Angels and Saints: A Biblical Guide to Friendship with God's Holy Ones

by Scott Hahn

Angels and saints. Catholics tend to think of them as different from the rest of us. They’re cast in plaster or simpering on a holy card, performing miracles with superhero strength, or playing a harp in highest heaven.

Yet they are very near to us in every way. In this lively book, Scott Hahn dispels the false notions and urban legends people use to keep the saints at a safe distance. The truth is that Jesus Christ has united heaven and earth in a close communion. Drawing deeply from Scripture, Dr. Hahn shows that the hosts of heaven surround the earthly Church as a "great cloud of witnesses." The martyrs cry out from heaven’s altar begging for justice on the earth. The prayers of the saints and angels rise to God, in the Book of Revelation, like the sweet aroma of incense.

Dr. Hahn tells the stories of several saints (and several angels too) in a way that’s fresh and new. The saints are spiritual giants but with flesh-and-blood reality. They have strong, holy ambitions—and powerful temptations and opposition that must be overcome. Their stories are amazing and yet familiar enough to motivate us to live more beautiful lives. In this telling of their story, the saints are neither otherworldly nor this-worldly. They exemplify the integrated life that every Christian is called to live.

Still, their lives are as different from one another as human lives can be. Dr. Hahn shows the heavenly Church in all its kaleidoscopic diversity—from Moses to Mary, Augustine to Therese, and the first century to the last century.

Only saints will live in heaven. We need to be more like the saints if we want to live in heaven someday. Dr. Hahn shows us that our heavenly life can begin now.

It must.

Genres: Religion, Catholic, Theology, Nonfiction, Christian, Faith, Christianity

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Scott Hahn is a renowned Catholic theologian, apologist, speaker, and bestselling author whose work has had a profound impact on contemporary biblical theology and Catholic thought. A former Presbyterian minister, Hahn converted to Catholicism in 1986 after an intense personal and theological journey, which he details in his popular book Rome Sweet Home, co-written with his wife, Kimberly Hahn. Their story of conversion has inspired countless readers around the world and remains a landmark in modern Catholic apologetics.
Hahn holds the Father Michael Scanlan Chair of Biblical Theology and the New Evangelization at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, where he has taught since 1990. He is also the founder and president of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting biblical literacy among the laity and biblical fluency among clergy. Through the Center, Hahn leads a wide range of initiatives, including publications, pilgrimages, Bible studies, and the scholarly journal Letter and Spirit.
Educated at Grove City College (B.A.), Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and Marquette University (Ph.D. in Systematic Theology), Hahn brings a deep academic foundation to his work. His dissertation, Kinship by Covenant, was later published by Yale University Press and received praise for its theological insight and scholarly rigor.
Throughout his career, Hahn has emphasized the covenant as the key to understanding salvation history, showing how the biblical narrative reveals a divine plan that unites all of humanity into God's family. His works explore themes such as the Eucharist, the role of Mary, the sacraments, and the authority of the Church, often drawing on the writings of the early Church Fathers to bridge the ancient faith with modern understanding.
He is the author or editor of over forty books, including The Lamb’s Supper, Hail, Holy Queen, First Comes Love, Letter and Spirit, Swear to God, Reasons to Believe, The Creed, The Fourth Cup, and Holy Is His Name. Many of his books have become staples in Catholic households, study groups, and seminaries.
In addition to his writing, Hahn is a highly sought-after speaker, having delivered thousands of lectures across the United States and abroad. He appears regularly on EWTN and has collaborated with Lighthouse Catholic Media to bring his teachings to an even broader audience.
Scott Hahn lives in Ohio with his wife Kimberly. They have six children and numerous grandchildren. Together, the Hahns continue to lead efforts in evangelization and Catholic education, embodying a lifelong commitment to deepening faith and understanding through Scripture and tradition.

