November 13, 2024 at 10:37 a.m.
'THE SAINT I KNEW'
A local author’s new book has combined elements of non-fiction and imagination to spotlight the emergence of saints in modern times — and to prepare readers for meeting saints who can transform our lives today.
The book, “The Saint I Knew! Exciting ‘Encounters’ with Holiness,” presents 10 short stories that introduce us to eight canonized role models and two others advancing on the Church’s path to sainthood.
A great tool for faith formation
“No medicine is more valuable, none more efficacious, none better suited to the cure of all our temporal ills than a friend to whom we may turn for consolation in time of trouble, and with whom we may share our happiness in time of joy.”
The English monk, St. Aelred of Rievaulx, penned these words in his work, “On Spiritual Friendship,” over 800 years ago. They are no less true today. Perhaps even more relevant in light of the sense of isolation and lack of connection so many seem to experience today.
Kevin Wilson’s lovely book of historical fiction, “The Saint I Knew,” presents several contemporary holy women and men of the 20th and 21st centuries as friends to whom we can turn in times of happiness as well as times of sadness. The Church has declared some as saint or blessed, while for others, their cause for canonization is in process. All of them exemplify the most essential aspect of living as a disciple — their close friendship with Jesus Christ, the ultimate source of our comfort, strength, fulfillment and joy.
I recommend this book to our faith formation and youth ministry leaders for their consideration — especially for younger and older adolescents. In addition to providing creative material for catechists to incorporate into their sessions, it can also serve as a wonderful gift for those receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation. It could even be a fine resource for adult faith formation and parish book clubs. May its use bring many blessings to the People of God in our Diocese!
— David Amico, director of
the diocesan Office for
Discipleship Formation
We also meet fictional characters from the not-too-distant past who were changed by those holy people as they shared dramatic earthly experiences.
Author Kevin Wilson, a married father of three and volunteer catechist at All Saints Parish in Albany, says he drew inspiration from prayer and conversations at the church while considering a second writing project. He previously published a young-adult historical novel based on real events in World War II.
“It popped into my head that we don’t know a lot about 20th century saints,” Wilson said in a recent interview. This led him to study 10 such people and again to weave fact and fiction together in a product appealing to all age groups.
We enter the lives of characters when they’re young, generally immersed in the secular world but receptive to sources of meaning. Their encounters will have special relevance to truth-seekers early in their Catholic faith journeys.
For example, Wilson said his favorite story from the collection features St. Titus Brandsma (1881-1942), a Carmelite priest whose canonization in 2022 honored his martyrdom in the Dachau concentration camp.
Wilson spins a gripping tale told by Paul, a naïve 15-year-old member of the Hitler Youth. When assigned to assist the murderous guards at Dachau, he meets Father Brandsma among the prisoners.
Paul, who was raised a Catholic, learns with horror about how Jews, priests and others were being brutalized and massacred. The ailing Father Brandsma, while ministering to his fellow captives, sees Paul’s soul hungering for authenticity and regretting his pro-Hitler indoctrination. The priest urges Paul to pray the Rosary, read Scripture and pursue a life countering hatred with Christ’s mercy. Brandsma shares with him insights from St. Teresa of Avila.
All of Wilson’s first-person narratives reveal how encounters with saints include sharing in personal trials and rebounding with grace and zeal.
In the story set at Dachau, Paul responds to the killing of Father Brandsma. He joins a secret resistance movement in the camp. Paul’s new life trajectory profoundly affects prisoners and his own family.
In another story, a girl is taught to offer her sufferings to God and grows into a life of evangelization; she sees her disabled brother, inspired by a saint to love Jesus, blessed in both body and spirit.
Elsewhere, we meet a boy devoted to soccer. His saintly teammate encourages him to aim high and avoid “turning into a photocopy of others;” this frees him to develop his high-tech talents and later to develop a website for the Church — while also running a food pantry.
A fourth narrative comes from an orphan trapped in fear and isolation. She learns from her holy teacher that “there is no such thing as a stranger” for Christians; encouraged to read and to reach out, she later finds love and the vocation of motherhood.
Wilson’s recurring themes include the grace spread through sacrifice, the power of Mary’s intercession and the bold faith sown in authentic relationships. These lessons prompted Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger of the Diocese of Albany to recommend “The Saint I Knew” in a foreword.
One takeaway from the book, he writes, is that saints change lives. “They do what all saints do: make other saints.”
Another lesson, Bishop Scharfenberger says, is that today’s Catholics must be “ready to hear the personal invitation to us” from living saints in our everyday lives. They understand our deepest questions and provide “the answer … Jesus Christ Himself.”
Using “saints of our times” to update older resources of inspiration, Wilson’s stories integrate well-researched facts about: Blessed Carlo Acutis (1991-2006, beatified 2020); Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-97, canonized 2016); St. Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905-38, canonized 2000); St. Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941, canonized 1982); Padre Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968, canonized 2002; Pope St. John Paul II (1920-2005, canonized 2014); and others.
The book’s youth-friendly design summarizes information, including miracles, to honor each of the saints and “blesseds” in a form resembling baseball cards. A “narrated bibliography” simplifies extra steps to study these champions, in print and online.
Wilson, whose career is in the health care industry, said he is working within the Diocese of Albany to promote “The Saint I Knew” as a resource to parishes for faith formation and youth ministry. He envisions a teaching model based on the book that could spread to other dioceses, possibly for pre-Confirmation classes.
An ideal Christmas present, the book is published by Marian Press, which is associated with the Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception in Stockbridge, Mass.
The paperbacks are available at Amazon.com and via ShopMercy.org, where parishioners can look into discounts and free shipping.
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