Karen Edmisten has reviewed two of my books: Take Five with John Henry Newman and Roots of the Faith.

Happy Catholic reviewed Roots of the Faith: From the Church Fathers to You.

Cardinal Newman has been raised to the altars! He was a brilliant patrologist. He served the Fathers as translator, historian, compiler, controversialist, poet, and even journalist. Reading in the Fathers of the Church, he came to desire the Church of the Fathers. May we all follow him in that, and more.

Certain of his books are indispensable, among them:

The Church of the Fathers

An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine

The Arians of the Fourth Century

Callista: A Sketch of The Third Century

My friend Father Juan Velez and I have compiled a handy, popular devotional way to get to know the new Beatus, our pocket-sized book Take Five: Meditations With John Henry Newman.

Here’s his lovely translation of a few lines by St. Gregory Nazianzen (from The Church of the Fathers):

IN service o’er the Mystic Feast I stand;
I cleanse Thy victim-flock, and bring them near
In holiest wise, and by a bloodless rite.
O fire of Love! O gushing Fount of Light!
(As best I know, who need Thy pitying Hand)
Dread office this, bemired souls to clear
Of their defilement, and again made bright.

I have not yet held a copy of my book A Year With The Fathers: Patristic Wisdom For Daily Living, but the suspense is killing me. The first Amazon review, from someone who actually pre-ordered the book, is already up — and I want to own the book the reviewer describes!

And then there’s the YouTube trailer. Never before has one of my books had its own trailer.

Here’s the publisher’s description:

In A Year With The Fathers: Patristic Wisdom For Daily Living, Mike Aquilina, popular author on Patristics, gathers the wisest, most practical teachings and exhortations from the Fathers of the Church, and presents them in a format perfect for daily meditation and inspiration. Learn to humbly accept correction from St Clement of Rome. Let Tertullian teach you how to clear your mind before prayer. Read St Gregory the Great and deepen your love of the Eucharist. Do you suffer from pain or illness? St John Chrysostom’s counsels will refresh you. Do you have trouble curbing your appetite for food and other fleshly things? St John Cassian will teach you the true way to moderation and self-control. A Year With The Church Fathers is different from a study guide and more than a collection of pious passages. It is a year long retreat that in just a few minutes every day will lead you on a journey of contemplation, prayer, resolution, and spiritual growth that is guaranteed to bring you closer to God and His Truth.

From what I read in the review, the product is gorgeous and would make a perfect Christmas gift.

BMCR reviews a book that looks very interesting: The Great Persecution: The Proceedings of the Fifth Patristic Conference, Maynooth, 2003. Most interesting to me is the reviewer’s summary of one of the contributions:

The final two chapters before the conclusion, “Imitating the mysteries that you celebrate: martyrdom and Eucharist in the early Patristic period,” by Finbarr G. Clancy and “The origin of the cult of St George” by David Woods continue the examination of Christian sources relating to martyrdom. Clancy attempts to “enter into the mind of the persecuted and describe something of the spiritual motivation” that lead to Christian martyrdom (107), with a focus on the earlier martyrs Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp of Smyrna, Cyprian of Carthage, and concludes with Augustine of Hippo who provided the Church with so much of its theological understanding of martyrdom. As Clancy demonstrates, the martyrs served an important function in the liturgical life of the Church, for “The martyrs were truly fed at the Lord’s table and went forth not only to kiss the face of the earth, but also to water it with their blood” (139).

This is a common theme in the Fathers — the relationship between martyrdom and Eucharist — and so it’s a common theme on this blog. I discuss it in several posts, including one that features Pope Benedict’s long treatment of it in a recent document. It takes up the better part of a chapter in my book The Resilient Church. And it’s the subject of “The Roman Martyrs and Their Mass,” a talk I gave in Rome in 2005, which is on my audio page.

Suitable material for the feast of St. Cyprian, the third-century martyr who composed the first treatise on the Eucharist.

KVSS Radio has begun to air a multi-part series discussing my new book Roots of the Faith: From the Church Fathers to You.

Episode 1 has been podcast, and it’s yours free.

Ace interviewer Kris McGregor has created a new page of her many interviews with men (most of them on the Fathers), and they’re all here, all free.

