Further Reading — Longing For God: Seven Paths of Christian Devotion

IT WOULD SEEM THAT THERE ARE BOTH similarities and differences in the spiritual lives of men and women. It is sometimes understood that “spirituality” represents a primary experience of God that precedes formal theological reflection. Until recently, most women were not allowed to be educated. Those who were educated usually came from rich and noble families who hired tutors for their gifted wives and daughters. These women made fantastic contributions, but in many cases they did not have the intellectual preparation or social position for their work to be received readily. As a result, their authority to write came from the authenticity of their religious experiences and not the status of formal education or the normal processes of receiving sanction from the church.

Many of the women we will consider are well known to historians of the church. In almost every case the women from the first nineteen hundred years of the church fit best into path 5, the right ordering of our experiences of God. They could not have done otherwise. It is only recently that we have begun to see contributions spread across all seven approaches. The accompanying list is not intended to be exhaustive but gives an overall sense of the many women who gave eloquent witness to their life with God. In each case, we have sought to highlight the unique expression of Christian fidelity of each of these good and holy women. They continue to give light to our path and guidance for our life with God today.

Saint Photini (c. 50)

Photini, the Samaritan woman at the well, is first identified in John 4:5-42 as the woman who was given water to drink by Jesus. At Pentecost Photini was baptized along with five sisters and her two sons. She then began a missionary career after having a dream of Jesus directing her to go to Rome along with her entourage. There she caused a stir because she reportedly preached Christ with great boldness. This attracted too much attention, and she learned that Nero was looking for her, but in her boldness she and her son went to him first. Photini told him, “We have come to teach you to believe in Christ.” Nero asked whether they all had agreed to die for the Nazarene, and she defiantly told him they would gladly die. She and others were then beaten and thrown into jail. Later they were brought back to him and he tempted them with wealth and much gold. Nero asked his daughter Domnina, along with her slave girls, to try to persuade Photini and her sons to give up their faith for the wealth.

However, Photini catechized Domnina and her hundred slave girls and baptized them all. Nero’s daughter then ordered that all the tempting gold be sold and the money distributed to the poor. Nero was furious and ordered that they all be burned. Tradition holds that the fire did not destroy them, nor later poison. All except St. Photini were then beheaded. Her death is not recorded; however, it is known that she sang hymns and blessed God in the prison, for she drank of the “living water.”

Saint Eudokia of Heliopolis (d. 107)

Eudokia of Heliopolis was a Samaritan woman who became a devout follower of Christ. As an ascetic nun she ministered to many people who came to receive assistance at her monastery near Baalbeck, Lebanon. The conversion of so many people to Christianity under her influence brought her to the attention of authorities who had her beheaded in 107.

Saint Tatiana (c. 200)

Tatiana, who was indifferent to her family’s wealth, came to love the spiritual life, including prayer and good works. She tended the sick, visited jails and helped the needy. During the reign of Roman terror she was thrown into the arena at the Coliseum to be ravaged by a lion. However, she caressed the lion, who then left her alone, so she was tortured again and beheaded.

Xenia, Deaconess of Rome (c. 220)

Xenia, deaconess of Rome, though the daughter of a Roman senator, chose to live as an ascetic and she led a community of virgins. She was well known for her spiritual life, charity, humility and virtuousness. Tradition teaches that she often spent days and nights standing in prayer and fasting. When she died, a wreath of stars appeared over her monastery, shining brighter than the sun.

Saint Mary of Egypt (c. 344-421)

Saint Mary of Egypt had lived as a prostitute for seventeen years when she found herself in Jerusalem for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. On coming to the church that held the cross, she was unable to enter because a force was repelling her. In the churchyard she was overcome with shame about her ill-spent life. After her prayers of repentance, she was indeed able to enter the church, where she again prayed for guidance regarding her future course. A voice told her to renounce the world and cross the Jordan River. Tradition holds that she lived alone there in the desert areas, engaging in prayer and thanksgiving. Priests who brought her the sacraments claim that she walked across the waters of the Jordan to receive them, without wetting her feet. Tradition holds to many other tales of her virtue and devotion. She is also the best example of what often happened to prostitutes who came to faith: since they had no husband and had been abandoned by their family they had nowhere to go and were in need of a community. As a result, they found their best option to be the formation of convent-like communities where they could have their physical needs met while they pursued their life with God.

