Nazarena: An American Anchoress (Paperback)

~ Thomas Matus (Author) "A thousand years ago, in the days when Romuald of Ravenna, father of the Camaldolese Benedictines, was briefly abbot of Sant'Apollinare in Classe and Adalbert..." (more)
Key Phrases: anchoritic life, cardinal vicar, mother abbess, Sister Nazarena, Holy Spirit, Padre Giovanni (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A curious, interesting, and spiritually enlightening work. -- The Catholic Historical Review

Delightfully written. -- Sisters Today

It is a well-written study that raises issues of general importance about the vocation of hermit and anchoress. -- Catholic Library World

[Matus] is a 'micro-historian' with an eye for hidden events whose significance reaches far and goes deep. -- David Steindl-Rast, Benedictine Monk, author of Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer

Product Description

In this fascinating book, Thomas Matus tells the true story of one woman's struggle to live her extraordinary vocation to a life of total silence, solitude and hiddenness. A gifted musician and ordinary Sunday Catholic, Nazarena, nee Julia Crotta, had a vision of Jesus calling her to the desert while in college in Connecticut. After much searching and numerous attempts to have her unique vocation recognized by the church, she eventually found her "desert" in a small room at the monastery of the Camaldolese Benedictine nuns in Rome. She lived there as an anchoress for forty-five years until her death in 1990.

Radical yet traditional, exceptional yet simple, Sister Nazarena had a long and spiritually fruitful ascetic life. Nazarena, an American Anchoress uses excerpts from her own letters of spiritual counseling and material taken from interviews with those who knew her to tell the remarkable story of her life of silence and prayer.

"The hermit's vocation is a rare jewel in the church. Nazarena's story is a shining example of just how costly it can be to remain faithful to the unique call heard in the deepmost heart of each one of us." Michael Downey Author, Trappist: Living in the Land of Desire

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Paulist Press (July 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809137925
• ISBN-13: 978-0809137923
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,188,663 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a well written book about a difficult life, April 30, 2001

By	A. Hogan (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    (VINE VOICE)

This is a book that startles you with an account of a life of faith and sacrifice. Thomas Matus is a camaldolese monk{a branch of the benedictine order} who found himself literally stumbling upon this story.A happy well adjusted young american girl named Julia crotta had a mystical vision summoning her to the desert. the desert for her became a small room in a camaldolese monastery in Italy where she lived as a hermit{or anchoress} the next 45 years. Fr. Matus{author of the vey interesting Romulald and the Five Brothers, a history of the origins of the camaldolese order] tells his tale without the nod and wink of "moderrn" sensibilities. He BELIEVES in what sister Nazarena felt, so he begins his tale from that angle.No other angle would make sense] This is an almost uncomfortable story of faith,where someone gives up LITERALLY everything for their faith. Her life in the convent was not one of luxoury or ease[she made it more rigorous,anyway} This is the story of one who took the gospel call seriously, and it the opposite of any fundamentalism. That is what makes me so uncomfortable, and what makes this book so memorable.A very unique perspective on faith ,and what it costs.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A call not commonly heard, December 15, 2002

By	Margaret Dybala "too many books, too little time" (Pearland, Texas United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (VINE VOICE)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This story will seem very, very strange to most contemporary folk. The call that this American girl heard, the call to a form of hermitism, is not commonly discerned these days. This woman, this professionally trained musician, believed that God called her to total reclusion. After unsuccessful attempts in the Carmelite order, she finally found her place among the Camaldolese nuns of the convent of St. Antony in the Desert in Rome. There she lived in seclusion, even from the nuns, for 45 years. Why? Read this book if you want an interesting look at this woman who stands as a challenge to our modern values.