The Angels: The Catholic Teaching on the Angels
Product Description
The Church’s traditional teaching about the Angels. From Sacred Scripture, the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, the Saints and official Church pronouncements - to bring together into one book just about everything that is known for sure about these blessed spirits. Fr. Parente explains the Angels’ creation, their test, and the fall of Lucifer and his minions; then he explains the Angel’s intelligence and fee will, their language, powers and movements; plus he explains how many there are, what they do and much more.
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What first impressed me about this book was its clarity and brevity. What later impressed me was the depth of scholastic knowledge behind the positions that Fr. Parente advances.
He does not bring any new theories about angels to the table, nor does he swallow popular notions about angels whole. Simply, Fr. Parente restates the positions the Roman Catholic Church has taken on different aspects of angelic nature, while giving pertinent quotations from famous Christian thinkers.
Academically, the book provides documentation for all positions taken. Fr. Parente cites a number of theologians (including some that do not support the current theology of the Church) to show how and why the Catholic Church reached its current position on the matter at hand. He also gives relevant scriptural passages on which some teachings are based.
Structurally, the book is divided into sections, each of which addressing a particular question about angels. Especially of interest to me were the chapters on choirs (orders) of angels, and on the three ‘famous’ angels: Michael, Gabriel and Raphael.
Of note: this book is not an apologetic work. It is (in a sense) highly academic. Fr. Parente offers a concise summation of Catholic teachings on the angels, he does not actively defend them from naysayers. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn the Church’s actual teachings on angels, or to any students who is interested in finding something other than popular conceptions on angels.
I enjoyed this book because of its brevity (around 150 pages) and the simplicity with which it treated the subject of the angels. Fr. Parente advances the concepts treated therein clearly, but it is also clear that he has a deep faith in God and the Roman Catholic Church. This attitude was a refreshing change for me from many of the books on religion that I have read, which treat religion in a purely academic sense. Fr. Parente believes in what he says, and it shows.
This book was originally released under the title ‘Beyond Space.’ This book is a great textbook to learn about The Catholic Churches view on Angels. It is extremely well documented with footnotes and a bibliography. There is no new material added, but it would take you reading numerous books and articles to acquire what is presented in this book.
Father Parente covers the position of the Roman Catholic Church and quotes theologians on both sides of his position. In part 1 of the book the author covers the basic questions. Such as: what is an Angel and about their creation. How like us earthly beings, Angels have free will and went through their own probationary period at one time. The hierarchy of Angels is covered, as are their titles. I enjoyed the section on the subject of the three named Archangels that we know of.
Part two of the book covers our Guardian Angels and Angelopanies. I found this the most interesting section myself. That people are assigned a Guardian Angel at birth to be their guardian. And the role they have with leaders and nations. The three examples of documented manifestations were very interesting.
If you have any questions about Angels, just read this book.
This is also a wonderful book on the Angels and how they relate to us in our lives, but more, it gives their history…their own creation, their test, their work in relation to the Church and the modern world.
I like the way Fr. Parente writes in a very easy to understand style, using Doctors of the Church (St. Thomas Aquinas, for one) to give a well-rounded and researched tome exactly what it needs to instruct the Faithful on the Angels and their work.
I highly recommend this book!