Saint Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)

Hildegard of Bingen was a woman of genius and is considered by some to be the instigator of the flowering of German mysticism. At an early age she began to report having visions and was placed with the Benedictines at the age of seven. Her family considered that move as a tithe since she was their tenth child. By the time Hildegard was thirty-eight she had become abbess of the monastery.

Hildegard wrote medical and scientific treatises, poetry, music and plays, and did illustrations to clarify her visions. Within the security of the Benedictines she had the opportunity for intellectual growth and development. Some of her visions and writings criticized those in power, of whom she was not afraid. Then, as she matured and grew in confidence, she saw her role as one speaking for God, and that her role in the process of salvation was to share with those around her, enhancing their spiritual elevation. She never saw the visions as something for herself, but they were like gifts to be spread out to those even in distant places. In her writing she elaborately described the visions in glorious detail and then commented on their meaning. Sometimes the visions included music sung by angels. She explained that the meanings of her visions had layers that were literal, moral, allegorical and anagogical (as interpretive of Scripture), reminiscent of the fourfold sense of Scripture.

Her writings include three books: Scivias, The Book of Life’s Merits and The Book of Divine Works.

Saint Elisabeth of Schonau (c. 1129-1165)

Elisabeth of Schonau became a Benedictine at the age of twelve. From her youth she followed the Rule of St. Benedict and practiced acts of mortification, which were expected during that era. At about the age of twenty she experienced various kinds of ecstasies and visions. These seemed to happen on Sundays, holy days or after reading the lives of saints. Sometimes Elisabeth would see representations of the passion, resurrection or ascension of Christ, as well as other scenes from Scripture. She began to write what she saw and heard on instructions from her superiors. From these writings developed three books of “visions,” the first being simple and the later two with theological terminology, perhaps from collaboration with her brother, Egbert, who was a priest.

In one writing, Liber viarum Dei, Elisabeth speaks to all classes of people, including the clergy. She gives prophetic threats against priests who might be unfaithful leaders, against the worldliness of some monks who only lightly take their vows of poverty, against the vices of laity and against bishops who might be lax in carrying out their responsibilities to the church. She also wrote other revelations that sometimes seemed exaggerated. The church has never examined or passed judgments on her writings, and she was never canonized, though her name often is seen with the title of saint.

Christina the Astonishing (1150-1224)

Though there is much distrust of accounts of the Middle Ages, and especially bizarre mystical phenomenon and ascetic feats, Christina the Astonishing is still a good example of one who sought a deeper life with God. Her biographer, Thomas of Cantimpre, claimed that Christina had visited heaven and was sent back into the world to become a living example of the necessity for forgiveness of sin to avoid punishment. At the same time, she is portrayed as one who had been resurrected and was already enjoying a continual vision of God.

As was still common in that era, Christina practiced the usual penances, as well as extreme asceticism (such as food deprivation) along with incredible feats, (such as standing in the river for days in winter), and other odd physical challenges. In everything, her body was never harmed in any way. Along with the ascetic acts, it was claimed that she could levitate, sing heavenly music of wonderful harmony, and prophesy.

Clare of Assisi (1193-1253)

Within two years of her death, Clare was canonized (in 1255) by Pope Alexander IV in recognition of her holy life and broad influence. Born the third of five children in 1193, Clare grew up in a moderately wealthy family with keen religious sensitivities. The details of her early life are sketchy, but on March 18, 1212, Clare accepted the “Palm Branch” from the bishop of Assisi, symbolizing her entry into the Christian life and her commitment to follow Christ even unto death through martyrdom.

There are many nuances to her life, but four distinct contributions stand out. First, she was the first woman to write a Rule or order for the religious life. Then, in contrast to Francis, she emphasized a complete material separation from the world. As a result, she emphasized not penance (as Francis did), but total poverty as the gateway to the spiritual life. Finally, she emphasized the role of our religious community in achieving sanctification.

