Silent as a Stone: Mother Maria of Paris and the Trash Can Rescue

by Jim Forest, Jim Forest

Silent as a Stone memorializes the life of Mother Maria Skobtsova, an unconventional nun who aided the persecuted Jewish people in occupied France during WWII.

Confronting the horror of Nazi brutality, Mother Maria devised an ingenious plan to save Jewish children destined for extermination Paris garbage collectors, upon her urging, hid the children in trash cans and whisked them to safe havens outside the city.

Mother Maria, for her selfless rescue activities, perished in a gas chamber in Ravensbrück camp in Germany in 1945. Today, she is among the "righteous gentiles" honored in Israel and a canonized saint in the Orthodox Christian Church.

"In the spirit of Allen Say's Grandfather's Journey and Patricia Polacco's The Keeping Quilt, Silent as a Stone conveys the hope and heartbreak of life in a bite-size form that children can manage. Stunningly illustrated and tenderly told, Silent as a Stone tells the story of three unforgettable lives and the countless lives they touched. Mother Maria, Yuri, and Fr Dimitri serve as examples to us all-and especially to our children-who must find the path of love through our broken world." -Jenny Schroedel, author of The Blackbird's Saint Kevin of Ireland and The Everything Saints Book

"Silent as a Stone is an incredible resource for the Orthodox Christian community to learn about the heroic and courageous deeds of Mother Maria. Saint Vladimir's Seminary Press should be commended for bringing this story to light and honoring Mother Maria with such a beautifully illustrated and inspiring book." -Rachel Kamin, Director, Temple Israel Libraries & Media Center

"Mother Maria is a saint of our day and for our day; a woman of flesh and blood possessed by the love of God, who stood face to face with the problems of this century." +Metropolitan Anthony Bloom

Genres: Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 15, 2007

About the author

Jim Forest is a writer, Orthodox Christian lay theologian, educator, and peace activist. As a young man, Jim served in the U.S. Navy, working with a meteorology unit at the U.S. Weather Bureau headquarters near Washington, D.C. It was during this period that he became a Catholic. After leaving the Navy, Jim joined the staff of the Catholic Worker community in Manhattan, working close with the founder, Dorothy Day, and for a time serving as managing editor of the journal she edited, The Catholic Worker.

In 1964, while working as a journalist for The Staten Island Advance, in his spare time he co-founded the Catholic Peace Fellowship, working closely with Tom Cornell. This became a full-time job for both of them in 1965, a time that coincided with deepening U.S. military engagement in Vietnam. The main focus of their work was counseling conscientious objectors.
In 1968, while Jim working as Vietnam Program Coordinator of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, Jim and thirteen others, mainly Catholic clergy, broke into nine Milwaukee draft boards, removing and burning some of the files in a nearby park while holding a prayer service. Most members of the "Milwaukee Fourteen" served thirteen months in prison for their action.
In the late sixties and mid-seventies, Jim also worked with the Fellowship of Reconciliation, first as Vietnam Program coordinator and later as editor of Fellowship magazine. From 1977 through 1988, he was Secretary General of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, work which brought him to the Netherlands. He received the Peacemaker Award from Notre Dame University's Institute for International Peace Studies and the St. Marcellus Award from the Catholic Peace Fellowship.

In 1988, Forest was received into the Orthodox Church. Since 1989, he has been international secretary of the Orthodox Peace Fellowship as well as editor of its quarterly journal, In Communion. Jim had a long-term friendship with Thomas Merton, who dedicated a book to him, Faith and Violence. Jim also accompanied the famed Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh. He and his wife Nancy, a translator and writer, live in Alkmaar, The Netherlands.

Reviews

[Jessica Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic and accessible account of Mother Maria Skobtsova's famous rescue of Jewish children in Paris during WW2. Her sainthood is defined by her unconditional love.

"Mother Maria's credo was: 'Each person is the very icon of God incarnate in the world.' With this recognition came the need 'to venerate the image of God' in each person."

"...[S]he said: No matter how much love you give, you never have less."

"She was certain that there was no other path to heaven than participating in God's mercy. 'The way to God lies through love of people. At the Last Judgment I shall not be asked whether I was successful in my ascetic exercises, nor how many bows and prostrations I made. Instead I shall be asked: Did I feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and the prisoners? That is all I shall be asked.'"

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful children’s book about Mother Maria of Paris who rescued several Jewish children during the Nazi occupation. Canonized as a saint in the Orthodox Church, Mother Maria perished in the gas chamber in the Ravensbruck Camp. Never forget.

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moving story of a saint during WW2.