Brother Saints: Lives and Virtues

Description

In spite of the considerable quantity of good work to their credit, down the
centuries, the Catholic Religious Brothers have hardly been properly
recognised, rightly understood or adequately appreciated. The brethrens of great
pioneers like Saint Francis of Assisi, founder of the largest community of
religious, the Franciscans, or like Saint Benedict of Nursia, the "Father of
Western Monasticism", are often hidden behind the prefix Saint, which makes
people think of them as clerics. Similarly the brethrens of Saint Anthony of the
desert or Saint Pachomius, who founded Christian coenobitic monasticism, are
little known. The present work goes a long way to introduce a galaxy of brother
saints to Christians in particular and to the reading public in general, which was
indeed a long felt need.

The style of Bro. Paulose Arumbuparambil is simple, straight forward, and
telling. His efforts to bring out the man behind the saints are commendable and
will make his heroes imitable by the lay persons and brothers who pursue the
richly detailed and interesting narratives. Trying on early eye witness sources
and history, religion and psychology, the author offers here vivid insight into
the idealism and pragmatism, faith and fellowship, rejection and acclaim of
array of fifty people of God.