Although she wrote little (one Rule and four letters to Blessed Agnes of Prague), she is remembered as a formidable intellect who has significantly enhanced our understanding of Franciscan spirituality and our life with God.

Mechthild von Magdeburg (1207-1282)

Mechthild von Magdeburg was a mystic, social critic and prophet in an age where such gifts in a woman were considered heretical. This German woman had a courtly upbringing. By the age of twelve she was having religious visions. She left home at the age of twenty-three and joined a house of beguines (a lay religious order not under any human authority) and only later entered a Cistercian convent. Her house of beguines strove to live a life of evangelical perfection through poverty, chastity, prayer and some ascetic practices. Their primary effort was social work.

Translations of her work The Flowing Light of the Godhead may be unreliable because she wrote in a medieval low German. Later eighteenth-century scholars classified Mechthild as a “Romantic,” part of a movement which felt that the Enlightenment had emptied human life of much of its richness and diversity. These mystics were viewed with suspicion because they seemingly opposed the church’s function as the necessary link between God and humanity. Mysticism, of course, by its very nature strives for an experience and vision of the Almighty that is immediate. Some have felt that she was a precursor to the Reformation, because she boldly criticized the moral depravity of some clergy and some of her visions dealt with the decline of the church.

Rose of Viterbo (1233-1252)

Rose of Viterbo, as with many other women in the history of the faith, had a deep spirituality that resulted in her stepping outside traditional roles for women in the church and society. From an early age Rose was remarkable for her holiness and miraculous powers. Rose’s primary foci were prayer and preaching. In her early life she began to preach to groups of women, usually outdoors. Though she had no license to preach, she walked through the streets of Viterbo, Italy, carrying a cross and exhorting large crowds of followers to live virtuously. Rose also urged them to develop a rich prayer life, and there were times when she would prophesy.

She became a third-order Franciscan and reformer. Though she defended the church and its doctrines, she exhorted the clergy to also live a moral and saintly life. There were reports of healing after she prayed over people, and particularly for a blind girl who recovered her sight. In one of her street sermons she found herself in an argument with a heretic, who even after a long discussion refused to come to faith. In desperation Rose flung herself into a bonfire, then walked out unscathed. On that the heretic announced he would accept the faith. Her notoriety and preaching did lead to problems, so others drove her and her family out of the city, stating that women should not be preaching, let alone in the streets.

Hadewijch of Antwerp (mid-thirteenth century)

Hadewijch of Antwerp was a Dutch mystic and poet. Born into the aristocracy and well-learned, she was a beguine, or lay member of a sisterhood. Little is known of her life except what can be gleaned from her writings. She was known for her descriptions of visions, which were earthy and embodied descriptions of her encounters with Christ, the divine Bridegroom. In all things she considered love as an overriding theme that leads to ecstasy and joy. She stated that “love is meant to be explored and experienced in all its many moods and forms rather than be defined and categorized.”

Her writings included Letters (Brevien) and also Poems in Stanzas. When she wrote about love, she described its advanced stages, from band and chain to light (such as enlightened reason, a live coal, or how all contradictory behavior is set afire and extinguished by the madness of love), dew (or what is left after the fire of love has burned up everything in its violence) and living springs (which is the great river flowing endlessly from God and hell, signifying the terror of those lost in the storms of love). Her other writings contain great descriptions of her visions, which are often quite exotic for the modern reader.

Saint Bridget of Sweden (1303-1373)

Bridget, a celebrated saint of Sweden, was born into a wealthy and educated family. She was married at thirteen to Ulf Gudmarson, and they had eight children. Her saintly and charitable life made her well known throughout the country. After one pilgrimage with her husband, he died on their return.

Bridget had experienced spiritual visions as a child, and upon the death of her husband she began to have them more frequently. She founded the Order of St. Savior, also called the Bridgettines. She had no qualms about challenging authority and prevailed upon Queen Blance to take life more seriously. In 1350 she traveled to Rome, partly to pursue her mission to elevate the moral tone of the age. Her visions and spiritual inspirations led her to continuously challenge and admonish the popes on spiritual issues. She remained in Rome for some years, living austerely and looking after the poor and the sick. Bridget made herself universally beloved in Italy through her kindness and good works. She dictated a book of revelations about the sufferings of Christ.

