Abba Father: Developing our Relationship with God the Father

by Bonaventure Perquin

All through history, God has revealed himself constantly as possessing those qualities which are generally associated with fatherhood. In these homilies now available again after a 10-year absence, Bonaventure Perquin illustrates how God as a father leads his people toward himself by his wondrous deeds and gifts.The attributes of God’s fatherhood, as well as the sacrament of baptism which makes those who receive it his children, are thoroughly examined in passages from both Old and New Testament.

Genres: Religion, Christianity, Catholic, Theology, Spirituality, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

Reviews

[Wangũi · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started this book I needed confirmation that God WAS, no actually IS my Father- and by page 5 I had it! God adopted us at baptism and He wants us to live in the fullness of our Father-child relationship with Him. And this book simply helps you to see,after confirming to you that you ARE a child of God, what you need to do to live as a good child- humble, wanting to please your Father, wanting what He wants, talking to Him...
In the words of St. John: 'Behold what manner of love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are'

[J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each chapter flows very nicely, it manages to stay on point. Recommend read if you are looking to understand all the aspects of the Divine Fatherhood and our Graceful Adoption into the Life of the Trinity.

[Joshua Revelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abba, Father is a collection of conferences by Fr. Bonaventure Perquin, O.P. on the spiritual life in relation to God the Father. It is well suited for spiritual reading. I found particularly inspiring the treatments of discipleship to Jesus, the indwelling of the Trinity, and the authentic motives for pursuing holiness.

In terms of style, I was surprised by how regularly I thought while reading the first half of the book that it must have been composed with the help of index cards, as described by Antonin Sertillanges in The Intellectual Life. The second half of the book, however, seemed to flow more smoothly.

At first, I was not particularly impressed, but after having finished it, I have a fairly high opinion of the work. I would certainly recommend it to those who are looking for good Christian spiritual reading and who can handle a bit of speculative thought. Some might find it a bit too intellectual for devotional use, but the insights are often very penetrating. Reading this book could help many people develop an understanding and approach to the spiritual life that is more clearly ordered to God the Father.

[Marie Emerson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an intellectual plunge into the consolations of being the beloved child of a good, good Father.

The first few chapters helped me to “get” for the first time the significance of being adopted by God.

[Wanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book of "spiritual conferences". They read like homilies, I thought. The focus is on the mystery of God's Fatherhood, and how God leads people to Himself.

This is a good book to read when you only have a little bit of time for spiritual reading each day, because the chapters are short and self-contained.

[Erik]

Included in the "Spiritual Reading" section of Fr. John McCloskey's 100-book Catholic Lifetime Reading Plan.