Louisa May Alcott: Illuminated by the Message
written by Susan Bailey
121 pages // published in 2015 // Christian devotional
BOOK DESCRIPTION
The Literary Portals to Prayer series is the first truly new resource for personal prayer in years. Designed to be a prayer-starter in the "Lectio Divina" tradition, the portal has a passage from the Bible side-by-side with a selection from an author whose work has stood the test of time. Each turn of the page ties together literature and scripture with an insightful theme.
As a result of her unusual upbringing, Louisa May Alcott learned to see God not in the pulpit or the congregation but in nature and everyday life as an accessible and loving Father and Friend. It was that innate part of her being which poured forth from her pen. In Little Women Alcott writes, Many wise and true sermons are preached us every day by unconscious ministers in street, school, office, or home....
The Literary Portals to Prayer series is the first truly new resource for personal prayer in years. Designed to be a prayer-starter in the "Lectio Divina" tradition, the portal has a passage from the Bible side-by-side with a selection from an author whose work has stood the test of time. Each turn of the page ties together literature and scripture with an insightful theme.
As a result of her unusual upbringing, Louisa May Alcott learned to see God not in the pulpit or the congregation but in nature and everyday life as an accessible and loving Father and Friend. It was that innate part of her being which poured forth from her pen. In Little Women Alcott writes, Many wise and true sermons are preached us every day by unconscious ministers in street, school, office, or home....
My Review...
I love it when someone comes along, takes the writings of one of my favorite authors of old, and freshens things up and gives new life to words penned long ago. This is the case for the Literary Portals to Prayer series, but namely this book about Louisa May Alcott.
Susan Bailey (author and blogger at Louisa May Alcott Is My Passion) knows and understand Louisa well, and was able to pick beautiful snippets from Miss Alcott's writings and pair them with meaningful verses along the same topics.
I personally enjoyed this little book greatly, reading a few pages each day for some spiritual encouragement. Plus, it helped to whet my literary appetite when I got into reading snippets from some of Miss Alcott's writings that I've never read yet. It makes me want to read more from Louisa May Alcott!
Religious notes: The scriptures used are taken from The Message: Catholic/Ecumenical Edition. Not being Catholic myself, I didn't really find any differences in what I believe and what was laid down as Biblical truth in this book. I recommend it for any Christian who is interested. The Message is so easy to understand, because it feels like it has (and it was) written in modern times, and so brings things out in verses differently than how I remember in other versions of the Bible.
"...and led by her mother's hand, she had drawn nearer to the Friend who always welcomes every child with a love stronger than that of any father, tenderer than that of any mother."
(Little Women)
But you, O God, are both tender and kind,
not easily angered, immense in love,
and you never, never quit.
So look me in the eye and show kindness,
give your servant the strength to go on,
save your dear, dear child!
(Psalm 86:15-16)
(Little Women)
But you, O God, are both tender and kind,
not easily angered, immense in love,
and you never, never quit.
So look me in the eye and show kindness,
give your servant the strength to go on,
save your dear, dear child!
(Psalm 86:15-16)
Louisa May Alcott: Illuminated by the Message is available on Amazon in paperback format.
Don't miss Susan Bailey's first Louisa May Alcott Is My Passion PODCAST. It's about 25 minutes long. I enjoyed it! (especially after receiving a shout-out in it! Thanks, Susan! So if you can listen in to the podcast, I'd recommend it. Can't wait for the next one in July!
Readers, don't forget to enter my giveaway! It ends this Sunday night.
P.S. Like and vote for this review on Goodreads and Amazon.
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