With healthcare looming large on everyone’s radar this election year, it’s time to step back and reflect on how we think about this basic human need. In his new book, Virtuous Healers: Models of Faith in Medicine, Dr. Ed Gamboa encourages us to explore the traditional ideals and enduring virtues that make medicine and the practice of healing more than just a job.Gamboa recounts personal stories from his thirty-five-plus years on the front lines of healthcare, interweaving them with the life stories of heroic men and women who have served as physicians, nurses and hospital attendants, or were otherwise involved in medicine and caring for the sick.

Gamboa traces the major changes that began in healthcare in the 1980s in the U.S., when managed care first reared its head and documentation and paperwork superseded diagnosis and treatment. He notes, “The alphabet revolution—HMO, PPO, IPA, DRG—was on.” At this juncture, the patient-physician relationship was altered, perhaps forever. What happens going forward from now is a story still to be written. Gamboa believes drawing guidance and wisdom from “virtuous healers” of the past can help guide our future decisions.

Jesuit Fr. Thomas Green, author of When the Well Runs Dry: Prayer Beyond the Beginnings, writes, “[Virtuous Healers]…makes clear the vision of the medical profession as an apostolate of faith and helps guide medical professionals in their integration of faith and medicine. May it inspire more of us to see clear links between the secular and the sacred in our lives.”

Together But Alone: When God Means Something Different to Your Spouse, by Donna Erickson Couch

“Together But Alone offers hope and help, not only for people of mixed-belief households but also their loved ones and their spiritual companions.”—Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction

Mary and Me: Catholic Women Reflect on the Mother of God, by Ginny Kubitz Moyer

“Moyer…relates the varied stories and thoughts of anonymous contemporary women of various ages regarding the presence of Mary in their lives…. It may well appeal to many women and some men as well, giving them all a fuller understanding of Mary, their faith, and of other persons in their various circumstances.”—Review for Religious

Mystics: Ten Who Show Us the Ways of God, by Murray Bodo, O.F.M.

“Bodo…quietly and considerately (re)introduces people to ‘ten who show us the ways of God.’…All, of course, are pleased to make our acquaintance. Bodo helps make it mutual.”—Review for Religious

Song of the Sparrow: New Poems and Meditations, by Murray Bodo, O.F.M.

“Bodo weaves poetry and prose, twigs and bits of string, into simple comfortings in support of life.”—Review for Religious

Jesus: A Historical Portrait, by Daniel J. Harrington, S.J.

“Harrington…simply helps us get a solid picture of Jesus that does not rely overmuch on either historical proofs or tenacious faith. He thereby enables us to be more tenacious of a solid Catholic faith than we were before.”—Review for Religious

“The goal of the Called to Holiness books is to give women ideas, energy and creativity to continue on their journey toward holiness.The world needs the voices of women—their virtues, insights and other diverse gifts.We want to assist women in their desire to lead intentional spiritual lives.”   
--Elizabeth A. Dreyer, Series Editor, Author

If e-mail comments, website clicks and book sales are any indication, St. Anthony Messenger Press’s newly launched series, Called to Holiness: Spirituality for Catholic Women, has touched a deeply felt need among many women and women’s groups. The initial three books of the series, Making Sense of God, Living a Spirituality of Action and Grieving With Grace, were released in August, 2008, and have been met with keen interest from academic instructors, women’s groups, and the media. The series website, www.CalledtoHoliness.org, was launched in September and will feature two articles per month by series authors, author bios and photos, reading guides for each book in the series, author interviews, reviews of the books, a schedule of author speaking events and more.

A two-CD set, Companion Songs for Called to Holiness, is also available for listening enjoyment, personal prayer, or use with the group rituals in the books. The songs were selected by liturgical composer David Haas, and come from the musical library of GIA Publications Inc., which partnered with St. Anthony Messenger Press on the music.

James Martin, S.J., writing in his America magazine blog, wrote, “St. Anthony Messenger Press...[has] done a fine job of creating a good resource for individuals, small groups and faith formation programs in parishes.”