The Reed of God is an inspirational classic written by a British Roman Catholic ecclesiastical artist, Caryll Houselander. This book contains a beautiful meditation on Mary, Mother of God and so much more. Reading this book will bring you closer to Our Blessed Mother, and hence, to Christ Himself. Filled with lyrical prose and touching analogies, the author shows how Mary was the "Reed of God" and that we are all vessels waiting to do God's work, and carrying Christ within us.

“I was received into the church,” states Caryll Houselander at the very beginning of this work “when I was six years old. Strictly speaking, therefore, I am not a ‘cradle’ Catholic, but a rocking-horse Catholic.” This autobiography, first published in 1955, takes the reader from the author’s Catholic childhood and school days through a period outside the church while she tried to make her living as an artist, to a return to the church. This return was brought about by her insight, so central to all her books into the presence of Christ and others. A theologian in every sense of the word except the formal academic one, Caryll Houselander understood the central importance of one’s image or concept of God. “Caryll Houselander: artist, odd ball, mystic, friend, and in the end, suffering servant. In the midst of her last illness, she clung to life, loved life with a passion that did not want to die. ‘I honestly long,’ she said, ‘to be told ‘a hundred percent cure’ and to return to this life and celebrate it with gramophone records, giggling and gin.’”—Mitch Finley, Our Sunday Visitor As a classic in spirituality, the work of Caryll Houselander is very close to the top of the list.

"Caryll Houselander (1901-54), English artist, spiritual writer, poet, social activist and mystic, was a unique laywoman who took holiness out of the monastery, cloister and rectory and into the offices, factories, farms, streets and homes of ordinary people. In this engagingly interactive book, part narrative biography and part practical spirituality, readers will be moved to see in Caryll's story - from her difficult childhood, through periods of searching, being touched by God, becoming involved with the poor and the marginalized in society, living through war, writing and meeting an early death through cancer - something of their own life history."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Although forgotten until quite recently, Caryll Houselander, who died in 1954, was a sensitive and profound English Roman Catholic writer on Christian spirituality. In this critical edition of her 1949 book The Passion of the Infant Christ, Houselander argues that the physical world is an "inscaped" revelation of the mind of the Creator. Every concrete object and every temporal event mirrors the eternal, just as the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus mirror the circumstances surrounding his death and resurrection. Editor Kerry Walters discusses both Houselander's life and the primary themes of The Passion of the Infant Christ in his introduction to this critical edition of one of Houselander's most insightful books.

Tales about Catholic children to form your own little ones in holy wisdom and piety Caryll Houselander is best known for the intensity of her vision of the suffering Christ and His immeasurable love for us, a theme that she frequently spoke of with breathtaking luminosity in her many books about Him. Few know, however, of the many remarkable stories she wrote for Catholic children — delightful tales that are simple but not shallow. Indeed, like her books for adults, they manifest a tender love of Christ and His little ones not commonly found among us these days. Here are twelve of Houselander’s best tales, charmingly illustrated with Renée George’s lively drawings of pirates and princesses, castles and kings. Through the tale of Jack and Jim, even young children will grasp the meaning of Christ’s suffering; in Racla the Gypsy, they’ll discover the charity which is at the heart of the Eucharist; in the The Curé’s Guest, they’ll see how Christ makes up for the sins of others. All the stories touch on Catholic themes, but these tales are not really catechetical. Yes, they do take for granted that Catholicism — especially prayer and the Mass — plays a large role in the lives of these children, but they do something more . . . and more important. Tale after tale introduces children to the tender love that Jesus has for each of them, and to the fire of love for Him that can burn in the hearts of Catholics — even in the hearts of little ones like themselves. There is no better gift you can give to a young child. Read an excerpt.

"Caryll Houselander (1901-54) an English Catholic laywoman, artist, and visionary best known for works such as A Rocking Horse Catholic, The Reed of God, and The Way of the Cross was driven by a strong identification with the poor that enabled her, in fresh and insightful ways, to proclaim the "Christing of the World." Wendy Wright interweaves Houselander's words and images into an intimate encounter with this fascinating woman, a "divine eccentric," and a gifted reader of souls." --Book Jacket.

InWomen: Models of Liberation, Marie Anne Mayeski presents women of spirit, intelligence and accomplishment from the Christian heritage. With this anthology of selected writings of well-known women, Mayeski recaptures the importance and relevance of these Christian heroines.