Reading Catholic

Reading Catholic and catholic

Book Reviews

Meet a Reader: Ellen Tallon

by

{Following is this month’s “Meet a Reader” feature that appears in this week’s print version of The Catholic Post.}

Ellen Tallon

How you know me:

I am a parishioner of St. Ann Church in Peoria with my husband and foster daughter. I grew up in Morton and attended Blessed Sacrament Parish where my parents are still members. I have been a teacher for 20 years and have worked at Peoria Notre Dame and Peoria Heights High School. I am active in TEC, WATCH, JAM, and Cursillo.

Why I love reading:

I love to read because I love to learn. I especially love to read books and articles about three topics: faith, people, and science. The books I enjoy most intertwine those topics. Although I did not always enjoy reading I found it was the best way to learn about new things. Throughout the years, I mostly read scientific journals, but I have learned to appreciate biographies and novels. As a teacher, I love to challenge myself.

What I’m reading now:

I am currently reading two books.


Inheritance: How Our Genes Change Our Lives—And Our Lives Change Our Genes by Sharon Moalem, discusses how genetic breakthroughs are transforming our understanding of the world and our own lives. It is remarkably spiritual and scientific at the same time.


I’m also reading Bread and Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table by Shauna Niequest. It’s a series of short experiences around the table which help us to grow in our faith by sharing a meal with family and friends. It brings the focus of meals back to the ultimate feast of bread and wine in the Body and Blood of Christ.

My favorite book:


My favorite book is A Love Worth Giving: Living in the Overflow of God’s Love by Max Lucado. In the book, Lucado takes the verses from 1 Corinthian 13:4-8 and makes it unforgettable in our daily lives in very simple ways.

He has the ability to take the verses which are so familiar to us and turn them around so that we can evaluate how we are loving those around us. Do we love them the way God intended us to love others as ourselves? I have reread this book several times, and each time I learn more about the incredible love God has for us if we only are willing to allow Him to love all of us.

Theology for the Rest of Us {my September column, The Catholic Post}

by

(Following is my column that appears in this week’s print edition of The Catholic Post.)

To paraphrase Marcus Welby, M.D., I’m not a theologian, nor do I play one on television.

And while I do plenty of reading and reviewing of Catholic books in various genres, consider me firmly in the “normal layperson” category. Believe me, I can be just as intimidated by a heavily theological book as the next Catholic. Despite that, I’m like many people, who strive be able to know and understand better the rich intellectual history of the Catholic Church and her saints.

It can be good to have a “translator” to help bridge the gap between important Catholic thought and normal readers like me. Here are some good recent books to help us to branch out.

——-


In Saints and Social Justice: A Guide to Changing the World, author Brandon Vogt uses the lives of saints to illuminate and explore each of the seven themes of social justice.

The idea behind this book is brilliant—who better than the saints and the lives they led to explain key tenets of our faith? But it’s Vogt’s execution is what makes this book a stand-out.

Each social justice theme is highlighted through two saints; usually one better-known, one less so. For instance, for the justice theme of rights & responsibilities, Vogt profiles both St. Thomas More and St. Roque Gonzalez, a Paraguayan Jesuit. And the theme of life & dignity of the human person uses the lives of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, as well as St. Peter Claver.

Vogt explains why he uses saints to illustrate the themes of social justice:

“Catholic social teaching should be well-known, well-understood, and, most of all, well-practiced. The saints knew this best and so it’s the them we turn.”

Each saint profile is both succinct and packed with detail about how he or she lived a heroic life, told through the lens of one of the social justice themes. Helpful sidebars quote from church documents and tell other stories to bring social justice alive. It’s a great combination.

—-

I, personally, have always been a little intimidated by St. Thomas Aquinas, even though he is a doctor of the church and for many the theologian. When my husband and I were dating in Washington, D.C., we sometimes attended a St. Thomas Aquinas study group led by a saintly older Dominican priest. But I use the word “we” loosely, for while everyone was very nice, the discussion was often on a different plane than my non-philosophical mind.

I wish more than 20 years ago, I had had for translation, The One Minute Aquinas: The Doctor’s Quick Answers to Fundamental Questions” by Kevin Vost, Psy.D. This new book is a great bridge from St. Thomas Aquinas, theologian and doctor, to the rest of us.

