An amazing book and inspiring to anyone yearning to lead a Christ centered spiritual life.

I read this book in a matter of days. St. Catherine has always interested me, and this book put a new dimension to a very well-known and loved saint. Among other things, this book showed me how Catherine prayed. As she spoke to her Lord, she was filled with fire and persistence, saturated in love for her Lord. Truly a book that sheds light on the true strength of an incredible woman.

I first read this book in 1963 - as it was being serialised in Extension Magazine. I was drawn to Catherine Benincasa, the stubborn, forthright, reclusive young woman who refused to allow herself to be used for any reason by her mother or her city - or even the Church. Catherine was a woman of rare courage and spirit. She was spiritual - but that did not stop her from denouncing cardinals & bishops as "whoremongers" when she found them chasing after wealth and political advantage. Mr DeWohl's wonderful introduction to Catherine is a bit superficial, but if this is understood at the beginning the reader will not be disappointed. It must also be remembered that DeWohl wrote during a less critical age when the culture of the Faith was stronger and an effort to demean th subject of a biography was not the all-consuming sine qua non of such books as it is now. Because of this book I began to read as much of DeWohl as I could find. He was a straightforward wordsmith and his Faith shines through in every page. Mr DeWohl has many titles to his credit while also contributing to journals and articles to World Book Encyclopedia. I am very happy to see that his novels are being reprinted in time for another generation to discover him. DeWohl made saints much more real than their official hagiographies ever did. Teenagers especially will find the story of St Catherine eye-opening as they will find DeWohl's other saintly subjects were not made of plaster and synthetic feelings but were men and women of the world who overcame the carnality of life, but only through the help of Jesus Christ.

each time, it seems like visiting an old friend.
When I first picked up this book, I had almost no knowledge of St. Catherine. I'm not even sure why I bought the book, to be honest. On first reading, I found it rather dull, having recently read other saints' biographies. However, I began to understand the greatness of this woman as revealed by Fr. Dirvin. This great soul had contact with the Mother of Christ and was given a mission by Her; yet, Catherine never spoke of it; indeed, she kept it a secret for over forty years, and thought as little of herself as anyone else. How different from most of us, who amplify our acheivement of much less portent and swell with pride over nothing! St. Catherine was so devoted to her "old men" at Enghien that none of them died without the sacraments in the forty years in which she had charge of that house. She did her duty for love of God and bore abundant fruit as a result. We can certainly learn from her example to make our ordinary actions meritorious before God.

One of the marvelous things about this book is that Fr. Dirvin does not exaggerate the saint's virtues and give us the impression that she had absolutely no faults. Many biographies of saints come across as advertisements for the religious order to which the subject belonged; not so here. This is an honest story of a woman who had a temper (her superior described her as being as "hot as milk soup") and yet was able to overcome this fault. Fr. Dirvin also describes St. Catherine as having traces of self-love unitil the last days of her life, yet, of this too was she purified. What hope can we not take from this book. St. Catherine is portrayed not a mainly a visionary, but as a woman who became a saint by living in humility, not seeking praise from others. Rather, her was a life of devotion to her duty and service to others. Which of us cannot imitate that?

I think I may have to read this book yet again. It may be time for a refresher!

This is the story of the famous saint through whom we received the Miraculous Medal. No sacramental since the Rosary has had such an impact on the Church. The author spent 10 years in research, studying many documents never before available. What he has produced is a definitive life of the Saint which is both highly readable and inspiring. You will come to love St. Catherine Laboure, will see in her a woman of incredible strength and character, of unbelievable constancy, of kindness, humility, obedience and self-effacement. Here was a saint who, from her early years was "entirely mystic," to quote her sister; who from age 12 served 10 years as mistress to her father's large household of 17 (five family members and 12 farm hands), who worked 40 years with constant fidelity running an old man's retirement-nursing home for her order; who after the Miraculous Medal apparitions, would speak to the Blessed Mother at any time she chose and be answered by Our Lady; who was a tower of strength to her order during two revolutions; and who made innumerable prophecies that came true. Full of hidden gems. Enthralling story! Full of terrific photos including some of her incorrupt body. 239pp. PB. Imprimatur.

Before dying of aneroxia in 1380 the famed Dominican tertiary forged an extraordinary legend. She was in her time a woman of substantial political clout. In 1376 she helped urge Pope Gregory XI, then living ignominously at Avignon, to Return to Rome. In where later, and through the strength of her voice and conviction, and amid turbulence. She counceled the Pope Urban VI through a wicked Church Schism, and through the dissipation of Urban's fanatical reign. A young charismatic woman in a world being destroyed by men. (...) in '15 days of Prayer with St Catherine of Siena' by Chantal van der Plamke and Andre Knockaert, I find a new saint that I barely knew before. This book is a little jewel for the inner life. Full of wisdom always hinting at Catherine's favorite urges: Truth and Humility. It has a wonderful preface deliniating Catherine's life. A very original course. The book is part of a series that includes St Teresa of Avila, etc.

Catherine Chambers, does a marvelous job of tying all the origins of this superstitious holiday together in an entertaining format. It explains the birth of traditions of All Hallow's Eve, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day in Europe, Latin America and the influences upon them in early North American culture. How a ritual of warding off evil spirits and the harbringers of the dark winter evolved into a festival of ghosts and goblins called Halloween! Find out how legitimate pranksters were appeased by the giving of treats during the holiday that soon became a well loved tradition. Overall, a great read for kids and adults as well!

