Angels Feast Day Craft!

Happy Feast of the Holy Archangels! It is my tradition to post this simple, cute pattern... have fun with it!

Ana's Picture Book of the Week

John Mary Vianney: The Holy Cure of Ars by Sophie De Mullenheim, 2010 Ignatius Press, Hardcover.

This book deserves a best-of-the-year award! I purchased it for a Christmas gift and was enchanted by both text and pictures! The Cure of Ars, born and raised in poverty during a post-revolution France, became well known in all of France still in his lifetime because of his holiness and his ability to bring souls to repentance and to God. The life of the humble and saintly priest who changed a whole town and the hearts of so many is all there, and in wonderful illustrations as well. Thank you Ignatius Press for publishing high quality children Catholic picture books!

Ana's Picture Book of the Week

Brother Wolf, Sister Sparrow by Eric Kimmel, Holiday House, NY, 2003

I found this while looking for more Brendan the Navigator stories for history class. It is a delightful book about animals and saints stories.

This Amazon customer review says it very well:

Saint Francis' "Sermon to the Birds" precedes the stories. Though we are not birds, in a way it prepares us, the readers, for the wonder and mystery that is to follow. The stories are quite interesting. Each tale ends with an informative tidbit about the Saint. For example, "Saint Notburga is the patron saint of poor
farmers and hired servants. Her feast day is September 14. Her emblem is the sickle."
John Winch has made two types of illustrations in this book. Before each tale there is an intriguing representation of an artifact representing the Saint. One looks like a painting on wood, one looks like a small statue, another looks like a coin. These gray illustrations also mention the country and rough dates that the Saint lived. I like these symbolic illustrations even more than the colorful acrylic folk paintings that plainly detail the stories.
The verso mentions that "The author's principal source for this book is Butler's Lives of the Saints (New York: P.J. Kennedy & Sons, 1956)."
The author's note is brief and explains what makes a person a saint and the canonization process. The author concludes, "This process does not make a person a saint. Only God can do that. Through canonization, the church recognizes what God has already done."

Angels simple craft pattern

To celebrate our holy angels with the kids! Go to Ana's Blog for a printable free pattern!

Ana's Picture Book of the Week

Saints and Their Stories by Maria Loretta Giraldo, illustrated by Nicoletta Bertelle. Hardcover, 2010 Pauline Books & Media, ISBN: 0-8198-7134-6, 168 pages.

This is the translation of a lovely Italian book for children. I love the uniqueness of the style and illustrations. The stories are filled with anecdotes and details of the saints' lives not found in other books about saints for children. Truly a gem-- we will read it aloud during Religion this Fall. Do visit the Publisher's site as they have a neat flip-the-pages "look-inside" feature.

From the Publisher:

This sumptuously illustrated collection of biographies introduces young readers, ages 7–10, to eighteen popular saints. Historical and biographical information is enriched by cultural and artistic traditions,—and even a few legends. Saints and Their Storiesincludes:

Saint Ann

Saint Joseph

Saint John the Baptist

Saint Peter

Saint Paul

Saint Cecilia

Saint Helen the Empress

Saint Lucy

Saint Ambrose

Saint Augustine

Saint Benedict

Saint Francis

Saint Anthony of Padua

Saint Catherine

Saint Rita

Saint John Bosco

Saint Bernadette

The Archangel Gabriel

Includes a presentation page, making it an ideal gift for First Communion, birthdays, and favorite saints’ feast days

Support a Catholic Speaker Month! Mike Aquilina

Fallible Blogma has put together a wonderful project that I'm very delighted to participate in: Support a Catholic Speaker Month. Here's what the project organizers have to say about it:

The goal is to create a rising Catholic tide on the internet that lifts all boats (websites, speakers, and all those who participate). This giant, sudden influx of Catholic material and interlinking between Catholic websites should get some attention and raise awareness about all of these great Catholic speakers while also promoting the many wonderful Catholic blogs out there that perhaps you haven’t heard of yet either.

I think this is a fabulous idea, in part because we all need to be frequently reminded of what bonds us together - a passion for Christ's truth and a strong desire to share it with others. We need to focus on the truth we hold in common partly because the devil wishes to divide us - and sometimes accomplishes it through the most non-essential differences - like differences of taste or personality (which are gifts from God intended to enrich our lives and the world not divide us and keep us from accomplishing His will). This message of unity is the same message that has been beautifully articulated in a quote I came across many years ago when it was taken on as the motto of Catholic Information Network and which is popularly attributed to St. Augustine:

"In essentials unity, in doubtful matters, liberty, in all things, charity."

