Customer Reviews

Living the Mysteries: A Guide for Unfinished Christians

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4 star:		(1)
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Finally, after ten years of teaching RCIA, I have found the book that every teacher's been looking for. Unlike the other materials that we've had to use, these authors don't talk about mystagogy, they DO it. Better, they show how the Church fathers did it. Our parish priest agrees. This is the best resource for our catechumenal candidates.

This anthology presents a number of short readings for meditation and prayer. They are drawn from writings of recognized early teachers of Christian doctrine, including St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory of Nysaa, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. Ambrose of Milan, St. Augustine of Hippo, St. John Chrysostom and St. Leo the Great. We may have heard of, even revered these early saints, hearing them mentioned on feast days, without really knowing their thoughts and ideas. This book makes those thoughts accessible. Very fresh and useful, too. The authors, Hahn and Aquilina, also show us how to use their book, with encouraging words about such things as meditation. The book focuses on on the ancient riches of God's Word and early Christian teachers and their value for us today.

When I first began to study the early church fathers, as a committed Christian of the Reformed (Calvinist) Protestant tradition, they began to draw me in and change my way of thinking. At first I thought they were calling me to be Orthodox and so my growing love for "the mysteries" pulled me toward this book. This was not the book that made me slide away from Orthodox and into Catholic but it did feed my hunger for living the mysteries which began with my Orthodox friends.

Cardinal Newman once said that the early church fathers made him Catholic and he would not so quickly kick the ladder that had brought him to that height. The fathers made many of us Catholic and they never cease to inspire and guide us to new heights. Dr. Hahn and Aquilina have demonstrated time and again their passion and heart for the fathers. This is just one more way they have revealed it to those of us who have fallen in love with the Church because they fell in love with the Fathers. This is a highly recommended resource for living the mysteries rather than just talking about them. Sts. of the early Fathers, pray for us.

A fantastic book for Neophytes! This little book gives day-to-day meditations and goals to more fully live the sacramental life. A must read for all Catholics at all stages of spiritual growth.

I thought this book was good, but it's definitely an intellectual exercise. Some of the letters from the early church fathers are more relevant and easy to read than others. It does give wonderful insight into the validity of the sacraments, though. I wouldn't call it an "easy" read, necessarily, though.

Once again Scott Hahn manages to provide such a wealth of resource and this book is a real guide.It will be read many times

I went through the RCIA program a couple of years ago, and this book by Scott Hahn & Mike Aquilina was our key text during the Lenten season. I looked forward to reading it every day. It offered sufficient fodder for discussion as well as contemplation. It seemed to really focus on the important parts of being a Catholic Christian, without getting bogged down by unnecessary complexity.