This companion volume to Robert Ellsberg’s bestselling resource Blessed Among Us offers even more reflections on the inspiring, if also eclectic, “cloud of witnesses.”
Since the early centuries, Christians have held up saintly people as models of living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. While the Church officially recognizes a relatively small number of saints, the actual roster is infinitely wider. Blessed Among Us explores this eclectic “Cloud of Witnesses”—lay and religious, single and married, canonized and not, and even non-Christians whose faith and wisdom may illuminate our path. Brought to life in the evocative storytelling of Robert Ellsberg, they inspire the moral imagination and give witness to the myriad ways of holiness.
In two stories per day for over a full calendar year, Ellsberg sketches figures from biblical times to the present age and from all corners of the world—ordinary figures whose extraordinary lives point to the new age in the world to come. Blessed Among Us is drawn from Ellsberg’s acclaimed column of the same name in Give Us This Day, a monthly resource for daily prayer published by Liturgical Press.
Table of Contents:
Introduction xx
JANUARY
1 Mary, Mother of Jesus • St. Telemachus 2
2 Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzan • St. Seraphim of Sarov 4
3 Martyrs of the French Revolution • St. Kuriakose Chavara 6
4 Albert Camus • Gladys Aylward 8
5 Frank Kennard • Mary Lou Kownacki 10
6 Holy Magi • Margit Slachta 12
7 St. Macarius of Alexandria • Edward McGlynn 14
8 St. Laurence Giustiniani • Blessed Eurosia Fabris 16
9 St. Philip of Moscow • Sister Rosemary Lynch 18
10 Blessed Veronica of Binasco • Steven McDonald 20
11 St. Theodosius the Cenobiarch • Elizabeth Prout 22
12 Abbot Suger • St. Gerlach 24
13 St. Hilary of Poitiers • Jim Forest 26
14 St. Mungo • St. Devasahayam Pillai 28
15 St. Macarius the Elder • Mother Theresa Maxis 30
16 St. Berard and Companions • Mary Slessor 32
17 St. Nino • Blessed Peter Donders 34
18 Frederic Baraga • Blessed Ladislaus Batthyany-Strattmann 36
19 St. Bernard of Corleone • Juliette Colbert Falletti di Barolo 38
20 St. Fabian • Abdul Ghaffar Khan 40
21 St. Fructuosus of Tarragona • Helmuth James Graf von Moltke 42
22 St. Vincent Pallotti • Thich Nhat Hanh 44
23 Blessed Henry Suso • Blessed Benedetta Bianchi Porro 46
24 St. Xenia of St. Petersburg • Bill W. 48
25 Conversion of St. Paul • Bishop Samuel Ruiz 50
26 St. Alberic • St. José Gabriel del Rosario Brochero 52
27 Baron Friedrich von Hügel • Katharine Bushnell 54
28 St. Joseph Freinademetz • Sister Janet Mead 56
29 Blessed Mary of Pisa • Blessed Julian Maunoir 58
30 St. Hyacintha Mariscotti • Coretta Scott King 60
31 Blessed Louisa Albertoni • Dominique Pire 62
FEBRUARY
1 Blessed Louis Variara • Blessed Benedict Daswa 66
2 St. Joan of Lestonnac • St. Théophane Vénard 68
3 St. Blaise • St. Marie Rivier 70
4 Blessed Justus Takayama Ukon • Mary Elizabeth Lange 72
5 Blessed Alojs Andritzki • Pedro Arrupe 74
6 Blessed Maria Theresia Bonzel • Blessed Andrea Carlo Ferrari 76
7 Benjamin Lay • Blessed Alfredo Cremonesi 78
8 St. Jerome Emiliani • Paul Wattson 80
9 St. Miguel Febres Cordero • Marie-Alain Couturier 82
10 St. Scholastica • St. Austreberta 84
11 St. Caedmon • Marie-Dominique Chenu 86
12 St. Julian the Hospitaller • Frederick Douglass 88
13 Blessed Jordan of Saxony • Bishop Denis Hurley 90
14 St. Valentine • A. J. Muste 92
