Coached by the Saints

What if one of the Church's most fiery mystics could mentor you in prayer, charity, and holiness, right where you are? Walk alongside St. Catherine of Siena as she teaches you how to grow in love of God, neighbor, and the Church. Drawing deeply from her letters and prayers, this book brings Catherine's bold wisdom into your daily life- not as a distant mystic to admire, but as a spiritual coach who meets you in your struggles and calls you to rise above them. Catherine doesn't ask you to levitate or to live on nothing but the Eucharist. She asks you to begin. Again and again. Through daily prayer, honest self-knowledge, and sacrificial love, she shows how every Christian, no matter how weak or ordinary, can become a saint. Whether you're battling distraction, discouragement, pride, or sloth, Catherine has been there- and she will not let you stay stuck. She speaks with authority, tenderness, and with a burning desire for your holiness. Let her coach you. And let God, through her and out of complete love for you, make you new.

Every now and then as the Lord permits, he brings into existence men and women who embody joy not only beneath the surface, but as the essence of their being and their defining trait. When we think of these men and women, we cannot distinguish that joy as separate from who they are. Joy, nourished by the wellspring of Christian love, is their embodiment, their modus operandi, the indelible sign that the spirit of the Lord is upon them. Philip Neri was one of these men. Love and joy were as much an inextricable part of his being as hydrogen and oxygen are to water. These words from Coached by Philip Neri capture the essence of this patron saint of joy. St. Philip's infectious spirit, says Rob Marco, is the "prescriptive balm" that we are in most dire need of today. Follow the lessons of St. Philip Neri as he coaches us, through example, to be imbued with Christian joy, a most attractive and desirable attribute, that draws us, and those around us, nearer to Christ.