Reviews

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angels and Saints was planned to be a book about just that; Angels and Saints. But in the writing process, Scott Hahn, discovered it wasn’t quite that easy. He ended up with much more introductory information than a simple introduction should contain. In my opinion, it is very important information and I am glad he made it Part I of the book. He shares a personal incident from his life, tells the technical meaning of “saint” and other titles of honor, who are saints and what do they do, what our attitude should be and then he discusses angels. All of this information was new to me and I found it very interesting.

In Part II, the author uses a chapter each to discuss St Michael and the Angels, Moses, St. Paul, St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. Irenaeus of Lyons, St. Jerome, St Monica and Her Son, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Therese of Lisieux (Saint of Little Things), St Maximilian Kolbe, St Josemaria Escriva, and Mary, Mother of Jesus.

I am not Catholic. I was baptized in the Catholic Church during high school, but have been a Baptist most of my life. I wasn’t in the Catholic church long enough to learn the information in this book. I found it all very interesting. I learned a lot about saints and that Catholics do not worship the saints. I never thought they did but have heard other non-Catholics say that Catholics worship the saints. I am having difficulty with some of the beliefs about Mary and will need to think through it more and do more scripture study around the issues.

The book itself is excellent. The author’s writing makes his material easy for anyone to understand. I do recommend this book and I plan to add more of his books to my “to be read” list.

I was provided a free copy of this book for review from Crown Publishing and Net Gallery. I was under no obligation to provide a favorable review.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know, I half expected to find this book annoying. I don't know if it's a general snarkiness in my mindset or a reluctance to read nonfiction of late, but I found myself delighted even more.

I was especially touched by how Hahn bares himself a bit in the beginning and then ties it all together at the end. This becomes, instead of a scholarly look at some of the more inaccessible saints I could name, rather a personal journey to meet some good friends of another good friend.

I did find myself pondering in my heart, and I've had parts of it just sort of stuck in my head.
Really, this was a good book. I recommend it.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoy reading Scott Hahn. His books are well researched, thoughtful and enlightening. In this book, he does a nice job of explaining what it means to be a saint, how the church defines sainthood, and how we are all called to this role.

I wish I could give a half star because I feel like I'd rather give 3.5 stars to this. I feel a bit low on this rating and it's probably just that his other books feel so much better to me. I keep thinking of things I wish he'd added.

On one hand, it felt like just a small handful of saints were selected for more in-depth review, but I'm sure it's hard to decide where to draw the line. I especially appreciated the discussion of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. M. Kolbe. Hahn said he struggled with St. Therese, and I think this section reflected it. After reading that part I still couldn't understand why the church made her a saint.

In closing, I think this is a great way to dip your feet into the pool if you are new to understanding saints within the Catholic church. It was the perfect way to head into All Saints Day this year.

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scott Hahn is one of the greatest converts to Catholicism in modern history. His conversion story Rome Sweet Home alone has led many to the Faith and many more back to the Faith they left. This work alone would be enough to cement his legacy, but he has written a great many other notable works, including The Lamb's Supper and A Father Who Keeps His Promises, to further expound on the faith and teach converts, cradles, and reverts alike. Lately, Dr. Hahn has been publishing high theology works, which challenge us to grow in our faith and progress from spiritual milk to spiritual meat. Dr. Hahn has returned with a new work entitled Angels and Saints, which is a return to his way of writing that helped so many of us grow in the faith so many years ago.

Angels and Saints begins with a personal story of Dr. Hahn and his family travelling in Assisi when he and his children were younger. One of his children had just had an emergency appendectomy, but the doctor said he would be okay to go on the pilgrimage. Predictably, the child was fine at first but had complications while in Assisi, and his condition became life-threatening. Doing the only thing he knew how to do, Dr. Hahn prayed all night and thankfully the child recovered miraculously. The remainder of Part I of the book explains what saints are, titles the Church bestows on holy men and women on the path to sainthood, what saints do, and a brief description of what angels are and names for the different types on angels.