Gendered Voices is a book that will change your whole outlook. It is investigative journalism and medieval history tied up in a very informative package. Revealing the deliberate biographical twisting of women's lives by men so that one size fits all and that size is exactly what is culturally expected is the topic of this beautifully written book. For anyone seriously interested in the lives of women medieval mystics and medieval religious movements in general, this book is an absolute necessity. The twisting and fabrication of hagiographies into a male acceptable gruel without texture or flavor has misrepresented and belittled the lives of these fascinating women. This book helps set the record straight.

This book contains spiritual pearls

This literate and accessible study examines the profound impact Paulinus had on Christian thought during a crucial period of its development. The letters of Paulinus and his correspondents portray an early Christian 'web' of shared concepts, intellectual discussion, and group development. Catherine Conybeare examines how the very process of writing and transmitting letters between members of a community helped to bind that community together and to aid the creation of ideas that would continue to reverberate for centuries. Paulinus was key to that group iconic as a model of behavior, as a conversion success story, and as an intellectual contributor able to bridge the old world and the new. A subtext shows how neoplatonism was christianized by this network of new converts which included Augustine among others.

Dreyer presents a good overview of the life and theology of Catherine of Siena in the form of a seven day retreat. Each chapter focuses on an aspect of Catherine's teaching and places it in the context of both the medieval world in which Catherine lived and in the modern world in which the reader lives. The book doesn't mythologize Catherine's life as much as some sources do, and it helps the reader relate it to the spiritual path we all must take. Quotes, prayers, and reflections come from Catherine's writings and from other sources, and a series of applications closes each chapter.

The main idea of this book revolves around the oldest new testament manuscripts known to man. Those manuscripts have the complete record of the New Testament from the year 340 AD and on...

One of the chapters is totally dedicated to the history of the monastery of St. Catherine where the manuscripts were found by one of the pillars of biblical studies, Constantine Tischendorf in 1859...

Daringly constructed...
Excellently done...
Extremely challenging...
Amazingly informative...

Beautifully satisfying...
Tremendously comprehensive...
Gigantically convincing...
Bravo...

When I first picked up this series, it was after I had read the Guinevere Trilogy, by the same author, Sharan Newman. My mom had gone to a conference for Mystery Writers and picked up a bunch of her books, including the first installment of her Catherine Levendeur Series. I fell in love with it, and each year my mom returns to the conference she gets me a signed copy of her latest adventure. The character was very headstrong then, but now, in this sixth part of the continuing series, Catherine has taken motherhood, and life in mideval France to a more mature level. It's very enjoyable to see how the characters of Edgar, Catherine, and their children have changed over the years in the stories, but it may not be as strong as in the first few.

In this novel, Catherine, her husband Edgar, and the rest of her family trek the miles to distant Germany to save her younger, estranged sister, Agnes, from an undetermined fate, as she was accused of the murder of her new husband. The conflicts are understandable and believable as we see her struggles to hold a family together in a time and place of racial anger and missunderstanding with the various culture clashes.

Sharan Newman's views and enterpretation of the time peroid are amazing and fantastic to see, but some of the plot becomes rediculous and confusing, as well as Catherine's strange newly-found, docile sense of motherhood. It seems that she is no longer taking on the mysteries of this novel, but leaving it to her husband. I enjoy this series very much. It is a must read! Take it from me, you should pick up this series, but don't be dissapointed if the attitude changes from book to book. The years do go by swiftly, and Catherine is, and always will be a little too headstrong for her family, no matter how any children she has! Try it out for yourself!

Ms Newman does it again - a perfectly detailed, well-written mystery. This time, I even had a hard time figuring out "who done it", which isn't always the case with her books. Once again Catherine, Edgar, and their children are on the road. First, to visit Catherine's old convent, then on to Germany to help Catherine's sister beat a murder charge. Her lovely, graceful sister has turned her back on devoutly Catholic Catherine and her Jewish family (it's a complicated tale - your best to start with the first book, Death Comes as Epiphany and go from there!), but Catherine still feels the pull of family ties. Now, sis has been charged with her bridegroom's murder and she has no one to defend her, except Juhan, a more-than-slightly dangerous knight. Meanwhile, it's a dangerous time to be Jewish in Europe, fanatical Christians are preaching vengeance against the Jews - and Catherine's father is feeling the pull of his birth, to return to his Jewish heritage. The complexities of the family that Catherine's sister has married into make solving the mystery a bit more tricky than other Newman books. In fact, while the mystery elements are always good, they are surpassed by the development of characters and relationships. What will become of Edgar's sister Margaret (who plays a big role here) - will she find the good match for bloodlines that her birth demands, or will her attachment to Solomon (Catherine's stoutly Jewish cousin) grow, and vice versa? Will Catherine keep getting pregnant every time she leaves Paris? Will Hubert really leave it all behind to live openly as a Jew and how will that affect his wife and children? This book develops these side characters - including Solomon, one of my personal favorites and Walter, a knight from their past on his way to the crusades. Stay tuned - I have a hunch that things will continue to be very interesting for our Catherine and Edgar!

In this latest book, we get to see the lives of the aristocracy and the peasants in Trier. Catherine and her family deal with murder, family relationships, and offshoots of the established church. I am always fascinated with the glimpses of the Jewish communities as well as the disagreements within the Catholic Church. We get a feel for the difficulties of life in those days, and the strength needed to overcome them.