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Book ReviewA book review on Saints for Our Time by Ed RansomDuring the papacy of John Paul II, the Catholic spirituality of mission and holiness was very much brought to our attention through the many beatifications and canonizations that John Paul II has celebrated. This book on "Saints for Our Time", contributes to that spirituality taught under his pontificate.A brief introduction The book is a very good introduction to learning the life and spirituality of many blesseds and saints in our Catholic tradition. From "classic" saints such as Benedict and Bernard of Clairvaux, to modern saints such as Therese of Lisieux and Andrew Kim Taegon, this book gives its readers a general overview of how each blessed and saint reflected the face and the voice of Christ in their time and century. Structure of the book The index at the back pages of the book lists down the names of the blesseds and the saints in alphabetical order. Then the date and the month in which their feast day is celebrated in the Catholic Eucharistic liturgy is given. By this organized index, one can search for the life story of the saint and at the same time learn what date and month their memorial or feast is celebrated in the Mass. The content of the book is structured thus in terms of the name of the saint and the month and date dedicated to him in the liturgy. Saints that are celebrated on the month of January are given in the first pages of the book. Although there are indeed many, many saints who are devoted for each day of the month in the Catholic liturgy, due to the realistic limitations of the book's production, only the more noted and popular blesseds and saints are shown in this book. Their biographical or hagiographical [meaning the life story or biography of a saint] sketch spans about 1-2 pages. At the end of each hagiographical sketch, there is a brief message on how the blessed or saint's life can positively teach and help us live the Christian message today. Then in italics, we are given a question for reflection to help us reflect more deeply how we can live their Christian message in the very ordinary circumstances of our working and family life. A good source of spiritual reading For those looking for sources of spiritual reading, this is a good book to have in one's own library. What is good about the book is that aside from giving the biographical or hagiographical sketch of the blesseds or saints, the editor also provides a paragraph for us to learn in essence the message of the Saint for us today. As we find and discover how we can integrate this message in our Christian life, we grow more as persons and find ways of sharing and imparting this message also to others. A sample listing of the Saints given in this book is the following: Saints for the month of January
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