Book Notes 720 x 340 medium blue outline and medium blue pen _ Notes light blue (2)
Kateri-TekakwithaBecause God loves us with all His might, He may have placed a big-hearted, adventure-loving little girl in your life, one eager to master sewing, build a tree house, and fashion a shelter for a homeless bunny in the backyard all before lunchtime. This little girl, drawn to cupcakery entrepreneurship and missionary work and fiercely loyal to Jesus, may nonetheless find Mass a little, well…boring. Beyond instilling an intellectual understanding of what happens at Mass, is there anything else we can do for these girls to help spark their imagination to start to “see” what really is occurring at each sacrifice at the altar?

I’m not sure. But it couldn’t hurt to turn to our sisters in Christ who led adventurous lives themselves and who loved the Eucharist more than life itself for prayers to ignite their imaginations. And to help introduce our girls to these saints, Ignatius Press has a wonderful series of novels for the young reader based on the lives of these great saints.

St. Kateri Tekakwitha has become a favorite saint among many little girls I know precisely because her story has captured their imaginations. A seventeenth century saint who was orphaned in early childhood and raised by relatives, Kateri made the dangerous decision to convert to Christianity which resulted in her being an outcast in her tribe. With the help of a priest, she eventually fled her community and devoted the rest of her life to serving God.

St. Kateri surely would be eager to pray for little girls that they recognize the treasure that’s hidden in the Eucharist. Ignatius Press’s Kateri Tekakwitha: Mohawk Maiden is a well-done novel that brings this great saint’s story to life.

Another beautiful heavenly sister to call on is St. Clare, devoted friend of St. Francis of Assisi. Their lives of renunciation of wealth and worldly things in favor of the greater adventure of serving God are also beautifully captured in Francis and Clare: Saints of Assisi.

Finally, what little adventure-seeking girl doesn’t love the story of St. Joan of Arc, the courageous teenager from the fifteenth century who helped lead the battle to reclaim the King of France’s kingdom? St. Joan: The Girl Soldier might pique her interest in Who could fuel such a life.

Ignatius Press has done a great job in helping plant seeds of interest in young hearts that will hopefully bloom in time into the ultimate adventure: a deep love of Jesus manifested in a life of service to others.

Be sure to check out our Book Notes archive.

Copyright (2015) Meg Matenaer.