Blazing the Trail: A 4-Week Personal Retreat with American Women of the Church | St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, Dorothy Day, Sr. Thea Bowman

by Vinita Hampton Wright

Four remarkable women stand apart as women who boldly carried their faith into the heart of American Saints Elizabeth Ann Seton and Frances Xavier Cabrini, and Servants of God Dorothy Day and Thea Bowman.Building on the success of Set the World on Fire, renowned spiritual author and retreat leader Vinita Hampton Wright now offers Blazing the Trail, a powerful four-week retreat with these American Women of the Church to help you connect personally with some of the Church’s most influential female visionaries and activists. Spanning three centuries of American history, the dramatic lives of these women will inspire you to cultivate grit, humility, discernment, vision, courage, and strength.Each week of your retreat begins with weekend reading and prayer to introduce the woman and the spiritual theme of the week, followed by five days of morning and evening prayers. Much of the text comes from the women’s own writings. Scripture, reflection questions, and action steps are thoughtfully crafted to help you engage personally with each woman and her wisdom for living out your St. Elizabeth Ann Seton—considered the mother of American Catholic education, Seton’s pursuit of truth transformed her journey from Episcopal convert to Catholic founder, revealing how faith can redefine your calling.Week St. Frances Xavier Cabrini—a determined Italian immigrant whose missionary work brought hope and purpose to thousands of orphans and impoverished children in New York City during the late 1800s—offers a lesson in how perseverance and faith can change the world.Week Servant of God Dorothy Day—a social activist of the twentieth century who poured her heart out for the poor and the marginalized while unabashedly criticizing hypocrisy in the Church—dares us to match our bold declarations of faith with equally bold actions.Week Servant of God Thea Bowman— A Black religious sister and dynamic teacher who, through her love, liturgy, and voice, inspires us to embrace our full selves and to love others without reservation.
 This retreat goes beyond simply reading about saints—it invites you to integrate the wisdom of these extraordinary women into your everyday life. Through scripture, prayer, and their own words, Blazing the Trail calls you to grow spiritually and take meaningful action, guiding you toward a deeper, more courageous faith.

192 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 7, 2025

Reviews

[Danielle Dyann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed my prayerful reading of Blazing the Trail by Vinita Hampton Wright. In this lovely book/personal retreat, Ms. Wright offers a month-long series of reflections based upon four amazing—and holy—Catholic women of America namely: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, Servant of God Dorothy Day, and Servant of God Thea Bowman. Over the course of each week, Ms. Wright offers daily reflections for both morning and evening of each day of the week, which provides an approachable retreat format for the laity who are looking to incorporate a personal retreat into their everyday lives.

The highlights of this book for me were the wonderful way that Ms. Wright interwove facts about the Saint/Servant of God into prayers and actual quotes from the women’s writings. I am a person who knows a great deal about these female Saints/Servants of God and even I learned a great deal from reading this book. I also really enjoyed the section which contained statements encouraged the reader/retreatant to “Look for Growth”.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking to slow down and deepen their prayer life while at the same time learning more about some extraordinary women who were a part of our very own nation.

Many thanks to Vinita Hampton Wright, Ave Maria Press, and NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed in this review are offered freely and are entirely my own.

[Shannan Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book of devotionals features four prominent women who led the charge through their Catholic faith. The weekend gives you the background and introduces the theme of the week. Throughout the week, you are given daily morning and evening prayers along with questions to encourage you to think deeply. You will follow these women's journeys as they develop a strong faith in God through their Catholic faith. Through various themes and spreading the gospel throughout the world through conversion, missionary work, social activism, and the showing of love to others. I found these devotionals very inspiring due to the strength of these four women. This is an excellent resource for Catholic Women who want to strengthen their faith. Thank you, Ave Maria Press and NetGalley, for the opportunity to review this amazing devotional.