Set the World on Fire

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.