Blessed Among Us: Day by Day with Saintly Witnesses
by Robert Ellsberg
Series Page
Book Description




Since the early centuries, Christians have held up the saints as models of living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. While the church officially recognizes a relatively small number of saints, the actual roster is infinitely wider. Blessed Among Us explores this eclectic "cloud of witnesses" lay and religious, single and married, canonized and not, and even non-Christians whose faith and wisdom may illuminate our path. Brought to life in the evocative storytelling of Robert Ellsberg, they inspire the moral imagination and give witness to the myriad ways of holiness. Blessed Among Us is drawn from Ellsberg's acclaimed column of the same name in Give Us This Day, a monthly resource for daily prayer published by Liturgical Press.

Published by Liturgical Press, Collegeville

Purchase at Ben McNally Books
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My Take
What does it mean to be a saint? Do you need to join a monastery or convent, and a live a perfectly devout life? Not according to Robert Ellsberg, who's compiled an eclectic cloud of witnesses, past and present, Catholic and non-Catholic, who show us that there's a unique path to holiness for each person. "Blessed Among Us" is a daily reader that challenges us to widen our understanding of holiness and sainthood, and to open our eyes to the "saints" around us today.
About the Author
Robert Ellsberg is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Orbis Books and the author of several award-winning books, including All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time and Blessed Among All Women. In 1975, at age 19, he dropped out of college, intending to spend a few months with the Catholic Worker Movement. He became the managing editor of The Catholic Worker paper for two years (1976-8), a job that would acquaint him with Dorothy Day. The two became friends and worked closely during the last five years of her life. This life-changing experience prompted him to convert to Catholicism. Robert returned to Harvard, and earned a degree in religion and literature, and later a Masters in Theology from Harvard Divinity School.
"Saints are the living Word of God, the Word made flesh, but their biographies are often too encrusted within sentimentality and piety to serve as an inspiration for us. Ellsberg gives us their essence in this treasure of a book! Nobody writes better about the lives of the saints than Robert Ellsberg."

Ronald Rolheiser OMI — Author of "The Holy Longing" and "Sacred Fire"