Absolutely beautiful and inspiring!

I was delighted to recently discover that The Holy Angels by Mother Alexandra has been republished by Ancient Faith and offered as an audiobook! The author rightly notes that in our modern context, we give insufficient consideration to the angels (that is, to all the bodiless creatures) even though we are often reminded of their presence in creation in the prayers of the Church and in the Holy Scripture. We ask the Lord in every liturgy “for an angel of peace, a faithful guide, a guardian of our souls and bodies,” and in our daily prayers, we ask to be “guided and guarded by” and surrounded with an array of Holy angels. Tuesdays are for the angels in our weekly cycle of commemoration. And still, we know nothing, or almost nothing, about them!

Mother Alexandra’s book seeks to resolve that. She approaches the subject from a foundation of direct encounter with the angels in her own life, an incident not many of us can claim for our own. Having witnessed the angels directly, Mother Alexandra assiduously takes the reader through the witness of the Church, beginning with the scriptures and ending in the context of Orthodox theology, liturgics, and sacred art. The holy abbess does this with a fluency in the subject at hand that entirely removes any pretension from her approach. There’s nothing “academic” about this work, though it is well researched and well sourced. St Isaac the Syrian says that “words coming from righteous activity is a treasury of hope,” and Mother Alexandra’s active life of service, prayer, and study informs this text so that it is precisely such a treasury. It is accessible to those who are just beginning to deepen their understanding of the teaching and practices of the Church no less than it is accessible to those who are steeped in the writings of the saints. The citations of liturgical and patristic texts offers the reader the opportunity to further explore any particular understanding of the angels and their role in the Church offered herein.

Mother Alexandra reminds us repeatedly that the angels surround us and protect us. Ignoring their role in the story of salvation, from the beginning until this present day (and indeed until the end of the ages!), we not only lose a rich aspect of our “theology” (in the sense of understanding doctrine), we lose our ability to connect to a vital aspect of creation, depriving ourselves of contact with the noetic world—that is, we lose a piece of our “true theology” of prayer. After getting through this book, I became acutely aware of the pervasiveness of the angelic hosts in our scripture, worship, and spiritual writings. While there is no dramatic change in the order my daily life as a result of this, a great deal of consolation has entered my interior life; I pray, fellow reader, that the same will hold true for you after you complete this book.

One quick note: I originally experienced this book as an audiobook. The narrator does a good job conveying the text and shares relevant citations when necessary throughout the text. Because the content is rather deep, I was able to enjoy the audiobook while doing “automatic” tasks (e.g., walking the dog and folding laundry) but I had a harder time focusing on it while doing things that involve concentration and technical skill use (e.g., laying out a website); your mileage may vary on that point, depending on how good you are at multitasking. I was recently given a physical copy of the book, and I will likely use both formats interchangeably in the future, as there’s no doubt that I’ll revisit this book for deepening my own understanding, as a tool for teaching at my parish, and in the catechesis of my children.

The Holy Angels is a thoughtful, thorough, well-organized presentation about angels, read with clarity and confidence. Kristina Wenger, whose voice I recognized from her reading of the author’s early life autobiography (I Live Again), once again became the voice of the author. I appreciated this continuity as it helped me to appreciate the depth of knowledge, insight, and understanding provided – that the once princess of Romania, who served so many people throughout her life, then chose to serve by sharing a piece of her robust faith.

What’s most memorable to me was the realization of how much I didn’t know (and probably still don’t, because there was a lot of information to glean). I think we make assumptions about angels and their roles in our lives, and/or take them for granted - I have been guilty of paying no attention to them or to the support and accountability that they provide. I think we also neglect to recognize the spiritual side of life – the world unseen that surrounds us. It’s always good to be humbled in recognition that there is so much more to know.

It’s not every day that you listen to a book that makes you want to rewind over and over to hear and fully comprehend all that’s being discussed. This book made me want to purchase the written copy for my own study and quick reference. I appreciated Mother Alexandra’s review of Scripture, as well as the review of extra biblical literature. I appreciate the depth of her presentation of not only scripture, but Apostolic, early church, and church father’s writings as well; there was also discussion of literary and artistic references to angels – again causing a desire to have a written copy of the book so I could use it to reference the pieces of art and the artists that she talked about.

In listening to this book, the only thing lacking was my own ability to remember all that I heard. It is a book I will revisit again, both in the audio and print versions.

