A Saint for All Reasons: A Pocket Bible of 100 Saints for Every Situation

Despite the proliferation of books about the saints, there always seems to be room for one more way of organizing and presenting the lives of these exalted beings. Muldoon, a Catholic theologian who teaches at Boston College, has written a welcome addition to the genre in this handy little anthology with brief descriptions of 100 saints accompanied by short prayers and rituals. As indicated by the title, the book is arranged according to the causes each saint is known for advocating. People seeking support for sea travel, for example, can apply to Brendan the Navigator, while those suffering from chronic pain can petition Lydwina of Schiedam. There's even a saint for home décor issues: Catherine of Bologna. Muldoon's collection embraces the familiar (Augustine, Francis of Assisi) and the obscure (Pharaildis, Roch), and includes a list giving a saint for every day of the year as well as Internet links for downloading images of favorite saints. Even devotees of the classic Butler's Lives of the Saints are sure to enjoy this fun, compact guide to some of Christianity's holiest people.