SALT LAKE CITY — Despite the Catholic Church’s large count of saints and blessed, there are more and more coming. In God Will Provide: How God’s Bounty Opened to Saints, and 9 Ways It Can Open for You, Too," author Patricia Treece has gathered a host of saintly stories that gives readers a lot to consider and even a few to emulate. The book’s cover holds photos of six of these saints and blessed, but they are just a few of those included in the book. The book includes plenty of Catholic people to inspire us, from Blessed Dorothy Day to Blessed John Paul II. Each is noted for his/her virtue and the inspiration they offer, not only their personal relationship with God. Jesus is their guide as they make their way through the world, spreading the Word of God. For example, Holy Claretian Father Aloysius Ellacuria’s life was dedicated to the glory of God. He was devoted to God and grateful for every gift God gave him, large or small. "I never deserved any of the graces God gave me. However, when God gave me any grace, even small favors, I thanked him with all my heart," Holy Claretian Father Ellacuria told a young man he eventually inspired to become a priest. "And whenever I thanked him, he gave me more graces. So I am convinced that if we are grateful to the almighty God he will give us many, many graces." Not all of those profiled in the book are Catholic. For example, Casper ten Boom was a Dutch watchmaker who belonged to the Dutch Reformed Church. He and his daughters helped Jews and resisters escape the Nazis during World War II. His son Willem, a minister, also sheltered Jews in the nursing home where he worked. In 1944, the Nazis arrested ten Boom, his daughters and son for helping Jews. Casper ten Boom was imprisoned for 10 days in Scheveningen prison, then died in a hospital at the age of 84. His daughter Betsie died in the Ravensbruck concentration camp that year. Willem was released from the prison, but he had contracted tuberculosis and died shortly after the end of the war. Casper ten Boom’s daughter Corrie, who had been a leader of the resistance, survived Ravensbruck and later wrote a book about her family’s rescue of Jews, "The Hiding Place." Treece spends a good deal of time writing of Saint Therese of Lisieux and her father and sisters. The Little Flower’s father survived with holiness the death of his wife. The couple had had nine children; three died as infants and another before she turned 6. Four of the five of the remaining daughters joined the Carmelite Order; Therese at the age of 15. The sisters’ remaining sibling, Leone, became a nun with the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary. The book’s covers depict images of six saints and blesseds: Father Lolanus Casey, Mother Cabrini, Blessed Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Saint Patricia de Hueck Doherty and Saint Padre Pio. Their stories of holiness and gratitude are included in the book, if even a small way, and both Catholics and non-Catholics are encouraged by Treece to share their stories. Jesus spoke; "Wherever two or more are gathered together, I am also." So are the stories of Venerable Father Solanus Casey, one of the author’s favorite saints, a Capuchin who worked in Detroit before, during and after the Great Depression. He was assigned to be the porter of St. Bonaventure Monastery in Detroit, where he worked for 20 years. He conducted weekly services for the sick, and was known for his compassion. His generosity and goodness stand as examples of good faith.
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