15 Blessed Michael Sopocko • Twenty-One Coptic Martyrs of Libya 94
16 Ben Salmon • Alexei Navalny 96
17 Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order • Janani Luwum 98
18 Giordano Bruno • Francis X. Ford 100
19 Sister Dianna Ortiz • Paul Farmer 102
20 Saints Jacinta and Francisco Marto • Blessed Richard Henkes 104
21 St. Peter Damian • St. Robert Southwell 106
22 Blandina Segale • Hans and Sophie Scholl 108
23 St. Milburga • Samuel Mazzuchelli 110
24 St. Montanus and Companions • Sister Marie Augusta Neal 112
25 Felix Varela • Blessed Caritas Brader 114
26 Martyrs of the Plague of Alexandria • St. Porphyry of Gaza 116
27 St. Anne Line • Mister Fred Rogers 118
28 Blessed Villana of Florence • William Gagnon 120
MARCH
1 St. David of Wales • William Stringfellow 124
2 St. Angela of the Cross • Blessed Engelmar Unzeitig 126
3 St. Teresa Verzeri • St. Katharine Drexel 128
4 Blessed Ana de Jésus • Shahbaz Bhatti 130
5 St. Paul the Simple • Martin Niemoeller 132
6 Joseph Donders • Sister Janice McLaughlin 134
7 Saints Perpetua and Felicity • St. María Antonia de Paz y Figueroa 136
8 St. Oengus • St. John Ogilvie 138
9 St. Gregory of Nyssa • Tom Fox 140
10 Harriet Tubman • Marie-Joseph Lagrange 142
11 St. Symeon the New Theologian • James Reeb 144
12 St. Aloysius Orione • Blessed Rutilio Grande 146
13 St. Maximilian • Blessed Agnellus of Pisa 148
14 Blessed Giacomo Cusmano • Fannie Lou Hamer 150
15 Blessed Artemide Zatti • Vincent Machozi 152
16 Victims of the My Lai Massacre • Franziska Jägerstätter 154
17 Saints Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus • St. Patrick 156
18 St. Salvador of Horta • Blessed Barbara Maix 158
19 St. Joseph • St. Abraham Kidunaia 160
20 St. Cuthbert • Blessed Mark of Montegallo 162
21 St. Nicholas Flue • Nikolai Berdyaev 164
22 St. Nicholas Owen • Johan van Hulst 166
23 St. Turibius of Mogrovejo • Luis Espinal Camps 168
24 Walter Hilton • St. Oscar Romero 170
25 St. Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas • Viola Liuzzo 172
26 Blessed Camille Costa de Beauregard • Joseph Dutton 174
27 Paul-Irénée Couturier • Blessed Giuseppe Ambrosoli 176
28 Emmanuel Mounier • Maria von Trapp 178
29 Mrs. Barrett • Lev Gillet 180
30 Lady Godiva of Coventry • Thea Bowman 182
31 St. Maria Skobtsova • Blessed Natalia Tulasiewicz 184
APRIL
1 St. Hugh of Grenoble • Blessed Vilmos Apor 188
2 St. Pedro Calungsod • Blessed María Alvarado Cardozo 190
3 St. Richard of Chichester • Edward Dowling 192
4 Aristides de Sousa Mendes • Martin Luther King Jr. 194
5 St. Mary of Egypt • Bishop Thomas Gumbleton 196
6 St. Mary Crescentia • Blessed Michael Rua 198
7 St. Henry Walpole • Martyrs of the Rwandan Genocide 200
8 Saints Agape, Chionia, and Irene • Blessed Ursulina of Parma 202
9 Mary Potter • Dietrich Bonhoeffer 204
10 Ezekiel • Pierre Teilhard de Chardin 206
11 Marie Madeleine d’Houët • George Zabelka 208
12 Egeria • St. Ludovic Pavoni 210
13 Peter Waldo • Howard Thurman 212
14 Rachel Carson • Corrie ten Boom 214
15 Abraham Lincoln • Blessed Lucien Botovasoa 216
16 St. Bernadette Soubirous • Blessed Max Josef Metzger 218
17 St. Stephen Harding • Blessed Clare of Pisa 220
18 St. Mary of the Incarnation • Maria Kaupas 222
19 Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz • Agnes McLaren 224
20 Blessed Giles of Assisi • Sister Margaret Brennan 226
21 Félicité Niyitegeka • Pope Francis 228
22 St. Adalbert • Cesar Chavez 230
23 St. George • Ten Martyrs of Quiché 232
