The charming New England town of Dorsetville and its cast of wry, tough inhabitants struggle to stay afloat after the wool mill closes as they gather at the town church of St. Cecilia, slated to be closed following the last mass on Easter Sunday. Reprint.

The citizens of Dorsetville are poor in worldly goods but rich in faith and compassion. For generations—long before the last wool mill closed five years ago—they have been bound together by St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church, which is set to close after mass on Easter Sunday. Father James Flaherty despairs of ever turning the parish finances around. What will become of his flock and beloved, ancient Father Keene, who had planned to live out his days at St. Cecilia’s? At the Country Kettle restaurant, waitress Lori Peterson needs her own miracle—a bone marrow match for her husband. Matthew Metcalf needs a miracle, too, now that his rash act of hacking into the high school computer has exposed embarrassing secrets. Delightful and moving, with a cast of endearing and quirky characters, A Miracle for St. Cecilia’s will warm hearts and enchant readers everywhere. “Break forth into singing! Here is a story of faith and community and hope beyond hope.” – Lynne Hinton, author of Friendship Cake and Garden of Faith

While Father James mentors a young man with a troubled past, misunderstandings compromise the nuptial plans of Harry and Nellie, and Lori discovers that the baby she carries may be disabled. By the author of A Gathering of Angels. Original.

The Church offers, in every age, in her Saints, Apostles, and Martyrs, brilliant examples of virtue, zeal, and heroic courage. While all are holy, there are still some, whose lives present features, at once so touching and sublime, that time can detract nothing from the interest which attaches to their names in every Catholic heart. Pre-eminent among these, is St. Cecilia, the gentle queen of Sacred Song, distinguished alike for her attachment to holy Virginity, her apostolic zeal, and the unfaltering courage by which she won the martyr's crown. The author has followed with fidelity, the ancient Acts of St. Cecilia, the authenticity of which the reader will find satisfactorily defended in his pages. For less important details, he has claimed the right generally accorded to historians, of receiving probable evidence, where certain proofs cannot be ob- tained. On such authority, he has, for example, assumed with the learned Bosio and others, that the virtues of our Saint formed the crowning glory of the illustrious family of Cecilia Metella. The recital does not terminate with the death of Cecilia. The discoveries of her tomb, in the ninth and sixteenth centuries, form not the least interesting portion of the work. The description of the church which was once her dwelling, and the witness of her sufferings and triumphs, brings those scenes so vividly before us, that Cecilia seems to belong, as all the Saints of God most truly do, as much to our own day, as to the period when she still combated on earth. We will not speak of the pleasure and instruction the author has afforded by his faithful pictures of the celebrated Ways of Ancient Rome, and the sacred cities of the dead, concealed in the holy shades beneath. For this, and much other interesting information, we refer the reader to the following pages, content, if, by our own humble labors, we have contributed to the edification of our Catholic brethren, and to the glory of Him who is admirable in His Saints.

In A Miracle for St. Cecilia?s, Katherine Valentine created a charming Connecticut town where ordinary people experience extraordinary things. Now in A Gathering of Angels the citizens of Dorsetville continue to discover the daily wonders of faith. While Father Flaherty toys with taking up kickboxing to trim his growing waistline, another town expansion proves more ominous: Barry Hornibrook, driven to build a riverfront hotel, turns to questionable sources for desperately needed money. But this is Dorsetville, where anything is possible?and by the time this beguiling tale is over, a tragic fire, a German shepherd, and an influx of dentists will all play a role in changing the community forever. Full of delightful surprises, A Gathering of Angels proves to be another heart- warming tale of hope.

Agnes and Honey have always been best friends, but they haven't always been so different. Agnes loves being a Believer. She knows the rules at the Mount Blessing religious commune are there to make her a better person. Honey hates Mount Blessing and the control Emmanuel, their leader, has over her life. The only bright spot is the butterfly garden she's helping to build, and the journal of butterflies that she keeps. When Agnes's grandmother makes an unexpected visit to the commune, she discovers a violent secret that the Believers are desperate to keep quiet. And when Agnes's little brother is seriously injured and Emmanuel refuses to send him to a hospital, Nana Pete takes the three children and escapes the commune. Their journey begins an exploration of faith, friendship, religion and family for the two girls, as Agnes clings to her familiar faith while Honey desperately wants a new future.

Charged by the Venetian Inquisition with the conscious and cynical feigning of holiness, Cecelia Ferrazzi (1609-1684) requested and obtained the unprecedented opportunity to defend herself through a presentation of her life story. Ferrazzi's unique inquisitorial autobiography and the transcripts of her preceding testimony, expertly transcribed and eloquently translated into English, allow us to enter an unfamiliar sector of the past and hear 'another voice'—that of a humble Venetian woman who had extraordinary experiences and exhibited exceptional courage. Born in 1609 into an artisan family, Cecilia Ferrazzi wanted to become a nun. When her parents' death in the plague of 1630 made it financially impossible for her to enter the convent, she refused to marry and as a single laywoman set out in pursuit of holiness. Eventually she improvised a vocation: running houses of refuge for "girls in danger," young women at risk of being lured into prostitution. Ferrazzi's frequent visions persuaded her, as well as some clerics and acquaintances among the Venetian elite, that she was on the right track. The socially valuable service she was providing enhanced this impresssion. Not everyone, however, was convinced that she was a genuine favorite of God. In 1664 she was denounced to the Inquisition. The Inquisition convicted Ferrazzi of the pretense of sanctity. Yet her autobiographical act permits us to see in vivid detail both the opportunities and the obstacles presented to seventeenth-century women.

There have been many great and enduring works of literature by Caribbean authors over the last century. The Caribbean Contemporary Classics collection celebrates these deep and vibrant stories, overflowing with life and acute observations about society. Set in Belize City in the early 1950s, Beka Lamb is the record of a few months in the life of Beka and her family. Beka and her friend Toycie Qualo are on the threshold of change from childhood to adulthood. Their personal struggles and tragedies play out against a backdrop of political upheaval and regeneration as the British colony of Belize gears up for universal suffrage, and progression towards independence. The politics of the colony, the influence of the mixing of races in society, and the dominating presence of the Catholic Church are woven into the fabric of the story to provide a compelling portrait, 'a loving evocation of Belizean life and landscape'. Beka's vibrant character guides us through a tumultuous period in her own life and that of her country.

The residents of the New England town of Dorsetville are dealing with many of their own issues, but they rally together when the Gallagher twins accidently fall through the ice.