Saint-Watching

by Phyllis McGinley

Now that the saints are marching out, this charming, affectionate and often wisely speculative little appreciation by the McGinley-of-like-attributes will undoubtedly aid the laity in a spirited contemplation of the saintly parade whether to or fro. "The saints differ from us in their exuberance... Moderation is not their secret." Saints are also literal. "Give all thou hast to the poor," for the saints means just that, rather than a tax-deductible percentage. Mrs. McGinley regards the goodly company and a few that are unappealing: the humble, the aristocrats, the organizers, the gentle friends of animals, the solitary and the boisterous, the witty and austere, feminine and masculine partners. Considering the times and places and the accomplishments, the author touches on the special talents and geniuses of her favorites or unfavorites. There is a section in praise of three "unordained" saints -- Florence Nightingale, Gandhi, Wesley -- and what amounts to an apology for Saint Paul which softens his more misogynistic pronouncements. "Mankind needs the brave and just. All heroes appeal to us" and these extravagant heroics are modestly enjoyed and revered.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Religion, Catholic, Spirituality

243 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

McGinley was educated at the University of Southern California and at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. After receiving her diploma in 1927, she taught for a year in Ogden and then at a junior high school in New Rochelle, New York. Once she had begun to establish a reputation for herself as a writer, McGinley gave up teaching and moved to New York City, where she held various jobs. She married Charles Hayden in 1937, and the couple moved to Larchmont, New York. The suburban landscape and culture of her new home was to provide the subject matter of much of McGinley's work.

McGinley was elected to the National Academy of Arts and Letters in 1955. She was the first writer to win the Pulitzer for her light verse collection, Times Three: Selected Verse from Three Decades with Seventy New Poems (1960).

In addition to poetry, McGinley wrote essays and children's books, as well as the lyrics for the 1948 musical revue Small Wonder.

Reviews

[Jessica Lynette · Rating 3 out of 5]

What it is: a look at the human side of those who have been “sainted”, with details about their interests, their struggles, and their public and private lives.
What it is not: a look at their love of Christ and how He changed them.

This book is bizarre but is well written and kept my attention through its entirety. The end chapter covers people the author feels should have been sainted and includes Ghandi and John Wesley, as back to back examples. So that tells you everything you need to know about the authors world view.

I enjoyed the snippets of life stories shared, and several ideas from this book have weaved their way in to conversations, but I do struggle with what the overall value of the book is.

[Jean Bowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

"One of the best among the authors is Elisha, an early Desert Father, who caroled like a thrush and is credited with writing thirty thousand songs. If Elisha's claim seems excessive, I am not abashed. There is much in hagiography that sounds absurd, and I relish the absurd along with the magnificent."

A wonderful book reflecting on the lives of saints that doesn't shirk from all their glorious legends. I enjoyed her chapter responding to Woolf's Essay, "A Room of One's Own." And her joy in sharing all the incredible stories of saints many moderns love to disregard. My least favorite chapter was Heroes without halos in which she praises secular "saints." However, it is a short, peripheral chapter. I do wish she wrote about St. Nicholas. These are not thorough biographies by any means but enjoyable non the less. A springboard to deeper reading.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it years ago: made indelible marks in my mind!

[Mark Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once a well known writer, Phylls McGinty has fallen by the wayside as the years slog on. Too bad. She is an amiable companion, not intent on dazzling us so much as chatting with wit and verve about the saints in the Catholic calendar. She coveys her own delight I talking about saints famous and obscure and finds the grace in even the most dour of haloes. Her meditation on Ignatius Loyola is marvelous. Her chapter on Irish saints is very funny. This is not a book that will convert you to Catholicism but it might make you reconsider some of your own life choices.

[Glen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across this book in a parenthetical reference while reading about the lives of saints. It took some searching to find an old copy of the out of print book but the effort was greatly rewarded.

McGinley was a decorated poet (1961 Pulitzer winner) whose stylistic flair produced a creative flair typified by numerous evocative images. She was unashamedly celebrating the human achievements of saints without pandering to the reductionism that many modern historians find necessary for self-validation.

There is a warmth to this book that carefully navigates humor without digressing into frivolity. I liken it to a poetic expression of reverence. And, while I find her ecumenical bent on what constitutes a saint to be far too embracing of those who fall outside the biblical contours for sainthood (for example she puts Ghandi forward in the last chapter as a “saint without a halo”), there is an undeniable vitality to McGinley’s excursions into some of humanity’s greatest personalities. I learned a lot, underlined several insights and relished each moment the book was open before me.

The reading life is immeasurably more pleasant whenever you include such luminous writers whose uplifting style adds value even when you do not completely align with every single stroke from their pens.

[J. Alfred · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure Eugene Peterson suggested this book and called it delightful. Both of these things are enough to put it on your list. I will add that it is informative in a fun way, may increase your desire to manifest actual holiness in your life, and made me wonder why I, who love poetry, never heard of McGinley, who is primarily a poet, before. (My guesses, in order: 1. No one is quite sure who, after the rash of poets who died in the sixties and seventies, is actually any good. 2. Straight-secular people don't pass on religious verse easily and Christian people are distrustful of anything that doesn't align with their doctrinal principals. 3. McGinley doesn't seem to be a very poetic name, does it? I'm going to try to get one of her volumes. Updates potentially forthcoming.)
Anyway, read this book. It's worth it.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

My mother loved poetry, and she was always quoting Longfellow to me

: “Lives of great men all remind us we can make our lives sublime and, departing, leave behind us footprints on the sands of time.””

This book is filled with stories of men and women of faith who have done just that. But this is not a stuffy, encyclopedic look at the lives of various saints. Phyllis McGinley shows the pious as real people tackling real problems with what she calls “genius.” She has a delightful way of writing filled with affection for these men and women. I really liked her chapter on women discussing the influence and organizational skills these women saints had.

I am not a Catholic but I feel that those who have led lives totally committed to God can shine a light for all who believe. Those she features in her book believed the words of Jesus and lived their lives accordingly.

[Brandon H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the author's writing style and prose. People don't write like this much these days. That said, I differed with her on her theology. She seemed to wholeheartedly endorse a salvation-via-works theology which isn't surprising given the Roman Catholic saints who made up most of her book. Her suggestion of Gandhi as an honorable mention for sainthood was a big blunder. She should have done more research on him.

[Dominika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining, cute and fun to read, I enjoyed it very much. Five stars.

[Brace1737 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A useful introduction to the saints

[L.A. Deming · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thorough delight - to saint-lover and history buff alike -

[Julie Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A precursor of the books where one chats about saints as part of life or many other topics, such as Bert Ghezzi's Mystics & Miracles or James Martin's My Life With the Saints. In fact, I believe I first heard of Saint-Watching in Ghezzi's book and promptly went looking for it.

Phyllis McGinley has a charming and down-to-earth style when talking about the saints and giving their histories. Those qualities combined with her sense of humor make this one of my favorite books about saints.