In Part II, we are treated to twelve chapters with each one focusing on a specific individual in Heaven. We see great men and women like St. Michael the Archangel; Mary, Queen of Heaven; and even Old Testament great, Moses. I will be focusing on one of my favorite saints, St. Jerome. Dr. Hahn begins with a brief description of St. Jerome's early life, his genius at an early age, and his places of study. He then details the path that led him to the priesthood and eventual composition/translation of the Vulgate. The most fascinating part of this chapter discussed St. Jerome's circle of friends/students. They were mostly women, but he taught them the Bible, Biblical languages, and Biblical exegesis that some even surpassed him in some of these categories. He challenged them and they challenged him, and all grew in their wisdom and love of Christ. It was a perfect example of steel sharpening steel and proof that saints don't get to Heaven alone, but with the help of others. The chapter closes with a passage from "Against Vigilantius" and has the brilliance and sharp tongue St. Jerome was famous for.

The other eleven chapters focusing on specific holy individuals are just as brilliant as the one on St. Jerome. Dr. Hahn then closes the book by bringing us back to Assisi to discuss family and salvation and calling us all to be saints. I can't imagine how tough it was for Dr. Hahn to narrow down his choice of saints for this book. He picked some big names in the Western Church, like St. Augustine, St. Aquinas, and St. Thérèse of Lisieux. I wish there would have been a few more Eastern saints, aside from St. Irenaeus of Lyons. It would have been great to read about St. John Chrysostom, St. Athanasius of Alexandria, or one of the Cappadocian Fathers. This does not lower my review of the book though. It is still a 5-star book, and a welcome addition to any Catholics library. If you are interested in obtaining a copy of this book, please enter the giveaway below.

[Thomas Curry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scott Hahn has long been known as the convert that could. This book is just one more in a long list of impressive works. Certainly the book focuses much more on saints than on angels, but this may be to its credit, considering the target audience. I was happy to find both a summary of Catholic doctrine on the subjects, and a sizeable space dedicated to particular saints and angels. Thus the book neatly covers the universals and the particulars. Perhaps my only gripe is something of personal taste; I would have liked to see it much longer, and much more in depth. When your biggest (and only) complaint is that you couldn't get enough, you have found a wonderful book.

[Vlad Stepanov · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I am not a Catholic, I did enjoy most of this book. The author has some good arguments and it was a good insight into the Catholic faith.

[Casan Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very well done book on angels and saints by Dr. Scott Hahn. The spiritual realm can be a challenge for some authors, but not Dr. Hahn. He did an excellent job explaining this topic from a theological, spiritual, and even a personal perspective. I liked this quote at the end of the book:

“Salvation is neither otherworldly nor of this world. It is holy.”

[Patrick O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished this book and Spotify told me I’m out of audiobook listening hours for the month? What?? Brutal

[Patty Betts · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Saints and the Angels are such a big part of my life - I learn from them - they encourage me - they intercede for me - they are my family! Scott Hahn explains this beautiful mystery so perfectly! Highly recommend this book to all Catholics who have a difficult time viewing saints and angels as important to the walk and journey of our lives here on Earth. “Saints are sinners that never give up” - Mother Theresa

[Jennifer L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I went through RCIA, the one topic that we didn’t get to cover well was saints. I was excited to find out that Scott Hahn has a book called Angels and Saints, A Biblical Guide to Friendship with God’s Holy Ones.

I am a big fan of Scott Hahn, and I highly recommend his books and this one is no exception. As someone who grew up Protestant, this was one of the more difficult teachings in Catholicism for me. As is true of all of Dr. Hahn’s work, he explains so well the teachings of the Church that you either agree with him or at least understand where the Church is coming from and why they do the things they do.

One thing I really liked about this book is how Dr. Hahn talked about how we honor our loved ones who have passed away and then relates it to how we view saints. Too many people I have cared about have passed away this year. When I visited my mother’s freshly covered grave, I talked to her as if she was right there and could hear me. Therapeutic? Yes, but also who is to say she isn’t able to listen. If we reverence the place where our parents are buried, shouldn’t we also reverence relics of the saints as they have faith we can only pray to have.