Interesting books examined at Bryn Mawr Classical Review:

Alberto J. Quiroga reviews Raffaele Passarella’s Ambrogio e la medicina: le parole e i concetti, a hefty book that “examines the influence of medical terminology in the work of Ambrose of Milan.”

Mark DelCogliano reviews Frederick G. McLeod ‘s Theodore of Mopsuestia volume in Routledge’s Early Church Fathers series.

Hey, the new book is in!

I just finished taping a 10-part series on the book with Kris McGregor of KVSS Radio. But don’t wait to hear what I have to say about it. Listen to the experts:

Most Reverend Donald W. Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, says:

The Fathers of the Church have so much to say and Mike Aquilina, in his latest book Roots of the Faith: From the Church Fathers to You, helps us clearly to hear their voice.  This book opens the reader onto the wisdom of the Church’s great living tradition.  Here we find the Church Fathers’ insights on some of the most important questions of our day: marriage, the defense of human life and the meaning of human sexuality. Readers who are new to the writings of the Church Fathers will find this book inviting, engaging and a welcome guide for learning how to think with the mind of the Church.

Father Thomas Weinandy, noted patrologist and the U.S. bishops’ chief doctrinal official, says:

Mike Aquilina’s ardent faith in Jesus and his informed love for the Church and for her traditions splendidly shine forth in his new book: Roots of the Faith: From the Church Fathers to You.  He manifests this love by presenting to the reader the teachings of the early Fathers of the Church on subjects of contemporary importance, such as, the Mass, Confession, the Bible, marriage and family life, and the dignity of human life.  Aquilina’s own style is clear, lively, and imaginative.  This is an excellent book for laity and clergy alike.  It is not only informative, but it is also fun to read.

Bob Lockwood, author of A Guy’s Guide to the Good Life, says:

It is a question every Christian has to ask – do I believe what the early Christians believed? Mike Aquilina looks at our Catholic faith and the faith of our fathers (and mothers) to give a clear answer – if you could hop in a time machine and go back to the Church in its infancy, you’d find the faith you know today. With a scholar’s depth and a journalist’s gift to make it all simple, this is a book you read with a pen in hand to mark the good stuff on every page. Because Mike Aquilina defends the faith with a prayer…and a punch.

The Apostle Thomas is a figure of fascination for both believers and doubters. For me, he’s an object of obsession. I’m especially fascinated by the traditions of his work in India — preserved in epic poems, family stories, and (of course) the testimonies of the Fathers.

At long last, I’m bringing out a book on the subject: A Doubters Novena: Nine Steps to Trust With the Apostle Thomas, co-authored with my friend Christopher Bailey. It’s due out in a few weeks, but Amazon lets you pre-order now.

While you’re waiting for the book to arrive, you can celebrate the feast of St. Thomas by reading these posts:

Without a Doubt

Hindu Traditions of St. Thomas

Spice and Spirit

Friends, Romans, Christians … in Ancient India?

The Catholic Lady has put up a page of brief reviews titled “Thank You, Mike Aquilina.” If circumstances were different, I’d suspect my mother. Hmmmm.

BMCR reviews Marc Mastrangelo’s The Roman Self in Late Antiquity: Prudentius and the Poetics of the Soul. According to the review, Mastrangelo argues that “Prudentius has never been given his due” and that lack of recognition for Christian poets in general goes back to Eusebius, whose Church History excludes poets. (Unappreciated. Alas.)

Also at BMCR, we get acquainted with Becoming Byzantine: Children and Childhood in Byzantium, edited by Arietta Papaconstantinou and Alice-Mary Talbot. There have been several fascinating titles on childhood in antiquity; and readers of this blog seem to harbor a special interest in the subject. I’ve posted on it here and here.

On the Vigil of the Ascension, I had the great pleasure of spending an hour on air with my old friend Patrick Coffin. We talked about the Fathers with callers, who called in from all over the map.

For those of you who have as much gray as I have: Patrick was the guy who took the photo that ran with my column when I edited New Covenant magazine. Unlike Yours Truly, Patrick doesn’t age.

He has a new blog. Do visit, and watch the tremendous video he stuck up in his first post. It’s unforgettable.

And while you’re at it, buy his new book: Sex au Naturel: What It Is and Why It’s Good for Your Marriage.