Description
Edited by Paula Huston and Thomas Grady, the wonders and mysteries of sacramental life are celebrated in this distinctive collection by eight acclaimed Catholic writers. In Signatures of Grace, Murray Bodo, O.F.M, Andre Dubus, Mary Gordon, Patricia Hampl, Ron Hansen, Paula Huston, Paul Mariani, and Katherine Vaz share the private experiences that have deepened the significance of the sacraments in their everyday lives. Their own stories are interwoven with the stories of Baptism, Penance, Eucharist, Confirmation, Matrimony, Holy Orders, and the Anointing of the Sick as these have unfolded through the centuries.
The contributors to this collection are fiction writers and poets, and their lyrical prose helps convey the unique aesthetic experience of being a Catholic. Each essay, however, also points toward the invisible, spiritual realities that lie beyond the physical rituals.
Reviews
“For Catholics, this volume is a treasure. For those outside the Church, the essays reveal as no catechism ever could why Catholics are drawn to these ‘signs signifying grace.’”
(Publishers Weekly, starred review)
“Excellent reading.”
(Today’s Catholic)
“I can’t think of a more useful or inspiring way to encounter the richness of Catholic spirituality than through these surprisingly personal essays by writers better known for the depth and reach of their fiction than for the intensity of their sacramental life.”
(C. Michael Curtis, senior editor of the Atlantic Monthly)
“Readers, Catholic and otherwise, will find in this compact volume delightful, sometimes startlingly delightful, investigations of the seven sacraments of the Catholic church.”
(The Spokesman Review, Spokane)
“These ‘Signatures’ can supply a living, breathing grasp of sacrament that formulas cannot convey.”
(The Sunday Star-Ledger, Newark)