church
Understanding the Mass: 100 Questions, 100 Answers
Why Me? When Bad Things Happen
Yours Is the Church: How Catholicism Shapes Our World
...

Books co-written by Mike Aquilina:
A Pocket Catechism for Kids - Fr. Kris Stubna
Dion: The Wanderer Talks Truth - Dion DiMucci
Keeping Mary Close: Devotion to Our Lady through the Ages - Fr. Frederick Gruber
Living the Mysteries: A Guide for Unfinished Christians - Scott Hahn
Praying the Psalms the Early Christians - Christopher Bailey
Saint Monica and the Power of Persistent Prayer - Mark W. Sullivan
Seven Revolutions: How Christianity Changed the World and Can Change It Again - James Papandrea
Something More Pastoral: The Mission of Bishop, Archbishop, and Cardinal Donald Wuerl - Ann Rodgers
Take Five: Meditations John Henry Newman - Fr. Juan Velez
Take Five: Meditations Pope Benedict XVI - Fr. Kris Stubna
Take Five: On the Job Meditations With St. Ignatius - Fr. Kris Stubna
Talking to Youth About Sexuality: A Parents' Guide - Fr. Kris Stubna
The Ancient Path: Old Lessons from the Church Fathers for a New Life Today - John Michael Talbot
The Church: Unlocking the Secrets to the Places Catholics Call Home - Cardinal Donald Wuerl
The Doubter's Novena: Nine Steps to Trust the Apostle Thomas - Christopher Bailey
The Feasts: How the Church Year Forms Us as Catholics - Cardinal Donald Wuerl
The Grail Code: Quest for the Real Presence - Christopher Bailey
The Great Life: Essays on Doctrine and Holiness in Honor of Father Ronald Lawler, O.F.M. Cap. - Kenneth Ogorek
The Holy Land: A Guide for Pilgrims - Fr. Dave Halaiko
The How-To Book of Catholic Devotions - Regis J. Flaherty
The Mass: The Glory, the Mystery, the Tradition - Cardinal Donald Wuerl
The World's First Christmas: Jubilee 2000 - Regis J. Flaherty
Weapons of the Spirit: Selected Writings of Father John Hugo - David Scott
What Catholics Believe: A Pocket Catechism - Fr. Kris Stubna
...

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