Customer Reviews

Saints for Every Occasion: 101 of Heaven's Most Powerful Patrons

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Most of us were introduced to the saints while we were children. As we grew up, our idea of saints has remained on immature level. Thomas Craughwell's book re-introduces us to the saints from an adult person's point of view. The result is refreshing. It is such a relief to know that these 101 saints were not statues in real life. I now feel that Thomas Aquinas is someone I would like to know in real life -- and that Aloysius Gonzaga would be a little scary for his intensity! I left the book by my bed and read two or three capsule biographies each night for over a month. Interestingly, the most moving lives were those of the young saints -- but seen from the adult vantage point of wanting to reach out and protect these youths from harm's way. At the end, I was sorry the book was over. Then on the last page I saw that there is the possibility of a sequel. Let it be!

Saints For Every Occasion: 101 Of Heaven's Most Powerful Patrons by Catholic commentator and author Thomas J. Craughwell tells the fascinating, compelling, and inspiring stories of Catholicism's patron saints, with special attention to their aspects and relevance today. Each canonized individual is presented with a brief but memorable summary of their lives, to aid those seeking the right words for prayer in the medley of problems faced in this complex world. Highly recommended for personal, seminary, and parish library reference collections, Saints For Every Occasion is a thoughtful, serious, expansive reference that makes for intent browsing in times of inner turmoil.

I am definitely not religious, but I found this book to be so entertaining and enriching that I have to recommend it. It's full of history and culture, and the author's sly style (which sometimes made me laugh out loud) doesn't interfere with the nourishment he gently makes available through the stories of the saints he's selected. It's the kind of book you love to dip into from time to time, to learn something and be amused and maybe feel a bit better about the world.

I have a few saints guides already, but nothing to match the thoroughness, timeliness, and charm of this one. The book has a lot of fun surprises (such as a saint for rock climbers), and a great deal of truly useful information. Craughwell makes saints more "relevant" by including saints for AIDS sufferers and the environment, but he never trivializes or cheapens his subject. And the entries are wonderful to read, a definite cut above the often dry, over-earnest style of other books. Highly recommended!

My family has new people to chat with... I have Joseph of Arimatha, my children must surf the net with St. Isadore of Seville, and my wife is in the fast company of St. Martha!

Thomas Craughwell has taken what is viewed by many as a dry subject, and made it the most enjoyable reading I have come across in a long time!
A must for everyone who has any 'religion' in them, but needs a gentle prod to get moving!

101 Saints for Every Occasion is more than a patron saints book. Choc full of fascinating historical and biographical bits, it makes enjoyable reading for anyone. Those who have read patron saints books will find the contemporary adaptations interesting and first-time patron saints readers will undoubtedly wish to continue reading on this subject. We've recommended 101 Saints to friends and given several copies as gifts.

I really enjoyed this book. I've always loved the "saints for every occasion" feature of the Catholic church (and I'm not even Catholic!), and this book organizes a numerous array of saints in ways that are humorous (the Saint for Swimmers and Yachtsmen, the Saint for Television, even the Saint for responsible Web-surfing!) and serious (the Saint for preserving the environment, Saints for social justice). The saints covered stretch from medieval to contemporary; the saints' stories, or legends, are well written (and unlike some other saints' lives collections, they don't all sound alike!). The book provides excellent historical background on the saints for whom such information is available, and for those who are more legendary than historical, the author doesn't hesitate to note when he thinks the legend has gone past the line of credibility! I recommend it--it's an interesting and fun book. And if you are religious, if you prayed to one saint in the book each night, you'd soon have solved all your own problems and those of the entire world!