24 St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen • St. Benedict Menni 234
25 St. Hugh of Cluny • Queen Emma of Hawaii 236
26 St. Stephen of Perm • St. Elena Guerra 238
27 Blessed Hanna Helena Chrzanowska • Dorothee Soelle 240
28 St. Peter Chanel • James H. Cone 242
29 St. Robert Molesme • St. Catherine of Siena 244
30 St. Joseph Cottolengo • Daniel Berrigan 246
MAY
1 St. Joseph the Worker • Takashi Nagai 250
2 St. Athanasius • St. Antoninus 252
3 Saints Philip and James • Juana de la Cruz 254
4 John J. Considine • Rachel Held Evans 256
5 Saints Timothy and Maura • Ade Bethune 258
6 St. Isidora • Henry David Thoreau 260
7 Blessed Columba Kang Wan-suk • St. Ignatius of Laconi 262
8 St. Peter of Tarentaise • Blessed Clara Fey 264
9 Matteo Ricci • Rosemary Luling Haughton 266
10 St. Comgall of Bangor • St. John of Avila 268
11 English Carthusian Martyrs • Blessed Michal Rapacz 270
12 Alban Butler • Unita Zelma Blackwell 272
13 St. Andrew Fournet • Bede Griffiths 274
14 Heloise • Emily Dickinson 276
15 Peter Maurin • Edward J. Flanagan 278
16 Dirk Willems • Blessed Vladimir Ghika 280
17 St. Paschal Baylon • Blessed Elzbieta Roza Czacka 282
18 St. Felix of Cantalice • Cyprian Davis 284
19 St. Dunstan • Blessed Humiliana of Cerchi 286
20 Blessed Hendrina Stenmanns • St. Arcangelo Tadini 288
21 Blessed Franz Jägerstätter • Blessed Christian de Chergé and Companions 290
22 St. Humility of Florence • St. Rita of Cascia 292
23 The Baal Shem Tov • Jacques Ellul 294
24 St. Godric • Blessed John of Prado 296
25 St. Christopher Magallanes • Sister Irene McCormack 298
26 St. Philip Neri • St. Paul VI 300
27 Jane Addams • Mothers of the Disappeared 302
28 Blessed Margaret Pole • Blessed Stefan Wyszyński 304
29 The Widow of Nain • Tony Walsh 306
30 St. Joan of Arc • Mary Lou Williams 308
31 Saints Mary and Elizabeth • Blessed Mariano of Roccacasale 310
JUNE
1 St. Simeon of Syracuse • Mary Dyer 314
2 Jacques Bunel • Helen Keller 316
3 St. Blandina and Companions • St. John the Sinner 318
4 Blessed Malgorzata Szewczyk • St. Mary Elizabeth Hesselblad 320
5 Blessed Iuliu Hossu • Jürgen Moltmann 322
6 St. Marcellin Champagnat • Robert F. Kennedy 324
7 Julia Greeley • Matt Talbot 326
8 Blessed Maria Droste zu Vischering • St. Mariam Thresia Mankidiyan 328
9 St. Ephrem • Blessed Diana D’Andalò 330
10 St. Norbert • Blessed Ignatius Maloyan 332
11 Blessed Mary Schininà • Blessed Teofilius Matulionis 334
12 Blessed Hildegard Burjan • Anne Frank 336
13 Blessed Francisca de Paula de Jesus • James Lawson 338
14 St. Methodius of Constantinople • Blessed Cosme Spessotto 340
15 St. Edburga of Winchester • Johannes Tauler 342
16 Martin Buber • Soweto Martyrs 344
17 St. Albert Chmielowski • Martyrs of “Mother Emanuel” 346
18 St. Antonina of Constantinople • Frances Margaret Taylor 348
19 St. Romuald • William Howard Bishop 350
20 Blessed Wladyslaw Bukowinski • Rafael Palacios 352
21 James Chaney, Mickey Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman • Blessed Clement Vismara 354
22 St. John Fisher • St. Thomas More 356
23 St. Joseph Cafasso • Mattie J. T. Stepanek 358
24 Nativity of St. John the Baptist • St. María Guadalupe García Zavala 360
25 St. Alban • St. Paulinus of Nola 362
26 Blessed Marguerite Rutan • Dom Lorenzo Milani 364
27 Antonio de Montesinos • Vincent Lebbe 366
28 King David • St. Irenaeus 368
29 St. Peter • St. Paul 370
30 Pierre Toussaint • Mother Mary Francis Bachmann 372
JULY
