Saint The Books

While I have no doubt that the core of the stories are true, there is an element of each story which I consider fantastic. Saint Bega sailing away on a piece of sod. Saint Margaret being eaten by a dragon. Then, when in the dragon's stomach making the sign of the cross [somehow still intact to do so] and bursting for from it whole and unscathed. The stories in their entirety are hard for me to believe.
Though it may be on a fourth grade reading level, I would only recommend it for people mature enough to handle pictures of bare breasts and naked women. As the School Library Journal Editorial Review indicates, these stories are "Filled with cruelty, torture, gore, and ghastly death." It also describes the art work as, "Full-page, delicate, fanciful watercolors show wraithlike figures being dragged naked to brothels, having breasts cut off, being burned, having their throats cut, and suffering other atrocities," At least one complete page of every two open pages has artwork on it and most have art work on the second page as well
The saints whose lives are covered in this book are:
Ursula
Agnes
Cecilia
Agatha
Lucy
Barbara
Bega
Brigid
Christina
Margaret
Catherine
Joan

I first borrowed this book from a public library, and I have to say that its presentation completely surprised me! I knew that I had to own a copy for myself! The refreshingly individual artistic style of the illustrations catch one off-guard at first, because of the disturbing nature of the martyrdom of these virgin saints. But then one realizes that this is an artistic style of illustration that can't be found in any other depiction or publication anywhere, period. The haunting and beautiful illustrations actually become quite memorable and endearing. I think that this book would be a fabulous collector's book for adults, or a beautiful gift to a child as an introduction to the lives of steadfast and strong female saints.

In the context of modern times it would be easy to make these women ridiculous but Giselle Potter respects them and the courage of their choices. The book is a lovely, magical tribute to strong women who triumphantly defied male power and violence.

There is something so lovely about his book-- particularly in the illustrations. I adore the style of Potter. I wish it were more popular.

An important, interdisciplinary anthology; engaging, thoughtfully presented, scholarly-yet accessible to the intelligent reader; and with a much-needed historical and inter-religious perspective. Essential reading, especially as a counter to so much fanciful material currently on the market in this area.

The Rev. Dr. Katherine Kurs

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this volume is the platform for further inquiry which it establishes. Deirdre Good's insistence that we translate Mariam, not Mary, in Jn 20 opens the interesting question of the embeddedness of John in the (at least) trilingual milieu of the first century. Carol Myers' and Mary Rose D'Angelo's essays elicit further probing of the gendered contours of prophecy in the first century. And Diane Apostolos-Cappadona's contribution opens the question of the degree to which Byzantine art concerning Mariam influenced Western depictions to some degree. The other essays will ask the reader to rethink the relation of flesh and spirit, since so much of the significance of Mariam resides in her mediation of the experience of the risen crucified One. The collection includes extensive bibliography and index useful to a wide range of scholars, and is rigorously edited for intelligibility among a general readership. It is perhaps best read in tandem with Bart Ehrmans's LOST CHRISTIANITIES.

Compiled and deftly edited by Deirdre Good (Professor of New Testament, General Theological Seminary, New York City), Mariam, The Magdalen, And The Mother is a compilation of erudite essays by knowledgeable Jewish, Christian and Muslim scholars on the biblical figure of Mary Magdalene as present aspects of her composite identity drawn from Jewish, Gnostic, early Christian, and Manichean traditions. This impressively diverse collection of viewpoints also covers Islamic and patristic traditions about Jesus' mother Mary. Taken as a whole, Mariam, The Magdalen, And The Mother presents a fascinating, scholarly, yet completely accessible exploration of the Miriamic roots of Mary Magdalen's composite identity and prophetic vision that played an important and controversial role during the first five centuries of the Christian movement. Also available in a hardcover edition (02533-45332, $50.00) Mariam, The Magdalen, And The Mother is a strongly recommended addition to personal and academic Christian Studies and Religious Studies library reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Plenty if the name is Mary. For those looking for female figures in scripture, Mary Magdalen has long been an important if mysterious figure. Interest in Mary, the mother of Jesus remains high as well. In Mariam, the Magdalen and the Mother, edited and introduced by Deirdre Good, Professor of New Testament at the General Theological Seminary, Christian, Jewish and Muslim scholars explore the Miriamic tradition from many angles. Prof. Good sets the stage by arguing that Mariam is a better translation of the name we normally render as Miriam or Mary. Seeing Mariam in the text rather than Mary opens up the interconnections among the various Marys not only in Christian scripture but in writings from all the religious traditions of the early Common Era and highlights the coherence in both the name and the roles of these figures. Following on this notion, other contributors to the volume explore Mary Magdalen's various roles as disciple and prophet, examine the role of Mary in Gnostic texts, and trace the evolution of the portrayal of Mary Magdalen in Christian art. The interdisciplinary and interfaith approach of this volume moves the discussion of Mary Magdalen and the Miriamic tradition in ways that a more narrow focus could not, and opens the door for further investigation of Mariam in all her instantiations. It is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the role of women in scripture and in the world in which Christianity developed.

