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Heroes Of Virtue Robert Sheridan II III Table of Contents A Grail Press Book III. Table of contents 53. Refrences IV. Forward 55. Acknowledgments © 2012 by Grail Press VIII. Preface 56 Colophon XI. Path to Sainthood All Rights Reserved. Used Under Authorization 1. John Paul II No portion of this book may be used without the express written permission 3. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton of Grail Press or Robert Sheridan. 5. St. Maria Goretti 7. St. Charles Lwanga Published in the United States by Grail Press, Chico, California. 9. St. Joan of Arc The Grail Press logo is a trademark of Grail Press. 11. St. Gemma Galgani www.grailpress.com 13. St. Ignatius of Loyola Illustrations and text by Robert Sheridan 15. St. John Bosco 17. St. Teresa of Avila Designed by Robert Sheridan 19 St. Paul Printed and bound at California State University, Chico. 21. St. Timothy 23. St. Thomas Aquinas 25. St. Monica 27. Bl. Giorgio Frassati 29. St. Gianna Molla 31. St. Jude 33. St. Maximilian Kolbe 35. St. Francis of Assisi 37 St. Clare of Assisi 39. St. Martin De Porres 41. St. Lucy 43. Venerable Michael J. McGivney 45. St. Juan Diego 47. The Blessed Virgin Mary 49 The Resurrection 51. Glossary of Terms IV V Forward Forward us to use the mediums such as music, drama, and art to teach the faith (he would have encouraged us to use the new social media as well). In going through Rob Sheridan’s work Heroes of Virtue, I cannot help but think of how this “new” presentation of the saints is an embodiment of what That being said, in going through Mr. Sheridan’s book of art, one thing is was so close to the heart of Blessed John Paul II—the new evangelization. clear, God has entrusted Rob with an extraordinary gift, the gift so close to His own heart, the gift of creativity. We can say that an artist has two In March of 1983, in his now popular address to the Latin America measures of prominence: the ability to bring to life the thing or person that is Bishops in Port Au-Prince, Haiti, John Paul II used the phrase “the new being drawn and the ingenuity to use art as a tool for teaching. Well, Rob has evangelization” for the first time during his pontificate. Among other things, managed to do both. He has brought to life the saints in a most striking way, he stated that “the laity must be trained and released into the service of and by using various symbols and signs tied to the story of each saint, his art evangelization as missionaries of the new evangelization”. A phrase that was is certainly educational. first coined by Pope Paul VI, John Paul II offered a fresh synthesis to what is new about evangelization. On that early spring day in 1983, He stated quite Furthermore, Rob’s imagination captures our attention in ways that has us simply that evangelization is new in its “ardor, methods, and expression”. looking beyond ourselves. Each portrait leads us to encounter the beauty From that point on, the Church has been made to contemplate and examine of the many leading actors and actresses that have been on the stage of how she can better transmit the faith to the whole world with due attention Christianity. Whether it be the more popular ‘heroes of virtue’ like that of St. given to that threefold structure of ‘ardor, methods, and expression.’ Teresa of Avila and St. Francis of Assisi; or the lesser know ‘heroes of virtue’ like that of St. Gemma Galgani and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati; or if it is In regards to ardor, John Paul II spoke of this principle of the new the figure of Jesus Christ Himself, the pattern of all the saints, Rob provokes evangelization within the context of possessing a holy fervor for the faith. the heart with color and style to get all of us thinking about what it takes to Essentially, out from a saintly zeal for God, under the inspiration of the Holy be a saint. Spirit, man would be inspired to do great things for God. For this reason, John Paul II saw the Holy Spirit as the protagonist for the new evangelization. Rob’s work of originality does not stop at the art itself. Mr. Sheridan does an Rob’s work no doubt is inspired by God and is the fruit of one who possesses excellent job of offering for us a comprehensible account of each saint. From a holy fervor for the faith. the biblical text, to the prayers, to the Feast Days, all the way down to the detail of each saint’s patronage and attributes, Rob’s pedagogy on the saints By methods, John Paul II spoke to the manner in which the Body of Christ is a real earmark of that third principle of the new evangelization, expression. shares in the mission of the Church to teach according to his or her talent. You see, once we understand the call to be attentive to our gift, we are then His message was clear: the methods by which we transmit the faith ought to able to see the obligation to express this gift in a new and dynamic way, be inspired by God and rooted in the distinctiveness of our gift and talent. seeking inventive ways in which to reach an ever changing populous. The Such attention to the particularity of our talent brings together the “various point of focus is to communicate the faith in an intelligible manner, in a tones and harmony” of the teaching Body of Christ. John Paul II encouraged language that your audience can understand. I think you will agree with me VI VII when I say that Rob has “brought down” the saints into a language we can all understand. While Rob’s work will cross the divide of generations, there is no doubt there will be great interest among the generation of youth. I believe this work will offer a fresh resource within the circles of youth ministry. On this topic of youth, I would have to believe the towering figure of John Paul II is looking down at Rob’s work with a big smile. It is to never forget that the man from Poland who became Pope was himself a lover of the arts. John Paul II was both a writer and an actor. He often saw his own work inspired by the Holy Spirit to keep the faith alive during a time when the Nazis were attempting to stomp out the faith. He was a man of vision like that of this work. John Paul II’s threefold principle of ardor, methods, and expression, serves one single purpose: to summon man to contemplate the beauty of truth and at once encourage a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I believe that Rob’s vision of catechizing the much neglected topic of the saints is an important contribution to the Church in her new evangelization. John Paul II was once asked what is the ‘end game’ of the new evangelization. His response: “a new springtime of prayer and holiness”. Rob Sheridan’s work focuses on men and women of holiness to inspire the ‘end game’ of the new evangelization— ‘a new springtime of prayer and holiness.’ March 9, 2012 St. Frances of Rome, a Heroine of Virtue Joseph Hollcraft PhD VIII XI Preface Why an illustrated book of the saints? We honor the saints because scripture tells us “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God; consider the outcome of their life, and To answer this question we must first look at some other questions. “Why imitate their faith.” (Hebrews 13:7) The saints provide us with example that do you choose a saint name at baptism and confirmation?” “Why is so much being Christ-like can be done. It might not seem that way when we look at emphasis put on Mary and the Saints?” “Why pray to the Saints? Can’t I the lives of some saints and read of fantastical miracles and legendary deeds. just go to God? It sounds a bit like idolatry with all of those statues, and holy We can see these things as alien and think that we can never achieve such cards.” These are common questions we might have as Catholics or that non- things. It is to be sure that these miracles can be a great testament to the Catholics might ask us. To answer these questions we must first know who power of faith and the fact that God still works miracles in the world, but it’s and what a saint is. also important to we are able look beyond these extraordinary deeds. When To put it in succinct a terms as possible a saint is someone who has died that we look beyond the extraordinary that we can see that they were sons and the Catholic Church has recognized as having lived a life of heroic virtue, has daughters, mothers and fathers, priests and lay persons. When we look past gone to heaven after their death, and intercedes to Christ on our behalf. the mighty deeds and amazing times these people lived in, we see that what This does not mean that the only people in heaven are the ones the Church made the saints great was they lived their ordinary lives in has recognized. extraordinary ways. We pray to the saints because we believe in the power of prayer.

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