"A servant of God cannot know how much patience and humility he has within himself as long as he is content. When the time comes, however, when those who should make him content do the opposite, he has as much patience and humility at that time and no more." - St. Francis of Assisi

Little Lessons from the Saints is a gem of a book. It has 52 chapters which focus on the wisdom and insight of some popular and lesser-known saints. Each lesson gives a bit of insight from the life of a saint and then features meditation questions. The chapters are broken down into the following sections: Surrender, Freedom, Pilgrimage, Hospitality, and Loving Knowledge. These are very quick and easy to read, but left me with a sense of inspiration and a heightened awareness of the wisdom of the saints. This book is a treat.

This is a great resource for a catechism class. It presents the Saints in fresh ways with suggestions for prayer.

Enjoyed reading Little Lessons from the Saints by Bob Burnham. Bob provides the reader with an in depth perception into the lives of the saints and to get a good meditation from it. The lessons are related to everyday circumstances and give good nuggets to stew over during the week.

This great little book packs a holy punch! Bob Burnham does a great job to help us live every day (or week) with the saints! It is through their holy example that we ourselves become strenghtened to imitate them. In the beginning of this book, the author gives important advice: Don't rush through the book. Take your time to reflect upon and to meditate on each saint. There are important lessons to be learned here, and if you just zip through it, you'll definitely miss out on what the author tried to do with this book. I'm very happy (as a lay Passionist), that Saint Maria Goretti has been included as well.
I recommend this book for all Catholics who need some reflective time with the saints (that would be all of us!).

In a world as chaotic and stressful as today's, "Little Lessons From the Saints" could not have possibly arrived at a more appropriate time. Burnham's small snippets on various holy figures and Ignatian spirituality-based guided meditations will give anyone who comes across this book numerous opportunities for deep introspection, a chance to give oneself a little bit of extra peace, and most importantly, the possibility of personal betterment through contemplation of and guidance from the saints.

To put it another way, this humble book and its collection of little spiritual exercise has a lot to potentially benefit more than just a few people.

A few chapters into this book and I knew I'd have to share it with my friends. The chapters can be read on their own and provide much spiritual reflection. In "Little Lessons from the Saints" the author pairs stories from the lives of saints with reflections on surrender, freedom, pilgrimage, hospitality, and loving knowledge and suggestions about how to apply these virtues to our lives in a practical ways. As a spiritual director, the author's suggestions wisely touch different prayer and spirituality styles, including imaginative, meditative, reflective, journaling, and bodily prayer. "Little Lessons from the Saints" is a big resource for those looking for simple, effective ways to deepen their spiritual practice.

I love that this is set up to be a weekly devotional. Each week is very short, but asks the reader questions about their life as it relates to key elements of the saint of the week's life. I think this would be an incredible resource for Religion teachers, Youth Ministers, families and individuals. I plan to go back through it, spending each week with a saint and learning more about them as a 2018 goal to know the saints better.

I love learning about the Saints but this book is more than just learning about them it helps you to learn from them. To quote - "It is always good to learn about the saints it is very useful and encouraging to learn from them also."
The book is broken up into five main sections:- Surrender, Freedom, Pilgrimage, Hospitality and Loving Knowledge. The Saints in each section has a lesson to teach that corresponds.
I was introduced to quite a few new to me Saints and of course I also got to learn from some treasured faves. My confirmation saint St Maria Goretti, my patron for this year St Kateri, a great love of mine St Therese of Lisieux. St Benedict, St Teresa of Calcutta and St Boniface to name just a few.
There is a how to use this book section to the front which I found very helpful it includes meditation tips.
Each chapter starts with a quote by the saint followed by a reflection then a guided meditation that begins with a scripture verse.
I found them to be introspective and encouraging. The book suggests we spend a week with each saint but I think less or more is quite okay. You can also choose a saint for a season such as Lent to spend time with or any other reason.

I was disappointed in this book. Looking at the table of contents, I saw there were many unusual saints, and that they were all grouped into sections covering characteristics such as freedom. I guess I was hoping to read more about the saints and how they exemplified this characteristic.

But "little" is the operative word in the title. If we are given a look at the saint's life, it is a short one, only a paragraph or two. Instead thew short essays (less than a page) are like blog posts that use the saint as a jumping off point.

This is followed by the meditation section. First there is a Bible passage for reflection. This is followed by some questions. The section ends with a short prayer.

There's nothing wrong with this approach and it may work well for some people. I just want more meat in my books.

A great reference book for any Catholic, or anyone who is interested in the saints and their history and what they can mean for a person in regards to prayer, faith, and meditation.