as i said in other item, it will be nice if the shipping is faster, thank you

Fr. Cantalamessa's book on Mary is unique in that he does not treat Catholic teaching on Mary defensively, as something to be protected from Protestant objections, but rather shows how Mary can be a symbol of unity, a common model of the Christian life for all Christians. And he manages to do this while explaining an orthodox, Catholic understanding of Mary's role in the Church.

The book is divided into three sections, examining Mary's role in Jesus' birth, in His death and resurrection, and lastly her role in Pentecost and the continuing life of the Church. Fr. Cantalamessa makes strong use of Scripture in laying out Catholic doctrine and dogma on Mary, giving the reader a good understanding of the Gospel's context for what we know of her, and thus providing a good bridge for Protestants who would distrust Catholic tradition and the writings of the saints. Also of particular interest is Cantalamessa's synthesis of homilies and writings by prominent Reformers like Luther, Calvin and Zwingli.

To round out the ecumenical appeal, the book has several beautiful color photos of some Marian icons, which Fr. Cantalamessa has said greatly increased his understanding of Mary's life and relationship with her son. Combined with citations of the Eastern Fathers to demonstrate the historical roots of doctrines like the Immaculate Conception (or "panagia", "all holy", in Greek), provides a window into the Eastern Church's perspective on Mary.

Fr. Cantalamessa obviously has a great devotion to Mary, but it is tempered with a recognition that the greatest purpose of contemplating Mary is so that we can imitate her as the model follower of her son, Jesus. He also acknowledges that there is no one single "right" devotion towards Mary, as it varies according to each individual's spiritual path, and this moderation goes far to help ease those who fear that being a good Catholic necessitates some undue, if not idolatrous, devotion towards the Blessed Virigin. His writing is well-organized and accessible, and is suffused with a spirit of fraternity and charity towards all Christians. This is an ideal introduction to Mariology.

"In contemplating Mary, we can once again discover the synthesis and unity of faith. She is the icon of undivided grace, grace that is still whole (p.28)"
Having the privilege of counting a Franciscan community in my hometown as friends and seeing their great devotion to Mary led me to this book.
This marvelous little book has greatly increased my understanding and devotion to Mary. Deo gratias!

This is the most beautiful book on Mary that I have yet encountered. There are so many gems of truth contained in this work that, once completed, the reader is left with an abundance of material to begin imitation of Mary who "Kept all these things in her heart." In addition, this book is a wonderful presentation of the Blessed Virgin to our protestant bretheren. The author believes that the time has come for Mary to be a source of unity among Christians and no longer a cause of division. This book makes great strides toward that end.

Mary: The Mother of Jesus is a Catholic classic included in children's literature studies such as Catholic Mosaic by Cay Gibson and Elizabeth Foss' Advent study. Tomie de Paola is not only a fabulous childrens' author, he is a great artist as well. This book should be included on the bookshelves of Catholic children everywhere.

Tomie DePaola does a remarkable job with the Bible and his incredible art. Mary comes alive!!!!!!
Martha

This book is a great source for teaching young children about Mary. It is also great for teens, who may not want to sit and read much about Mary, but the Art draws them in and gets their interest and they can handle a page or two (before they know it, they're done!). I was surprised by this while I was teaching a teen confirmation class and had just put the book out for "kicks", it was one of the most used books that day!

Tomie dePaola has done it again! Here is a beautifully written and illustrated children's book about a religious subject that is truly worth owning. The colorful artwork will interest younger children, and interesting facts and stories about the Blessed Mother will intrigue and excite older readers. DePaola treats his subject respectfully, but without excessive sentimentallity. The early style of the artwork and the inclusion of part of an antiphon in each section of the book ties "Mary, Mother of Jesus" to the long and honorable European Marian tradition.

This is a book that is worth owning. It is gently written and beautifully profound. The Blessed Mother is made readily accessible in the minds, hearts and souls of all who read this treasure. It is a very enlightening and interesting book and I sincerely hope it makes a positive difference in the lives of all who read it. I really loved it.