Julian of Norwich (1342-1416).

See path five.

Saint Catherine of Siena (c. 1347-1380)

From the age of seven Catherine of Siena had visions of Christ and was determined to live a life devoted to him. She began to live a conscientious and pious life, then at the age of fifteen announced to her family that she would refuse to marry. Though she lived at home, she began to live a solitary and ascetic life, eating only once a day. Shortly after, she became a tertiary Dominican, a layperson who lives at home.

Catherine became known locally for her visions, asceticism and patient service to the poor and sick. Often her days were spent guiding people toward a path to God. Along with the practical work, she spent time in contemplation or raptures and studying. Knowledge spread about how she spent the day in prayer, sometimes extending into the night. She remembered the names of all those who came to her, and when asked how she remembered them replied, “When a servant of God is filled with devotion and a burning desire for the salvation of sinners, and when she prays to the Eternal Majesty, he rewards her with a mental eye with which she sees all those for whom she is praying.” Catherine also experienced ecstatic emotions after taking communion; her face would glow and she would break out with words of jubilation. During the scourge of the plague in Florence, she ministered to the sick, and many reported being healed after she interceded for them.

Catherine occasionally became involved in some church political struggles. Other than her letters, her main thoughts on our life with God are contained in Dialogues, which has been translated into English.

Margery Kempe (1373-1440)

Margery Kempe, a mother of fourteen children, was an English mystic whose autobiography is one of the earliest in all of English literature. After she was finished bearing children, she began a series of pilgrimages to places such as Jerusalem and Rome. Apparently illiterate, she dictated The Book of Margery Kempe to two clerks. This book was translated into modern English in 1940. The writing describes her journeys and also religious ecstasies, which often included crying spells.

From a literary standpoint her writing is considered more an autohagiography than autobiography. She pictured herself as a saint and described her life and visions accordingly. The central focus of The Book is a spiritual treatise, including religious drama, accounts of conversations with Jesus and other possibly questionable material.

Saint Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510)

Catherine of Genoa, along with her husband, worked and lived among the poor in Genoa, Italy. They lost a fortune through bad circumstances, and in the process Catherine turned to the contemplative life. During their work in a hospital her husband died, but she continued her efforts, becoming the matron of the hospital.

Catherine’s efforts and personal life did not go unnoticed, for her spirituality ran deep. She is noted for her writings, but they do not rise higher than her reputation for acts of charity. Her best known works are Life and Teachings and her Dialogues. These describe her knowledge of the pure love of God and the struggle to accept that pure love, sometimes through renunciation of self. She writes, “Take a piece of bread and eat it. . . . [I]ts substance goes into you to nourish the body and the rest is eliminated because your body no longer needs it. For the body is more important than the bread: it was created as a means, but it is not to remain forever with us. Likewise, we must remove all evil inclinations from our bodies, they cannot live on within us, lest we die” (from Life and Teachings).

Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582).

See path seven.

Margaret Fell Fox (1614-1701)

Margaret Fell Fox was one of the earliest and most effective Quaker leaders in the seventeenth century. Initially married to Judge Thomas Fell, eleven years after his death (in 1658) she married the founder of the Quaker movement, George Fox (in 1669), whose ministry had led to her own spiritual awakening. She is best remembered for her legendary courage, her tenacity in the face of persecution and her profound Christian life. She also articulated one of the earliest and finest defenses of the right of women to preach, Women’s Speaking Justified. She did not shrink in the face of opposition and used her broad social connections to advance religious liberty, even taking her concerns directly to the king. She was instrumental in getting legislation passed that protected the rights of dissenting religious groups to gather and worship as they chose. Her life of virtue and holiness, and her commitment to the right of every person to love God and express their gifts fully, are enduring hallmarks of her legacy.

