Praying the Psalms with the Early Christians: Ancient Songs for Modern Hearts [Paperback]

Mike Aquilina (Author), Christopher Bailey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2009

Mike Aquilina and Christopher Bailey open a treasure chest of ancient Christian wisdom that will enrich your experience and appreciation of the psalms.  Gathered together in this book are reflections from some of the greatest saints of the early church on the psalms.  Each of the short chapters on selected psalms is designed to help you pray these beautiful and personal Old Testament songs - not just to read or recite them, but to make them part of your lives.  Each chapter features: The complete text of the psalm in the Revised Standard Version translation. A brief introduction that sets the psalm in context "Words to remember" - a few lines to recall throughout the day. Short reflections in modernized language from one or two great early Christian thinkers. Questions to help you apply the words of the psalm and the ideas of the early Christian writers to your life. Also included are brief biographies of the men and women quoted in the book. Mike Aquilina is a noted Catholic Scripture scholar, apologist and author or editor of more than a dozen books on Catholic history, doctrine, and devotion. He is vice president of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology based in Steubenville, Ohio. Mike is co-host, with Scott Hahn, of “The Lamb’s Supper” (2001), “Hail, Holy Queen” (2002), “First Comes Love” (2003), “Lord, Have Mercy” (2004), and “Swear to God” (2005) — all airing on EWTN. He also appears regularly as a panelist on "The Weekly Roman Observer," broadcast by Catholic Family Network. Mike's career in publishing spans two decades, and hundreds of his articles have appeared in many periodicals and journals in the United States and abroad. He also runs the popular website Fathers of the Church dot com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 211 pages
• Publisher: Word Among Us Press (May 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593251556
• ISBN-13: 978-1593251550
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #392,716 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mike Aquilina is author or editor of more than thirty books, including The Fathers of the Church, The Mass of the Early Christians, and A Year with the Church Fathers. He has co-hosted eight series that air on the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN). He has co-authored books with Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., and theologian Scott Hahn. He is past editor of New Covenant magazine and The Pittsburgh Catholic newspaper. He appears weekly on Sirius Radio's "Sonrise Morning Show." Mike and his wife, Terri, have six children, who are the subject of his book Love in the Little Things.

In 2011 Mike was a featured presenter of the U.S. Bishops' Diocesan Educational/Catechetical Leadership Institute. He also wrote the USCCB's theological reflection for Catechetical Sunday in 2011.

His reviews, essays and journalism have appeared in many journals, including First Things, Touchstone, Crisis, Our Sunday Visitor, National Catholic Register, and Catholic Heritage. He contributed work on early Christianity to the Encyclopedia of Catholic Social Thought.

Mike is a also poet whose works have appeared in U.S. literary journals and have been translated into Polish and Spanish. He shared songwriting credits with Grammy Award-winner Dion DiMucci on the forthcoming album "Tank Full of Blues."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Treasure Chest of Ancient Wisdom, June 16, 2009

By 

Julie D. (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Praying the Psalms with the Early Christians: Ancient Songs for Modern Hearts (Paperback)

The Book of Psalms has been the prayer book and hymnal of God's people for three thousand years. Christians came to see the psalms as the prayers of Christ, to Christ, and about Christ. Mike Aquilina and Chris Bailey remind us of this. They also have a plan to help us replace the latest meaningless jingle running around our brains with the psalms.

Thirty-four psalms have been chosen as examples to help us learn how to pray, learn, and understand these ancient prayers anew as Christ's voice speaking to us. As always with these two authors, who I admit are among my favorites, the writing speaks simply and directly to our lives, our faith, and to giving us a tool to improve our relationship with God. They are masters at helping us see how the Church Fathers' wisdom still applies to our modern lives. Combining the Fathers with the psalms is a master stroke toward helping us better understand and use these timeless prayers daily.

My one quibble with this book is that I do not agree that there isn't room to include all the psalms. I tend to believe this is a restriction that was set by the publisher. This book is either the good beginning point for a series of books or a brief volume that should have been larger to contain all the psalms. Yes, it shows us how to begin to examine the psalms better. No, it doesn't suffice for our needs as very few people are going to take the trouble to see how Church Fathers have commented on psalms not included for our use. However, that said, this is an excellent resource and you shouldn't let the lack of all the psalms stop you from getting it. It is an excellent resource.