I really enjoyed this book, and it was such a different setup. Women theologians, and particularly historically, have been so diminished and overlooked. I really enjoyed this opportunity to dig into their work.

Set the World on Fire is a four-week guided retreat that focuses on four women saints: St Therese of Lisieux, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Catherine of Siena, and St. Hildegard of Bingen. These four women's lives span eight centuries, and this book does an excellent job of offering valuable insight into these Doctors of the Catholic Church.

I like the format and structure of the book. Four weeks are spent with each Saint. An overview of their lives is given, including additional reading, scripture passages, reflections, and journaling questions. Each day was broken into content for morning and evening prayer, making this a wonderful personal retreat.

The author clearly knows these Saints and shared information about their lives that made each of these women feel accessible, making it easier to draw connections and relevance in my own life.

Each of these women has played a significant role in the Church. I especially enjoyed the weeks spent on St.Hildegard of Bingen; it seems she is less well known than the others.

I highly recommend this book as a personal retreat. I filled an entire journal working through the prompts that were well written and not generic, as is often the case in individual retreat books.

While I applaud the idea of creating a DIY retreat based on the thinking of the four women Doctors of the Church, this book has flaws.

First, it only looks at one aspect of each woman, often overly simplifying the woman. Where this is most apparent is in the short biographies of each saint.

Second, often the quotes from the saints are taken from several different works in the same excerpt. it would have been nice to have identified the source of each of these. Although the book follows the same format for each of the women and for each weekday of the four weeks of the retreat, often the days seem unfocused and scattered.

Finally, I'm not entirely sure that Wright is completely orthodox. At least once in the sections for each woman, she addresses God as Father/Mother, showing a lack of understanding of Catholic theology, which is sad for someone who is a spiritual director and that also shows pandering to what is popular opinion instead of Catholic orthodoxy. it's a small point, but it does cast into doubt her thought.

When I saw this book on Netgalley, I thought: "I must read this!" and I'll tell you why. The four females Doctors of the Church are incredible women that inspire me so much.
The 4-week personal retreat was an amazing opportunity to grow close to God through this four women.
They have struggled, overcome trials and befriended God.
What I learned in this book is that these women invited me to become who I am meant to be.
Thank you Netgalley and publisher for free ARC in exchange of honest review. All thoughs are my own.

I confess I did not read this book as it was intended, as a four-week guided personal retreat, but plan to go back and do so for Lent. Focusing on the four women who have been named Doctors of the [Catholic] Church, this book guides the reader through a virtual retreat, beginning with brief biographies of each woman (St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Catherine of Siena, and St. Hildegard of Bingen), with recommendations for additional reading, scriptures, personal reflection questions, and prayer. This is an excellent resource for not only learning more about the important roles these women played in the development of the church, but for seeing how they can inform one’s own life. I’m really looking forward to spending more time with this self-guided retreat. #SettheWorldonFire #NetGalley

I received To Set the World on Fire by Vinita Hampton from Net Galley approved by Ava Maria press. The book is a 4-week retreat with the 4 women Doctors of the Church, St Teresa of Lisieux, St Teresa of Availa, St Catherine of Siena and St Hildegard of Bingen. Being a convert to the Catholic Church I very much appreciated her thorough explanation of what a Doctor of the Church is and the process by which each of the 4 saints reached that height.

Vinita Hampton successfully brings the reader along the journey each of the saints walked to reach their humility, love and oneness with the Lord. She challenges the reader through questions and prayers to evaluate their lives and where they are in the journey. She also clearly shows how each Saint found their own way to express the journey – For St Teresa of Lisieux it is an elevator, for St Teresa of Avila the Interior Castle, for St Catherine of Siena the bridge leading to all Truth and for St Hildegard of Bingen it by her music and poetry. All of four saints provided us their precious journeys through their writings which we are eternally grateful for. I did not know much about St Hildegard of Bingen until I read this book. It has definitely piqued my interest in getting to know this saint and to look into finding her writings and music.

There was only one thought that came up every now and then throughout the book that disturbed me, when Vinita Hampton would refer to God as Father/Mother. God is our Father not our Mother. Yes, He shows Compassion and care but why are these traits always assumed as feminine and never male qualities. The Lord Jesus always referred to God as Father, Abba and taught us to pray Our Father, not Our Mother. We need to be able to affirm both the strength, compassion, mercy, stability, creativity in God our Father and in the males we know. Jesus showed all of these qualities on the Cross as He died for us. I believe our 4 Women Doctors of the Church also affirm these qualities throughout their journey.

Reading this book did solidify my reading and journey for Lent. I will be studying the life of St Teresa of Avila and the Interior Castle. I recommend this book to those who desire to know more about our great Women Doctors of the church. It will be an excellent way to begin or continue your journey with them to the Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father. Just keep in mind the teachings of the church as you read and do not begin a new way of referring to God as mother.

A grand mix of history lesson, celebration of women, seeking God, devotional and contemplative prayer. The study goes through four weeks, looking at four amazing doctors of the church.

Four women saints whose lives spanned eight centuries are the centrepiece for this timely support to reflection and prayer.
Four female Doctors of the Catholic Church; Thérèse of Lisieux, Teresa of Avila, Catherine of Siena, and Hildegard of Bingen give renewed vision to one’s spiritual life.
These women were all larger than life. Women who struggled to own their faith and see its relevance and meaning for them. Women who knew of God’s Grace in their historical setting.
Their lives are a gift passed forward and well worth the journey.

An Ave Maria Press ARC via NetGalley

This is an interesting concept and I think it will bode well with younger audiences looking for religious guidance. The writing style is not intimidating and the processes are easy enough to follow. I enjoyed learning more about St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Theresa of Avila, St. Catherine and St. Hilegard von Bingen.

Set the World on Fire by Vinita Hampton Wright is an exceptional resource for a do-it-yourself retreat. Wright has crafted a work which allows individuals to take time out of their busy schedules to focus on the Lord, with the aid of some powerhouse spiritual coaches.

Wright draws upon the words of St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Catherine of Siena, and St. Hildegard of Bingen to demonstrate how a life lived in concert with God should be lived.

The author demonstrates how to love, how to trust, how to abide by the truth, and how to use our creative juices to draw closer to Jesus. With the female Doctors of the Church as guides, Wright illuminates a path of spiritual fulfillment.

Wright offers a fine tribute to these spiritual sojourners by stating, "They have struggled, as we do. They have overcome trials, as we do. they have befriended God, as we endeavor to do...Through their distinctive gifts, these women became who God meant them to be, and each in her own way set the world on fire--with flames of love, wisdom, courage, and compassion."

A very interesting book to learn about the lives of several Saints, as well as a good help to pray every day, and reflect on faith.


Thank you netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for a review.

I received an ARC of Set the World on Fire, by Vinita Hampton Wright. This book is about 4 women of the church, Thérèse of Lisieux, Teresa of Avila, Catherine of Siena, and Hildegard of Bingen. I heard about the first three but not Hildegard. This is a great book about these four women, it has prayers, stories, and other sources to get more information on these lovely women of the Catholic Church.