I've long been a fan of Mike Aquilina's work - especially through his books and blog - and I think the quote is one he'd heartily agree with. I was privileged to have a chat with him in preparation for this interview and asked him about this unity of truth and charity and how he came to understand it in his own life. He said that studying the Fathers of the Church (and appreciating their differences as well as what they held in common) and having children (he's a homeschool dad of six!) were primary influences.

Mike's blog, the Way of the Fathers, is always a pleasure to read, especially for those who have an interest in history, and I've always enjoyed his quirky sense of humor present there. He's a prolific writer and editor, though we only have a few of his books reviewed here on Love2learn (so far):

The Fathers of the Church
Signs and Mysteries: Revealing Ancient Christian Symbols
Love in the Little Things: Tales of Family Life

This last book is a particular favorite of mine and speaks well to his potential as a speaker on parenting and family life in addition to his areas of expertise in history and theology. I think he'd make a great speaker for homeschool conferences as well as ones aimed at wider Catholic audiences. He also speaks on the angels.

He's a big part of an excellent new project for children on Saint Perpetua. The Story of Saint Perpetua (from the Catholic Heroes of the Faith series) is a short animated film on the early Christian martyr and her companions. You can read a detailed review on Love2learn. As mentioned in the review, Mike is also featured in a companion documentary on Saint Perpetua, The Passion of Saint Perpetua: Martyr of the Faith, which is excellent.

Mike has co-hosted a number of EWTN programs with Scott Hahn and is the vice-president of The Saint Paul Center for Biblical Theology.

Mike is a passionate and faith-filled speaker with a lot of knowledge and enthusiasm to share with others, as evidenced by the free radio clips and talks available on his website.

You can visit the following websites for more information on Mike Aquilina and his projects and interests:

Mike Aquilina's Website

The Way of the Fathers Blog

Online Classes: Catholic Spiritual Writers

Although Homeschool Connections is currently scheduling spring courses there is one fall class still open. It's Catholic Spiritual Writers and it starts November 5, 2009. Dr. Gotcher of Love2Learn is the instructor and his classes are terrific for high school students who Love 2 Learn. They are not only academically challenging but also spiritually uplifting. This course is a terrific opportunity for you to give your high school student credit for literature and theology as well help him or her grow in love with all things Catholic.

Course Title:
Catholic Spiritual Writers
(click on the hyperlink to register)

Course Description:
In this course we will look at the basic principles of Catholic spirituality as they are explained by some of the great spiritual writers, such as St. Augustine, St. Francis of Assisi, Thomas a Kempis, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Francis de Sales, and St. Therese of Lisieux. We will especially emphasize their application to the life of the young laity.

Homework
The assignment will be to pick one of the great spiritual classics, read the entire book over the six weeks of the course, and keep a journal of reflections as you read.

Fee:
Six-week course for $120.

Dates and Time:
Classes will begin Wednesday, November 4, 2009 and meet every Wednesday through December 16, 2009. The time will begin 8:00 PM Eastern (7:00 Central). The class is one hour 15 minutes.

Enrollment Period:
Enrollment is currently open and will close when the class is filled. (Maximum 15 students.)

Course Materials Needed by Students:
The text will be The Classics of Catholic Spirituality by Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P. (editor of the English language edition of Magnificat magazine). It is very inexpensive ($7). The rest of the texts from the great spiritual writers are available free online.

Equipment requirements:
Because this is a discussion course, students are required to have high-speed internet and a headset with a microphone. If you do not own a headset, you can find them for a reasonable price at Amazon.

Course Access:
All Homeschool Connections courses are recorded and available to registered students for up to six months.

Professor's Biography:
Dr. Robert F. Gotcher most recently served as Associate Professor of Systematic Studies at Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wisconsin. He and his wife, Kathy, are raising their seven children in Franklin, Wisconsin. Dr. Gotcher has been actively involved in the home schooling of his children, especially in the junior high and high school years. He has taught Latin, literature, physics, astronomy, and religion to homeschooled students. He has a special devotion to the classical trivium of grammar, logic and rhetoric, especially as they pertain to the written arts.

