Following Our Lord's earthly life, the apostolic age was—and continues to be—the richest and most revealing for Christians. The pattern for living the Gospels was created at that time. Yet, for Catholics of the last two generations, the indispensable fruits of the Patristic Era have all but vanished, and the Church and society as a whole have suffered as a result.
Based on the Acts of the Apostles, Fouard created an authoritative and reverent account brimming with precious facts from Greek and Roman historians, perceptive reflections on Saints Matthew and Mark's Gospels, an extensive outline related by Saint Luke, and a timeless introduction by James Cardinal Gibbons that upholds the authenticity of the Sacred Scriptures.
As Catholic World magazine said over a century ago:
“[Abbe Fouard’s book] shows how much may be obtained by the diligent and truth-seeking student ... simple, clear [and] distinct. ... Peter and the other Apostles seem to stand before us as living men. With him we follow them as they descend the Mount of Olives to re-enter the Supper-Room, where with Mary they persevered in prayer until the Holy Spirit came. Afterwards we see how he to whom Jesus had said, ‘Feed my lambs, feed my sheep,’ took the position of leader. ... Our author does not have to prove that there was a church, because his readers hear the Church speaking.
“We wish that more Church historians knew how to bring out our religion as a living thing. ... Men are perishing because the truth is being willfully ignored, Christianity is being rejected because erroneous confessions of faith can be picked to pieces. Conviction is being overthrown to give place to doubt, and the remedy is knowledge of religion as God gave it to man through the channels which He appointed for its extension. ... Abbe Fouard’s book will help to make the truth known.”
This work brings to life through fascinating narratives and intimate details:
- The life of St. Peter. not only as an apostle, but as a man
- The true story of the early Church—free from modern criticism
- The ancient Roman culture and religion
- The moral condition of the pagan world (Is it better or worse than today?)
- Six fascinating aspects of early Christian worship
- Three ways that the Holy Spirit taught the Apostles to transmit the Faith