Madame (Jeanne-Marie Bouvier de la Mothe) Guyon (1648-1717)

Madame Guyon was forced into an arranged marriage at an early age (16) to a man more than twenty years her senior (Jacques Guyon, age 38). Born at the end of the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), she suffered mightily throughout her life, including frequent illnesses and early widowhood (at age 28). She was a controversial figure, advocating daring religious practices when French society was in upheaval and the Roman Catholic Church was in reaction.

Her books and writings all emphasize a detachment from the sensible world in order to know Christ directly and to gain union with God. She calls us to abandon ourselves wholly and completely to God, working to free ourselves from all thought and emotion. Her quest to find the prereflective relationship with God is a mark of all great mystics. Guyon characterizes her position this way: “Perfect poverty by total privation of everything that was mine, both inward and outwardly. Perfect obedience of my will to the will of the Lord and submission to the church.”

She also advocated a life of prayer that transcended reason. “May I hasten to say,” she begins, “that the kind of prayer I am speaking of is not a prayer that begins in the heart. It is a prayer that comes from the heart and is not interrupted by human thinking.”

Unfortunately, her approach lacked balance and she succumbed to opposition and even persection throughout her adult life. In 1688, through a variety of circumstances, including a seven-month stay in jail on heresy charges, she became a friend and talking companion of François Fénelon. This marked Madame Guyon’s official entry into the Quietist Movement and her role as one of its more outspoken enthusiasts. Fénelon’s response to Guyon was mixed. He recognized and appreciated the originality of some of her positions, but her overall approach and especially some of her more outlandish ideas eventually led Fénelon to distance himself from her.

Her works were eventually published in 1704 in the Netherlands. Her ideas gained popularity, especially among the English and German pietists. She died in 1717, believing herself to be a member in good standing in the Roman Catholic Church and an ardent follower of Jesus Christ.

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821)

Elizabeth Ann Seton, a modern American saint, began as a well-educated, married Episcopalian. Her Protestant years were the foundation of her spiritual life, as she was devoted to the reading of Scripture, felt the importance of the sermon in liturgy, and was eager to be guided by clergy in matters of doctrine. Following the death of her husband, however, she became a Catholic and lived another sixteen years.

Elizabeth patterned her spiritual life after Teresa of Avila. Her primary characteristics were confidence in God, prayer, joy in any circumstance and concern for those in pain and facing death. Her longing for relationship with God was grounded in love for the Almighty and the Eucharist. Elizabeth established a religious community as well as a school for girls in Baltimore, Maryland, which was the first free Catholic school in America. The three crucial tests in her life were (1) her indecision about conversion, (2) being the head of a religious community, and (3) the death of her daughter. During this time she suffered from tuberculosis, but continued to guide the children and the sisterhood, and established two orphanages and another school. She was the first native-born American to be canonized by the Catholic Church, which transpired on September 14, 1975, and is considered the patron saint of widows, those near death, and teachers.

Elizabeth Gurney Fry (1780-1845)

Elizabeth Gurney Fry, an English Quaker, was born into a family of high social class and privilege, but spent the best years of her adult life helping the poor and oppressed. She came from a large family (the fourth of twelve children) and had eleven children of her own. In 1799 she had a profound spiritual awakening and embraced strict religious practices. In 1813, under the influence of Stephen Grellet, she visited Newgate Prison and was appalled at the conditions under which women and children lived. She began working to improve their lives, helping to organize the women into working groups and coordinating a school for the children.

In 1818 she was invited to address the House of Commons on the issue of prison conditions, and subsequently became a symbol of social reform throughout the English-speaking world. Her own efforts motivated other Quakers to initiate reforms that led to the abolishment of slavery, the promotion of Native American rights and the improvement of conditions in mental hospitals.

Hannah Whitall Smith (1832-1911)

Hannah Whitall Smith, a Philadelphia Quaker, wrote The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life, which became a classic after it was published in 1870. Written from the perspective of Quaker simplicity and practicality, the book is a great encouragement to those who want to live a more joyful and fruitful life. Smith’s secret to a happy life is to trust implicitly the promises of God. Through that trust the average man or woman can elevate the level of their lives to a higher degree of consecration.

