Customer Reviews

Saint of the Day: Lives, Lessons, and Feasts

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Fr. Foley's "Saint of the Day" is on the whole a faithful, well-written collection of brief essays concerning saints and feast days. Each entry is approximately two pages, and includes a "Comment" by the author and a "Quote" from a source like a document from Vatican II.

It is only in the author's comments that things occasionally go awry, generally due to the author's somewhat progressive sensibilities. For instance, St. Thomas Aquinas is awkwardly described as a "towering example of ... inclusiveness." Likewise, the entry for Ss. Perpetua and Felicity compares their martyrdom to the murder of Anne Frank during the Holocaust. Yet young Anne wasn't killed for her beliefs, but for her "race"; Nazis were quite happy to kill Jewish converts to Christianity. That doesn't make Anne's death any less tragic, but it does make the comparison rather forced.

To his credit, however, Fr. Foley also includes a reference to Vatican II's call for Gregorian Chant and polyphony in his entry for St. Cecilia. This martyr from the Roman era is the patron saint of musicians and a favorite of liturgically-orthodox Catholics. Similarly, he includes a generous quotation from G.K. Chesterton in the entry for St. John Bosco.

That feast days like the Presentation, the Annunciation, and the Most Holy Name of Jesus are also included makes "Saint of the Day" even more useful for liturgical catechesis. Fr. Foley's prose is suitable for high school students and adults, and the book is a good choice for a Confirmation gift.

I'm happy with this book. I can find out about the Saints whose names adorn churches, etc. in my area. I also found a very hard to find Saint in this book. It is a great book to have as a reference if you are Catholic or just curious.

Not all saints were doers of miracles, or were martyrs,but simply believed and attempted to live as Christ would have us all do. Ordinary people living ordinary lives, unknown, unrecognized.

Gives great hope to us all.