In “small, digestible portions” Vost offers an outline of St. Thomas’ major works and his wisdom in counseling others. What I love best about The One-Minute Aquinas is that can pick up the book at any point, rather than read it as a start-to-finish. Finally, I’m able to (slowly) learn at my own pace about this great saint and how his mind worked.

—

I am intrigued by St. Teresa Benedita of the Cross (St. Edith Stein), but I’ve never known how to start reading her writings. So I was delighted to find Embracing Edith Stein: Wisdom for Women by Anne Costa.

Costa writes beautifully about how she came to love Edith Stein (known now as St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross). It’s part biography, part spiritual memoir of both Edith Stein and Costa herself, and a great introduction to this fascinating 20th century saint.

I found myself writing down quotes as I read, both of St. Teresa herself as well as Costa’s insightful journey of knowledge.

Costa writes at one point about Edith Stein, pre-conversion, being strongly impacted by a woman coming into church for a visit: “What strikes me most about this encounter is that, as intelligent and knowledgeable as Edith was and as satisfied as she was with her ever-widening circle of friends, she never closed her mind or heart to new ideas and experiences. Her keen sense of observation and engagement with the world around her wasn’t just an intellectual exercise, but a spiritual one.”

And finally, a wonderful quote from Edith Stein:

“It all depends on having a quiet little corner where you can talk with God on a daily basis as if nothing else existed..and regarding yourself completely as an instrument, so that you treat your most frequently demanded talents, not as something that you use, but as God working through you.”

—–

Quirky aside from me.  When I wrote the first line for this column, it never occurred to me that it wasn’t Marcus Welby, M.D. (actually, actor Robert Young) who spoke those famous words, so much a part of my cultural knowledge is that concept.  It turns out I was wrong, but I’ve kept it in since most people make a similar mistake.  Here is an article to get you started, and here’ s a link to a video of one of Robert Young’s decaf coffee ads.

{Twitterature} The Harvey Girls Edition

by

Joining with Modern Mrs. Darcy‘s monthly Twitterature link-up of short reviews of current reads.

I’m not sure what piqued our interest in the Harvey Girls at our house.  Let’s just call it the joys of homeschooling, that we can explore interests in-depth when something strikes our fancy.  I have to say it’s mostly the younger teen and me who are interested in the subject.  The 11-year-old son does not have the same obsession.

The “Harvey Girls” were waitresses (but much more than that) in Fred Harvey’s 19th and early 20th century empire of railroad-stop restaurant/hotels.  Businessman Fred Harvey made a fortune serving fresh and wholesome food efficiently with well-trained staff, to railroad travelers, at a time when none of that was  common.

So we’ve been reading an assortment of books about the Harvey Girls.

The Harvey Girls: Women Who Civilized the West by Juddi Morris s ideal for middle-grade on up readers.  It’s a wonderful mix of oral history, short chapters and charming photographs and vignettes.

When Molly Was a Harvey Girl by Frances M. Wood. This middle-grade novel is based on the experiences of Wood’s great-grandmother as a Harvey girl, and tells the story of two sisters who work as Harvey girls in New Mexico.    I kind of sped-read it, but both my teens enjoyed it.

Appetite for America: How Visionary Businessman Fred Harvey Build a Railroad Hospitality Empire that Civilized the Wild West by Stephen Fried.  This is adult non-fiction, and it’s really well-done.  Much more extensive than the juvenile books.

I took notes on this book, and even made an edit of “Fundamentals” that was posted in Fred Harvey restaurants and shops for staff to follow.

picmonkey_image-3

I’m not a great creator of edits yet, but I’m honing my skills, and I enjoy it. Next time I’ll work on making the text bigger–I had a lot of trouble with that in this because there is so much text.  I’m sure there’s a way to do it.  Practice makes, if not perfect, then better.

We also DVRd the 1946 movie The Harvey Girls, with Judy Garland.


The Harvey Girls seemed to me a lot like Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, in both music and choreography.  Turns out the lyricist was a  the same for both films.  It was a fun Saturday evening watch.

