The Love of Thousands: How Angels, Saints, and Ancestors Walk with Us toward Holiness

by Christine Valters Paintner

Is it possible that angels, saints, and even our departed ancestors support and inspire us throughout our lives? How can we connect with them in a real way? Christine Valters Paintner, popular spiritual writer and abbess of the online Abbey of the Arts, says these sacred beings are paving the way for our journey toward God’s love, even as we pass through a world rife with struggle, discord, and violence. In The Love of Thousands , she helps us open up our spiritual imagination to encounter our heavenly helpers, allowing us to become everyday mystics. Paintner describes saints, angels, and our ancestors as sacred beings who surround us like concentric circles, watching over us with compassion and offering us spiritual guidance throughout our lives. In The Love of Thousands , she guides us to see the ways these beings support us, from the care of our guardian angels, to the wisdom of the mystics, to the witness of our loved ones who have crossed the threshold to the light of God’s presence. Paintner’s gentle guidance reveals that we can be inspired and sustained when we are open and attentive in exploring our connections to these holy companions walking alongside us. Transformed by the encounter, we can grow into the kinds of ancestors—part of the Communion of Saints—who offer spiritual support and wisdom to others in turn. Throughout The Love of Thousands , we are led to explore and better understand   Each chapter includes a reflection, practice, meditation, and creative exercise that will help cultivate an ongoing relationship with angels, saints, and our ancestors. Paintner also suggests various ways to engage with this book to reflect more deeply on the spiritual content, such as reading it over the course of a year or with others as a form of spiritual pilgrimage.

Genres: Spirituality

224 pages, Paperback

Published August 18, 2023

About the author

Christine Valters Paintner, PhD is the online Abbess at AbbeyoftheArts.com, a virtual monastery and global community. She is the author of over 20 books on contemplative practice and creative expression including three collections of poetry. She lives in Galway, Ireland where she leads online retreats with her husband John. Christine is a Benedictine oblate, living out her commitment as a monk in the world.

Reviews

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Integrating Exercises

The outstanding element that makes this book so valuable to readers is its opportunities for integration. Each chapter offers four embodied applications to help us explore the contents and root them in our own sacred experiences and mystical encounters. These multimodal applications invite Practice, Meditation, Creative Exploration, and Blessing – each being a practical exercise for engaging with the chapter’s specific theme and invitations.

The Abbess’s loving concern for her readers’ needs is evident throughout. The book’s humane pacing offers an abundance of distilled wisdom that never overwhelms our capacity to attend to the particulars that shimmer for us. Without overload, the generous offerings invite us to stretch beyond our habitual boundary-markers. In the expansive space that opens, we learn how to engage with angels, saints, and ancestors.

Such engagements serve to root our developing holiness in the realities of everyday life, and thus empower our service to the world.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christine’s latest book, “The Love of Thousands,” couldn’t have come at a more opportune time for me. The gentle way that she leads one through this retreat in book form is such a blessing. As with other books she has written, “The Love of Thousands” is something to be immersed in. Each chapter invites the reader to explore each topic through the lens of personal stories, art, reflection, and poetry. Christine sets the stage by sharing her own story/journey with the Ancestors while inviting the reader to come along side with their own story. My dad passed away on July 8th, 2023 and he was the last of my wife and my parents. Dementia had been robbing him (and me in return) of his own story yet in the midst of the muddled stories he told, kernels of truth came through. I will be revising what Christine has written as my own journey of mourning and seeking continues. This is certainly a book to savor and to come back to again and again.

