Secrets of the Saints

By Henri Ghéon | Afterword by G. K. Chesterton The secret of the saints is simple and straightforward: they love God. This, holds Henri Ghéon, is the measure of their greatness—regardless of whether they know it surely or catch merely an odd or occasional glimpse of it during their journey through this valley of tears. Secrets of the Saints offers vivid presentations of the lives of four faithful servants of Christ and His Church: John-Marie Vianney, the Curé d’Ars and pastor par excellence; Thérèse Martin of Lisieux, the Little Flower and author of the “Little Way” of following Jesus Christ; Margaret Mary Alacoque, the disciple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; and John Bosco, priest, patron, and educator of youth. Thanks to Ghéon’s dramatic gifts, the saints practically leap off the page—their lives, their personalities, their very selves, evident as tangible, exciting, and salvific testimonies to the grace of God and the power of men and women to co-operate with the same. In the words of F. J. Sheed, Ghéon saw the mysteries of the faith, not simply as doctrines proposed for belief, but as “plain ever-present facts.” Animated by this vision, Secrets of the Saints accomplishes the mission which its author held for all his work: “the restoration of the conversation between heaven and earth.” Of all great hearts, the greatest is still the heart of a saint. For it wants to contain not only its neighbour, strangers, all suffering, sinful, warring humanity—but God Himself. (Henri Ghéon)   Henri Ghéon (1875–1944) was a French Catholic doctor and author. While serving for the Red Cross in World War I, Ghéon returned to the Catholic faith he had abandoned as a teenager. After the War, he devoted himself to reviving Christian art, founding the theatrical group Companions of Our Lady (for which he wrote sixty plays) and writing poetry, novels, and lives of the saints.  * * * Paperback: 378pp. ISBN: 978-1685954451