What are you reading?

10 Books, 10 Quotes, and an Island or Two

by

Several people tagged me on a meme going around Facebook to list “10 books that have had a lasting impact.”  I keep meaning to do it, but I really have been doing a lot of IRL (in real life) things.  The younger kids and I are trying to get into a homeschooling routine, and I’ve been trying to accomplish a lot of house projects.

After the (for me!) success of Sugar-Free August, I started a Facebook group called De-Clutter September, and again, I’m loving the support and accountability.  I haven’t done very much de-cluttering, but I’ve been doing a lot of house organizing/painting projects that have been on back-burners.  Yesterday I put together an IKEA island, and that was really satisfying.  I even had the kids help me, in my quest to have them comfortable with power tools at a young age.

photo

Yay me!

But I digress.  Here are the 10 books that have had an impact on me.    They are in no particular order, and I can’t even say if these are my life-long ones–just ones that have had a recent (in the last 20 years or so) impact.  I’m also including a quote from each one that I just love.
Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher.

“The answer to that question is that she didn’t do it because Cousin Ann was Cousin Ann. And there’s more in that than you think! In fact, there is a mystery in it that nobody has ever solved, not even the greatest scientists and philosophers, although, like all scientists and philosophers, they think they have gone a long way toward explaining something they don’t understand by calling it a long name. The long name is “personality,” and what it means nobody knows, but it is perhaps the very most important thing in the world for all that. And yet we know only one or two things about it. We know that anybody’s personality is made up of the sum total of all the actions and thoughts and desires of his life. And we know that though there aren’t any words or any figures in any language to set down that sum total accurately, still it is one of the first things that everybody knows about anybody else. And that is really all we know! 
 So I can’t tell you why Elizabeth Ann did not go back and cry and sob and say she couldn’t and she wouldn’t and she couldn’t, as she would certainly have done at Aunt Harriet’s. You remember that I could not even tell you why it was that, as the little fatherless and motherless girl lay in bed looking at Aunt Abigail’s old face, she should feel so comforted and protected that she must needs break out crying. No, all I can say is that it was because Aunt Abigail was Aunt Abigail. But perhaps it may occur to you that it’s rather a good idea to keep a sharp eye on your “personality,” whatever that is! It might be very handy, you know, to have a personality like Cousin Ann’s which sent Elizabeth Ann’s feet down the path; or perhaps you would prefer one like Aunt Abigail’s. Well, take your choice.”

Emily of Deep Valley by Maud Hart Lovelace. (I love all the Betsy-Tacy books, but I’d have to say this is my absolute favorite book of Lovelace).

“Depression settled down upon her, and although she tried to brush it away it thickened like a fog. “Why, the kids will be home for Thanksgiving! That will be here in no time. I mustn’t get this way,” she thought. But she felt lonely and deserted and futile. “A mood like this has to be fought. It’s like an enemy with a gun,” she told herself. But she couldn’t seem to find a gun with which to fight.
….
“Muster your wits: stand in your own defense.” She had no idea in what sense he had used it, but it seemed to be a message aimed directly at her. “Muster your wits: stand in your own defense,” she kept repeating to herself on the long walk home. After dinner she sat down in her rocker, looked out at the snow and proceeded to muster her wits. “I’m going to fill my winter and I’m going to fill it with something worth while,” she resolved.”

The Last Battle (Book 7 in the Chronicles of Narnia), by C.S. Lewis.  The Last Battle is not necessarily my favorite of the Narnia books–The Horse & His Boy is my definite favorite, though I love them all.  But last month the younger kids and I were reading it for the eleventeenth time, and I find it tremendously powerful.  Every time I read this one, I also grow more and more devoted to Emeth, the virtuous Calormene who serves Tash all his days, but was really serving Alsan.

“It is false. Not because he and I are one, but because we are opposites, I take to me the services which thou hast done to him. For I and he are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him. Therefore if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath’s sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him. And if any man do a cruelty in my name, then, though he says the name Aslan, it is Tash whom he serves and by Tash his deed is accepted. Dost thou understand, Child ? I said, Lord, thou knowest how much I understand. But I said also (for the truth constrained me), Yet I have been seeking Tash all my days. Beloved, said the Glorious One, unless thy desire had been for me thou wouldst not have sought so long and so truly. For all find what they truly seek.”