Dr. Gotcher graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1981 with a B.A. in the Program of Liberal Studies. He received his M.A. in Theology of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul in 1991 and his Ph.D. from Marquette University in 2002. In his adult life he has done everything from volunteering with the poor in Appalachia, to religious education and youth ministry, to desktop publishing and computer related responsibilities at a law firm. At the seminary he taught introduction to theology, the doctrine of God, one and three, theological anthropology (creation, sin, redemption, grace, four last things), life principles, and human sexuality and has given public presentations on Vatican II, the encyclicals of the pope, social justice, life issues, human sexuality and the theology of the body. His publications focus on family issues, lay spirituality and issues related to the Second Vatican Council. He is involved in the secular Franciscan order, home schooling, and pro-life activities in the Milwaukee area and nationally.

Dr. Gotcher blogs at Heart, Mind & Strength, Classic Catholic and Love2Learn.

Click here to learn about other homeschool online classes.

If you have questions please email Maureen Wittmann.

All Saints' Craft! New Patterns!

I just posted a new craft pattern to make these heavenly paper friends! Enjoy!

Art Project: Saint Paul Mosaic

I worked with four girls (3rd to 8th grade) once a week since July: we traced a picture of Saint Paul with pencil and then found magazine photos/colors to match.

Click on the image to see how we used all sorts of photos! Water down the glue and use it with a paintbrush, coating the back of each piece and then brushing a layer of that on top of each newly glued piece as well.




Cross posted on Ana's Journal: feel free to email me - anabragahenebry at gmail dot com - with any project questions!

Love2learn Moments #45: Certitude and the Saints

In his recent encyclical on hope, Pope Benedict XVI explained that:

...in truly great trials, where I must make a definitive decision to place the truth before my own welfare, career, and possessions, I need the certitude of that true, great hope of which we have spoken here. For this too we need witnesses - martyrs - who have given themselves totally, so as to show us the way - day after day. We need them if we are to prefer goodness to comfort, even in the little choices we face each day - know that this is how we live life to the full;... the capacity to suffer for the sake of truth is the measure of humanity. Yet this capacity to suffer depends on the type and extent of the hope that we bear within us and build upon. The saints were able to make the great journey of human existence in the way that Christ had done before them, because they were brimming with great hope.

Review: Parachute with the Angels and St. Catherine Laboure

Review by Mary G.

Vacation Bible School can strike fear in the hearts of many. Often "vacation bible school" implies and in fact means a heavily Protestant-biased week for children. With all the good intentions of those involved, VBS for Catholics tends to become a watered-down program with a “Catholic” shell thrown loosely on top of a Protestant base.

Thanks to a group of Catholics families, there is now a glitzy, child-friendly, easy-to-use package available that is Catholic through and through. Growing with the Saints Incorporated has produced three different VBS programs. The one that we used is a VBS that focuses on the Catholic interpretation of angels – both scripturally and factually based. Titled Parachute with the Angels and St. Catherine Laboure, this VBS is a complete turn-key package that is well-written and well-thought through in order to give children – from grades pre-K through 6th – a good understanding of the Catholic view of angels in a fun and enjoyable atmosphere.

Each day of the five-day camp the students will learn about a different angelic job:

1. the Annunciation and the angel’s role as messenger
2. Daniel in the Lions’ Den and the angel’s role as protector
3. Agony in the Garden and the angel’s role as comforter
4. Jacob’s Dream and the angel’s role as guide
5. Peter’s Escape from Herod’s Prison and the angel’s role as missionary.

Each day is linked by reading a section of an original booklet about St. Catherine Laboure’s life and how an angel filled each of these roles at a particular time in Catherine’s life.

We did this VBS as a home-school project the week after Easter. My younger children (ages 5-9) and I followed the program and thoroughly enjoyed the stories, the crafts, the snacks and activities as detailed within the package, spending each day of Easter Week from about 8:30 till noon. The program includes a morning prayer, scripture reading, and memory verse to learn. Each day there are different crafts that are age-appropriate and tied to the angel theme. Mine particularly enjoyed making the angel gift bag and the lion paper bag puppet. The package includes suggested snacks which carry through the day’s theme (although sometimes the snack is a bit of a stretch). There are also games and other activities and suggested “bringing it home” handouts for the children to bring and discuss at home with their families.