1 St. Oliver Plunkett • Blessed Marcello Maruzzo and Luis Navarro 376
2 St. Willibald • Elie Wiesel 378
3 John Corridan • Stan Swamy 380
4 St. Procopius • St. Pier Giorgio Frassati 382
5 St. Athanasius of Athos • Rafael Cordero y Molina 384
6 St. Sisoes • Sister Rose Tillemans 386
7 Blessed Peter To Rot • Hugo Enomiya-Lassalle 388
8 Blessed Józef and Wiktoria Ulma and Family • Brother John Beeching 390
9 Augustus Tolton • Blessed Marija Petkovic 392
10 St. Veronica Giuliani • Martyrs of Damascus 394
11 St. Benedict • Mother Theodore Williams 396
12 St. John Gualbert • Sister Jacqueline Walsh 398
13 Blessed Jacobus de Voragine • St. Alexander Schmorell 400
14 St. Francis Solano • St. Kateri Tekakwitha 402
15 St. Bonaventure • Blessed Anne-Marie Javouhey 404
16 St. Silas • St. Speratus and Companions 406
17 Blessed Paul Peter Gojdic • John Lewis 408
18 Bartolomé de las Casas • Blessed Carlos de Dios Murias and Gabriel Longueville 410
19 St. Arsenius • Lawrence Jenco 412
20 Blessed Giuseppe Beotti • Blessed Vasil Hopko 414
21 Joseph Leo Cardijn • Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen 416
22 St. Mary Magdalene • Sister Paula Gonzalez 418
23 Blessed Joan of Orvieto • St. Bridget of Sweden 420
24 St. Kunigunde of Poland • Teresa Janina Kierocińska 422
25 St. James the Great • Sister Madeleva Wolff 424
26 Ezechiele Ramin • Jacques Hamel 426
27 John Gerard • St. George Preca 428
28 St. Irene of Cappadocia • Johann Sebastian Bach 430
29 Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus • Blessed John Colombini 432
30 St. Peter Chrysologus • St. Leopold Mandić 434
31 St. Ignatius Loyola • Chiune Sugihara 436
AUGUST
1 Holy Maccabees • St. Alphonsus Liguori 440
2 St. Eusebius of Vercelli • Blessed Joan of Aza 442
3 Mother Marie de la Roche • Blessed Pierre Claverie 444
4 St. John Vianney • Blessed Enrique Angelelli 446
5 Michael Crosby • Tom Cornell 448
6 Innocents of Hiroshima and Nagasaki • Charles Strobel 450
7 St. Cajetan • Carl Kabat 452
8 Fourteen Holy Helpers • St. Dominic 454
9 St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) • Martyrs of Chimbote 456
10 St. Lawrence • Luigi Sturzo 458
11 St. Clare • Bishop Pedro Casaldáliga 460
12 St. Jeanne de Chantal • Ruth Pfau 462
13 St. Radegund • St. Maximus the Confessor 464
14 Sister Mary Irene Fitzgibbon • St. Maximilian Kolbe 466
15 St. Alypius • St. Tikhon of Zadonsk 468
16 Blessed Benedict Sinigardi • Blessed John of Alvernia 470
17 Blessed Emily of Vercelli • Simon Mpeke 472
18 St. Abraham of Smolensk • St. Alberto Hurtado 474
19 St. Louis of Anjou • St. John Eudes 476
20 St. Bernard • James Foley 478
21 St. Humbeline • Simone Weil 480
22 Cardinal Gaspar Contarini • Sister Theresa Kane 482
23 Carla Piette • John Kaiser 484
24 St. Emily de Vialar • Sister Mary Luke Tobin 486
25 Blessed María del Tránsito Cabanillas • Blessed Maria Troncatti 488
26 St. Maria Micaela Desmaisières • Raimon Panikkar 490
27 Blessed María Pilar Izquierdo Albero • Joshua Casteel 492
28 St. Moses the Black • St. Augustine 494
29 Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist • Marion Moses 496
30 St. Poemen • Blessed Dominic Barberi 498
31 St. Aidan • Bishop Leonidas Proaño 500
SEPTEMBER
1 Sarah • St. Simeon Stylites 504
2 St. Giles • J. R. R. Tolkien 506
3 St. Phoebe • St. Gregory the Great 508
4 Charles Péguy • Henri de Lubac 510
5 John Bradburne • St. Teresa of Calcutta 512
6 St. Bega • E. F. Schumacher 514
