Female Saint Books

Only four women in the two thousand year history of the Churc se of Lisieux, Teresa of Avila, Catherine of Siena, and Hildegard of Bingen have the distinction of being named Doctors of the Church because of their impact on the faith.

In Set the World on Fire, bestselling author, retreat leader, and spiritual director Vinita Hampton Wright offers a four-week personal retreat that immerses you in the dramatic lives, historical eras, and groundbreaking ideas of these formidable saints and invites you to develop the grit, humility, pragmatism, hope, joy, and vision these women possessed.

Each week of your retreat begins with weekend reading and prayer to introduce the saint and the primary topic of the chapter, followed by five days of morning and evening prayer. Much of the text comes from the saint's own writings. Scripture, reflection questions, and suggestions for action are designed to help you engage personally with the saint and her wisdom for living your faith.

Each week offers a unique and in-depth experience of the saint and her unique gifts to the Church:

• Week one: St. Therese of Lisieux the young Carmelite nun whose autobiography sent ripples across Christendom will teach you to love God through her Little Way.
• Week two: St. Teresa of Avila a Carmelite who spent years reforming her order and gave to the world a spiritual masterpiece called The Interior Castle will instruct you in trusting your personal experience of God.
• Week three: St. Catherine of Siena a Third-Order Dominican who poured out her life for people in need but also gave astute, sharp direction to Church leaders will guide you to live every moment with courage through the love of truth.
• Week four: St. Hildegard of Bingen a Benedictine abbess whose spiritual visions led to books, poetry, music, art, and early scientific discovery will show you how to engage life with passion and creativity.

Each woman"s experience of God, understanding of spirituality, and timeless wisdom gained her the title Doctor of the Church, which indicates that through her life, research, study, and writing, she has deepened and advanced the faith.

St. Teresa of Avila, one of the most interesting and important figures in the history of the Catholic Church, was also one of the most candid, entertaining, and brilliant correspondents of her century. This selection of letters offers a unique “behind the scenes” look at this extraordinary Doctor of the Church with details of her life not originally meant for the public.

St. Teresa of Avila's formal works—The Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection—were written with an eye toward censors. Her personal correspondence, however, tell the story of her life in vivid detail, including her struggles to reform the Carmelite order; Spanish mysticism in its formation; and the extraordinary range of relationships she maintained with priests, theologians, royalty, fellow religious, advisors, and friends.

The letters begin when St. Teresa was forty-six—two years before she founded her first convent for Carmelite reform in Avila, Spain—and continue until her death twenty-one years later. She exhibits worries, troubles, sadness, joy, triumphs, and questions throughout. Recipients of these letters, and the people discussed in them, include some of the famous and fascinating figures of late sixteenth-century Catholic Europe: St. John of the Cross; Philip II of Spain; St. Peter Alcantara; St. John of Avila; Ana de Mendoza, the Princess of Eboli; and Jerónimo Gracián de la Madre de Dios.

The story these letters tell is one of enduring importance to the history of the Church. From nascent beginnings to more detailed plans, it is possible throughout St. Teresa of Avila: Her Life in Letters to witness the birth of Spanish mysticism, the reform of the Carmelite Order, and the experiences of contemplative prayer and meditation that resulted in The Interior Castle.

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Format: Paperback

Pages: 352

Trim size: 6 x 9 inches

ISBN: 978-0-87061-313-5

On-sale date: January 5, 2018

SPECIAL: Order 10 books and receive 1 FREE Mother Teresa banner. This beautiful banner can be viewed here. Add at least 10 of the book to your cart and 1 banner, then enter code MOTHER2021 to apply the offer. Offer available while supplies last.

Here is a biography that looks at Mother Teresa through the lens of Pope Francis papacy of the peripheries. It was Mother Teresa experiences living as a minority in the Balkans that formed her mission and ministry. The book especially explores her Albanian roots and upbringing among a Muslim majority population.

ISBN: 9780809153770

Author: Dr. Ines Angeli Murzaku

Although Katharine Drexel has been the subject of several biographies, they have tended to treat her as a perfect human being whom the Church later transformed into a saint. Katherine and the Sisters Who Shared Her Vision moves beyond the story of the heiress individual life devoted to God and shines a light on the work she did, assisted by the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. Drexel could have lived comfortably, wealthy and privileged, as a Philadelphia philanthropist but chose to found a religious congregation of women dedicated to working within Black and Indigenous communities�without receiving the bulk of the money left by Drexel's father.

Katharine Drexel and the Sisters Who Shared Her Vision is a critical biography of this American saint written within the context of the religious order she founded. It ties her sainthood to the Sisters„¢ ministries to Black and Indigenous communities, The author careful examination of the work Katharine Drexel and her Sisters accomplished brings a critical perspective to this important ministry in the Church. It deepens our understanding of these communities and renews our commitment to the difficult, ongoing conversation about race in America.

Because the founding of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament meant that Drexel was able to ensure that she could fund and staff schools, it is important that the congregation be an integral part of the story of the woman who gave up her fortune to serve God and others. Although the money Drexel donated was obviously a tremendous help in serving Black and Indigenous People, the presence of a community of women religious prepared to spend their lives ministering to these populations provideda critical mass of people to ensure that the work was carried out.�
�from the introduction

Author: Margaret M. McGuinness