A stunningly beautiful book! An appropriate collection of images fills this excellently designed book with lavishly colored reproductions of the life of Mary. A tribute to two of my favorite women, both who serve us as a reminder of the exceptional nature of the feminine spirit.

My husband gave me this book for Christmas and it has become very special to me. As someone who also grew up in the Presbyterian tradition, I had always felt the absence of Mary in the church. When, as an adult, I turned to a more "catholic" religion, I was finally able to embrace Mary. This book, with it's beautiful illustrations and wonderful essays is a spiritually rewarding path to Mary.

The book is an excellent purchase, but don't even think of purchasing it here because it probably won't be in stock. At least this is my experience.

This is the best indroduction to Edith Stein. It is vividly written and moves quickly. The book underscores the strength of this contemporary woman who, facing great challenges, had to think through and stand firm in her beliefs. In Cavnar's book, the central drama of Edith Stein's life is her conversion to Catholicism. This book does what a well-written saint's biography should do--namely, challenge the reader to respond to God's call with greater intensity.

This book highlights the life of a woman who should be better known to all of us. Her story is one of courage and conviction, first in her struggle to define her faith and to situate spirituality within philosophy, and later in her struggle against Nazi persecution. The author skillfully interweaves biography, histoy, and spirituality, all the while painting a very human and intimate picture of this incredible woman.

Author Cynthia Cavnar condenses the life of Edith Stein into the most readable book yet. Information is contained herein which was not mentioned in longer biographies. However, in the few pages in which Cavnar discusses Pope Pius XI and XII and their roles in the fight against Nazism, Cavnar misses the mark, downplaying Mit Brenneder Sorge (On the Church and the German Reich) by Pius XI and ignoring altogether Pius XII's Summi Pontificatus (On the Unity of Human Society) published in 1939. I would have to recommend "Edith Stein: St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross" by Maria Ruiz Scaperlanda over Ms. Cavnar's title although the former book is a little less readable.

Cavnar outlines the context of the life of St. Edith Stein so that the reader may appreciate the martyr's life as she lived it. Yet the author does not cling to the technicalities so as to give a boring recitation of St. Edith's accomplishments and failures. Rather, Cavnar brings the deepest passions of St. Edith to life: her love of philosophy, her love of teaching, her love of helping others, and most importantly, her love of God. The narrative moves swiftly so that the reader is caught up in the excitements and disappointments in St. Edith's life from World War I, her academic work and her relationships with her family members. This book is an excellent inspirational biography that presents a very real woman who was very dedicated to God.

At the age of ten, I discovered the stigmatist, Padre Pio - a man of many wonders. To a ten year old, he was a super hero, a man of many powers. As an adult, he is still a super hero to me, but in another way. Padre Pio embodied all that is holy and was yet so human.

Meet Padre Pio is a wonderful book. We see Padre Pio as a human, not just a saint and a holy man. This book takes us from his early days as a child all the way to his death and beyond. We meet a charming man with a beautiful soul. We experience the first appearance of his stigmata and the many miracles that follow. Many of his relationships with friends and family are intimately revealed and show a very caring man with a wonderful sense of humor.

Whether you consider yourself religious or not, pick up this book. It is a wonderful read which introduces a marvelous man to it's readers. You can't help but smile when you read this book!

Patricia Treece gives us a well-written and easy-to-read insight into the life of Blessed Padre Pio. Though it is a short book, it nevertheless leaves you with an appreciation of this significant figure of the last century. I lived in Italy some fourteen years and came to hear about him (through Italian relatives who visited him), though I never met him. I now have met him through this book! The author handles the controversial aspect of his life well; and I do remember that. It is a book well worth reading and passing along to others.

If you don't know much about Padre Pio here is a great way to get started. Patricia Treece, author of numerous popular books about miracles and saints, has an engaging journalistic style vs. a gooey sugary style that might turn you off. Divided into paragraphs with sub-titles it lets you read as if it were such classics as The Little Flowers of St. Francis.
If you do know Padre Pio well, as I do, it is still delightful to hear about him again - like hearing a favorite love-song replayed after many years to a new beat.

Here is another book, about an extraordinary person, Padre Pio, by Patricia Treece, an extraordinary writer!

With clear, precise, telling strokes, Treece makes us see, and feel, who Padre Pio was and how he lived according to the divine light that infused his whole being.

As with other saints Treece has profiled, we are again amazed at how a person can live with great pain and physical frailties, and, because of them or in spite of them, reach incredible spiritual heights and demonstrate incredible spiritual powers.

