calendars

I originally wrote a relatively favorable review for this book because it seemed to incorporate the best of the original Butler's Lives (a focus on meditating on the life of the saint) and the new calendar of saints (including many recent canonizations). While it does do the second, I am afraid to say that it is woefully inadequate regarding the first. In fact, it is probably just as bad as the Atwater/Thurston edition. For instance, here is part of the section from January 27th on St. Angela Merici: "Accounts of her [St. Angela Merici's] childhood make her pious, rebelling against the fashions of the age, devoted to the legend of St. Ursula, and the recipient of a vision showing a great company of virgins and other saints coming down from heaven to her. They included a dead sister, who invited her to form a great 'Company of Virgins,' which was what Angela had actually done by the time the account was written." In other words, the author wants to point out that the story "must" not be true because it wasn't written down until after the alleged vision had been fulfilled. Now, we are certainly not bound to believe all the accounts in the various lives of the saints, but I do not understand the point of drawing attention to the alleged falsity of a tale in the context of a meditative reading. If the work seeks to be encyclopedic, it is much too short and you should check on the 12-vol. counterpart, but for a daily meditation (which it seems reasonable to assume such a work is designed to be), such statements are misplaced. If the story is too absurd to be believed, just don't include it. As a result, it is disappointing because it would be useful to have a modern Butler's that can be used for a daily devotional or meditation. Instead, we are left with the old works that do not match the current calendar.

This book is well-written and provides interesting short biographies of some of the most famous saints. The book is arranged in a chronological manner, ordering the saints by their feast days.

This book is not a particularly in-depth looks at the saints, however for those with an interest in the important figures in the Catholic church, and the history of the church, this book provides many interesting tidbits.

I understand there is a CD rom available which contains four volumes. Has anyone used this?