Albania, Meeting the Saints – online
“The Saints, our brothers and sisters, loved Jesus and his life. Be theirfriends, and they will accompany you throughout your life.” With these few short words Pope Francis introduces the book Online with Saints This new multi media book is available in both printed form and online for PC and smartphone. It can always be accessed online. The counsels ofthe saints are arranged into categories from fashion to faith, vocation to relationship, prayerto doubt – in fact these categories address every sphere of our lives. In the space of two short pages, the saints give brief, but profound answers to the questions life sets before us. Doctor of the Church, Edith Stein answers the question, “How can I know that God really exists?”
And Mother Teresa responds to the question, “Isn’t it just a waste of time spending hours in prayer?” Saints Perpetua and Felicity look at whether there is a Catholic way of dressing, and Saint Cecilia considers whether modern music is evil. Saint Ignatius of Loyola answers whether Catholics are allowed to have tattoos and piercings, while St Thomas More tells us whether Christians should always follow the law of the land, and Blessed Charles, Emperor of Austria, whether today’s politicians can lead a life pleasing to God. St Martin of Tours considers how sinful it is to waste food and water and Saint Joan of Arc explains how one can also become holy as a soldier. St Peter, the first Pope, shows us why saints are also sinners and Saint Joseph explains how Christians can cope with stress.
It’s a book with plenty of food for thought, even for young people who are far from the Church. Around 200 questions of the kind that young people ask are answered in these virtual encounters with the saints of every age. The book has a predecessor, “Tweeting with God”, written by the same author, Father Michel Remery, and is already available in seven languages (English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian and Swedish). Now it is about to be translated and printed in Albanian to help their youth apostolate. Up until 1990, Albania was vaunted as the “first atheist state in the world” and Christians were brutally persecuted. Now Christianity is flourishing again there. Around one third of the 3.4 million Albanians in the country profess Christianity, but the Church is desperately poor. The archbishop of Shkoder has asked our help with translating, printing and setting up the websites, and we have promised him €9,500 – trusting as always in your generous support. •
