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Catholic Post column

Q&A with "A Book of Saints" author Lisa Hendey

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I’m re-publishing my Q&A with Lisa Hendey this month since I usually try to focus on a book throughout the month I review it.  You can read my review of Lisa’s new book, A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms, in my Post column here.

Longtime readers of The Catholic Post Book Group will remember that the second book I reviewed for the Catholic Post was Lisa’s first book, The Handbook for Catholic Moms.  Lisa was also my first author interview, and author interviews have become among my favorite aspects of writing about books.  I really enjoyed my visit with Lisa, a friend to moms everywhere.  I hope you enjoy it.



A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms is such a great companion and natural “sort-of sequel” to The Handbook for Catholic Moms.  Did you know you wanted to write it when The Handbook for Catholic Moms released?
Thank you for your kindness and welcome Nancy. Honestly, I must give a great deal of the credit for the concept of A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms to my amazing editor at Ave Maria Press, Eileen Ponder.  Only a few weeks after The Handbook for Catholic Moms was released in February 2010, Eileen proposed several ideas for future projects, including the concept of a book devoted to exploring the lives of the saints. Because the Handbook was so fresh on my mind, and because I so enjoyed exploring the themes of that project so much, A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms became a natural extension of the work that had begun with my first book.

I appreciate how handsomely the book is designed and “feels.”  I especially loved the illustrations/icons for “heart, mind, body and soul,” (such a great theme in The Handbook for Catholic Moms) and how you assign a different one to each saint.  Tell me more about how you connected those two themes.
I, too, love the design for the book and want to give a great deal of credit to designer Katherine Robinson Coleman of Ave Maria Press, who gave such a beautiful “face” to the ideas I wanted to convey in this book.  The “heart, mind, body and soul” themes were explored in my first book The Handbook for Catholic Moms.  In that book, I encouraged moms to care for themselves in these aspects of their lives so that they would be better equipped to serve their families, our Church and the world around us.

I’ve long had a devotion to the lives of the saints, turning to them as spiritual companions, role models and intercessors. Early in the planning for this project, I decided that I wanted to revisit the four themes, choosing saints in each of those areas and writing about their lives, but also about how the saints exemplified sanctity and excellence in these areas.

There are 52 great saints, some well-known, others not so much.  How did you select the range of saints?
Choosing the 52 saints was one of the most fun, but also the most challenging aspects of the project. I knew immediately that some saints would be included because their importance to mothers and their “fit” for the topics being explored made them immediately come to mind. But I also had a wonderful time pondering my “picks” and reveling in research at our local university library. The formula of 52 saints and four “themes” (heart, mind, body and soul) meant coming up with 13 saints in each of those categories. Honestly, many of the saints I selected could have been introduced in several ways, but conceiving of them in this way and watching the project grow and take flesh really brought them to life in this writer’s heart of mine.

Do you have a favorite saint among the less well-known saints?
I have several! I must admit a tremendously soft spot in my heart for Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux who is one of my personal patrons. It makes sense to me that they would have had a tremendous impact upon her and I’ve fallen in love with Blessed Zelie through reading her personal correspondence. I also have a strong devotion to St. Gianna Beretta Molla, a modern working mother, a physician and a valiant pro-life champion. Finally as an Indiana born daughter of two Hoosier parents educated by the Sisters of Providence, I absolutely love and frequently pray through the intercession of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin who has taught me a great deal about trusting in God’s providence in my life.

You’re such a busy writer and new media specialist.  What’s your next project?
Busy, but very blessed! I have several “next projects” in the work, including an Advent book for Catholic families, several new concepts for CatholicMom.com, an active speaking schedule for the Spring and some “secret projects” that will be unveiled soon.
Is there anything else you would like to add or wish I would have asked?
Nancy, I thank you for your amazing support and I truly encourage your readers to pick up A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms and to share it with their friends and loved ones. The book is designed to be of support for moms, but also to be used with the entire family. It includes daily scriptures and prayers, activities for a mother to enjoy with her children, and a family prayer to be recited together. The saints – these holy men and women – lived their lives in the same challenging circumstances we often face today. It’s such a treasure of our faith that we can turn to them for support and encouragement, in intercessory prayer. I hope families will find a renewed relationship with the communion of saints through this book – both the formally canonized saints, and those we have each known and loved in our own lives. I pray the book will be a blessing to moms in their vocation.