As seen in the lives of the many women described here, Christian service seems to flow naturally from the dedicated Christian. Hannah Smith’s writing reminds us that service often begins as a joy and ends up a burden. However, if we really want to do God’s will, and his will is written on the heart of the believer, the earnest Christian will want to follow him. Again her counsel is that the spiritual foundation must be built before the edifice of Christian service can flow from the individual. Thus Hannah urges us to turn our will over to Christ completely in order to find complete joy in service to him.

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897)

Thérèse of Lisieux suffered throughout her life, eventually dying of tuberculosis. As a child she claimed she was instantly healed when a statue of Mary smiled at her. She became a Carmelite nun at the age of fifteen. As she developed her spiritual life, she proclaimed that her vocation was love, and this was lived out through her burning love for Jesus, which she expressed through constant prayer. Thérèse’s motto was “Love is repaid by love alone.” She was simple, humble, trusting and prayerful, even while suffering with disease.

This humble woman practiced virtues that became known as St. Thérèse’s “Little Way.” The focus of this lifestyle made love and trust in God the center of one’s life. In her twenty-four years of life, she did nothing extraordinary, but that was her unique quality. As a “modern” saint she is a great example of a loving and simple life dedicated to God. As her health declined, she wrote her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, in which she encouraged others to follow her simple journey.

Catherine Booth (1829-1890)

Catherine Booth is part of the long history of devout and spiritual women of the church who spoke fervently against evil in society and sin in individuals, who defended and tended to the weakest of society and who made lasting contributions to righting systemic ills within the societies of their era. Catherine was British and the product of a Christian upbringing. She read her Bible through eight times by the age of twelve! By fourteen she was writing articles that denounced the plague of alcoholism.

At the age of twenty-three Catherine married William Booth, a Methodist minister, and began a long ministry together with him. Over time their ministry focused on the struggle against alcohol, and their work resulted in the Salvation Army, first in England and then throughout the world. William spoke to the ragged and poor, while Catherine spoke to the wealthy in an effort to raise funds for their mission.

Catherine Booth could also be called a feminist, in the best connotation of the word. While working with the poor in London she found women and children working in poor conditions for long hours for much less money than men doing the same work. She and others in the Salvation Army attempted to shame employers into paying better wages for the women, along with improving working conditions.

Catherine also found that she could speak to large groups. Her preaching was met with outrage by the established churches and especially by women who considered her leadership inappropriate. But women were considered as equals in the Salvation Army, largely due to her influence. Her speaking ability, along with activity among the poor, established her reputation as an extremely capable and spiritual woman. Once again the spiritual journey of a devout woman led to action and the Christian witness of benevolence.

Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941)

Evelyn Underhill is a noted modern writer on spirituality. This brilliant woman combined scholarship with spiritual insight, and her writings are treasured among those who study spirituality. Her best known writing is Mysticism: A Study of the Nature and Development of Spiritual Consciousness. In Mysticism she exalts the spiritual life as a profound spiritual love affair between humans and God. That writing is divided into two sections. In the first, “The Mystic Fact,” there are seven chapters that attempt to define the phenomena of mystical experience, especially in relation to the total human experience. In the second section, “The Mystic Way,” Underhill expounds on the historic evidence for mystical experiences, taken from writings of both the East and the West.

Underhill practiced a devotional life with fervor and thus wrote from personal experience and insight. She was much sought after as a spiritual director and became a well-known conductor of retreats among the Anglicans.

Simone Weil (1909-1943)

Simone Weil, a French philosopher, social activist and mystic, resided on the periphery of traditional Christian belief. Simone grew up in an agnostic household of Jewish lineage; her father was a doctor. Throughout her life she suffered from headaches, sinusitis and poor physical condition. Simone had limited ability with social interactions, probably due to her ascetic lifestyle, introversion and eccentricity, not to mention her brilliant mind. She was active in many political movements of her era and wrote about them with insight.

