Provides a biographical portrait of 365 saints and religious people, from the Virgin Mary to Martin Buber.

Robert Ellsberg’s All Saints is a collection of daily reflections on saints, prophets, and witnesses for our time. This great resource brings together spiritual figures of many faiths. These include mystics, martyrs, social activists, artists, writers, and composers. Some of these individuals have been canonized, many have not been, and others would not. But the book tells a story of 365 holy ones in 365 days of devotion.
This devotional is a rich collection that is well suited for daily prayer and meditation. It makes the “biblical cloud of witnesses” come alive. In this diverse text Ellsberg’s has shone the light on individuals with unique and amazing spiritual paths. This book is therefore a rare treasure that broadens the Catholic notion about sanctity. With this work Ellsberg has undoubtedly proven himself to be a major spiritual writer. ( )

I need to read the stories of people who have a vision. This selection of short one-a-day heroes is a short on women, but I hear he has a new book out which focuses on women. I mean to buy it. ( )

All Saints is a collection of short bios, ranging from a few paragraphs to 2 pages of "saints"--both traditional and modern-- whose lives are models of courage in living. There is one for every day of the year, making it an easy book for daily use.

Ellsberg's choices cover a huge range, from saints acknowledged by Christian churches to others outside of that communion whose lives are thought-provoking and challenging; a brief list demonstrates the eclectic nature.

January 1: Mary, Mother of Jesus (1st century)

January 7: Felix and Mary Barreda, lay apostles and martyrs (died 1983 at the hands of the contras in Nicaragua)

February 14: St. Valentine, Martyr (d. 269) of whom very little is known

March 1: George Herbert, Anglican Vicar and Poet (1593-1633)

March 26: Harriet Tubman, Abolitionist (1820-1913)

June 12: Anne Frank, Witness of the Holocaust (1929-1945)

November 9: Kristallnacht Martyrs (1938)

December 22: Chico Mendes, Brasilian Rubber Worker and Martyr (d. 1988)

as well as more traditional saints such as Benedict, Augustine, Brigid, Prisca, Teresa of Avila, and Therese of Lisieux.

These bios are not the usual pious hagiographies of people who are somehow superhuman, but down-to-earth accounts of the lives, such as we are able to glean from records in the case of the earliest saints, of real people faced with the same challenges as all of us have today. Far from being otherworldly, these saints are shown to be people who not only faced but lived up to the challenge of leading an ethical life in the midst of every circumstance guaranteed to make it difficult if not nearly impossible to do so. As such, they are worthy role models for all of us in today's life, no matter what religious or ethical persuasions we hold. ( )

Saints 24/7? They're actually much more interesting human beings than sociopaths. This modern-day Book of Hours brings them back to the fore.