Everything for a full, week-long VBS for grades pre-K through 6th is included in the kit – from parent letters to craft shopping lists to snack ideas. Music is included on a CD of original songs. We found the songs a bit over the top for cuteness; but with a room filled with children, the CD could come in handy for getting the children back into their seats or up and dancing around as needed.

Growing with the Saints has two other VBS programs: Assorted Saints and the Virtues of Faith, Hope and Love and St. Patrick and the Holy Trinity. These programs are not inexpensive, but do contain everything necessary (except the craft and food supplies) for hosting a complete, Catholic-rich VBS. For further information, or to order a program, please check their website: www.growingwiththesaints.com/.

Our Lady of Lourdes

Today we remember the apparitions of Our Lady to St. Bernadette Soubrious in Lourdes, France, in 1858.

The Upper Basilica of Lourdes, originally uploaded by Lawrence OP.

View some more beautiful photos from Lourdes here.

See our Love2learn page on St. Bernadette here.

Review: Aquinas 101

Aquinas 101, A Basic Introduction to the Thought of Saint Thomas Aquinas, by Francis Selman
Sept 2007, Ave Maria Press, 224 pages, Quality Paperback
ISBN: 0-87061-243-3

Reviewed by Ana Braga-Henebry, M. A.

If you, like me, had very little to no Thomistic Philosophy in high school or college, and would love to know more, this book is for you. What a pleasure for me it has been to read Aquinas 101 in preparation for this review. The book brings forth a surprisingly readable and sometimes funny Saint Thomas!

To begin, I quote from the publisher's site, Ave Maria Press:

A brief, engaging, and readable summary of the influential thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the Catholic Church's greatest minds. In this clear, thoughtful and immensely readable book, Francis Selman offers summaries on some of the most complex topics in the writing of St. Thomas Aquinas. Selman deftly draws on the work of contemporary scholars while situating Aquinas in relation to the thinkers and schools of thought he was both confronting and drawing upon. The result provides an overview that places the thought of Aquinas both in his time and in our own.

The author succeeds indeed in both bringing the thought and philosophy of Saint Thomas Aquinas to students (or the interested reader) and in making it contemporary by referring to recent writings on St. Thomas.

The Prologue is a very nice biography of the saint's life, leaving the reader with admiration for him and interest for his thought. The language is light, down-to-earth, using quotidian anecdotes to shed clarity. Saint Thomas Aquinas comes through the book as a friendly, practical counselor. For instance, on page 114 we read:

For sorrow, St. Thomas Aquinas recommends four remedies: weeping, the company of friends, pleasure, and warm baths.

The paragraph that follows goes into the reasons St. Thomas believes these four remedies will help anyone in sorrow. So true, and so practical! Of course, the book also goes into more meaty philosophy, but it refrains from being too dense for the lay reader.

I also like the fact that Saint Thomas is referred to as Saint Thomas throughout the book.

In the Catholic homeschool, this book would make a very good choice for a High School introductory course on the philosophy of Saint Thomas.

Review: Saint Bakhita of Sudan, Forever Free

Saint Bakhita of Sudan, Forever Free by Susan Helen Wallace, FSP, 2006, Pauline Books & Media, 102 pages, Softcover, Catholic

Saint Bakhita is an outstanding example of gentleness, love, and faithfulness. In a world so easily consumed with bitterness, revenge, and self-centeredness, her virtues of forgiveness to others who deeply harmed her and gratitude for all of God’s goodness and grace in her life are inspiring. She often said, “’Be good, love the Lord, pray for the unhappy souls who do not know him yet. What a grace it is to know God!’”

At the young age of seven, Bakhita is traumatically torn from her village of Olgossa in the Darfur region of Sudan by slave traders. Although she and another young girl manage to escape, it is only temporary. Even though she receives “better” treatment as a house slave than other slaves, she is still subjected to cruel and inhumane punishments, nearly dying on more than one occasion because of being brutally whipped and viscously kicked and beaten.

That anyone should receive such harsh treatment by the hands of another human is beyond comprehension. These distressing scenes could be used as a point of discussion to explain the importance of spreading the Christian message of the incredible worth of a person’s soul, created in the image and likeness of God.

Remarkably, when Bakhita was asked later in life, “’What would you do if you met your kidnappers now?’ Without hesitating, she replied, ‘If I were to meet those slave traders who kidnapped me and even those who tortured me, I would get down on my knees and kiss their hands because if all that had not happened, I would be neither a Christian nor a religious now.’ Bakhita was a living witness to the power of forgiveness.”