The Duke’s Children by Anthony Trollope.  This is the last of the Pallister novels.  I love the entire series, and I’ve just begun re-reading it.  I’m only in Can You Forgive Her? but I knew my favorite quote would be in The Duke’s Children, describing the Duke of Omnium after his wife, the wonderful and my most favorite Trollope character ever, Lady Glencora, dies.

“It was not only that his heart was torn to pieces, but that he did not know how to look out into the world. It was as though a man should be suddenly called upon to live without hands or even arms. He was helpless, and knew himself to be helpless. Hitherto he had never specially acknowledged to himself that his wife was necessary to him as a component part of his life. Though he had loved her dearly, and had in all things consulted her welfare and happiness, he had at times been inclined to think that in the exuberance of her spirits she had been a trouble rather than a support to him. But now it was as though all outside appliances were taken away from him. There was no one of whom he could ask a question. “

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen, because how could I not?

“Oh! certainly,” cried his faithful assistant, “no one can be really esteemed accomplished who does not greatly surpass what is usually met with. A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half-deserved.”
“All this she must possess,” added Darcy, “and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.”

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

“‘And we shouldn’t be here at all, if we’d known more about it before we started. But I suppose it’s often that way. The brave things in the old tales and songs, Mr. Frodo: adventures, as I used to call them . I used to think that they were things the wonderful folk of the stories went out and looked for, because they wanted them, because they were exciting and life was a bit dull, a kind of a sport, as you might say. But that’s not the way of it with the tales that really mattered, or the ones that stay in the mind. Folk seem to have been just landed in them, usually – their paths were laid that way, as you put it. But I expect they had lots of chances, like us, of turning back, only they didn’t. And if they had, we shouldn’t know, because they’d have been forgotten. We hear about those as just went on – and not all to a good end, mind  you; at least not to what folk inside a story and not outside it call a good end. You know, coming home, and finding things all right, though not quite the same – like old Mr. Bilbo. But those aren’t always the best tales to hear, though they may be the best tales to get landed in! I wonder what sort of a tale we’ve fallen into?’”

 

Hard Times by Charles Dickens. I’m re-reading Tale of Two Cities but Hard Times is one of my favorite Dickens.

“How could you give me life, and take from me all the inappreciable things that raise it from the state of conscious death? Where are the graces of my soul? Where are the sentiments of my heart? What have you done, oh, Father, What have you done with the garden that should have bloomed once, in this great wilderness here?’ said Louisa as she touched her heart.”


“Now we won’t be sober any more. We’ll look beyond the years—to the time when the war will be over and Jem and Jerry and I will come marching home and we’ll all be happy again.”

“We won’t be—happy—in the same way,” said Rilla.

“No, not in the same way. Nobody whom this war has touched will ever be happy again in quite the same way. But it will be a better happiness, I think, little sister—a happiness we’ve earned. We were very happy before the war, weren’t we? With a home like Ingleside, and a father and mother like ours we couldn’t help being happy. But that happiness was a gift from life and love; it wasn’t really ours—life could take it back at any time. It can never take away the happiness we win for ourselves in the way of duty.”

Baby Island by Carol Ryrie Brink.  I feel like I’ve had a lot of downer quotes and even books, but this is such a great, funny book, and it’s had a great impact on me when I need a really good laugh.

“Once Mr. Peterkin’s hard heart had started to soften, it was just like ice cream in the sun.” 

The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown.  So many of her books are my favorite picture books, but this is my absolute favorite.

“The important thing about you is that you are you.”

So that sums up my book list (for this week). Consider yourself tagged if you’re reading this– I’d love to see your list.

{Random Thoughts} The Sugar-Free August/Good Habits Edition

by

(Linking up with Jen’s 7 Quick Takes since I have 7 here).

As I’ve mentioned before here, August has been almost entirely sugar-free.  I’m feeling really proud!

