Mother
Benedict
Foundress of the Abbey of Regina Laudis
Author: Antoinette Bosco
This
is the inspiring story of Mother Benedict Duss and the famous Benedictine monastery
she founded in Bethlehem, Connecticut, the Abbey of Regina Laudis, a large flourishing
community of contemplative Benedictine nuns.
The Abbey is home to many accomplished women from all walks of life and fields
of study. Perhaps the most famous is former Hollywood film star, Dolores Hart,
who shocked the film world when she left a successful movie career at the age
of 25 to become a contemplative Benedictine.
The
heart of this book is the amazing story of Mother Benedict Duss, who was born
in America but went to France and became a medical doctor in Paris, but left
that profession to become a Benedictine contemplative. Through the liberating
efforts from Hitler’s Nazi regime by Patton’s army in France, she
felt an overwhelming interior call to return to America to found the first community
of contemplative Benedictine nuns. At the young age of 35, with incredible faith,
courage and the help of Popes, politicians, famous writers, and many others,
she persevered in her call.
Lavishly illustrated with photos.
Antoinette
Bosco has been an award-winning journalist and writer for newspapers and magazines
for over 25 years, including Woman's Day, Parade, Guideposts, Readers Digest
and Ladies Home Journal. She has appeared on over 20 television shows and is
the author of 14 books, including America At War: World War I, and Choosing
Mercy: A Mother of Murder Victims Pleads to End the Death Penalty.
Antoinette Bosco has done it again! In this book she uses her outstanding talents
to tell the remarkable story of Mother Benedict, Sorbonne educated medical doctor
who founded the Abbey Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, CT. However, this isn’t
just “another autobiography”, it is a terrific reporter’s
look at a special community of nuns who are contemporary but true to the centuries
old Rule of St. Benedict in their vocation. And we find some great vocation
stories along the way - the once Hollywood star turned coffin maker or the former
state legislator. Mother Benedict is filled with faith, hope and love!
—Dennis W. Heaney, President The Christophers
If
you are looking for a good read, a spiritual banquet of delight, look no further.
Antoinette Bosco, using her magical writing skills, has served up a series of
stories about women who have interacted with God in mysterious ways. Following
in the footsteps of their foundress, who was played by Loretta Young in the
movie, Come To the Stable, these exquisite women reveal the true meaning of
holiness in today’s world. A must read for anyone trying to understand
how God calls us to loving service, without taking our freedom away.
—Father John Catoir
In
Mother Benedict, Antoinette Bosco gives the reader a powerful profile of a pioneering
Benedictine nun whose devotion to God and to her vocation is evident on every
page. The chapters on her escape from the Nazis and her encounters with the
men who would become Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI provide fascinating glimpses
into her strength of character and her single-minded dedication to serve God
at every turn. Mother Benedict spans the arc of the Church's life from the early
20th century, through World War II, and into the post-Vatican II years to today.
—Tim S.Hickey, Editor-Columbia Magazine/Knights of Columbus
How
we wish all nuns after Vatican II would have traditional virtues and perennial
Catholic wisdom but also be wise, creative, and free spirited. If you are such
a reader you will want to read Mother Benedict: Foundress of Regina Laudis to
see how these virtues grew amidst the struggles of World War II and how they
followed her into the difficult vocation of founding a contemplative Benedictine
monastery for women. Antoinette Bosco's account is fast-moving and inspiring.
—Ronda Chervin, Ph.D. professor of philosophy, Catholic writer and speaker.
Antoinette
Bosco has told me many times of her visits to Regina Laudis -- of the friendships
and inspiring atmosphere she found there. This book surely was a labor of love!
She writes, 'At Regina Laudis I have experienced a joy not often found in this
world.' This biography of the abbey's foundress naturally becomes a history
of the abbey itself. Of course, key issues in contemporary religious life are
not avoided. Readers particularly will enjoy the compelling story of Mother
Duss' life as a young nun in occupied France and of the major figures of modern
church history she encountered as the road to America unfolded for her.
—David Gibson, editor of Origins, CNS Documentary Service
If
you read only one book this year, make it Mother Benedict. More than a biography,
Antoinette Bosco has written an inspirational epic-a fascinating look at a true
Catholic heroine-Mother Benedict Duss. In this sweeping saga of faith, hardship,
and courage, Bosco not only gives readers a portrait of an extraordinary woman
and her struggles to found a contemplative order-the first in America-but she
also captures the essence of the Abbey of Regina Laudis itself,and the captivating
stories of the people, both celebrity and common man, who have passed through
it's gates.
—Allia Zobel Nolan, author of The Worrywart's Prayer Book , Senior Editor
Religious Book, Reader's Digest.
Vatican
II had a message for religious: Return to the spirit of your founders and foundresses.
Certainly Lady Abbess Benedict Duss, O.S.B. did that. As was true for St. Benedict,
troubles beset her from within and without. Through suffering, and though take
back responses, challenges, and what would appear as unreasonable demands, she
never wavered from the vision that became clear to her and was symbolized by
the star on the jeeps of General Patton's army and later built into the floor
of the chapter room at Regina Laudis.
Always pointing to Christ she said of Him and of those called to be His spouses,
that this way of life is to embrace the cross, that this way of life is a contradiction
to the world.
From
my experience with Lady Abbess and the Nuns who have been drawn to the Abbey
she founded in the United States of America, I can enthusiastically endorse
this gripping account as related by Antoinette Bosco.
—Rev. Douglas Mosey, President-Rector, Holy Apostles College and Seminary.
ISBN:
9781586174118
Author: Antoinette Bosco
Length: 375 pages
Edition: Paperback
Preview:
Code: MBD-P
Sale Price: $17.95
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