Through a series of incredible events, Bakhita was brought to Italy, where she came into contact with the Daughters of Charity of Canossa, also known as the “Canossians.” After some time, she would join their order and become a beautiful example of God’s love to others.

Susan Helen Wallace, FSP, does a wonderful job of introducing us to this little known saint, whose faith journey begins with terror, fear, and unbelievable cruelty, but ends in the joy of the risen Lord.

St. Bakhita, pray for us.

Reviewed by Elizabeth Yank (11/24/07).

Available from your favorite Catholic bookstore.

Review: Called to Be Holy

Called to Be Holy by Archbishop Timothy Dolan
Our Sunday Visitor, March 2005, 224pp

Called to Be Holy is a collection of talks Archbishop Timothy Dolan gave to seminarians when he was rector of the North American Seminary in Rome. An introduction presents the book to the layperson, calling to mind the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception's mural entitled The Universal Call to Holiness, also on the cover of the book. (The mural is beautiful and it's worth following my link and visiting it in more detail). As far as I understand, this is an edition of his book entitled Priests for the Third Millennium edited for laypeople.

From the publisher's website:

What Milwaukee's Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan recommends, urges, reminds, and teaches is radical in the truest sense of that word: It is basic. It is at the roots. It is fundamental. (...)

Here is a detailed examination and encouraging explanation of faith, hope, humility, love and chastity, human formation, patience, penance, joy, and obedience.

Although he directs himself to seminarians and their vocation, the text can certainly be applied, most of time, to the layperson. The archbishop's tone is simple and personal, his anecdotes are taken from ordinary life and he quotes on any page the saints, Woody Allen, Martin Luther or the great Catholic writers of the 20th century.

The book is divided into eleven chapters that can be read independently if you are more interested in one or the other theme. Chapter One is entitled Being Good Stewards with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the subsequent chapters revolve around the virtues of Faith, Hope, Humility, Love and Chastity, Patience, Joy, Obedience and Penance. The last chapter explores Devotion to Our Lady, and there is a delightful brief Afterword, where he tells of his response to a reporter who asked about his ambition to be a Cardinal: "...actually, my goal is to be a saint, and to help you be one, too!"

This can be a valuable personal resource for a homeschool parent or for an older high schooler: it is accessible, brief, and never scholarly. The good Archbishop does impart the message that sainthood is possible to be attained by anyone!

Reviewed by Ana Braga-Henebry, M.A.

Available from your favorite bookseller.

Review: The Church's Most Powerful Novenas

The Church's Most Powerful Novenas by Michael Dubruiel
Our Sunday Visitor, 2006, 288 pages
ISBN: 978-1-59276-097-8

Reviewed by Ana Braga-Henebry, M.A.

How often do we look for a novena? Chances are, if your family is like ours, you will love this little resource. It may be small, but it's packed full with novenas! More than 20 novenas, classified in categories such as Novenas to Christ and the Holy Spirit, to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to the Relatives of Jesus. Also to particular saints, American Saints, Holy Souls, and even a quick Novena by Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

Introductory paragraphs and appendices offer historical vignettes, reasons to pray novenas, information on shrines related to the novenas, and more--including "novena problems to avoid"!

The small format volume is handsomely printed on "missal" pages and it will fit in anyone's handbag--mine is there! One never knows when a novena comes in need, does one?

One aspect of this user-friendly book that I specifically enjoyed is the historical information about each novena and the devotions surrounding each one. I discovered I have said novenas multiple times without fully knowing the very holy and interesting facts behind them!

Available at your favorite catholic bookseller.

Review: Fenestrae Fidei

Fenestrae Fidei, by Sean Fitzpatrick
2007, Hillside Education, 54 pages.

Reviewed by Ana Braga-Henebry, M.A.

I am so excited to post a review on this new coloring book! My girls and I spent a great part of the last weekend working on these beautiful pictures to color! Sean Fitzpatrick, the artist, knows very well what gets young artists to want to grab those colored pencils...

The illustrations are fairly simple for young hands and yet a more experienced artist can have a lot of fun with it. Hillside Education's site offers the suggestion of brushing th finished pictures with vegetable oil for a stained glass effect, and we did that! These were colored by me, and by daughters age 12 and 8.

Fenestrae Fidei is a companion book to Catholic Mosaic, also by Hillside Education, yet may be perfectly well used alone. For each of the illustrations, which are depicted in calendar (and liturgical) year order, there is a brief explanatory paragraph.