I decided to do “Sugar-Free August” because our July vacation had so many desserts in it (ice cream, chocolate mousse), a re-set was in order to get back to normal eating.  I started a “Sugar-Free August” Facebook group for friends to help with accountability and support, and I’m so glad I did.

Some people in the Facebook group were really trying hard to go without soda, or processed foods, or sweets (all those, for me), and even one of us, bravely, was doing the August Whole30 Challenge  (note that I’m linking to NomNomPaleo, a blog I enjoy, and not the Whole30, because something about W30 language/voice/ tone really annoys me).

It’s been fun to share our frustrations, joys, successes and failures, and I have really felt support from everyone. I’ve also appreciated the accountability and honesty of checking in.

Many, many links were shared over the course of the month, and I wanted to share some of them, as well as some others I didn’t get the chance to share there.  It’s a wrap-up of what I’ve learned this month.  Nutrition and health is a big interest of mine, and so I find this field fascinating.

1.

This book, The Year of No Sugar: A Memoir, inspired a lot of discussion. At least of us got it from the library and read it during the month.

As I wrote in my GoodReads review, I didn’t love the author’s voice, but I did like how she moderated it with a family, and how they made it work. Eye-opening to realize how difficult it is in the US to eat anything processed without sugar.

2.  “Finding It Hard to Change a Habit? Maybe this Explains Why” — Gretchen Rubin.

“Often, habits can’t change until identity changes. For instance, a person identifies as the fun one, the one who says “yes” to everything — but also wants to cut back on drinking. A person identifies as a workaholic, but then wants to work reasonable hours. The identity is incompatible with the change in habits.”

This really spoke to me. On the good side, I thought, I’m glad I have a “Catholic” identity, because it had helped me do the right thing even when I didn’t want to, and it’s turns out those “right things” were really best for me.

But like the person at the end of Gretchen’s post, I have an identity as a “baker.” I love baking (and eating the yummy things), and that has been the hardest part about the . I don’t want to give up that identity. Maybe I’ll just be a “Sunday baker” starting in September?

3. “An Intuitive Eating Experiment”— Katie at Runs for Cookies.

This was kind of the opposite of eating no sugar, but it was a great concept written up by one of my favorite running bloggers.

4. “Can the Bacteria in Your Gut Send Messages to Your Brain?” –SciFri podcast.

Good interview with two scientists who are studying the on the frontiers of learning about our gut bacteria and how they might influence our moods and behaviors.  I liked best how the Irish researcher made the point at the end that while a lot of this science is speculative, eating a diverse diet of whole foods is a good practice for keeping your gut bacteria healthy.

5. “Our Microbiome May be Looking Out for Itself” –The New York Times

 “Take chocolate: Many people crave it fiercely, but it isn’t an essential nutrient. And chocolate doesn’t drive people to increase their dose to get the same high. ‘You don’t need more chocolate at every sitting to enjoy it,’ Dr. Maley said.

Perhaps, he suggests, the certain kinds of bacteria that thrive on chocolate are coaxing us to feed them.”

6. “Learning to Cut the Sugar” — The New York Times.

An article about Dr. Robert Lustig, whose anti-sugar video is hugely popular. (The video inspired “Year of No Sugar” author Eve Schaub to do a no-sugar year with her family.).

“But there’s one thing that doesn’t work for any country: processed food. And any country that adopts processed food, which is now everywhere, is getting sick. This is why I want to be known as the anti-processed food guy, not the anti-sugar guy.”

I am putting his cookbook The Fat Chance Cookbook: More Than 100 Recipes Ready in Under 30 Minutes to Help You Lose the Sugar and the Weight
on hold at the library–I wish I had known about the book it at the beginning of this month.

7. The Case for Sugar–The Detox Diva

Well, now I’m confused. (actually, not really) This was a little too science-y, t it did argue that no sugar can be as bad for our metabolism as too much sugar. She makes the case for fruit and small amounts of sugar. A good ending to the month.

As one of my friends put it on the Facebook group, “So bottom line seems to be; Too much sugar is not good. Not enough sugar is not good. Moderate sugar? Good.”

[Reading that quote made me realize it’s why a W30 has not worked for me in the past.  I did something similar several years back, and it wreaked havoc on my body, sleep, and just general good health. I think it was too little carbs/natural sugar, even eating lots of veggies.]