Disclosure: I did receive a copy of this audiobook in exchange for a fair review. I do, however, plan to purchase my own written copy.

I originally purchased this as an audio book to listen to on my daily commute. Having finished it, I decided to purchase a hard copy with the intent of reading it more intently.

The book itself seeks to remind us that far from being "up there" God is indeed he who is "Everywhere present and fills all things". The implications of this are far reaching in our private prayers, our corporate worship and how we interact with the people and world around us. I found Fr. Freeman's book to be both beautiful and incredibly moving & I believe that I will be ruminating on it for quite a long time to come. For me, it isn't one that I'll read once and shelve but one that I will read again, give away, repurchase, and read again.

This is a fantastic resource for those married or those looking to get married. The chapters around how to choose a partner and what things to look for were particularly invaluable and very helpful.

Also liked seeing Orthodox understandings of contemporary issues.

I am a mother of three small children ages 5.5 , 2.5, and 9 months. In the Orthodox faith, children are active participants in the Church, including the liturgy. However, I have been blessed with spirited children. That's the kind way people like to describe the loud, wiggly, excitable, fussy, clingy children that I have. I don't remember the last time I had a peaceful liturgy for more than fifteen minutes. I don't think I'll have one for a long time.

So, reading Come, Let Us Worship has been like a cool spring in a parched desert. How lovely to go through the Liturgy, step by step, in a clear and concise and meaningful way.

This book isn't for someone who is seeking great depth in the understanding of each of the gestures, traditions, and historical/ cultural references of the Orthodox Church. This is for someone who wants an overview. Beautiful, simple, insightful. No need for a dictionary or really any reference materials, other than a copy of the Divine Liturgy (in the case that you are unfamiliar with the service, then I'd most certainly recommend having one near by).

There are so many beautiful and encouraging insights that I simply could not write them all'but here are a few that have given me pause. Have given me hope in this challenging season of life:

'The Divine Liturgy is God's offering to man, and man's offering to God' 'Hieromonk Grigorios (pp 9)

'If God comes first, then we can meet every problem with confidence, knowing that His merciful grace will guide us toward what is pleasing to Him and good for our salvation' (pp 11)

'If you do these things in humility and love, you will find peace that passes understanding (see Phil.4:7) in all that you do. Your active participation in the Liturgy will energize your faith (pp 13).

When making the sign of the cross [remember the psalms] 'The light of Thy countenance hath been signed upon us' (Psalm 4:7)

'By praying and, over time, memorizing the Divine Liturgy, one learns to pray and even memorize a great deal of the Bible. It has been said that while many Christians study the Bible, we Orthodox pray the Bible' (pp. 31).

''keep in mind that all the senses are employed in liturgical action in order to raise the whole person to God: we see icons and processions, we smell burning incense and beeswax candles, we touch the icons and make the sign of the cross, we taste Holy Communion. God speaks to us through all of our sense, and beyond'to the heart' (pp. 40)

When the choir exhorts us to cast aside our earthly cares before receiving Holy Communion we must remember the words: 'The soul that has not learned to despise the petty concerns of everyday life will not be able to marvel at the things of heaven' 'St. John Chrysostom (pp. 69)

'To summarize, the sacred exchange takes place: the worshipping community, represented by the presiding bishop or priest, offers its all, embodied in the bread and wine, 'Thine own of Thine own.' In response, God receives this offering and 'places His own Life in the Gifts, 'the Holy for the holy' ' (Elder Zacharias of Essex). (pp 85)

This mystical supper is a place where we are adopted in the heavenly family. We become united with Christ and set apart. God is jealous for us, all of us, and he yearns for a more complete unity in body and soul. In the Orthodox Church, this belief is made real. I'm thankful for this book. I'm praying I will continue to go back to it. Especially over the next few years when I don't get to experience it in the same peaceful way I would like to.

Just beautiful!

Good quality, beautiful icons and daily fast and event reminders reminders.

Father Matthew is my favorite spiritual writer, and I say this as a Protestant. Thank you Ancient Faith for publishing this book. I hope you can publish many more of his in the future!

Down to earth and practical. Dogmatically sound without pretension. Abbot Tryphon relates to those of us "in the world" because he has been there. I gave this to my oldest son and my daughter, ages 47 and 43. After prayers in the morning, it's the first book I reach for because I know I'll be getting a good word before I go out the door to work.

It is exactly what I was expecting. Perfect size!