A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms Encourages and Uplifts

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“Every time a Catholic mother asks me what author she should read, I have a ready answer: Lisa Hendey,” says noted author Fr. James Martin, S.J.
Amen, Father Martin.  Lisa Hendey is a seemingly omnipresent champion to Catholic women everywhere.  Hendey has a big presence online, where she runs her encouraging and informative website CatholicMom.com.  She also is a featured blogger at the popular Faith & Family Live! web community,, and she speaks and writes on new media as a way to spread the Catholic faith. 
A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms is such a great companion and natural “sort-of sequel” to The Handbook for Catholic Moms, Hendey’s first book. (Incidentally,  that was the second book I ever reviewed here at the Catholic Post.  Lisa was also my first author interview, since Fulton Sheen, author of first book review Treasure in Clay, was unavailable for an interview). 
I appreciate how handsomely the book is designed and “feels.”  Especially lovely are the illustrations/icons for “heart, mind, body and soul,” such a great theme in The Handbook for Catholic Moms and continued here.  Each saint has an icon of either heart, mind, body or soul based on the saint’s particular charism—for instance, a heart for St. Monica, mother of St. Augustine, and a body for martyr St. Maximilian Kolbe.
There are 52 great saints, some well-known, others not so much.  I enjoyed discovering newish-to-me saints like St. Rose Venerini (mind) , a 17th century lay educator, and St. Theodore Guerin, who helped bring the Sisters of Providence to the US.   There are also fresh reflections on saints like St. Jerome (soul) and  St. Jane Frances de Chantal (heart).
Each saint/chapter is divided into five sections:  lessons (an essay/reflection on the saint; traditions (charming familiar and obscure observances associated with the saint); saintly wisdom (a quote from or about the saint); scripture for each day of the week; and saint-inspired activities for mom alone or with kids.
I read through The Book of Saints cover to cover, but it would be a great resource to have at hand throughout the year.  A reader could choose to use this book as a bedside devotional to “keep up with the saints” all year, or get even more practical by planning some of the activities for the family.  Any way it is utilized, The Book of Saints for Catholic Moms is an enduring treasury for heart, mind, body and soul.
This is my monthly column in the print Catholic Post.  Check back all month long on the blog for discussions, giveaways and more about this book and many more.

A Therese for Everyone

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Did anyone else notice how many Teresas are connected to October?  No matter how she is spelled, Therese or Teresa has a hold on this month.  The month starts with St. Therese, the “Little Flower’s” feast on October 1; St. Teresa of Avila’s feast is  October 15; and at least two others Teresas were beatified or canonized in October—Mother Teresa and St. Teresa Benedicta a Cruce, better known as St. Edith Stein.  And books, including several newer titles, abound on these great holy women.

If you must choose only one book about the Teresas, make it Shirt of Flame: A Year with Saint Therese of Lisieux  by Heather King.  This is kind of a spiritual biography of St. Therese, and partly a memoir of King’s Catholic life.   King is best known for her memoir Parched about her life recovering from an addition to alcohol, and Redeemed, chronicling her conversion to Catholicism.
Each chapter of Shirt of Flame is a month and a theme from Therese’s life—for instance, October’s theme is “The Story of A Soul (On Offering Up Our Work). “  You will see Therese in a deeper and different way after reading Shirt of Flame, and you yourself will be different.   Consider this quote from July:  The Little Way (On the Martyrdom of Everyday Life):
“We can try, at great personal sacrifice, to be perfectly righteous, a perfect friend, perfectly responsive, perfectly available, perfectly forgiving.  But at the heart of our efforts must lie the knowledge that, by ourselves, we can do, heal, or correct nothing.  The point is not to be perfect, but to “perfectly” leave Christ to do, heal, and correct in us what he wills.”