Dr. Hahn also discusses angels and their place in the world. So many people in my life have passed away this year and with every person I have heard “Heaven gained another angel”, yet that isn’t scriptural although it may be a good thought. People don’t become angels when they die. In this book, angels are discussed and their role in the heavenly realm.

I feel like I lost tso many people this year, but at the end of this book Dr. Hahn discusses when he met his (then) soon to be wife’s extended family and realized they would become his family as well. He compares that to the saints. We are part of the family of God, and St. Francis is part of our family of God just the same as our brother in law is part of our earthly family. By realizing the richness of those who have gone before us, it can encourage us to live our lives in the way that we should.

I really enjoyed this book. As I always say with Dr. Hahn’s books, it took me a while to get through because there was so much I wanted to consider and ponder. I recommend this book for any Catholic, as well as anyone who wants to understand why Catholics believe as they do.

FTC disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book opens up with Mr. Hahn traveling with his family and his son gets ill and is taken to a local hospital. It does not look like anything would see in the U.S. and though his son is in pain and discomfort there really is nothing they can do for him until the morning. For the rest of the night he prays and as a parent I know how that feels you want to take away the pain or discomfort from your child. The next day when the doctor comes in the pain is gone and so is the lump or bulge that he could feel the day before. He son was feeling better and the doctor told I don’t know if it was a miracle but I do know that since I have lived here in Assisi I do not ask why any more sometimes science does not have the answer. The power of prayer is important for everyone, even though this is a catholic book. Pray and reflection are in every faith, each has their own way to get there. Pray is important in my life and in my families as well for really I would not have them if not for pray and his power to change my life. For me every day is a miracle and I am able to see a miracle in our daughter, who the doctors said my wife and I would not be able to have children, so we adopted three. Then because of pray when our two youngest were graduating high we were there with a 6 mos. Old at 41. He answered our prayer on his time not ours, I look at it as he has a good sense of humor. There are many more in my life that is just one. The rest of this book is eight chapters of different Saints, each one is important in his or her own way. But I like that he wrote about Saint Monica, the mother of Saint Augustine. His father died when he was 17 and then like any child went crazy, she followed him as much as she could praying for his conversion. He would father a child out of wed lock who would later pass away, he started following a sect called Manicheans. Later he would be led to Rome and Milan, for studies there he meet ST. Ambrose who helped him and guided him to conversion. So like a lot of mothers everywhere her prayers were answered and this is just one of the stories. For Catholics looking at the lives of Saints helps with reflecting upon what is happening in your life that day. This was a good book. I got this book from net galley.

[Julie Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid, understandable book that explains the concept and theology of angels and saints. The last half of the book contains the stories of specific saints and angels, along with an excerpt from a writing about them (usually from a Church Father). It would definitely be a good book to give to someone wondering about the topic.

Angels and saints have been a special interest of mine since my conversion in 2000 so I've read a lot of books on the subject. Therefore, a lot of the information was not new to me. Even so, almost every section had some tidbit which was a surprise or gave me a new perspective. A few samples of the sort of things that knocked my socks off:

- Humans are the minority in the Church. Oh, right. Angels outnumber us, which makes sense when you realize that each of us has a guardian angel. (I also was blown away by the connection of guardian angels to Jesus' agony in the Garden of Gethsemane where he was comforted and assisted by an angel.)

- Hahn draws on rabbinical teachings to point out: It was Moses' special intimacy with God that made it possible for him to compose the Torah. He could describe the earliest days of creation not because he was there, but because God was; through prayerful intimacy, Moses had come to see as God saw. Oh snap!

- There was not a bishop alive who could speak the language of the Old Testament, but Jerome was teaching it to Roman widows and teenagers. They pushed him to the point where he lamented that they had surpassed him in their ability to speak Hebrew with no accent.

My favorite part was the introduction where Scott Hahn shares his personal experience, which is both moving and inspiring. I think the book could have done with a few more personal touches throughout and then I might have given it another star.