If you want to do it with Catholic Mosaic, a great idea would be to occupy the readers with the coloring activity while the picture book is read aloud. (Catholic Mosaic is a compendium of study/activity guides on numerous Catholic-theme picture books one can find in the library).

Fenestrae Fidei (or, in English, Windows of Faith) comes in a spiral bound format, with a large black & white drawing on each page. There are lots of them, as Catholic Mosaic author Cay Gibson lists four picture books per month. The drawings are all in a stylized iconic style, varying somewhat in intensity of detail. And they are just beautiful!

I would have liked to see a heavier stock paper in the pages, but what we have been doing is scanning and printing copies for home use. This allows for several children, for instance, to work on the same pictures at any time. Hillside Publications allows for coying within one family, which is of course a wonderful advantage.

Fenestrae Fidei is a very Catholic book, reflecting events of the life of Our Lord, the tradition of our Church and the holiness of the saints.

Families today are fortunate to have a product such as this!

Available from Hillside Education.

The Vision Book Series

Vision Books are a series of Catholic Books - mostly Saint stories - dating from the 1950's. The stories are engaging and designed for children ages nine to fifteen. My children have enjoyed them as read-alouds as early as Kindergarten age and I have often found them enjoyable and uplifting even as adult reading. An asterisk * indicates titles which have been reprinted by Ignatius Press. Please note that where appropriate, I have attempted to favor the newer title given to reprinted books over the older titles (which occasionally will vary slightly).

*St. John Bosco and The Children's Saint, Dominic Savio by Catherine Beebe
*St. Therese and the Roses by Helene Homan
*Father Marquette and the Great Rivers by August Derleth
*St. Francis of the Seven Seas by Albert Nevins
*Bernadette and the Lady by Hertha Pauli
*St. Isaac and the Indians by Milton Lomask
Fighting Father Duffy by Virginia Bishop and Jim Bishop
*St Pius X by Walter Diethelm
*St. Ignatius and the Company of Jesus by August Derleth
John Carroll: Bishop and Patriot by Milton Lomask
*St. Dominic and the Rosary by Catherine Beebe
The Cross in the West by Mark Boesch
My Eskimos: A Priest in the Arctic by Roger Bullock
Champions in Sport and Spirit by Ed Fitzgerald
*Francis and Clare, Saints of Assisi by Helen Walker Homan
Christmas and the Saints by Hertha Pauli
*Edmund Campion, Hero of God's Underground by Harold P. Gardiner
Modern Crusaders by John Travers Moore and Rosemarian V. Staudacher
*Our Lady Came to Fatima by Ruth Fox Hume
The Bible Story by Catherine Beebe
St. Augustine and His Search for Faith by Milton Lomask
*St. Joan: The Girl Soldier by Louis de Wohl
*St. Thomas More of London by Elizabeth M. Ince
*Mother Seton and the Sisters of Charity by Alma Powers-Waters
*St. Thomas Aquinas and the Preaching Beggars by Brendan Larnen
*Father Damien and the Bells by Arthur and Elizabeth Sheehan
Columbus and the New World by August Derleth
*St. Philip of the Joyous Heart by Francis X. Connelly
Lydia Longley, the First American Nun by Helen A. McCarthy
*St. Anthony and the Christ Child by Helen Walker Homan
*St. Elizabeth's Three Crowns by Blanche Jennings Thompson
*Katherine Drexel, Friend of the Neglected by Ellen Tarry
St. Louis and the Last Crusade by Margaret Anne Hubbard
*Kateri Tekakwitha, Mohawk Maid by Evelyn M. Brown
*St. Benedict, Hero of the Hills by Mary Fabyan Windeatt
*The Cure of Ars by Milton Lomask
St. Helena and the True Cross by Louis De Wohl
Catholic Campuses by Rosemarian Staudecher
Governor Al Smith by James Farley and James Conniff
Kit Carson of the Old West by Mark Boesch
Rose Hawthorne by Arthur and Elizabeth O'Dell
The Ursulines by Harnett T. Kane
*Mother Cabrini by Francis Parkinson Keyes
More Champions in Sport and Spirit by Ed Fitzgerald
St. Margaret Mary by Ruth Fox Hume
When Saints Were Young by Blanche Jennings Thompson
Frances Warde and the First Sisters of Mercy by Sister Marie Christopher
*St.Vincent De Paul by Margaret Hubbard
Florence Nightingale's Nuns by Emmeline Garnet
Pope Pius XII by Louis De Wohl
St. Jerome and the Bible by George Sanderling
Saints of the Byzantine World by Blanche Jennings Thompson
Chaplains in Action by Rosemarian Staudacher
*St. Catherine Laboure by Alma Powers-Waters
Mother Barat's Vineyard by Margaret Ann Hubbard
Charles V. Foucald, Adventurer of the Desert by Emmeline Garnett
Martin De Porres, Saint of the New World by Ellen Tarry
Margaret Bourgeoys, Pioneer Teacher by Sister St. Mary Genevieve
Father and Priest to the Pimas by Ann Nolan Clark
Children Welcome: Villages for Boys and Girls by Rosemarian Staudacher
St. Gregory the Great: Consul of God by George Sanderlin
Peter and Paul: The Rock and the Sword by Blanche Jennings Thompson
Irish Saints by Robert T. Reilly
Dear Philippine: The Mission of Mother Duchesne by Margaret Ann Hubbard
Peter Claver, Saint Among Slaves by Ann Roos
John Neumann, The Children's Bishop by Elizabeth Odell Sheehan
St. Francis de Sales by Blanche Jennings Thompson
Sarah Peter: The Dream and the Harvest by Alma Power-Waters
Good Pope John by Elizabeth Odell Sheehan.
In American Vineyards by Rosemarian Staudacher
Brother Andre of Montreal by Ann Nolan Clark
Edel Quinn by Evelyn Brown
California's Father Serra by Ann Roos
St. Martin of Tours by George Sanderlin

