• 9780824522797
Lyn Holley Doucet (Author) Robin Hebert (Author)

When Women Pray

Our Personal Stories of Extraordinary Grace

These very human accounts of moments that challenged the soul or proclaimed the glory of God on earth tenderly lead us to see how the days of our lives unfold and guide us on our…

“When Women Pray is a striking patchwork of story, memory, healing, and wisdom. The tone of this book is gentle and encouraging, but completely honest and full of challenge. I recommend it to anyone who wants…
  • Imprint: Crossroad
Clear
For bulk and special orders please email sales@crossroadpublishing.com

  • Title: When Women Pray
  • Subtitle: Our Personal Stories of Extraordinary Grace
  • Page Count: 192
  • Available Formats: Trade-paper (9780824522797)
  • Edition: Trade Paper
  • Original language: English
  • Retail US: Trade-paper (16.95)
  • Retail Canada: Trade-paper (18.95)
  • Retail Canada: 18.95

Lyn Holley Doucet (Author)

Lyn Holley Doucet is a spiritual director for various retreat houses and the Diocese of Lafayette and is an award-winning author of many books. Doucet grew up on a cotton farm in north Louisiana as one of four children. She was active in the Methodist faith until her marriage, when she converted to Catholicism and has many fond memories of growing up in a loving church community. Coming from a family that includes Methodists, Episcopalians, Baptists, and those of no organized religion, she is very comfortable with diversity. Lyn holds an undergraduate degree in speech and English from Louisiana State University and a master’s degree in education from the University of Louisiana. After working in the public schools for twenty years with special children, she has taken up composing, and leads a liturgical ensemble at St. Joseph Church in Milton, Louisiana. She has taught Artist Way and creativity courses at the University of Louisiana’s leisure learning center and hosts a radio program, "Water From Stones," on Radio Maria, the international Vatican radio station. Her programs combine storytelling, biblical readings, humor, and her own witness in an informative and entertaining format. She also directs people in prayer and Ignatian spirituality at meetings in her home. Doucet lives with her husband Dee, a contractor, in Maurice, Louisiana.

Robin Hebert (Author)


  1. I would admire these women and like their stories if they lived in Timbuktu. But as it happens, they both live in my home state of Louisiana (and I have not met either one!). Lyn Holley Doucet . . . is a spiritual director and a composer. Robin Hebert, former national president of the Theresians of the United States, has been a pastoral counselor, spiritual director, retreat leader and speaker. The book is an informal collection of personal stories, each one signed by L.H.D. or R.H. These pieces feel like journal entries or personal letters from a friend. Yet much instruction is embedded in them, introducing the reader to major figures in spirituality, including Thomas à Kempis and Thérèse of Lisieux, explaining various approaches to spiritual formation and transformation. The writers describe journal-keeping, spiritual direction, the prayer of examen, lectio divina and many other useful practices. But there is another level in this book more important than instruction. Every page offers some kind of joyful expectation, a sense of God’s real presence. 'I sat on a swing in a big pasture in Grand Coteau, Louisiana,' writes Doucet, 'on a clear and sunny day during a retreat . . .' She is pondering the Transfiguration of Christ. Musing on this, she is carried back in memory to a village where she and her husband lived long ago, raising their young son. She remembers a vivid experience of light: 'not the light of the sun or anything familiar. It was my inner light, or God’s light, projected, a gauzy radiance that wrapped around everything, transforming individual things into a sacred whole.' After retrieving in memory this vision of light and wholeness, Doucet returns to her retreat office, where she hears stories of loss and brokenness from women at the retreat. But her sense of God’s light and peacefulness transforms everything. Robin Hebert has a similar gift for seeing God’s presence. 'The climax of my weekend came with an image I received as I completed my reading about Thérèse . . . Thérèse saw herself as a little child at the foot of a long staircase, looking up to her Father standing at the top of the steps. As she placed her foot on that first step, in his almighty love, God swooped down to draw her up to him.' Hebert identifies with the child Thérèse at the foot of the staircase. And she learns how to let go. 'I cannot relinquish anything on my own. All I can do is desire to surrender, and God does the rest.' Not every selection is quite so intense; but every one provides glimpses of transforming grace. In a time when some are dubious about the future of Catholic life, I find these books reassuring on many levels. They draw on our ancient Catholic heritage. They show us how contemporary life and study may shape our faith. I am encouraged that such good new writers are coming onto the current scene, to tell us what God has in store.
    --America Magazine

We would love for you to receive our newsletter and update emails. Please subscribe here.