My Type of Holiness

Barb Szyszkiewicz reviews Rose Sweet's new book on the four temperaments that emphasizes how to use our God-given gifts in pursuit of holiness.

My Type of Holiness: Striving for Sainthood with the Temperament God Gave Me

By Rose Sweet

Published by Our Sunday Visitor

Rose Sweet's new book, My Type of Holiness, takes a fresh look at the age-old basics of temperament theory and connects it to our quest for sainthood. Our goal is Heaven, and God has given us the gifts to get us there — if only we can get out of our own way.

From the publisher's blurb on the back cover:

Properly understood, the love and study of temperaments should be a doorway to holiness. As well as giving you self-knowledge, this book can lead you more deeply into relationship with God.

Know Yourself to Better Love God and Others

Through anecdotes and with gentle good humor, Rose Sweet describes what we can learn about ourselves from classic temperament theory. I found the author's descriptions clear and enlightening; I've read quite a few books about the temperaments, but this is the first one that helped me understand how better to relate to others who are gifted with different temperaments than mine.

The author candidly discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the various temperaments, and true to her own nature, makes sure to keep the focus positive, upbeat, and encouraging. It's never fun to consider your own weaknesses, but in this book, readers will learn how to leverage the best part of our temperaments into improving our behavior.

What's Wrong with [Name of Temperament]?
Nothing that grace, wisdom, and experience can't fix. Our weaknesses are our strengths carried to extremes — and this is true for everyone. Pride and fear are usually at the heart of our sinfulness.

A Very Catholic Look at Temperament Theory

With the focus always on grace, My Type of Holiness is a very Catholic look at temperament theory. There's a whole section on "Looking to Sainthood," and it's refreshing to see our goal of sainthood emphasized so frequently in this book. In that section, you'll learn about rooting out sin, creating a rule of life, making time for prayer, managing media use, spiritual direction, and more — all with specific advice targeted toward the individual temperaments.

In this book, you'll also find capsule biographies of saints who exemplify the four temperaments: Melancholic, Choleric, Phlegmatic, and Sanguine. While we can never positively identify the temperament of another person, particularly one we do not personally know, there are clues we can use to correlate the qualities of various temperaments to the behavior of others. By doing so, we can learn to understand others better as well as ourselves.

There's Even a Quiz!

I used to love the quizzes in print magazines, where you'd be asked five questions and your answers would reveal some hidden aspect of your personality. My Type of Holiness offers a 40-question quiz at the back of the book that will help you determine your own temperament — if you haven't already figured it out from reading the preceding chapters.

Ask for My Type of Holiness at your local Catholic bookseller, or order online from Amazon.com or the publisher, Our Sunday Visitor.

Is this a book you'd like to read? Share your thoughts with the Catholic Mom community! You'll find the comment box below the author's bio and list of recommended articles.

Copyright 2025 Barb Szyszkiewicz
Images: (top) detail from cover
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