This is a warmly written and easily read book about Eastern Orthodoxy and the Divine Liturgy. I say “warmly” because Khouria (priest’s wife) Frederica has a very good voice for reading and especially her own work. Her voice kind of wraps you in a blanket and gives you a cup of tea and let’s you know, it’s going to be okay.

I read a hard copy of this book several years ago, just before my own conversion to Orthodoxy and found it to be a bit syrupy because I could not imagine having that much love and adoration for the elements of a church service. Church is whole, right? Why break it down like this? But now, ten years after my conversion, I get it. The Divine Liturgy is not “a church service” and the individual components of the liturgy are what make it whole. Separated, the components are like the coal in the bucket next to the stove: “Dusty, dark, cold, and hard, coal has no beauty of its own…” but when the Holy Spirit comes down on those individual parts, “it is consummated by fire it is beautiful and becomes what it was designed to be.” This is what the Divine Liturgy is.

I do recommend this book to newcomers to the Divine Liturgy and to folks who have been around for a while. For the newcomer, you will find a description of what is happening in each part of the liturgy, what the priest is doing, what the words he says mean, and how they come together. People who have been part of the Church for a while will have a new understanding as to the different components of the liturgy and be able to see how they blend to form the beautiful whole of it.

Definitely worth reading. Truly worth hearing.

4.5 Stars

Full Disclosure: I was given a copy of this book in return for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to do this, AFP!

Disclosure: I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I Live Again was written in 1951 by Princess Ileana, who later became Mother Alexandra, founder of Holy Transfiguration Monastery in PA. This is a re-release. I was expecting it to be chronological, but it actually begins at the end and then she tells her tale, but the point is not to tell her story so much as to share the heart of Romania with a specifically American audience. In fact, she often compares things from her life in Romania to her experiences in America in an attempt to explain things better to the American reader, which I very much appreciated.

Each chapter has a drawing that she did herself, and she tells her story, at first, by taking the reader around her American apartment and pointing out things that she brought with her from her former life. She has often been asked, "What was it like to be a princess," and to some degree she seeks to answer that - and it is not at all what one would expect. She takes the reader into the darkness of war and destruction, but she is very gentle at the same time. While written by an Orthodox monastic, this book references Orthodoxy explicitly as if the reader is not Orthodox - she takes some time to explain things a bit more ("This is what is done in the Orthodox Church.") without assuming that the reader already has some understanding of Orthodoxy. That, I think, opens the book up to non-Orthodox who want an inside perspective of the things going on in Romania and Austria during WWII and the descent of the Iron Curtain.

I would also commend this book very much to anyone with an interest in history. I studied WWII extensively in high school because I found it very interesting, but for all my studying of Auswitch and Dachau I had never even heard of what went on in Romania. As a homeschooler, I think this would be an excellent book to accompany a high school WWII/Europe course, and I would also recommend having a working knowledge of history from about 1940-1950 (or at the very least a timeline available). She glances over historical events only briefly, because her focus is more what was going on in her corner of the world at the time, but this would be a great exercise for the student in putting something autobiographical in a wider context.

She has a bit to say about Communism and how it works, which was very interesting to read and would certainly appeal to anyone studying political sciences. Most importantly, she shows (without necessarily naming it) what it means to carry your faith with you wherever you go, and how to love God and love people no matter who they are or what is going on. Her love for her country is astounding - even as an American, I think that it is something I cannot quite wrap my head around. Her soaring descriptions of the history, landscape, and culture of her homeland spark a desire to see it oneself, and everything her people have had to fight through just to be their own people would bring anyone to his knees in pain, hope, and awe.

In all, this will definitely be a book that my children will read in high school, and I have even already recommended this book to many people I know, both Orthodox and non-Orthodox. Highest recommendations!

excellent.

The Cross Ornament, three-bar cut-out design is very beautiful and inspiring.

Absolutely *loved* this book! It draws you in with humour and then simply but powerfully puts before the child (and the parent!) what it means to love God and show that through our life and our daily struggles. I was thinking about it the day after, though it’s a kids’ book!

Too often our spiritual books are written by monks and for monks and have either little gleamings or disasterous advice for us living in the world. This book gives the best avenue to explore Orthodox spirituality as a layman and within the world and brings us even closer to our destination.

This a is well bound book full of beautifully translated prayers.

Beautiful prayers

My kids and I loved the book. The way the different prayers are introduced really engaged the kids. I highly recommend it as an excellent resource for kids and teenagers!