Elizabeth Ann Seton (Sos)

Elizabeth Ann Seton is my patron Saint. I really enjoyed learning more about her and her life.

Loved it

This book was engrossing & inspiring. I knew a lot about Mother Seton but learned a lot more. It is short but very touching. It was time well spent.

Excellent service and product, Thanks!

amazing book!

When we think about saints, we are often intimidated by them. Most of us have an unrealistic expectation that saints walked around this earth (or floated) and were holy all the time. In reality, they were people just like you and me. Today, I would like to share with you two books about two amazing female saints - Elizabeth Ann Seton and Therese of Lisieux.The book Elizabeth Ann Seton begins with an introduction on how the author, Anne Erwin, first became aware of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and how events in her life connected her to this saint. The first few chapters give us a background on Elizabeth and her husband's parents and lineage. It was here that I learned that her husband, William, had an ancestor who was a lady-in-waiting to Mary Queen of Scots. We learn of the marriage of William and Elizabeth, their five children, and sadly William's early death. It was his death and their financial circumstances that led to Elizabeth taking up a teaching job.This was not the only sadness the family would experience as Anna (one of the children) would die of tuberculosis. In addition to learning about her time in a religious order and her mission, we learn about the lasting impact she had after her death, which included affordable Catholic education and social services that religious sisters provided.The book Therese of Lisieux begins with her birth and gives us some brief information on her parents, Louis and Zelie Martin. Louis was 49 and Zelie was 41 at the time of Therese's birth. They had four other daughters at the time that were living and there were three children that died as infants and one that died at age five. We also learn that Zelie documented stories of Therese as a child that would later show how she chose to live her life in devotion to Christ. In this book, we see how Therese lived somewhat of a dual existence. She was still a child and acted like a child in many ways, but she was also a holy being who was attune to God. Much of this, as noted in the book, can be attributed to her family, which is full of saints and near-saints. The main focus of this book, however, is Therese's gaze to Carmel and becoming a Bride of Christ, which she eventually experience, but much later in life than she liked.Both books, Elizabeth Ann Seton and Therese of Lisieux, belong to the "series" entitled Saints by Our Side. I say "series," because at the moment, they are the only two in it. Perhaps, there will be more in the near future. What I liked best about these books is that there are equal parts biography and spiritual biography. Due to the saints chosen, I would say these books are more geared towards women than men, but that doesn't mean that it wouldn't benefit men to read these books as well. These would be excellent editions to a home, school, or parish library as your tween could read either of these books for a good role model or even a Confirmation saint.

Boring, went to book club and nobody liked it.

Elizabeth Ann Seton was born in 1774 into an upper class Episcopalian family in New York City at the cusp of the American Revolution. She married into a wealthy family: her father-in-law was a banker, one of whose colleagues was Alexander Hamilton. Her husband, William, was a shipping magnate. But by the turn of the nineteenth century, William’s business had suffered large losses, and his health declined when he contracted tuberculosis. He, his wife, and one of their five children departed for Italy, where they hoped the Mediterranean climate would do him good. Unfortunately, when they debarked at Livorno, they were quarantined, confined to a small room for months. Not long after they were finally released, William died. Elizabeth Ann and her daughter stayed on for a bit, and there Elizabeth Ann became acquainted with Catholicism.Upon their return to New York City in 1805, Elizabeth Ann became Catholic, despite the ostracization by her social class. In 1808, she took her family to Baltimore, where the first American bishop, John Carroll supported her as she established the first American Catholic girls school. The next year, Elizabeth Ann founded a religious community, which later became the Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph, and moved them to Emmitsburg, Maryland. Mother Seton, as she was now known, established a couple of schools, including a free Catholic girls school. Mother Seton was canonized a saint by the Catholic Church in 1975, and is the first American-born Catholic saint.This book, “Elizabeth Ann Seton,” by Anne Merwin is part of the Saints by Our Side series by Pauline Books and Media, an attractive collection of short biographies of saints. “Elizabeth Ann Seton” presents an overview of the life and contributions of this American saint and hero. To Merwin’s credit, she also provides insight into Seton’s beliefs and devotions, in other words, what motivated Seton to dedicate her life to alleviating poverty through education. In short, it was Seton’s great devotion to the Real Presence in the Eucharist that was at the center of all she did. Since the Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life” (Lumen gentium 11), St. Elizabeth Ann Seton serves as a model for all Catholics. This book is a useful and well written introduction to this saint.