7 Blessed Thomas Tsuji • Beyers Naudé 516
8 Mother Ann Lee • Blessed Frederic Ozanam 518
9 St. Kieran of Clonmacnoise • St. Peter Claver 520
10 St. Nicholas of Tolentino • Ignacia del Espíritu Santo 522
11 St. John Gabriel Perboyre • Mychal Judge 524
12 Thomas Frederick Price • Alcides Jiménez Chicangana 526
13 Blessed Louis of Thuringia • Blessed Jacques Laval 528
14 Dante Alighieri • Blessed Leonella Sgorbati 530
15 Blessed Anton Schwartz • Martyrs of Birmingham 532
16 St. Cyprian • St. Richardis 534
17 St. Hildegard of Bingen • Mother Frances Warde 536
18 Blessed John Macias • St. Joseph of Cupertino 538
19 St. Theodore of Tarsus • Blessed Mario Ghibaudo and Giuseppe Bernardi 540
20 St. Andrew Kim and the Korean Martyrs • St. Joseph Mary de Yermo y Parres 542
21 St. Matthew • Henri Nouwen 544
22 St. Thomas of Villanova • John August Swanson 546
23 Blessed Francisco de Paula Victor • St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio) 548
24 St. Phocas the Gardener • Salvo D’Acquisto 550
25 St. Ceolfrid • Robert Lax 552
26 Saints Cosmas and Damian • The Shreveport Martyrs 554
27 Blessed Antonia Luzmila Rivas López • Monika Hellwig 556
28 St. Lorenzo Ruiz • Blessed John Paul I 558
29 Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael • St. Hermina Grivot 560
30 St. Jerome • Sister Ardeth Platte 562
OCTOBER
1 St. Thérèse of Lisieux • Délia Tétreault 566
2 Donald Hessler • Chuck Matthei 568
3 St. Emilie of Villeneuve • Blessed Josef Mayr-Nusser 570
4 St. Francis of Assisi • Blessed Antoine Chevrier 572
5 St. Anna Schaeffer • Blessed Alberto Marvelli 574
6 Blessed Raymond of Capua • Annalena Tonelli 576
7 St. Publia • Sister Megan Rice 578
8 Holy Simeon • Blessed Jan Beyzym 580
9 Saints Andronicus and Athanasia • St. Paulinus of York 582
10 St. Francis Borgia • St. Daniel Comboni 584
11 St. Maria Soledad • St. John XXIII 586
12 St. Ethelburga • St. Carlo Acutis 588
13 Blessed Magdalen Panattieri • Willi Graf 590
14 St. Peter Balsam • William Johnston 592
15 St. Teresa of Avila • Blessed Louis Brisson 594
16 St. Gerard Majella • St. Marguerite d’Youville 596
17 Richard McSorley • Albert Nolan 598
18 St. Luke • St. Peter of Alcántara 600
19 St. Isaac Jogues • St. Paul of the Cross 602
20 St. Malchus • Dean Brackley 604
21 St. Hilarion • St. Laura Montoya Upegui 606
22 St. Philip and Companions • Gustavo Gutiérrez 608
23 St. Tabitha (Dorcas) • Blessed John Baptist Bullaker 610
24 St. Luigi Guanella • Rosa Parks 612
25 St. Richard Gwyn • Sadako Sasaki 614
26 St. Alban Roe • Blessed José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros 616
27 Sarah and Angelina Grimké • Thomas Keating 618
28 Saints Simon and Jude • Clarence Jordan 620
29 St. Marcellus • Blessed Rosario Livatino 622
30 St. Angelo of Acri • Msgr. Hugh O’Flaherty 624
31 St. Thaïs • Jean Cassaigne 626
NOVEMBER
1 Feast of All Saints 630
2 Solemnity of All Souls • Blessed Rupert Mayer 632
3 St. Martin de Porres • Nicolo Cortese 634
4 St. Charles Borromeo • Bishop Paride Ibrahim Taban 636
5 St. Hubert • Giorgio La Pira 638
6 Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel • Sister Antona Ebo 640
7 Maria Boulding • Richard Gaillardetz 642
8 St. Theodore the Studite • Blessed Eugene Bossilkov and Companions 644
9 Kristallnacht Martyrs • Michael Rodrigo 646
10 St. Leo the Great • Ruth Burrows 648
11 St. Vincent of Saragossa • St. Martin of Tours 650
12 Pierre Yves Kéralum • Blessed Carl Lambert 652
