Book Review: The Angels and Their Mission

My most recent Catholic Company Book Review is The Angels and Their Mission by Jean Danielou. Truth be told, I've had a hard time with this book. I picked it because I wanted a departure from the family/NFP/mom books that I've been reading. I felt like having a change and broadening my horizons...well, I did that with this book for sure! The cover of the book should have been my first clue that this is not a book about cute little angels flitting about heaven. I was really wanting a book that explained more about angels - the different hierarchies of them etc. In this book, Jean Danielou went a quite a bit beyond that and was definitely writing to an audience more well versed in the subject of angels, and even in the subject of church fathers, than I am. At the first mention of Pseudo-Dionysius I was like, what is a fake Dionysius verses a real Dionysius. And then he mentions Origen and I couldn't figure out why Origen was capitalized or what he was trying to find the origination of. Now that you all know how uneducated I am in our Church Fathers...I'll continue with the review.

I quickly figured out that this wasn't exactly what I was looking for when I chose this book and I admit that I had a tough time getting through it. And I've had a tough time figuring out how to review this book. I did something that I never do when starting out...I looked at another blogger's review. It was my friend Julie D's at Happy Catholic. I know that she loves angels and the curiosity of what she wrote versus what I was thinking just got the better of me! What I read was both shocking and exactly what I expected. Huh?? I know, right? The part I expected was that this was a pretty easy read for her. She's way smart and very knowledgeable already about angels so this for her while, as she puts it "not light, bedtime reading", was pretty easy for her to get through. What shocked me was that the part of the book that absolutely blew my mind because it was such a new concept for me was front and center in her review and apparently a new concept for her too.

Just as, at the Nativity, we see the Word descend, surrounded by the angels of heaven, and meet the guardian angels of earth, so now we see Him rise, accompanied by the angels of earth, and meet the angels who guard the gates of heaven. but these do not recognize Him, because He appears united to the human nature that He assumed and bearing the marks of His Passion. Thus, they question the angels who are accompanying Him to find out who He is.

[...]

Thus, the mystery of the Ascension completely amazes the angels of heaven. for what it reveals to them is really a mystery, hidden up to then, an entirely new reality, disconcerting at first glance

I love the image of the angels just being blown away by Jesus coming back to Heaven and they don't even recognize him because of his human nature! Wonderful! Love it!

This book is a tough read, but it is well worth the time and effort it takes to get through it. It has opened new thoughts and concepts to me. It has made me more interested in exploring and studying the Church Fathers which I admit to knowing nothing about. The chapter on The Angels and the Spiritual Life states that the angels try to help our spiritual life progress. I think they did just that in guiding me to read this book.

This book was reviewed as part of The Catholic Company's reviewer program. Read more reviews here. Order the book from The Catholic Company here.

A Review: Graced and Gifted by Kimberly Hahn

The latest book I am reviewing for the The Catholic Company product reviewer program is Graced and Gifted - Biblical Wisdom for the Homemaker's Heart by Kimberly Hahn. It is a book that can be read on its own or used as a Bible study with a group or alone. I honestly have to say that I did not want to choose this book when I was given the list of available books to review. There were a few others that really peaked my interest. And then when I saw that this book was based on the Proverbs 31 woman and actually read about the magnificent woman in Proverbs 31, I had an even harder time deciding on this book! I knew I could never live up to this woman - no matter how great a writer Kimberly Hahn is...and she's good - Life Giving Love is one of the most amazing books I've ever read! But I decided to go with this book mostly because it fits in so well with my blog, the topics I write about and my calling to reach out to other married women with children. As usual though, the Lord knows what I need before I do - and I'm so glad or I would have missed out on a great book! He knew that this book would not only fit well into my blog, but that it would fit well into my life and into the way He's been working in my life lately.

You see, lately, every where I turn, I'm reminded of the fact that being a wife and a mother is my calling...my vocation...my path to holiness and the sweet reward of Heaven. It is what God is calling me to do right now. I used to always really struggle with what God's will for me was until I read a book of Mother Angelica's sayings and teachings. She says that God's will for you is whatever you are doing at the time (wrote about it here). She says,

"What is God's Will for me?" Somebody asked me that not too long ago. Honey, if it's happening, it's God's Will; and you have to correspond to it in the Present Moment.

I am lucky as a wife and mother. I cannot question what God's will for me is...it's to be a wife to my husband and a mother to my children. It is to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, wipe tears, deal with tantrums, and throw dinosaur birthday parties. It is to be a helpmate, friend and lover to my husband. I am a cleaner of the house, a cook, a nurse, and a taxi driver. All of these things are what I am called to do and Kimberly Hahn's book has really helped to drive home this idea that the Lord has been drilling into my head and adds depth to many of the tasks that I do each day.

Hahn covers many different topics such as clothing the family, cooking for the family, organizing and decluttering the home, and growing a garden. She gives such wonderful ideas, information, and resources about so many different things. Each chapter contains references to helpful books and websites. And then, every couple of chapters, the topic is related to a sacrament making it real to the reader just how important what we do is not only for our families but for our vocation as homemakers. For example, the chapters on feeding the family are related to the Eucharist. Just as we provide food for our families,

"God provides food that is needful. In the Old Tesatment there are three examples of God's provision of food for his people"

.

"The sacrifice of the Mass is our covenant meal, renewing our covenant with God in thanksgiving for all he has done for us".

I keep thinking about what our pastor said in his homily last week. He said that when we do not do what God is asking of us, it leaves the Kingdom of God lacking in some way. That was just huge to me. It's not just me that is affected, or my children or family, but the entire Kingdom of God! As he was saying this, I started thinking about this book and how this is what it has been telling me as I've been reading this. The way I parent my children, run my household, and minister to my husband affects the entire Kingdom of God. What a huge responsibility. I'm so glad to have the help of the wonderful women in my life - mother, mother in law, friends - as well as the guidance of my church and my faith and the Bible. I'm so glad to have read this wonderful book and plan to keep it close by to refer to the resources that have been provided. I'm even thinking that one of these days I'd like to do a book study with a group of women using this book. I would recommend any young wife/mother pick up Graced and Gifted and tap into the wisdom it provides. It will give you a great perspective on the life that God is calling you to live!

This review was written as part of the Catholic book Reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Graced and Gifted - Biblical Wisdom for the Homemaker's Heart.

Specific to the BlogHer guidelines, I received this product free to review. It's value is less than $40.