Monday, July 22, 2013

Image Books: The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth

Today I'm reviewing a book that had a profound impact on my journey to Catholicism - The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth. Some of my regular readers might be thinking, "But you converted over 10 years ago, why review the book now?" Well, I first read this book as an ebook before ebooks took off. This was before the iPad or Kindle and when the format was a PDF tied to your computer. Unfortunately, I lost that computer and thus the book as well. Fortunately, Blogging for Books had one available copy left to review, and I knew it had to be mine! I also thought that it would be neat to re-read it (a practice I don't normally participate in) and see how the same words would speak to me ten years after my conversion.

The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth is broken into three parts - "The Gift of the Mass," "The Revelation of Heaven," and "Revelation for the Masses." In the first part, Dr. Hahn explains how the book of Revelation never made sense to him as a Protestant. He also explains that when he first attended Mass, he started connecting the dots between Scripture and everything that was going on during Mass. Since, he was well-versed in his Bible, he was able to point out the Biblical basis for many points in the Mass. This is something your average Catholic could not do, so he showed one of the advantages of having a Protestant background. His brain was starting to tell him what his heart knew all along. Chapter Four is an essential for someone considering converting as he walks through the entire Mass, part-by-part.

In the second part, Dr. Hahn walks you through the book of Revelation. It isn't a verse-by-verse study, though I would be interested in reading that if Dr. Hahn ever wrote it. Instead, it covers some of the tougher passages and more argued about points. Some of these topics covered include the woman clothed in the sun, the number 666, the beasts, etc. He also talked about covenants and how the Israelites or "old Jerusalem" broke the covenant and a new covenant was formed with the Church or "new Jerusalem." In the third part, ancient liturgies are discussed as well as the importance of the Mass. We must remember that it is not just church we are going to, but we are entering Heaven on Earth.

Ten years later, this book still offers great truth and beauty. It is written in Dr. Hahn's personal and easy-to-understand style that so many of us converts relied upon to help us comprehend the truths of the Catholic Church. I remember that I had two major reservations on my path to Catholicism - the Eucharist and Mary. I am eternally grateful that Dr. Hahn wrote a book addressing each of these topics - The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth and Hail Holy Queen, respectively. So whether you are new to the faith or a seasoned veteran, I invite you to pick up this 5 star book. You won't be disappointed, and you will definitely learn something you didn't know before. I certainly did, both ten years ago and presently.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. If you'd like to know more about the book itself or Dr. Hahn, click the links below. As always, if you found this review helpful, click this link and hit Yes!

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