“Friends in Heaven: Getting to Know the Saints”
As a reader and as a writer myself, good writing makes me happy; as a teacher of writing, it makes me doubly happy to help to foster the creation of good writing. It’s a particular pleasure, then, to be able to mentor new writers and foster the creation of excellent pieces for other readers to enjoy. As part of my work at the Word on Fire Institute, I run the Writing Community, where I teach and mentor writers. We have a large and dynamic community participating in my Teaching & Discussion forum, as well as thirteen (soon to be fourteen) small Writing Groups for members to share their work and get peer feedback. The community has writers of all levels of experience, from published authors to complete beginners, in a wide range of genres and forms—all challenging each other to grow in their faith and in their skill as writers.
An important part of this Writing Community is the opportunity that I provide twice per year to participate in Writer Development Activities, in which I give a prompt to the entire community to work on a specific type of writing or to address a particular topic. It’s always an exciting time of growth and fellowship as writers build on what they’ve learned and try new things. At the end of each activity, writers have the opportunity to submit their work to me for possible publication in the Institute Writer Showcase (a very selective process). The Spring 2024 issue was “The Evangelist’s Bookshelf.”
And now I’m pleased to announce the Fall 2024 issue of the Writer Showcase, which has the theme “Friends in Heaven: Getting to Know the Saints.”
As Catholics, we affirm belief in the “communion of saints” every Sunday at Mass, and veneration of the saints is an important part of Catholic life. The witness of the saints during their earthly lives and their prayers for us from heaven are important elements in our evangelization. However, as evangelists, we can’t give what we don’t have. Having a strong understanding and appreciation of the communion of saints helps us to be evangelizing disciples.
For this issue, I invited the members of the Institute’s Writing Community to write short pieces reflecting on particular saints or blesseds, with the aim of showing how that individual is a good friend, guide, or role model in the spiritual life. In their Writing Groups, members shared drafts of their pieces, offered feedback, and encouraged each other in the writing process. More than sixty Writing Community members submitted pieces for consideration for this issue. The fifteen excellent pieces that I have selected for publication in this issue present a wide range of saintly figures, from the Old Testament to the modern day, some well known and others unfamiliar, all presented in compelling ways by our Institute writers.
Having a strong understanding and appreciation of the communion of saints helps us to be evangelizing disciples.
This Showcase issue opens with a piece about a modern role model, “St. Giuseppe Moscati: Physician, Intercessor, Mentor”; other figures from relatively recent times appear as well with “Blessed Karl of Austria: Can a Wartime Foe Be a Friend in Heaven?” and “St. Teresa of Calcutta, My Kitchen Saint.”
Strong women abound with a piece about a Doctor of the Church, “St. Hildegard of Bingen: Friend, Role Model, and Guide”; one about a saint who fostered devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, “St. Lutgarde and the Heart of Jesus”; and a piece about one of the English martyrs, “St. Margaret Clitherow: A Grain of Wheat Crushed for Love.” In “Running with St. Dymphna,” we see clearly how the saint’s influence continues to this very day.
Some of the names will be familiar, but the writers have in each case given us a fresh insight into that saint as a role model, guide, or friend, as in “The Little Way of St. Thérèse of Lisieux” and “St. Ignatius of Loyola: A Path To True Discipleship.” St. Teresa of Avila has a pair of intriguing and complementary pieces: “Finding a Friend in St. Teresa of Avila” and “St. Teresa of Avila, Who Am I?”
Biblical saints are well represented too, helping to remind us that the figures whose stories are told in Scripture were real people from whom we can learn a great deal today. We have “John the Baptizer: A Paragon of Humility,” “Seeing St. Martha for Who She Is,” “St. Joseph, Guide and Father for Our Time,” and our closing piece on the great Evangelist, “St. John the Apostle: Nearness to Christ.”
I hope that readers will enjoy these fifteen excellent selections. And if anyone reading this is intrigued by the idea of being part of the community in which pieces like these are workshopped and encouraged, I warmly invite you to have a look at the Writing Community here at the Word on Fire Institute.