Hahn's been writing more of these "Catholic basics" books lately but this is the first I've read. If it is any indication, he's giving the Church a fine resource. He's certainly giving regular readers a great chance to dig deeper into their faith.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Angels and Saints, by Scott Hahn, is a very engaging, personable, and readable book with a down-to-earth approach to heaven-on-earth. The author starts out by relating his own experience of that holy, catholic church, where angels and saints surround him in prayer as his child lies ill. But we are all saints, he says, in Christ, though we can’t be in ourselves. And this promise gives a uniquely promising flavor to the author’s look at church history and theology.

Catholics will enjoy this book’s explanations of things we’re often challenged on. No, we don’t worship idols. But yes, we do put up pictures and statues of those in our family (the family of God) who’ve been much loved and have wonderfully influenced our lives. No, we don’t confuse Mary with God (read the book to see why not). And yes, we do have Biblical reasons to speak of Guardian Angels.

Meanwhile, Protestant Christians (as a mongrel, I belong to both groups) will delight in a Biblical account of holiness, followed by a profoundly fascinating history of faith from the time of Christ, to the times of those who walked with those who walked and talked with him, all the way to the present day. It’s a history of holy people, and it’s filled with thought-provoking theology, unwavering adherence to God’s word in the Bible, and unswerving love for God’s family on earth.

Want to know what Gnosticism means? Meet those who opposed it. Want to know how a Polish Catholic became a saint? Ever wondered if the Old Testament had saints too? Read this book – it’s really easy to read – and find out for yourself.

Disclosure: Blogging for Books provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Scott Hahn's books. I always buy them because I read them with a pen/pencil in hand and write in them, underline, draw arrows, exclamation marks, etc. He never fails to blow my mind, as a Catholic convert myself, I love the way he speaks and always tells me something new. I am a bit underwhelmed with this book, though. The first time I won't be giving Hahn a five star rating. I think the main downfall is the book's topic is just too broad compared to his other's that I've read. The first half was the most interesting and where I found the most 'aha!' moments I come to expect from the author. Mostly I learnt to appreciate the understanding of 'saint' with a small 's' in scripture and the "Saints" with a capital "S". There wasn't a lot of new information here for me, but it presented an informative and entertaining discourse on how saints become Saints and just who and what angels are. The second half focused on 12 canonized saints which Hahn picked for, he admits personal reasons. The biggies are here, of course, St Michael, St Paul, Augustine, Aquinas, The Little Flower and ends with The Blessed Virgin. Hahn tells their stories focusing on their humanity and how they lived forever pressing onward toward the saintly. Only saints live in heaven and these examples show how we can all start living a more saintly life today by following these people's examples. Nothing of the information here was entirely new to me, as I say it was a broad look at the topic, but I still found some gems of instruction, ideas, history and quotes to underline and fill the margins with my pen!

[Sarah Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short book by Catholic theologian Scott Hahn was an interesting read about the concept of an active spiritual world. If Christians believe that the soul lives on after death, it only makes sense that those souls could possibly hear us and communicate with us. The church is a whole thing, not separated by those living and those who have died, so we are all saints – just at different places on the path.
I first came across Scott Hahn when I was studying Catholicism in 2005 and read his book Rome, Sweet Home, which explained his (and his wife’s) decision to join the Catholic church. He has written many books and I do have most of them on my to-read list. His wife has written several also.
In Saints and Angels, Hahn discusses Biblical scenarios involving saints (those who have died and are part of the believing church) and angels. I honestly wished the book was more in-depth and longer, especially regarding angels. After discussing the Biblical knowledge of saint and angels, Hahn discusses several saints, including saints of the early church, along with Moses, Mary, St. Teresa and Maximillian Kolbe. Hahn also tells of his family’s personal experience a healing in Assisi – a city with a history of saints.
I would recommend this to anyone who wants to know more about how angels and saints are involved in our current lives. It is written from a Catholic perspective, but I think any Christian could appreciate this book.

