ANGELS AND SAINTS

ANGELS AND SAINTS                             SCOTT HAHN
Posted:  July 16, 2014

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.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

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.