So what am I going to do September 1, after a month of no sugar or processed foods?

Well, I’m running a half-marathon.  The weather actually looks threatening , and I wonder if the organizers might cancel it if the projected severe storms materialize.  But I hope it’s just rain, or great weather, and I can finish in a reasonably decent time for me.

But being real and honest here?  After the half-marathon, I plan to  eat most of this treat that I just purchased at Trader Joe’s:

photo

Sometime this week, I’ll go home and make frosted brownies.  I won’t eat the whole pan, but I will have a few and enjoy them.  I have missed baking treats most of all this month, almost more than eating those yummy treats.  I while  I will try to cut back and eat some of the healthier recipes I’ve tried, and I’m going to try to keep treats for special occasions as long as possible.

Have you tried a detox recently? Any successes to share? 

Meet a Reader: Molly Cull

by

Molly Cull

How you know me:

I am currently a student-athlete at Illinois State University, and I’m from St. Mary’s Parish in Metamora, IL.I am involved at the St. John Paul II Catholic Newman Center at ISU. I recently returned from a mission trip to inner city Miami, Florida, with a group organized by the Religious Community of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Some of my book selections are inspired by a vigil held during that mission trip on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart and the Feast of the Immaculate Heart.

Why I love reading:

I love reading because reading seems to be the Lord’s window of words He uses to speak to our hearts. His Love can be received and matured in our hearts through reading His divine words written obediently by the hands of his servants. What a beautiful gift! In a particular way, the following books often place me humbly with St. Therese in the School of Love for the Heart of Jesus through the Heart of Mary.

What I’m reading now:
I am currently reading Divine Mercy in My Soul, the Diary of St. Maria Faustina. It is a beautiful diary of the journey of her soul and union of her heart with the Heart of Jesus, filled with the direct words of Our Lord to His bride, St. Maria Faustina. She consoled the heart of Jesus by consecrating her life to fulfill her mission as the Apostle of Mercy and she lived in obedience always trusting in His merciful love. This diary was very moving divine dialogue to read throughout the vigil on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart.

“For you I descended from heaven to earth; for you I allowed myself to be nailed to the cross; for you I let my Sacred Heart be pierced with a lance, thus opening wide the source of mercy for you. Come, then, with trust to draw graces from this fountain. I never reject a contrite heart. Your misery has disappeared in the depths of My mercy” (Diary, 1485).

My favorite book:

While I have many favorite books, The Story of a Soul, which is the autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux, would certainly be one of my favorites. St. Therese performed no extraordinary acts. Rather, she lived a life of humility, confident abandonment, and sacrificial love, walking with her Beloved Spouse each day as a pure flower in God’s garden of love. She offered her life as a victim of holocaust to God’s merciful love, uniting her sufferings joyfully with His to save souls all through His abundant mercy and grace. Her little way of love, living simply yet also in a very profound way, as love in the heart of the Church shows the deep beauty of her simple heart and creates a most beautiful story of a soul.

“Jesus, my Love, I have at last found my vocation; it is love! I have found my place in the Church’s heart, the place You Yourself have given me, my God. Yes, there in the heart of the Mother Church I will be love!”

I also very much enjoy reading the various writings of St. John Paul II and Mother Adela Galindo, foundress of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary as well as True Devotion to Mary: with Preparation for Total Consecration (Tan Classics), and The Imitation of Christ (Dover Thrift Editions).

“Love in essence is always seeking to be given away…Freedom of the heart is the capacity to love, to give ourselves unconditionally and totally, without reserve.” (Mother Adela, Foundress, SCTJM)

“Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” St. John Paul II

Note from Nancy: I’ve known Molly since she was a baby, so this is a very important “Meet a Reader.”  I’ve seen her grow into a lovely young woman, filled with grace. She hasn’t just been a family friend or a terrific babysitter when my children were younger, but a true friend in Christ.

I also know one of the reasons she chose “The Story of a Soul” for her favorite book–her confirmation saint is St. Therese, and I learned that when my 13-year-old daughter chose both St. Therese as her confirmation saint and Molly as her sponsor.