Happy Wednesday friends! If you know me in person or on social media, you may have heard me rave about this book already, but I wanted to do a little bit of a deep dive on why I love it so much.
So here ya go! (:
It was just a normal Sunday when I meandered into the small church hall after Mass. To my left was just a normal bookshelf. On it was held our parish's small "Lending Library," a collection of good spiritual reads from St. Augustine to St. Therese and lots in between. As I scanned the titles casually looking for something that might catch my eye, I saw a sun-beaten dust jacket with a dainty font on the spine that piqued my interest.
"These Women Walked With God"
If you know me, you probably know a title like this would be right up my alley. I'm always on the hunt for a good book on vocations, religious life, nuns, convents, and good Catholic women who lead exemplary lives. I've been disappointed by similar titles such as "The Springs of Silence," "The Song at the Scaffold," and "In This House of Brede." They were well written as books, but they did not always paint a favorable picture of religious life. Maybe they painted an accurate, if sad, portrait of a time in history, but they're not exactly encouraging for young women discerning a religious vocation.
We need more stories like "The Story of a Soul," St. Therese's own autobiography, which shows a struggle and trials, but ultimately uplifts the soul at the end with a true victory and leaves the reader filled with hope and inspiration. This book, my friends, is one of those at its finest.
"You do not live until you love. You do not love until you give your heart away. You do not give your heart away until you have found GOD. Then you live and love because you walk with Him who is Life and Love, and you know the happiness for which you were made. But such love demands deep humility, utter simplicity, and an obedience that amounts to complete surrender of self."
I could hardly put the book down. It reads like a novella or a collection of short fiction stories but is infinitely better because it's real!! These are 10 stories of 15 incredible women. I cannot fully express my love for this book. Let me tell you, I wish I had a million copies of it to give away!! This book teaches you about a small period of Catholic history. It gives young women and Catholics of all ages role models to follow in the spiritual life. It provides inspiration with graces from Our Lord Himself to the sisters. This book also bolsters your courage by telling of the hard and even repulsing trials these women faced with complete trust and abandonment to Our Lord.
So who were these incredibly inspiring women? Well, they all had one thing in common; they were connected to the monastic order of Citeaux. Some were only indirectly influenced by the order, others were fully professed religious but they all loved God and walked with Him. I had never heard of most of these women before, most of them are Saints and a few are Blessed. I don't want to spoil too much of the book in case you get the opportunity to read it, but I would like to briefly introduce them to you.
"God needed hearts whose systole and diastole would be prayer and penance; ... He knew one such heart beat in the breast of this eighteen-year-old girl to whom He had His Son bare His own breast that she might see what she was to love and how."
Lutgarde was a young woman betrothed to be married and infatuated with love but God had other plans for her to love sine modo - without measure.
'Down by the pool in the garden, Bernard baptized them. Zaida asked to be named "Mary" after God's own Mother. Zoraida showed readiness to protest. She, too, wanted to bear the name of the Immaculate One. But when Bernard smiled and said, "You shall bear her name, my houri, but we shall pronounce it 'Grace' -- for that fits you perfectly, both naturally and supernaturally," she agreed with her usual enthusiasm.'
Having a sister of my own, the story of these two Moslem sisters converted to Catholicism by their Cistercian convert brother, Bernard, was moving and inspiring.
him correct. ... Speaking to her confessor one day late in life, she very honestly declared, "I know nothing good of myself except this: I have always had God present in my mind."'
She lived her life simply always in the presence of God. Apparently, she is now a Saint and is also called Ascelina. I just discovered her feast day is actually on my birthday! Who knew?!
Blessed Aleyde
"She gladly gave her life with all its possibilities to Him and Him alone. She did it by an act of the will. She did it by a vow. And that tells us exactly what real love is -- it is a union of wills!"
Also known as St. Alice of Schaerbeek, she is venerated as the patron of the blind and paralyzed because at the age of 20 she was struck with leprosy and later blindness and finally paralysis. But this terrible affliction and all the trials that come with it allowed her to prove her deep love and resignation. In exchange for her complete gift of self, Our Lord Himself said to her, "Aleyde, you will never want. I shall be your Cellarer." Her story was particularly striking to me.
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"What Spain, Portugal, and all Europe need, Mafalda, is love of God. What we have lacked, and what is bringing on all these feasrs, is the God of love. We believe, Mafalda, but not intensely enough. That is why I say religious are more necessary than knights,..." These women were sisters, princesses, religious, and crusaders. Their life story is pretty epic.
St. Hedwig
"I've lived so long, and known so little! I've missed so very much all my life. I wonder if any of my charities have been charity."
Ida of Nivelles, Ida of Léau, and Ida of Louvain
"She entered and found that this seemingly loveless place, with its life that was so rough, harsh, and forbidding in its external appearance, was the one place in all the world that a woman, made for love was perfectly at home. She immediately saw why. She found these women living for and with God alone. They had foregone all other intercourse that they might devote all their energies to One, and only One. ... Detached from everything on earth, they were attached to the earth's Creator." These three women aren't very closely connected but since they have the same name, the author grouped them together. There were some absolutely beautiful and delightful stories in this chapter. My absolute favorite out of the whole book is a story from the life of Ida of Léau in the section titled 'God-intoxication'. Maybe I'll share it at a future date. (I'm sorry for such a low-quality picture. Has anyone seen one like this clearer? I just love the story that goes with it from the life of Ida of Nivelles.)
St. Mechtilde and St. Gertrude the Great
shall be the last in this book we shall see doing the same thing, teach us how easy it is to understand God, and how utterly free from difficulty is life with Him, if we will be simple enough to do our assigned duties with the intention of pleasing Him." I knew nothing of St. Mechtilde and very very little about St. Gertude but their account was truly inspiring and I want to learn more about both of them. St. Mechtilde was basically St. Gertrude's tutor in the Cistercian life. Both of them in turn are our tutors in the school of the Sacred Heart.
Have you ever heard of any of these women? Have you read any other books by Fr. Raymond? Please do let me know what you thought in the comments below!
Blessings!!
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