Synopsis
From the bestselling author of All Saints comes this new collection of devotional sketches on history's greatest women. From Joan of Arc to Anne Frank to Mary Magdalene, Ellsberg offers insights into the way that women of all faiths and backgrounds have lived out the lives of sanctity, mysticism, social justice, and world reform. Blessed Among All Women features new material along with the best women saints of All Saints, for over 120 inspirational readings
Library Journal
In this companion to his 1997 All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time, Ellsberg, editor in chief of New York's Orbis Books, shifts from a day-by-day organization to a chronological presentation of his subjects, sketched within the eight Beatitudes of Matthew 5:3-12. More than 70 of the 137 original reflections on remarkable women featured in All Saints are reproduced here, with some modifications. Ellsberg adopts a wide view of what he considers "saints," naming those both officially and unofficially declared from New Testament times to today (e.g., Dorothy Day, Emily Dickenson, and Lady Godiva all make appearances). Some of the women he profiles are known not by name but by their heroic witness against injustice, such as the Mothers of the Disappeared in Argentina. Not all are Christian, and one is struck by the depths of goodness within their diversity: they are abolitionists, mystics, martyrs, reformers, and foundresses. Most entries, averaging two pages, include one or two bibliographic citations. Recommended for general and religious collections.-Anna M. Donnelly, St. John's Univ. Lib., Jamaica, NY Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.