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You and your family push aside the curtain and enter a room at the back of the private home. You are warmly greeted by friends who have gathered on this Sunday morning to celebrate the Lord's Day.
You listen as the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read. Then the predecessor explains the readings and exhorts all present to live a life worthy of the Savior.
After a few moments of prayer, bread and wine are blessed, broken, and distributed to all present. Before you leave for home, a collection is taken up for the needs of the Church.
Sound familiar? It should. It's the same Mass we celebrate today. Only this account comes from the year 67 A.D. -- barely 30 years after Christ's death.
In The Mass of the Early Christians, author Mike Aquilina uses anecdotes and historical texts to show vividly how the Mass was celebrated at the beginning of the Christian Church, trace its progression over the ages, and highlight the fascinating diversity that arose as Christianity spread throughout the world. Quantity
A literary phenomenon in Italy, this European best-seller was voted the best Italian novel of the decade in a public survey. Its success has gone way beyond Italy, having been translated into Spanish, French, Japanese and 3 other languages. This epic historical novel about World War II and after, written from the author's own personal experiences as an Italian Freedom Fighter, is a profoundly moving account of the war, those who fought in it on both sides, and the effects the war had on families in the author's hometown in northern Italy.
On a wider scale, it is a faithful witness to the actual events of the war—including the historic personages who appear, the Russian campaign, the Nazi barbarism, the Communist gulag, the North Italian resistance, and beyond to the political life in the two decades after the war. This world, filled with powerful personalities, drama and clashing armies, bathes in the complex light of the truth.
A truly great historical novel with its epic scope, what makes this a masterpiece is the underlying spiritual dimensions of the protagonist, his family and friends, which illuminates the ongoing tragedy of the war and its aftermath. In the end, it is a story of faith and hope in a world reduced to barbarism and cruelty.
Born in 1921 in Lombardy, Eugenio Corti joined the Italian Freedom Fighters. From his experiences of the tragic retreat from Russia, Corti wrote a fascinating chronicle, Most Did Not Return, and a book about the Italian Freedom Fighters, The Last Soldiers of the King. Soft cover Ignatius Prss Spring 2002 Quantity
From the pious to the practical, the reflections of the Fathers of the Church cover virtually every aspect of the Christian life. Noted author Mike Aquilina has compiled their ancient axioms into a concise collection of comments designed for busy, modern readers. Pray with the poetry of St. Gregory Nazianzen. Find clear direction in the practical advice of St. Jerome. And, let your heart turn toward the heavenly Jerusalem, following the 1,000 timeless treasures in The Way of the Fathers. "A power-packed collection of the Fathers' concise, clear, and challenging statements on issues still relevant to Christians today. A helpful tool, for anyone seeking to live the authentic Gospel life as understood by the first Christians."
Softcover, 208 pages. Quantity