13 St. Stanislaus Kostka • St. Frances Xavier Cabrini 654
14 Pope St. Nicholas I • Stanley Vishnewski 656
15 St. Albert the Great • Vinoba Bhave 658
16 St. Hugh of Lincoln • Elba and Celina Ramos 660
17 St. Elizabeth of Hungary • Henriette DeLille 662
18 St. Rose Philippine Duchesne • St. Joseph Moscati 664
19 St. Gregory the Wonderworker • Eberhard Arnold 666
20 Leo Tolstoy • William Woods 668
21 Blessed Miguel Pro • Pat and Patty Crowley 670
22 St. Cecilia • Blessed Thomas Reggio 672
23 St. Clement I • Thomas Augustine Judge 674
24 Bishop Patrick Byrne • John LaFarge 676
25 St. Catherine of Alexandria • Blessed Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi 678
26 Sojourner Truth • Blessed Gaetana Sterni 680
27 St. Leonard of Port Maurice • Wanda Blenska 682
28 St. Stephen the Younger • St. Cuthbert Mayne 684
29 Brother Juniper • Dorothy Day 686
30 Etty Hillesum • Fritz Eichenberg 688
DECEMBER
1 Blessed John Ruysbroeck • St. Charles de Foucauld 692
2 Jean Donovan • Johann Baptist Metz 694
3 St. Francis Xavier • Daniel Rudd 696
4 St. John Damascene • Blessed Adolph Kolping 698
5 Blessed Jan Franciszek Macha • Nelson Mandela 700
6 St. Nicholas • Sister Mary Frances Clarke 702
7 St. Ambrose • St. Sabas 704
8 Walter Ciszek • Sister Patricia Daly 706
9 St. Hipparchus and Companions • St. Juan Diego 708
10 Thomas Merton • Gordon Zahn 710
11 St. Daniel the Stylite • Donald Cozzens 712
12 St. Finnian of Clonard • Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns 714
13 St. Lucy • St. Herman of Alaska 716
14 St. John of the Cross • Catherine de Hueck Doherty 718
15 Prophet Amos • Blessed János Brenner 720
16 St. Phileas • Blessed Anthony Grassi 722
17 Anointer of Bethany • Dorothy Sayers 724
18 Mother Mary Alfred Moes • Alicia Domon and Léonie Duquet 726
19 Cloud of Unknowing Author • Abraham Heschel 728
20 Hemorrhaging Woman • Origen 730
21 Hagar the Egyptian • Edward Schillebeeckx 732
22 Elia Dalla Costa • Blessed Ján Havlík 734
23 Holy Shepherds • Angela Maria Autsch 736
24 St. Paula Cerioli • Jacques Dupuis 738
25 Sister Wendy Beckett • Desmond Tutu 740
26 St. Stephen • St. Vincentia López y Vicuña 742
27 St. John the Apostle • Blessed Odoardo Focherini 744
28 Holy Innocents • Egide van Broeckhoven 746
29 Holy Family • Christine Ebner 748
30 Danilo Dolci • Doug Venne 750
31 St. Gaspar del Bufalo • Sylvester Malone 752
Index 755
About the Author :
Robert Ellsberg is the Publisher and editor-in-chief of Orbis Books, and the author of several award-winning books, including All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time; Blessed Among All Women; The Saints' Guide to Happiness; and A Living Gospel: Reading God's Story in Holy Lives. From 1975 to 1980 he was part of the Catholic Worker community in New York City, where he served as managing editor of The Catholic Worker and worked closely with Dorothy Day. He has edited six volumes of her writings, including Dorothy Day: Selected Writings; The Duty of Delight: The Diaries of Dorothy Day; All the Way to Heaven: The Selected Letters of Dorothy Day; and Dorothy Day: Spiritual Writings. He has written and edited many other volumes, including (with Sister Wendy Beckett) Dearest Sister Wendy . . . A Surprising Story of Faith and Friendship. Since the first issue in 2011, he has contributed the “Blessed Among Us” feature for every issue of Give Us This Day. A previous collection of these entries, Blessed Among Us, is also available from Liturgical Press.