[Patricia Mckenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book about the “Communion of Saints”. We are connected to the saints and angels in this large Christian family in heaven and on earth. Scott Hahn never disappoints in stories of his ongoing conversion. This book traces his recent family pilgrimage to Assisi, Italy. A near tragedy involving his son opens up a new spirituality to him. After some introductory chapters we get to know the saints better with a short biography of each followed by a quote from the saint in something they wrote. From Moses to Maximilian Kolbe, we travel through church history, learning from the saints and hopefully developing a relationship with them.
Ultimately, Christianity is all about relationships, ones with each other and our heavenly brother and sisters. We grow as we open ourselves up to what the saints have to tell us in the examples of their lives. This can make our overall communion more real and add depth to our spiritual lives.
I highly recommend this book for light reading and an introduction to the saints. The book is short and easy to read in a conversational tone. It can entice you to want to learn about the saints in this book and the stories of numerous others. You may even find a patron saint to inspire you or learn about a new saint you have never heard of before.

[Adam Shields · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short Review: This is a pretty short book. I read it in half of a morning, although there was definitely some skimming. I try to read books outside my Evangelical tradition pretty regularly to learn about other Christians and understand different perspectives on faith. And I have read several other books by Scott Hahn. So I was happy to pick up the book when I was offered it for review. I was expecting something similar to his Signs of Life book which looked at the biblical origins of 40 different Catholic traditions. (And Signs of Life had an explanation of Saints as one of the 40 chapters.)

This book spends several brief chapters talking about saints, but I honestly think the shorter explanation in Signs of Life was better. And there was very little about Angels, so that feels like a publisher request to add something else at the last minute. The book then had several short bios of various saints including Moses, Mary and a variety of relatively modern saints.

Overall this just isn't a book I would really recommend. Instead read signs of life and a good biography

My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/angels-saints-biblic...

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
First, I will say that this book is extremely well-written. The author has obviously done his homework. This is not a book that was written haphazardly. For that, it earns 1 1/2 stars from me.
Second I will say I completely disagree with the theology presented in the book. From the synopsis: "Only saints will live in heaven. We need to be more like the saints if we want to live in heaven someday."
So, if the afterlife consists of heaven, purgatory and hell, 99.99999999% of the people that have ever existed, or will ever exist, will end up in either hell or purgatory. This book states the only way you can be considered a saint in the Catholic Church (this is considered a Catholic theology book) is if your life stands up to the extremely rigorous standard of protocol that is required to be canonized in the Catholic Church.
If all of this is true....God's gonna be awful lonely up there.

[J.T. Therrien · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like many of Scott Hahn's books, this one, too reads like a convert's guide for other converts to the Catholic Church. this one happens to focus on the Magisterium's historical teaching on angels and saints. As a cradle Catholic I wasn't particularly enlightened nor enthused by the odd choice of saints that make up the better part of this small book.

The Catholic Church has been around for over 2000 years, and we probably celebrate a dozen or so saints every day of the year so, other than out of some personal attraction to one saint or another, it seems difficult to understand Hahn's grouping of saints.

Still, if you know nothing about the Catholic Church's position on saints and angels (and you actually want to learn what the Church teaches) this is probably not a bad place to start your research.

[David Holford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lives up to the title

It both parts, the first being more about the topic of what the saints are and the second being more about who some off the saints are, Scott Hahn puts the whole topic within a biblical framework. It is not a book that will convince those with a thoroughly engrained Protestant paradigm of Scripture, because that is not the author's purpose (being originally trained as a Reformed theologian, the author is certainly up to that task). As with many of his books, Hahn's intended readers are Catholics who desire more Biblical depth to their faith.

That being said, the book could be beneficial to Protestants who have not understood the biblical framework within Catholicism for the intercession and veneration of the departed saints, and who seek greater ecumenical understanding and dialogue.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meet St Augustine who turned to heresy, took a mistress and made her pregnant and rebelled for years before becoming a true Christian. Meet St Thomas Aquinas who developed the theory of natural law, and St Jerome who also led an interesting life. These are just some of the saints whose stories are told in this deeply spiritual and helpful book. One of the most important people who you will meet is the Lady Mary, Jesus's mother, who is the mother of us all.

