Mini Book Reviews: All Saints’ Day

Last Wednesday was All Saints’ Day. It seems fitting, therefore, to do a saint-related post, so I’ve decided to do mini-book reviews for the saint-related books I’ve read this year. (Would it have been even more fitting to put this post up on Wednesday? Of course. But I did not, so here we are.)

Holiness for Everyone by Eric Sammons

(St. Josemaria Escriva)

This book is more about incorporating St. Josemaria’s spirituality into everyday life than about St. Josemaria himself…I would be interested in reading a book that was more of a straight biography of him. A big tenet (isn’t tenet a great word? This is the second time I’ve used it today) of St. Josemaria’s teaching and work was calling lay people to holiness, and stressing that it’s not only priests and religious who are called to holiness, but everyone.

The actual book itself wasn’t extremely powerful or life-changing for me personally, but it has furthered my interest in St. Josemaria, and I really like the main idea of the book: that you can be a saint in the world.

Consoling the Heart of Jesus by Fr. Michael Gaitley

(St. Faustina)

Now, this book is not exactly about St. Faustina, but she features in it prominently and it quotes from her diary extensively, so I’m counting it. St. Faustina is ‘the Divine Mercy saint,’ the original spreader of the special devotion to Divine Mercy – which is largely what this book is about. I love this devotion, and I feel like I can personally relate to St. Faustina in some ways (though she was quite a bit holier than I am, of course).

I really love this book as a book as well (this was a re-read), and I count it as one of the most spiritually powerful books I’ve read. (Oh, and you see how it’s labeled as a DIY retreat? Yeah, I just didn’t use it that way and just read it as a book.)

Blessed Miguel Pro by Ann Ball

Blessed Miguel Pro is a saint I really hadn’t known much about before, so it was nice to make his acquaintance through this book. I like that (like Blessed Pier Gorgio Frassati, one of my ‘special’ saints), Blessed Miguel Pro is a saint whose personality really shines through. Saints like Blessed Miguel make it clear that saints do not have to be personality-less and no-fun. There’s nothing wrong with having a personality. God gave us our personalities.

A Man for Others: Maxmilian Kolbe, Saint of Auschwitz by Patricia Treese

I feel like I’ve known a good bit about St. Maxmilian Kolbe pretty much as far back as I can remember, but this is the first book I’ve actually read about him. St. Maxmilian Kolbe is one of those saints who I can’t personally relate to as much myself, but is nevertheless a ‘special’ saint for me. (We don’t have to personally relate to everybody we like, you know.)

This book was also very cool in that it quotes extensively from people who really knew St. Maxmilian Kolbe, who worked with him, were in the concentration camp with him, etc.

Well, there you have it! Mini book reviews, All Saints’ Day edition. Have you read any of these books? Have you read any other good saint books this year?