Tell me about Saints

[Jamesbear]

Hello.
I would like to learn about Saints. I have looked for books about the saints and I haven’t found what I’m looking for. I have found books that devote a page to each saint, and I have found books that are devoted to just one saint. I would prefer something in between these two extremes.
A little bit of background: I am Protestant, and so that is a part of Christian culture that is nearly absent from my upbringing. I was exposed to saints through Russian Orthodoxy. But I read Russian only rather slowly, and very much prefer English!
I think it is great inspiration to study the lives of saints, but I don’t know how to go about it.
Our modern lives are full of narratives of the wrong kind of heroes. It makes us poorer.
Any ideas or advice? Please? Is there a book that would help me which I don’t know about? Or which 3 or 5 saints are most worthy of study? I tend to read a lot, but don’t know how to approach this!
I would be grateful for any ideas! Thanks!
Jamesbear

 

[chero23]

I’ll get some small (name removed by moderator)ut on this as I’m no theologian. But a saint is somebody who while living on this earth lived a life that centered God in it. This doesn’t mean that they never committed a sin, or grave offenses, I mean look at st Augustine from the 4th century, he would be involved in orgys, basically an atheist. His mother prayed day and night for him. He converted and the rest is history.

Then in the Bible we see that St. Paul says, imitate me as I imitate Christ. The church teaches and believes that St. Paul is a saint, so we do as he says, we imitate him and others who are in the glory of God.

 

[dmar198]

Hello.
I would like to learn about Saints. I have looked for books about the saints and I haven’t found what I’m looking for. I have found books that devote a page to each saint, and I have found books that are devoted to just one saint. I would prefer something in between these two extremes.
A little bit of background: I am Protestant, and so that is a part of Christian culture that is nearly absent from my upbringing. I was exposed to saints through Russian Orthodoxy. But I read Russian only rather slowly, and very much prefer English!
I think it is great inspiration to study the lives of saints, but I don’t know how to go about it.
Our modern lives are full of narratives of the wrong kind of heroes. It makes us poorer.
Any ideas or advice? Please? Is there a book that would help me which I don’t know about? Or which 3 or 5 saints are most worthy of study? I tend to read a lot, but don’t know how to approach this!
I would be grateful for any ideas! Thanks!
Jamesbear

There is a book called Four Witnesses by Rod Bennett that does what you are looking for. It discusses the lives and writings of four of the early Church Fathers, and gives very generous selections from their writings so that you can really get a good idea of their thinking. I think it discusses St. Clement of Rome, St. Justin Martyr, St. Irenaeus, and St. Ignatius of Antioch. Here is the description from Amazon: What was the early Church like? Contrary to popular belief, Rod Bennett shows there is a reliable way to know. Four ancient Christian writers – four witnesses to early Christianity – left us an extensive body of documentation on this vital subject, and this book brings their fascinating testimony to life for modern believers. With all the power and drama of a gripping novel, this book is a journey of discovery of ancient and beautiful truths through the lives of four great saints of the early Church – Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus of Lyons.

 

[Richard_White]

There is always the old classic Lives of the Saints, which outlines many of the great saints and is a wonderful resource. Also, even though it is a children’s book, I would recommend A Catholic Child’s Illustrated Lives of the Saints. I received it for my First Communion, and as you are a Protestant, it may be good to ease your way intobthe saints. May God bless you!

 

[po18guy]

Here, you can receive a daily email of the Saint of the Day. These are encapsulated stories of lives, but even then, their lives are awe inspiring. 100 Saints is beauftifully illustrated and has at least a single page of text (some have several) and a page of artwork on each of the Saints covered. The accompanying artwork enhances the text. The classic work is Alban Butler’s Lives of the Saints.

 

[SighGuy]

My favorite saint is Saint Joan of Arc. She’s very important to me. Maybe you would like to read about her?

 

[blanc10]

Many people get to know saints by their patrionage or what they “specialize” in. So, you can find your profession in this index and learn about saints who had to deal with specific topics in your profession.

Popular ones include St. Therese of Jesus, St. Pio, St. Catherine, St. Joan of Ark, and of course the blessed mother.

saints.sqpn.com/patronage-topics/