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Saints are not relics from our ecclesial past. Their lives can spark our own, lifting us up as we strive to be faithful Christians. The women and men the church recognizes as saints had to make choices about their occupations and their ways of life. When and where they lived shaped these decisions, but how the saints lived out their decisions goes beyond time and place. Michael O'Neill McGrath, OSFS, creates images of the saints as patrons of particular occupations. Here space and time get rightly jumbled. The Elizabethan Margaret of Clitherow is today's businesswoman, and Sir Thomas More's battles with King Henry VIII are fought in a contemporary courtroom. These pictures of our holy heroes, along with the artists' commentary about them, tell us why a particular saint is associated with a particular occupation. For some, like Saint Peter, it is the work they actually did: fishing. For others, like Saint Therese of Lisieux, patron of airplane pilots, the connection is more poetic, derived from the spirit of the saint and of the work. Essays by contemporary men and women, some well-known, others less so, tell us what the work is like for them today. Whether we want to explore career possibilities for ourselves or enjoy learning about our patron saint's life, this book helps us see that there are many ways to contribute to the building of God's reign here on earth.
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