[Note: A long-time Vision book fan who helped me fine-tune the list believes that the final two books in the list were never actually printed. Please let me know if you have any additional information.]

St. Thomas of Canterbury

The U.K. Bookworm has a wonderful collection of resources on the saint we know as "St. Thomas Becket". His feast day is tomorrow (December 29th)

One saint I almost feel I know personally is Saint Thomas of Canterbury. At university I was tutored by the editor of his letters, and her enthusiasm for Thomas rubbed off. I took a course she taught on King Henry II, in which she spent almost as much time discussing Thomas as she did the king and his reign. My good luck!

Read the rest here

Review: The Seashell on the Mountaintop by Alan Cutler

2003, Plume Publishing, 240 pages

The Seashell on the Mountaintop is a very welcome biography of St. Neils Stenson, also known as Nicholas Steno and about 16 other variations. The good news is that, after years of neglect, this convert, this holy man, and this founder of the science of geology is being pulled from the edge of oblivion to be remembered for his true greatness. The title of the book refers to the presence of fossil shells in the mountain soils of Italy and , among other places, and the long effort to interpret such a curiosity. As a Dane, Neils had not grown up in the presence of fossils, but he went to Italy as an adult and joined the academy that had been Galileo's fellowship a generation earlier. Here he took an interest in everything around, including the hills of Tuscany and their shells.

The geology part is interesting because Steno's ideas were so far ahead of others' that those who were interested in figuring out the fossil puzzle read them for a hundred years before they were able to take the next step in building the science. During his own lifetime, Neils was famous for he was a seminal thinker on several topics, but by the time the geologists were able to build on his work, his extraordinary personality was almost forgotten although, even today, the principles expressing our basic understanding of sedimentation are still called Steno's laws.

Cutler's gives a striking account of the competing ideas about fossils in Stenson's days – late 17th century. Did shell forms naturally grow in the soil? And if so, did they grow with breakages and wormholes and all, just as if they'd been on the shore? Were they dropped by Noah's Flood? If so, how had they come so far inland; many thought that Noah's finding a live tree branch after the flood meant it could not have brought salt water all the way inland everywhere. Cutler presents all this material thoughtfully and in a manner respectful of the mental challenges of another age, so easy to underestimate.

Not only the shells interested Neils, but also the faith of Italy, and though welcomed by the Florentine academy as a Lutheran, he became a Catholic in time, then a priest, and finally a very holy bishop of a vast tract of Lutheran Europe, for whose salvation he relinquished his scientific investigations and then sacrificed his health.

This is a good introduction to the 17th century, to geology, and to a saint with a wonderful, Renaissance mind.

Reviewed by Mary Daly (12-26-06)
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