Customer Reviews

Lives of the Saints: From Mary and St. Francis of Assisi to John XXIII and Mother Teresa

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Lives of the Saints
Richard McBrien

McBrien's compilation of saints for each day covers a multitude of canonized and non-canonized people. He also offers saints who are recognized by the Anglican/Episcopalian, Lutheran and Greek Orthodox churches. His descriptions are short, comparatively with Butler's descriptions, but non-devotional. He includes in his short essays references to history, legend and myth. This book can exist along side other longer works and can offer some perspectives that others do not.

Fr. Richard McBrien, a well-known dissenter in the Church he serves has, from the perspective of this reviewer, written yet another disappointment.

The book purports to be a "Lives of the Saints" -- an ever popular genre for many centuries. However, McBrien uses this book (as he did his previous "Lives of the Popes") to further his own agenda as a representative of the Catholic far left.

In the section devoted to explaining the history of "saints" and the process by which persons are declared "saints" in the Catholic Church, he manages to wave the banner of radical feminism, liberation theology, etc., citing almost exclusively representatives from the far left. This is his privilege -- but it detracts from the alleged purpose of the book.

In the section devoted to working through the Church Year, McBrien includes in his list of saints persons not affiliated with the Catholic Church, and in some cases, persons not affiliated with Christianity at all. (Mahatma Ghandi? A good and worthy man, to be sure, but his inclusion (as a Hindu mystic) in a book of Christian saints?) McBrien also manages to defame the memory of those saints with whom he personally disagrees, the most noteworthy example being St. Pius X. Further, he repeats the same tired anti-Catholic attacks against Pope Pius XII and his alleged "complicity" and "silence" during the Second World War.

I grudgingly gave this book 2 stars because of McBrien's recognition of other religious bodies who have a Calendar of Saints and his inclusion of some of those in his list. However, he is inconsistent in his mention of these, which I found troubling. (Either discuss/include all or none).

A warning to Catholic readers (and I am not a Roman Catholic): As previously stated, the book DOES contain biographies of Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran saints -- some of whom would not be considered saints by Catholics. This book does NOT represent biographical sketches of the saints in the Roman Calendar -- a fact which, considering its Catholic author, should have been made more clear.

To summarize, McBrien has taken a familiar religious genre, and used it to further his agitations against his own faith tradition. To me, not the most honest of approaches.

I was quite disappointed with this effort.

Disappointing is the only way to describe this book. Despite its potential - fine quality pages, saints for every day of the year, plus additional information on Church history and spiritual movements within the Church -this book simple failed to deliver for what I was looking for - daily readings on the saints that might be interesting, provoking, and inspiring.

Instead I found this to be yet another in a long list of saint books that provides for the most part a very dry and hurried account of dates and accomplishments - squeezed into a paragraph or two for many saints. Worse is reading a whole page on a saint without finding anything remotely interesting. After awhile you guess what is going to be written. I.E. "spent time helping the poor, reforming prostitutes..."

Spare yourself these boring accounts that I found quite biased and inaccurate at times. (This is not a shot at the author - I just happen to be familiar with much literature on a few saints and can easily spot inaccuracies).

For an exceptional book on saints, check out on amazon 'Voices of the Saints'.

I found McBrien's 'Lives of the Saints' all that a good reference ought be and it is also a good read. The enteries are objective (not always a strong point in such books); contemporary, well and interestingly written.
The tables are a great addition they save one the hunting around for information elsewhere. The time line, notes, bibliography and index give everything that a reference of this type should provide.
I have several other such references from 'The Golden Legend', Butlers, The Sunday Visitor Encyclopaedia,the Oxford and Penguin Dictionaries and some others. McBrien will be first off the shelf. If you only need one such, this is it.

With this volume Richard McBrien has provided us with a substantial reference for the lives of the saints. What I found most interesting was his overview of how saints came to be looked upon in the Church and how their recognition and cults have developed over the centuries. Moreover, he adds a valuable short history of Christian spiritualities and the connection that saints and other holy or dominant personalities exerted in the emergence and flowering of these spiritualities. The process and politics of canonization is also treated.

A handy feature of McBrien's book is his inclusion of many lesser known saints on their feast days and the patron saint listings for countries, occupations causes and groups. McBrien also adds a sampling of saints from religions other than Roman Catholic and a few non-Christian saints.

If you want a source for a short biography of almost any saint, want to look up a patron saint or how saints came to be recognized at various times in Church history, this is your book.

I bought this book at the same time as the new one volume Butler's Lives of the Saints, edited by Paul Burns. McBrien's book is certainly well researched and inclusive in terms of gender, race, class, and denomination. However the entries are focussed more on biographical information than the spirit or charism of each saint. You will know when they lived and what they did but not how they thought, felt, and prayed. Butler's Lives of the Saints is equally well researched, and just as inclusive (without being self-righteous about it, as McBrien tends to be), but you also get a sense of the spirituality of the saints, which is the whole point of reading about them. McBrien's material about Pope JP II's mania for beatification/canonization is interesting, but better to read it at your local library and spend your money on the new Butler's Lives of the Saints.

Once again preeminent theologian Richard McBrien offers an etraordinary compendium of Catholicism's great figures. As his earlier works, Lives of the Saints is historicly accurate and easily readable. Fr. McBrien brings to the ordinary reader the benefits of his comprehensive understanding of Catholic history and theology. He demonstrates a pastoral sensitivity and leads the reader to explore what the saints heroic example says to the readers spirituality and faith. Lives of the Saints provides all with valuable insights into the great figures in christinaity. There is much here that will interest Orthodox and Protestant Christians as well as Catholics. This is a wonderful resource especially for religious education and parish libraries. It will serve all Christians as a great source of spiritual reading.

Very interesting and facinating book! I purchased the book for my catechism classes but I started reading the info and found it something I had to continue reading.

What a great resource for an honest "Lives of the Saints" but recognized and acclaimed. It's wonderful to read someone who can address sanctity in a real life setting and present the models placed before us by the institution in a real way. These are people with whom we can all identify, living lives quite similar to many of us. I must admit I never considered walking on coals or watering dead twigs a sign of holiness.

Fr. Richard Mcbrien is a relatively well known Catholic theologian who teaches presently at Notre Dame.{which has a lively theology department] In this volume, Fr Mcrien tries to update the calendar of saints by adding some new{John XXIII, MKGANDHI, Thersa of Calcutta}, along eith the usual, {FRancis, Dominc,etc.} The result is a mix...however, the reviewer who called Mcbrien an agent of the far catholic left simply does not know what he speaking about. Mc Brien is a polite liberal,not a radical.Because he criticises Rome and is for the ordiantion of woman{the horror!}, he is labeled such. What nonsense. It is truly idiotic to think of Mcbrien as anything but a cautious liberal{he got into a row at Notre Dame with Stanley Hauerwas and Fr Michael Baxter, for instance over the catholic worker movement and there place in modern society. Hardly a radical's viewpoint]...this volume, by the way was much better done a few years ago by Robert Ellsberg called ALL SAINTS...much of the same territory was covered, but better,actually. Mc Briens Catholcism , his one volume magnum opus is still indespensibel {and much better written and accesible the the new Catechism}. In the end, not bad, not great,certainly nothing here is very imflamatory, only to the flat earth society who want to give their own bizzare litmus tests to everyone.