Aaron Damiani - Earth Filled with Heaven: Finding Life in Liturgy, Sacraments, and other Ancient Practices of the Church

Praise for Earth Filled with Heaven

For those raised outside liturgical traditions, practices like reciting creeds, collective prayer, and feast days can often feel overwhelming or foreign. But with his new book, Earth Filled with Heaven, pastor and author Aaron Damiani invites readers to rediscover the patterns and rhythms that have sustained the church for generations. More than an explainer, this book unites us with saints around the world and throughout time, celebrating our shared Christian roots and the God who makes worship glorious by His presence.

HANNAH ANDERSON , author of Turning of Days: Lessons from Nature, Season, and Spirit

Ora et labora. These ancient words remind us that heaven is not far from earth; in fact, the truest truth is that a holy life is more seamless, a life where heaven and earth are woven togetherif we have eyes to see. Drawing upon the liturgical richness of the church through the centuries, the longing of Aaron Damiani is to bring the contemporary reader into a fuller faith and hope and love. As comfortable in reflecting on the long lament of the Chicago Cubs as he is about the profound pedagogy of the Chronicles of Narnia, and much more, Earth Filled with Heaven is a catechism for our day, a pastoral call to know more completely what we believe and why we believe, but especially why it matters.

STEVEN GARBER , Senior Fellow for Vocation and the Common Good, and author of The Seamless Life: A Tapestry of Love and Learning, Worship and Work

Evangelicals need liturgy. The reason, explains Aaron Damiani, is that liturgy is all about Jesus. The incarnation joins heaven and earth, a union that we experience nowhere more concretely than in the churchs liturgy. Unapologetically sacramental, Damiani takes us back to the churchs ancient practices, there to find renewed rest, peace, and hope. Earth Filled with Heaven is a stellar primer for evangelical Christians who long to deepen their lives with the real presence of Jesus Himself.

HANS BOERSMA , Professor of Ascetical Theology, Nashotah House Theological Seminary, and author of Heavenly Participation: The Weavingof a Sacramental Tapestry

Reading this book is like discovering a long-lost treasure chest in your own backyard. It is full of unfamiliar and exotic treasure and, lo and behold, it turns out those treasures belong to you! Many modern Protestant evangelicals are unaware that their own family worship tree includes a rich and vibrant liturgical and sacramental tradition whose purpose is to exalt and glorify Jesus Christ in every area of life. Aaron Damianis book is perfectly suited to help us recover the riches we didnt know were ours, and to rediscover a way of church and a way of life that is infused with the presence of Jesus Christ.

MARCUS JOHNSON , Professor of Theology, Moody Bible Institute; associate rector at St. Marks Church, Geneva, IL; author of One with Christ: An Evangelical Theology of Salvation

We live in a crazy and chaotic world where too many people have become burned out and disenchanted with the church. Rather than giving up on the faith, Aaron Damiani has written a book that introduces readers to timeless practices of the church for challenging times. Read it and you will find your faith refreshed and renewed in the ancient rhythms of grace.

WINFIELD BEVINS , author of Liturgical Mission and Ever Ancient, Ever New

At a time when the evangelical movement is splintered and tribal, this book calls us back the slow, patient rhythms that have marked the historic Christian church. Weve been taught that rituals without relationships can be dead, and thats true, but relationships without rituals can be shallow. Regardless of your ecclesial tradition, this book will help you draw closer to Jesus Christ, by helping you recover the timeless liturgies of the Christian faith, helping shape your faith and community in a time of spiritual angst. Damiani points us toward a more beautiful orthodoxy. Read this book and watch God work in your own heart and in the heart of your local body of believers.

DANIEL DARLING , Director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement and bestselling author of several books, including The Characters of Christmas, The Characters of Easter, The Dignity Revolution, and A Way with Words

This book has a permanent place on my bookshelf. As a tenured pastor, Im worried how disposable our Christian practices areshort-lived songs, stream-of-consciousness prayers, forgettable sermons. Im weary of fads. In our worship, both personal and at church, we need a sense of majesty, a connection with godly tradition, and enduring patterns to guide us from the secular to the spiritual. Im not from a high church tradition, but how I need sacred elements to stabilize my scattered heart! Aaron Damianis words have lifted me up. Theyll do the same for you.

ROBERT J. MORGAN , author of The Red Sea Rules and Then Sings My Soul

If you feel hurt by the church or long to see, taste, and pray your way into real communion with Jesus, then read Earth Filled with Heaven. Father Aaron Damiani nourishes your soul with the simplicity and beauty of the sacred Scriptures, creeds, church calendar, and vintage prayers. In these pages, the shared sacramental life with Jesus Christ overflows like a thousand geysers into our world today.

BILL GAULTIERE & KRISTI GAULTIERE , founders of Soul Shepherding and authors of Journey of the Soul

The greatest promise of the Christian faith is not that we shall go to heaven, but that heaven is present here. In the raw, lovely stuff of which our world is madewater and oil, bread and wine, word and voiceGod works and delights. No matter your tradition, your theology, or your tough questions, youll find rich and honest hope in the promise of this book. Return here to our faiths deepest and most timely heritageand rejoice.

PAUL J. PASTOR , poet and author of The Face of the Deep, The Listening Day, and Bower Lodge

For every Christian worshiper who is weary of simply going through the motions, Aaron Damiani has a bold suggestion: retrieve a sacramental vision of the life of the church. Pointing us at every turn toward Jesus as Gods sacrament par excellence, Damiani helps us rediscover the beauty of ancient Christian worship in its life-giving rhythms and cadences: Eucharist, baptism, time, Scripture, prayer, mission. A grace-filled and engaging book for pastors, worship leaders, and lay Christians alike. Highly recommended!

TODD WILSON , President of the Center for Pastor-Theologians; author of Mere Sexuality: Recovering the Christian Vision of Sexuality

An increasingly frenetic and fragile world has many modern Christians desiring the old paths, the good way of our forebears in the faith, where the ancient practices of the church give rest to our souls as we journey to a kingdom that cannot be shaken. If that is your desire, then Earth Filled with Heaven is a book for you. Aaron Damiani writes with the gentleness of a pastor, the maturity of a seasoned sojourner, and the winsome warmth that comes from life-transforming intimacy with Jesus Christ along the wayfrom truly tasting and seeing that the Lord is good. If you are new to the old paths, Damiani will ensure that your first steps are steady and straight. And if you are further down the road, you will find him a most welcome and valued companion.