Scott Hahn shows us what 'the communion of saints' really means, and how we can be inspired by the saints and angels and ask them to help us in our prayers. I did find the beginning of this book a bit dull, but I will definitely buy it and read it when I need inspiration and strength. (Unfortunately, that is pretty often!)

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read several Scott Hahn books and really enjoyed them and so I eagerly looked forward to this book especially because of the topic. It took me a year to get through the first half of this book and two weeks for the second half. While Hahn is a great writer and learned theologian, I think he missed the mark on this book with regard to the topic of saints and angels. Of the 18 chapters only one dealt with angels and I think he did a great disservice to angels who are so enigmatic and awesome and really cool. It left me very disappointed. With regard to the saints he recited the Catholic Catechism and your basic lives of saints for kids books. Sad that he could not find something exciting about two of the Churches greatest heroes: Angels and Saints.

[Delia Batalla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scott Hahn writes a concise book of the lives of saints (many flawed human beings like us) throughout the centuries. For example, St. Augustine was raised in the Church, but was lead astray by worldly temptations as a young man for almost 2 decades. But his his mother, St. Monica, a woman of profound faith, never gave up hope for which she was rewarded, seeing her son converted and becoming a great theologian of the Church. Just goes to show what a mother's faith can accomplish! Also, St. Maximilian Kolbe, a priest wanting to become a martyr for Christ, was given the chance when he gave his life for another in a Nazi death camp when he refused to renounce his faith. I enjoyed reading these and other stories of great faith of ordinary people.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't what I was expecting. I was expecting a theological treatise on the Communion Saints or a discussion on angelic theology. I got a little bit of that in the first part. But mostly it's personal meditation on the biographies of great saints: St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. Irenaeus, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, St. Therese, St. Josemaria Escriva, etc. So what you're mostly getting with this book is a collection of a lives of the saints, with a quote from their writings as a meditation. Not bad, but not really what I was looking for.

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is much more than just an erudite discussion of angels and saints. Hahn points out Old & New Testament passages that describe the function of the angels and saints. He then gives a brief biography of a few saints, but most importantly he adds a passage from the saints' own writings where possible. Hahn reiterates the Catholic position that we are all together in the struggle for sainthood with those living, those who have died, and those who are in the presence of God.

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

Assisi what are you, afraid of so as to formulate answers, get past fear to grace, the science of the saints miracles, sainthood is contagious, hell the not choice of God, nothing unclean enters heaven, work of God Opus Dei, confronted Christians of laziness & despair, live as other Christ made to be Saints, heard reached thru actions, Saints saved and saved Saints never give up, grace is new law.

[John C Prejean Sr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book that gives us glimpses into the lives of Saints and stories of the angels. This is a great way to explain our faith to others in regards to the saints and angels and a great way to engage someone in conversation about the saints. By reading this book it has made me want to find out more about some of the saints in here such as St. Josemaria Escriva and St. Maximilian Kolbe.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll buy extras for gifts. Impressed by the Biblical references. Learned more about angels than I have anywhere else. Hahn explains Communion of Saints. I was impressed with the saints he chose to share details about. Hahn says that for St. Ignatius of Antioch knowing about St. Mary was necessary for proper understanding of Jesus Christ.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

"To be in God's family: that is the deepest meaning of sainthood, and it's the deepest meaning of salvation. " In part 1 Hahn explains what Catholics believe about saints. In part 2 he introduces some of them. Particular emphasis on our nature to live in relationship and what that means as a family in faith.

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Scott Hahn was writing about such inspiring and amazing people, but I found myself quite bored throughout. There are so many other wonderful accounts of these Saints. Ordinarily I find his writing engaging, but this one came up short. The spark just wasn't there. At times there were some truly wonderful insights, so it was still worth reading.