Faith of Our Fathers: Why the Early Christians Still Matter and Always Will

by Mike Aquilina

Getting to know the Church Fathers means getting to know our own roots. It means knowing more deeply who we are as we learn more and more about who they are. The early Christians are our ancestors, our common genealogy, our family. When we look to our roots, what do we see? In Faith of Our While the Early Christians Still Matter and Always Will, author Mike Aquilina reveals the amazing achievements of the Fathers. They converted the pagan world in a mere two and a half centuries. They did it without any resources, without any social or political power. They did it with the most primitive communications media. Yet their Church sustained a steady growth rate of forty percent per decade over the course of those centuries. Maybe there’s something we can learn from them. This book is a journey into that world, a tour where your guides are the Fathers.

Genres: Faith, Catholic, History, Church History, Religion

Audio CD

First published October 1, 2012

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."

Reviews

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

To me, this book read like a series of mini-essays, not that that is a bad thing. Just some of the topics covered include who the Church Fathers are, the Domestic Church, icons, and the canon of Scripture. The Church Fathers wrote about all of these things, and much, much more. We are truly blessed to have the writings of these saintly, learned men preserved and even more blessed that so many of these works have been translated into English. It's also great that our Protestant brothers and sisters are starting to discover these writings and realize that the Church wasn't founded at the Reformation. :) There is even a chapter on one of the great converts from Protestantism, Blessed John Henry Newman. He discovered the faith of the early Church in his readings of the Fathers and came home to the Catholic Church.

It's hard to find a clear favorite section in this book for me as I simply love all things about Patristics. Early in the book, Mr. Aquilina did a nice job explaining that even though the Fathers are a source of authority for us, it doesn't mean they always agreed on everything or got along, especially good ole St. Jerome. However, if I had to pick a favorite chapter, it would be the one on Christmas. As much emphasis as our American culture puts on Christmas, it's not the most important Feast Day in the Church Calendar, and it never has been. It was fascinating reading about the history of Christmas and how in early times no one could even agree on a date.

This book is a true pleasure to read, and the great thing about it is that it does not have to be read straight through, in order. If icons interest you, you can skip to that chapter. If you want to know more about the reasons why we now say, "And with your spirit," there's chapter on that as well. Faith of Our Fathers lives up to its name, because this book really shows us not only how, but why their teachings still matter today. If you want to know more about the Fathers, you can pick up other books by Mike Aquilina. He really is the go-to author for all things Church Fathers in the Catholic Church.

[Sharon Huether · Rating 3 out of 5]

Faith of Our Fathers: Why the Early Christians Still Matter and Always will By Mke Aquilina I won this book through Goodreads. Faith is like a root, it lives in spite of fire and Sword. A holy life, sound doctrine and church approval.The Heavenly Father is our model, to follow, to teach, given to charity and looks for the truth. The Apostles, men of God who stood the test of time. The birth of Christ.

[Dona · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was good but I took off stars because the print was very small and the paper not really white so it was difficult for me to read. It might just be me though. I’m reading his older book The Fathers of the Church 3rd edition and some of this is taken from that book. I’m finding his older book so much better plus it really talks about the fathers.

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really expecting a different book, based on the title. I am not Catholic, but a non-denominational Christian. However, I have a huge respect for the Early Christians, the church fathers and the sacrifices they made to spread the gospel and set a foundation for the church. I was hoping to read more of their teachings, perhaps a chapter for each of the founding fathers, a few of their memorable words and accomplishments. Instead, this book is more of a general apologetic of the Catholic tradition itself, why they do the things they do they way they do them.

That being said, there is a lot in this book of great value, and as I look through the notes I made upon my first reading, I find some great nuggets of truth to go back to over and over. "For most of the early Christians, 'martyrdom' consisted in a daily dying to self in imitation of Jesus Christ." (44) It meant dying for a few, but for the average Christian, it meant giving food, money, time, whatever one had that was needed by another to further the gospel. To part with anything one has in surplus to help another in need. Many other examples throughout the book are great reminders of what all Christians have in common, the essentials of worshipful spirit, rather than a particular method or style. I will keep this on my study shelf to refer to over and over.

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short, but very important & well-written book. It consists of a series of essays about the early Church Fathers. Aquilina discusses not only the historical personnages and their importance to the early Church, but also gives some practical suggestion about how their lives and thinking may be applied to our own lives. I appreciated that the author took the time and effort to make the applications.

[Becca]

Thank you goodreads and publisher for my First Reads copy!
I somehow missed it in the giveaway description where it said this would be a Catholic book. Which is fine, but a lot of the content was meaningless to me because I have so little knowledge and experience with the Catholic church. So now you know! That being said, it is a thoughtful book and easy to read for a layperson.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book!