Review :
"Saints are the living Word of God, the Word made flesh, but their biographies are often too encrusted within sentimentality and piety to serve as an inspiration for us. Ellsberg gives us their essence in this treasure of a book. Nobody writes better about the lives of the saints than Robert Ellsberg!"
Ronald Rolheiser, OMI, author of The Holy Longing and Sacred Fire
"Robert Ellsberg is way up there in my pantheon of spiritual writers. He's especially good at connecting us with the divine spark in practitioners of every spiritual tradition. These very human stories of the holy ones among us have a special knack of enlivening my spirit."
Helen Prejean, CSJ, author of Dead Man Walking
"The diversity of these holy men and women calls out my own gifts, and their total dedication alerts me to put my 'yes' into motion for the day. Thank you for being a companion and inspiration for my faith journey!"
Carolyn Woo, former president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services
"This delightful book reminds us how blessed we are, in every age, to have people of good faith who are called to love and serve people in need. They call us all to a greater purpose."
Kathleen Norris, author of The Cloister Walk and Acedia and Me
"Every single day I read Robert Ellsberg's concise, fascinating, and inspiring lives of the saints in my copy of Give Us This Day. And every single day I am amazed by the astounding lives that have been lived out of love for Christ. Happily, many of these wonderful stories are now gathered together in this marvelous new book, which will guide you through the year with the help of these patrons and companions."
James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage and Learning to Pray
"A surprising, profoundly inspiring book. Ellsberg has an eye for the telling detail; each vignette, able to be read in a minute, witnesses to a unique life ‘among us.’ The attractive cast of characters is vast, ranging across centuries and geography, nationality, and work, from the usual good bishops, martyrs, and religious order founders to poets, artists, TV personalities, advocates for justice and freedom, lovers of the Earth, those who risked political danger, or saw new opportunities to help. The creative expression of goodness wonderfully expands one’s own imagination about the possibilities for a holy life."
Elizabeth Johnson, distinguished professor emerita of theology, Fordham University
“Having all these stories woven together and presented in a single volume to accompany us throughout the year is spiritually nourishing. From Hagar to Mother Mary Lange, from St. Valentine to Mister Rogers, this collection finds holiness across time and space. The synposes are short and punchy, offering us a sketch of a holy life into which we may breathe our own particularities.”
Eric Clayton, National Catholic Reporter
“In the new second volume of his acclaimed Blessed Among Us collection, Robert Ellsberg continues to show how truly vast the ‘cloud of witnesses’ that surrounds us is. With two reflections each day on the lives of holy people from the world over, Blessed Among Us offers a truly limitless source of inspiration that will continue to be relevant year in and year out. Featuring figures ranging from St. Mary of Egypt to John Lewis, from Thich Nhat Hanh to the Martyrs of the Plague of Alexandria, this collection digs into seemingly every corner of our diverse global traditions to unearth models of good will that resonate across ecumenical lines. This is a book you'll want to keep by your bed for the rest of your life.”
Nathaniel Hunter, associate editor, U.S. Catholic