While visiting Assisi and Italy in the spring of 1937, she had a profound religious experience in the same church where Saint Francis had prayed. This led her into prayer for the first time in her life. A year later she had more powerful revelations, and from that point her writings became more mystical and spiritual, though she always maintained a focus on social and political issues. During World War II she was active in the French resistance to such an extent that her health deteriorated and she contracted tuberculosis. Simone developed an obsession with discovering more about God and what his will might be for her life. In one mystical experience she stated that “Christ himself came down and He took me.” Following her experiences, her biographers state that she spent the rest of her life searching for God’s will and writing about the intellectual consequences of her mystical experiences.

Though she became attracted to Catholicism, she declined to be baptized until the end of her life, as she wrote in Waiting for God. In this book she explains how she thought Plato related to the Christian faith. Though she felt herself primarily attracted to Christianity, she had a great interest in other religious traditions as well. Simone came to believe that some of these other religious traditions were valid paths to God, but she was totally opposed to any syncretism, feeling that it would destroy the value of individual religious traditions.

Dorothy Day (1897-1980)

Dorothy Day, like so many Christians through the ages, spent her early years in rather pagan circumstances, including two common-law marriages and an abortion. After the birth of her daughter, Tamar, she began a spiritual journey and awakening, which led her to embrace Christianity as a Roman Catholic. She had her daughter baptized first because “I did not want my child to flounder as I often had floundered. . . . I wanted to believe, and I wanted my child to believe, and if belonging to a Church would give her so inestimable a grace as faith in God . . . then the thing to do was to have her baptized a Catholic.” Then Day herself was baptized at the age of thirty.

Living in New York City, she became involved with the Catholic Worker movement, which had laid out a path of neutrality and pacifism in the turbulent 1930s. That movement expanded into a hospitality house in the slums of New York, then a series of farms for communal living. By the start of World War II, there were many such communities throughout the United States and in ten other countries. At one point Dorothy became disgusted that communists were parading for the rights of the poor instead of Christians. “I offered up a special prayer, a prayer which came with tears and anguish, that some way would open up for me to use what talents I possessed for my fellow workers, for the poor.”

Though Day had a rather progressive attitude toward social and economic rights, she still claimed an orthodox and traditional sense of Catholic morality and piety. She was awarded the Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth) in 1972 by Pope John XXIII. She was proposed for sainthood in 1983.

Mother Teresa (1910-1997)

From the small country of Macedonia, Teresa lived to become one of the best known Christian women of the twentieth century. Again we see a woman who at a very young age felt the call of God on their life. For her the call was to the mission field. She joined the Sisters of Loreto at the age of eighteen and was already in India by the age of twenty-one, where for seventeen years she taught at St. Mary’s High School in Calcutta. Drawn to serve the poor and suffering outside the convent, she received permission to begin a work in the slums of Calcutta, at first with an open-air school for children. Voluntary helpers and financial aid would follow. By the age of forty she had permission to begin her own order, The Missionaries of Charity.

The sisters primarily took care of those for whom no one else cared, often the victims of disease and of AIDS. As the order grew and spread around the world, it did include both “active” and “contemplative” groups of men and women. Thus the work included those longing for God through a variety of streams. By 1990 there were over a million coworkers in more than forty countries. Mother Teresa received the “Pope John XXIII Peace Prize” in 1971 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

To keep this famous woman in a human perspective, in her private letters, Come Be My Light, Mother Teresa divulged that for several decades she experienced spiritual dryness and a profound sense of being disconnected from God. Those that knew Mother Teresa called her a clear illustration that time devoted to God in prayer not only does not detract from effective and loving service to our neighbor, but is in fact the inexhaustible source of that service. Does the fact that she persevered indicate that she had great spiritual depth? It should be noted that John of the Cross, Martin Luther and Oswald Chambers confessed to feeling the same spiritual challenges. Mother Teresa eventually embraced this long period of spiritual dryness by noting, “I have come to love the darkness.” Eventually, she experienced a special encounter with God’s grace that seems to have reassured her in her life mission. She said, “Before you speak, it is necessary for you to listen, for God speaks in the silence of the heart.” Whether this visitation removed all doubt, turmoil and despair remains unclear. What is clear is that she never stopped loving God and serving humanity.