Book Review

A book review on The Saints' Guide Series, a selection of five books for review. This Series is published by Servant Publications, Ann Arbor, Michigan

The books within the Series are an excellent source of wisdom and truths from the writings many saints, whose spirituality have had a profound impact on the Church, throughout many centuries of Christendom.

Five selected books in the Saints' Guide Series

Help When Life Hurts by Cynthia Cavnar
Joy That Never Fades by Ann Ball
Knowing the Real Jesus by David Mills
Learning to Pray by Louise Perrotta
Making Peace With God, Yourself and Others by Paul Thigpen, Ph.D.

Saints in the context of Vatican II teaching
Vatican II teaching tells us that the person of Christ is the center of all devotions in our Christian faith. All other devotions are relative only to the person of Christ and the gospel He has preached and taught us. Saints are reflections of the person of Christ. Thus, devotions to the Saints and their teaching are important in as much as they point also to an aspect of Christ which they emphasized in their life and spirituality. They are reflections of the face and voice of Christ in the century they lived.

Vatican II places the role of Saints in our Christian life as embodiments of the person of Christ in their day and age. The Saints and their teaching are also vital to the universal Church because they concretely inculturate the Christian faith in the customs and language of the people of their time.

The teaching of the Saints are also very much a reflection of what Christ taught in the gospel. Much of what they teach are also reflections from the Bible. The only difference is that they acknowledge that their teaching is really not from their own store of wisdom and knowledge, but comes from the wisdom and knowledge of the person of Christ Himself. What they know about Christ and the Christian faith is rooted in: their own personal relationship with Christ; and how the Spirit has gifted them with charisms that have benefitted the members of their communities and the Church as a whole.

Brief book reviews
Of the five books selected in the Saints' Guide Series, three are of special significance in terms of the spirituality of prayer and relationship. Making Peace with God, Yourself, and Others is a compilation of many saints' writings and teachings on peace and relationship with God, with ourselves, and with others. In our times today, when there is so much conflict and violence, we can learn much from the Saints as to how we can conquer our natural desire for revenge and vengeance, with the Spirit of peace that comes from Christ. The Saints give practical guidelines and advice as to how this can be done. Many of their teaching are based on their own way of life and spirituality which they have taught their own followers or the communities which they led.

Another book in the Series, Learning to Pray, is perhaps the richest in terms of wisdom and truths. What the Saints teach as regards the need for depth and intensity in prayer, is perhaps what we all need to know especially, because we are too much in the world, and involved in its cares and anxieties. Our involvement with the world influences our way of life with much superficiality and indifference. The book helps us to ground ourselves back in God, focus on the essential things in life, and helps us with methods of prayer to deepen our relationship with God. The book is a very good compilation of the many teachings and writings of the Saints on how to engage in deeper prayer, how to be more reflective and meditative in our attitudes, and how to obtain answers to prayer through fasting and the practice of mercy and forgiveness.

Another book of the Series that many would really benefit from is Help When Life Hurts. This is a book which contains a lot of the Saints sayings and thoughts - especially practical guidelines on how to cope with the reality of suffering in our Christian life. To get an idea of what you can find in this book, the following list gives the titles of the chapters in the book.

Help When Life Hurts chapters

In the Shadow of the Cross
Suffering of the Heart: Betrayal
The Weight of the Cross: Sickness and Death
Trials of the Spirit: Temptation and Doubt
Fighting Back: Prayer and Other Helps in Time of Need
What's the Point? Finding Meaning in Suffering
Looking Beyond Our Pain: At the Service of Others
Is God Paying Attention? Carrying the Cross Assigned Us
Big or Small, It's Still the Cross: The Ordinary Suffering of Daily Life
Consolation in Trial: Prayers and Meditations

A Series one would treasure with our souls
Just as a particular Bible that has helped us in our Christian life would be very valuable to us, and one in which we would always keep at hand, this Series of books are also books which we would treasure in our own personal library. Reading them and sharing the wisdom and insights gained with others will truly help one live out one's Christian life more and more along the lines of the Catholic tradition. Besides Christ, the way of the Saints has always been a path well laid out for us: a path that has always worked and is well established because of its closeness to Christ's own way of life. It would be good to have a few books of this Series so that we may truly be inspired and be immersed in the classic teaching of the Saints.

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