[Jana Jirak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read and studied with several books of Christine Valters Paintner over the years, I anticipated the release of her most recent work with excitement and a bit trepidation—eager for the opportunity to learn about connecting with the unseen beings of the world and yet concerned the book would be a repetition of previously suggested exercises connected to new topics. The Love of Thousands, however, has put any hesitation to rest. The topical material is new and the creative explorations are a mixture of contemporary and traditional exercises to support one’s communion with the multitudes of unseen beings around us. The book far exceeded my expectations. In this most recent work, Christine Valters Paintner presents a gift to the world designed to assist readers in cultivating relationships with beings of the unseen world. Roughly a quarter of the book is dedicated to the connecting with angels, a quarter to connecting saints and mystics and half to connecting with ancestors. Throughout the book, the reader can sense the author’s passion for the topic and a spiritual maturity that creates a desire to join in the journey with her. Grounded in Christianity, Paintner also draws parallels from other monotheistic religions and spiritual traditions to make the material accessible and relevant to readers outside of the Christian world. The author shares her own stories of connection with angels, saints and ancestors, woven with a solid foundation of wisdom pulled from both ancient and modern texts. This manner of writing gives the reader confidence to trust the guidance offered in the book as well as validate the reader’s own experiences with the multitudes beyond the physical realm. Characteristic of Paintner’s other study books, she uses a pattern in each chapter that begins with background material on the subject and suggested practices inviting the reader to open the door and cross the threshold into their own depths and spiritual journey. This opening is followed by a guided meditation and idea for creatively exploring the topic. Each chapter ends with a blessing. Thus, within every chapter the individual reader can engage the material at whatever level is comfortable, from a cursory review to an extended journey of discovery. This books lends itself to personal use or as a guide for group study. I highly recommend The Love of Thousands.

[Amelia Maness-Gilliland · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Love of Thousands leads readers through a heart felt exploration of archangels, guardian angels, saints, mystics, and presence of ancestors as active parts of our lives if we are willing to open ourselves to their presence. She explores and explains how they can be active guides in our lives as we travel our individual journey towards God.
Each chapter Paintner does a beautiful job of introducing the topic, grounding her words in quotes from Scripture, saints and mystics. She then offers opportunities to reflect, meditate, practice and creatively explore. These experiential opportunities are key to integrating what is learned into real life application.
 
This is not a book to read in one or even two sittings. This is a book to sit with, meander through each chapter, go deep with each opportunity to reflect and practice. A chapter a week would afford the opportunity to truly immerse yourself into the depth of the opportunity and begin to recognize how your are held and guided by so many.
This is a book I will return to again and again!

[Heather Innes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christine's latest book, "The Love of Thousands," is not a book to read from cover to cover in one sitting or even several sittings. Perhaps dipping into the wisdom of its pages one chapter at a time is best. Sections on Angels and then Saints come first in the book so we learn how to call on these safe, wise and loving beings to help us before heading into the loving healing work of our ancestral lineage, where not all of our ancestors beyond the veil might be healed. Each section of Angels, Saints, and Ancestors has detailed researched knowledge made easily accessible and understood by Christine's personal stories and experience, which she shares freely with us. At the end of each chapter, there is a practical suggestion, a meditation to try, and a blessing to savour. "The Love of Thousands" has been written from deep experience and offers invaluable wisdom for the healing of our life's journey.

[Bonnie Westmark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read all of Christine’s books as each one speaks to me. I enjoy her stories, poems and meditations. This one gave me much to think about. Still grieving the death of my mom, I found comfort in the pages of this book. Sister Lucy once told me that my relationships with those who have died never has to end, just change. This book supports that notion and gives us a plethora of ideas to be with those no longer living. It is a balm of healing peace to the grieving, lonely heart.

[Kim Post · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christine’s books seem to be getting deeper and more complex, and I plan to pick this one up and start it again as I didn’t do all the practices, nor absorb all the wisdom. I was engaged in a therapeutic process of cutting ties of trauma with my mother whilst reading and the overlap was profound. Thanks for this book, Christine.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite its late addition to my GoodReads "Book currently reading", I have actually been reading this book slowly since December. I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, January has been a crazy month, so I have put off doing the practices, meditations, and creative explorations until Lent, when I hope to have more time to completely devote myself to them. I am really looking forward to doing so.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I love all of the author’s works, I think this is her best yet! Full of good storytelling, practical exercises, and education about the topics. If you are looking to deepen your personal insights and spiritual engagement, turn to this book!