The end-of-chapter prayers (written by King) are worth the price of the book alone.  The prayers, like the reflections throughout, help us learn from St. Therese about the brokenness in all of us, and how Christ is there, too.
Shirt of Flame had me noticing how similar were the spiritual darknesses of St. Therese and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.  Both experienced a dryness that persisted until the end of life, after times of consolation; both sought holiness through little actions.  As Mother Teresa wrote to a spiritual director, “If I ever become a saint—I will surely be one of ‘darkness.’  I will continually be absent from heaven—to light the light of those in darkness on earth.”  Here, she deepens as she echoes St. Therese’s famous promise, “After my death, I will let fall a shower of roses. I will spend my heaven doing good upon earth.” 
This Mother Teresa letter, and many others, are collected and organized by MC (Missionary of Charity) Father Brian Kolodiejchuk in 2007’s Come Be My Light:  The Private Writings of the “Saint of Calcutta.”  The book is quite comprehensive, almost overwhelming at times, in its recounting of Mother’s retreats, letters and other assorted documents.  Gems like the “saint of darkness” quote above, make it worthwhile.
A completely different, and much lighter, book, than either of the above, is the engaging new Mother Teresa and Me by Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle, about the author’s many encounters over the years with Mother Teresa, from a chance meeting in Washington, D.C., to a long-running correspondence.  Each chapter is charmingly framed with a reprint of a letter Mother wrote to her. 

Some of my favorite parts of Mother Teresa and Me:  Blessed Teresa was fond of “express novenas,” (yes, that’s what Mother Teresa called them) saying the Memorare nine times in a row, instead of over the course of nine days.  Who knew? As one who frequently forgets about mid-way through a novena, this has definite appeal to me.  I also found Cooper O’Boyle’s memories of Fr. John Hardon, S.J. enlightening, and a nice addition to this volume.
This is my October column that appears in this weekend’s Catholic Post.  Come back all month long here at the book group blog for discussion on books about saints named Teresa, author interviews, and more.

Remembering 9/11

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It’s been 10 years since 9/11, but I can still recall exactly where I was and every tiny detail of how I learned what had happened. It was an almost too-sunny Tuesday morning as I drove over the McCluggage Bridge on my way to a Scripture study.  Our two little daughters were in their carseats, sweetly singing along with a CD about the three little kittens who lost their mittens….  Then one of my sisters called my cell phone to tell me about the attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, where her husband worked at that time, and life changed for everyone.
That kind of total recall is probably true of most Catholic Post readers, but what do we do with those memories?  As we approach the 10-year anniversary of the attacks, remembrance is not just important, but healthy, especially when we do so prayerfully in light of our Catholic faith.

He Said Yes:  The Story of Father Mychal Judge
In his writings and talks, Pope Benedict XVI returns again and again to the theme of saying “yes” to God.  The Holy Father ended one of his addresses to World Youth Day pilgrims in Madrid by saying, “(L)et us pray that, like (the Blessed Mother), our “Yes” to Christ today may also be an unconditional “Yes” to his friendship, both at the end of this day and throughout our entire lives.”
Saying yes to a life of faith is not a one-time event, but a daily, often moment-by-moment, decision.  This is captured beautifully in the children’s picture book, He Said Yes:  The Story of Father Mychal Judge by Kelly Ann Lynch. 
Father Mychal Judge was the NYC fire department chaplain, and is listed as the first official casualty of 9/11 at Ground Zero.  The photo of his body being carried out of the North Tower by NYFD members remains one of the iconic images of the destruction that day.
In the years after Father Mychal’s death, there have been several well-written biographies written about him. These books recount how Father Mychal prevailed through numerous obstacles–such as family dysfunction and his own alcoholism–to be and to bring Christ to so many hurting people.
Yet in its simplicity, He Said Yes captures the central message of Father Mychal’s life more successfully.  The picture book does this by distilling Father Mychal’s essential work: how he continued to say yes to Christ, to his vocation, and to the people he served, until the very end.  A bonus is that proceeds from the book He Said Yes benefit Mychal’s Message, a non-profit started by author Lynch to help the homeless and poor.
Franciscan Voices on 9/11

