From Regis Martin's review in Lay Witness magazine When the world was still very young, and Christianity in its first springtime, an amazing array of men walked abroad, their great Catholic minds calmly, majestically traversing the whole expanse of the mysteries of Revelation. Such titanic figures from that faraway time have come to be called the Church Fathers. It is the aim of this wonderful little book, so ably written and compiled by Mike Aquilina, to help amplify that chorus of voices from those first fertile centuries of the Christian era. As Aquilina reminds us on the very first page, there ought to exist as lively a curiosity about these fathers as that which we routinely express in the case of our own fathers. "The words of our natural fathers are precious to us. Our fathers are the key to a mystery we spend a lifetime trying to solve: ourselves. Their past is our own, given to us in so many silent ways as they guide our childhood steps. The paths we walk are paths to which they led us . . . their words and deeds critical details in the story of own lives and our salvation." If that is so, and who can deny the weight or worth of a father's presence in one's life, or emptiness of his absence, "how much more true of our fathers in Christian faith-the Fathers of the Church that gave us new life in baptism?" From Russell Shaw's Review in Our Sunday Visitor Mike Aquilina has made the Fathers accessible, interesting, and--now and then at least--even fun. In just 239 pages--including the editor's informative and gracefully written commentaries--it offers a nourishing literary and spiritual buffet of highlights from some of the best and brightest of the Church's first centuries. Here's a welcome introduction to a body of literature that is an essential part of our spiritual heritage. Why do these writers of the distant past deserve attention now? Aquilina explains: "The judgments of the Fathers mark the boundaries of the faith we profess today." Reading them is something like reading our shared family album. It puts us in touch with our Catholic roots. Whether famous or little-known, they are recognized as Fathers for orthodoxy of doctrine, holiness of life, approval by the Church, and antiquity. Note that "antiquity" refers to a great deal more than the obvious fact that these men lived and wrote a long time ago. It signifies that through them we go back to beginnings. |
| The Fathers of the Church: An Introduction to the First Christian Fathers by Mike Aquilina |
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