What do sacraments and Salesians, courageous saints, obedience and marriage, and proof of God’s existence as sleuthed by a middle school detective all have in common? They are the premises for four recently published books by authors with ties to the diocese.
The Catholic Herald interviewed the writers on their latest publications. Read more below to learn about their books and what inspired them.
“Unbreakable: Saints Who Inspired Saints to Moral Courage.” (TAN Books, 2023)
Author: Kimberly Begg, St. Catherine of Siena Church in Great Falls.
Synopsis: Tells the stories of some of the most courageous saints and the saints who inspired them, including St. Joan of Arc, St. José Luis Sánchez del Río, Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko and St. Teresa of Kolkata.
Why did you write this book? I want to help parents raise saints. We are living in a moment of great confusion, when even many Catholics don’t understand who they are and why they were made; that they were born at a particular time and place, surrounded by the people in their lives, for a particular purpose; that at critical times in their lives, doing God’s will means choosing Christ over the comforts and approval of the world; and that there is beauty and honor in suffering and sacrificing for Christ.
“Unbreakable” is a response to this moment in history, when cultivating moral courage in children is a necessary part of Catholic parenting.
One of the greatest gifts of the church throughout the ages has been the recognition of the heroic virtue of the saints. There is no better way to inspire holiness in young people than by passing down the stories of the saints, which are the birthright of all Catholic children.
What’s something else the average Catholic in the pew should know about it?
“Unbreakable” has special appeal to young people. Five of the 14 saints featured in the book are children or teenagers who exhibited heroic virtue in fulfilling God’s plan for their lives. The stories are written in a fast-paced style that make them ideal for read-alouds.
The book contains a list of 10 ideas to help anyone — and most importantly parents modeling behavior for children and young adults making their own decisions in the world — develop a habit of moral courage. It also contains a list of recommended books and resources for parents.
“Detective Thomas and the Biggest Question.” (Our Sunday Visitor, 2022).
Author: Caitlin Bootsma, formerly of St. Agnes Church in Arlington, before moving to Richmond.
Synopsis: Middle schooler Thomas is a detective who has solved lots of mysteries at school and at home, but now he is tackling the biggest mystery of all: God’s existence. With the help of some supernatural clues from a mysterious friend, Thomas proves that we can know God exists not only through faith but also through reason.
Why did you write this book? When my oldest was 7 or so, he asked the question “How do we know God exists?” He wasn’t saying he didn’t believe, but he wanted to know why. I realized that we often teach kids about our faith but do not teach them why it is reasonable. In our society, kids and teens lose their faith at an increasingly early age and I want them to know that our faith makes sense. I love stories and have learned so much from them. “Detective Thomas and the Biggest Question” is a story that hopefully engages the young reader and challenges them to think through what we believe and why we believe it.
What’s something else the average Catholic in the pew should know about it? While this book is written primarily for ages 9-12, it’s also a great fit for anyone who would like to be able to articulate five reasons we can know through reason that God exists. I personally loved walking through this mystery with my 9- and 11-year-old boys and thinking it through together.
“Personal Encounters with the Love of God: St. Francis de Sales and the Sacraments.” (DeSales Resource Center, 2022).
Author: Margaret Margeton, St. Ann Church in Arlington.
Synopsis: Covers the seven sacraments and how they impacted the life and writings of St. Francis de Sales and other Salesians.
Why did you write this book? I have been a member of the St. Francis de Sales Association, also known as the Daughters of St. Francis de Sales, for the past 30 years. My love for the spirituality of St. Francis de Sales (Salesian spirituality) has led me to write several articles for the association’s in-house publication, the Salesian Bond. Eventually, in an effort to present highlights of one of St. Francis de Sales’ more challenging works to modern-day readers, I wrote my first book, “In a Nutshell: St. Francis de Sales’ Treatise on the Love of God,” which was published in 2016, in honor of the 400th anniversary of the publication of the original work.
Once I finished “Nutshell,” I began to consider writing a book about some of the beautiful insights St. Francis de Sales had on the sacraments in his classic work, the “Introduction to the Devout Life,” as well as in his letters of spiritual direction, sermons, and other writings. I had found only one other book about St. Francis de Sales and the sacraments, and that was published in 1983, 40 years ago, so I thought it was time to take a fresh look at the topic. I also wanted to bring in church teaching on the sacraments, as found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which had not yet been published in 1983. In addition, I wanted to draw upon what I had learned by studying theology at the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College, and by participating in the RCIA program at St. Ann’s which is so focused on the sacramental life of the church.
What’s something else the average Catholic in the pew should know about it? I wrote this book out of a sense of gratitude for the gift of faith and from a desire to share with others some of the beautiful insights of St. Francis de Sales on the sacraments. Since his writings always point to the great love God has for each person he has created, I hope the book will give readers a deeper appreciation of the sacraments as graced opportunities to encounter that love in their daily lives. The book could be of particular interest to catechists and religious education team members and participants.
The book is just under 150 pages long, and each chapter is divided into short sections which makes it easy to read.
“The Obedience Paradox: Finding True Freedom in Marriage.” (Our Sunday Visitor, 2022).
Author: Mary Stanford, St. John the Baptist Church in Front Royal.
Synopsis: Examines the relationship between husband and wife in marriage as an image of Christ’s relationship to the church, using insights from Sts. John Paul and Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) to present the sexual complementarity of husband and wife as an expression of gift, and probe the meaning and power of receptivity in a relationship.
Why did you write this book? In a time when so many Catholics are hungry for clarity on matters of faith and moral teaching, it may seem strange to choose a topic as potentially fraught as the idea of “obedience” in marriage. Why risk bringing up a topic that often arouses discomfort — and at the very least usually raises an eyebrow? In short, I tackled it because good marriages are at the foundation of a healthy culture; the wounds children carry from dysfunctional and broken marriages are incalculable. If we, as Catholics, cannot “get marriage right,” we won’t get anything right. Our faith has given us a treasury of biblical and magisterial wisdom on how marriages can mirror divine love, but we have allowed cultural misunderstandings about power and freedom to cloud those insights.
What’s something else the average Catholic in the pew should know about it? This book will help wives to discover the power of their receptivity, not only in its capacity to build marital unity, but also in its particular ability to affirm their husbands’ identities. For me, the insight I gleaned from St. Teresa Benedicta on the spiritual differences between the masculine and the feminine was a game-changer; it actually supports the idea that when couples live headship and submission as gift and receptivity, we actually succeed in making one another feel loved at the deepest level of our natures. Lastly, this book is not just for women. There is a hefty chapter explaining just how men can sacrificially love their wives.