Franciscan Voices On 9/11 by St. Anthony Messenger Press, is a collection of reflections on the attack and its meaning 10 years later.    Since St. Francis was known so much for his emphasis on peace and reconciliation, having a Franciscan perspective to mark the decade is enriching.
Essays range from the deeply personal, such as “Looking Back, Moving Forward”–  those whose lives have been dramatically changed after 9/11; to several political analyses; to a beautiful essay, “Prayer Out of Pain,” by Franciscan Scripture scholar Michael Guinan, who uses Lamentations as a way to help people respond to the memory of 9/11.
Easily the most interesting and informative section is “Franciscans and Muslims:  Eight Centuries of Seeking God,” by Franciscans Jack Wintz and Pat McCloskey.  Here is history about St. Francis’ trip to the Holy Land in 1219 to preach the gospel to the Sultan (the Muslim leader) during the time of the Crusades, and how Franciscans still maintain a considerable presence there to this day.   
As Wintz and McCloskey recount, because St. Francis approached in peace and love, and disregarded the gifts offered to him, the Sultan showed greater respect for him and did not kill him outright.  St. Francis bravely “proclaimed the triune God and Jesus Christ, with steadfastness, courage and spirit,” and the Sultan told him, “Pray to God for me, that God may reveal to me the law and the faith that is more pleasing to him.”  Franciscans still serve in the Holy Land as guardians of many shrines.
Franciscan Voices on 9/11 is available in only as a Kindle book, which can be read on a wide variety of devices.

"Life, Death & Catholic Medical Choices" a True Treasure

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Here is my column that appears in this weekend’s Catholic Post.   I invite your feedback.
As Catholics, we are neither vitalists who believe in aggressive treatment “no matter what” nor utilitarians who believe in “life unless and until it’s convenient for me and mine.” 

We have a good and almost immediate understanding that our life is a gift from God.  We know that we are called to be stewards, not owners, of life.   Even so, medical decision-making in today’s environment can be a challenge.

That’s where a book like Life, Death and Catholic Medical Choices (50 Questions from the Pews) becomes indispensable.  Written by two moral theologians, Redemptorist Fr. Kevin O’Neil, and Australian diocesan priest Fr. Peter Black, this book provides sound, reasoned guidance on medical moral issues for anyone, Catholic or not.  The book is helpfully divided into three sections:  questions about the beginning of life (such as abortion, assisted reproductive technologies, adoption), life “in between” (questions relating to organ donation, cancer, and various other topics), and end of life care (such as palliative/hospice care, euthanasia, and  cremation).

I can just see half of my readers’ eyes glazing over and hear the other half saying, “What’s so different or great about that?”  With all due respect, listen up!

 The first half is thinking, “too technical,” to which I respond: Life, Death & Catholic Medical Choices is clear information about so many delicate moral questions, you will find yourself painlessly enlightened and educated.  The authors of this book make it look effortless, but be assured this kind of writing is difficult to get right.   Read casually or deeply, and find much food for thought and discussion.

To the second half, who is thinking, “I can go ask my parish priest, or read some encyclicals, or read some blogs about these tough issues.”  I say, yes to all of that, especially consulting your parish priest (who might have this book already).  But the well-reasoned and easy to read wisdom of centuries of Church teaching distilled in Life, Death and Catholic Medical Choices is a true treasure.   And while I love blogs, I write blogs, and some of my best friends are bloggers, one simply cannot replicate the beautifully written clear help this book provides through a blog or other Internet source, however well-intention or faithful to Church teaching.

I struggled with how to convey this last point, because I am so grateful for the Internet.  In particular, blogs and web articles that share people’s personal stories of conversion or struggling with Church issues are a terrific source for spiritual growth and learning.

But there’s a certain kind of blogger or Internet source (who shall remain nameless here) that, however well-intentioned, can be guilty of practicing theology without proper training, and this should be avoided just as much as we would avoid a non-medical person attempting triple-bypass surgery.  Just because someone slept at a Holiday Inn Express– or has read a lot of Church documents–doesn’t guarantee good results when one tries to charitably explain or defend Church teaching accurately, especially on complicated and critical issues of life and death.  In this area, what’s most needed is loving and well-formed professionals.  Two of these have written Life, Death & Catholic Medical Choices.  Take advantage of their wisdom and guidance, and keep this book on hand.