The author?s words prove equal to the task and do honor to Padre Pio, as when she writes: ?God definitely toys with those He loves in games of spiritual hide-and-seek, or a kind of spiritual yo-yoing that is meant to make a soul utterly pliant in God?s hands.?

I found Padre Pio?s own words deeply thought-provoking, as when tells Padre Eusebio: ?Listen, my son, you think, like many others, that sin is the breaking of the law, but it?s not that but infidelity to love.?

Ultimately, it is not words, but a person?s life that matters, and the author has captured Padre Pio?s most instructive and inspiring life poignantly.

Rolf Gompertz, Author of 'A Jewish Novel About Jesus' and 'Sparks of Spirit'

I expected a small book when I received it thanks to the reviews.As an artist/sculptor this book was fantastic. It shows my favorite Michelangelo statue in 150 different camera angles and zooms in on detailed areas that you wont see in any other book.It's an excellent study of drapery,composition, and the human form and flesh in marble.I only wish more outstanding sculptures of the world were given this much visual coverage . Artists who want to see true mastery of material will love this as a study reference.It also does give a short history of it's creation and subsequent damage(by a crazed lunatic)and its restoration.The book is entirely in black and white and must be seen to be believed.

Meditating on the pictures helped me to experience one of the most beautiful moments of the history of the Earth. The images stay with me throughout the day. The book was dissapointing only in being too small, about 6 inches by 8 inches.

To meditate on the beautiful pictures in this book will move one's soul to a higher level of understanding the love Jesus has for all of us.

When I first recieved it, I was rather suprised about the size of the book, about 4x6 inches. However, I found many beautiful images inside. I have heard that there is a larger edition of the book if you would want to look into that. This bokk provides images that were taken before the Pieta was to be crated *for what reason I'm not really certain*. It shows all different views, closeups, and details that you wouldn't even imagine. It also has a few pictures of the restorations and some of the damaged areas after the 1970s attack. Very wonderful book for meditation and for aiding reports and such.

This series just keeps getting better and better! And I do hope it continues. The relationship between Meg and Sarah is engaging and realistic. The mystery becomes secondary to me when these two are together. Meg's niece makes for a nice character to play off of, as does Patrick again. But nothing beats Darcy and Lindstrom!

....as do the authors of this series. I enjoyed this book so much that I dug out the first two books of the series to reread. Meg and Sarah are the perfect foils for each other. If you haven't read any of this series yet, start with "Cemetery Murders" and work your way through. They are worth reading.

This series just keeps getting better and better! And I do hope it continues. The relationship between Meg and Sarah is engaging and realistic. The mystery becomes secondary to me when these two are together. Meg's niece makes for a nice character to play off of, as does Patrick again. But nothing beats Darcy and Lindstrom!

The writing in this series just gets better! The characters are feisty and funny! . Meg and Sarah are a couple to be reckoned with and even the secondary characters are interesting. Do yourself a favour and read this series. I just hope we do not have to wait another two years for the next book. This series is a rival to J.M. Redman and Jaye Maiman for great lead characters.

9 out of the 16 essays are about the Black Madonna. There is one essay on Lilith, one on Kali, and one on the Morrigan. There is a poem by Clarissa Pinkola Estes about Guadalupe. There is an essay on Mary Magdalene. A further two are from the christian perspective.This book is a mix of the religious and the jungian. It has essays by artists, pschoanalysts and priests. It works. The most valuble essay for me was "The Dark Irish Goddess Morrigan" by Sylvia Brinton Perera--it was worth the price of the book.Despite the fact that this book is skewed a bit toward the chirstian perspective--i still enjoyed reading it.The authors were most interesting when they spoke of their own spiritual and psychological journeys in relation to the Dark Feminine.

Words cannot express the value of this book.
This book is a must for anyone who is interested in the dark feminine and the psychology of the feminine. The book consists of essays, written by different authors, mainly about their personal experiences and their introduction to the dark feminine. This book provides information about the goddesses, which is not easy to find in other books.
While reading this book, I was drowned to places, stories and tales that transformed my learning into pleasure. This is one of the books that effects the mind, but also fills the heart, the boundary between science and religion.

Dr. Gustafson has brought together a wonderful collection of essays on the dark feminine by a wide spectrum of noted authorities. There are also some great photographs. Anyone interested in Analytical Psychology, mythology, religion, ecology and the Shadow will love this book.

I am always leery of male authors writing about the
dark feminine.

One of the best books I have read on the subject.