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Living the Word Catholic Women's Study Bible RSV2CE: Full-Color, Single Column Hardcover with Wide Margins, Journal and Note-Taking Space, Full-Color Features Saints Quotes and Cross-References
Do you long to connect with a variety of women just like you who live the Word of God in the world each day? That connection is what makes the Living the Word Catholic Women’s Bible different from other Bibles for it includes almost four-hundred pages of special features created for women by women—more than forty scholars, teachers, religious, authors, ministers, and speakers—such as Leah Darrow, Sarah Christmyer, Johnnette Benkovic Williams, and Sr. Maria Kim-Ngân Bùi—who come from a variety of backgrounds and reflect the diversity of the Catholic faith. You can walk through scripture in community with other women who seek to become closer to God by reading his Word and living it in their daily lives. The stunning beauty of the Living the Word Catholic Women’s Bible also makes it stand out among its peers. The extraordinary and elegant design enhances your reading experience by connecting various features throughout the text including fifty profiles of women in the Bible, ninety-seven Living in the Light of Faith essays, Take it to Heart questions for reflection and journaling, and quotations from saints and holy women. The tranquil colors and other design elements help you feel at home in the Bible. Other features Christmyer, codeveloper of the Great Adventure Bible program, is the general editor of the Living the Word Catholic Women’s Bible. Other contributors include Sr. Sara Butler, MSBT, Meg Hunter-Kilmer, Catherine Cavadini, Shannon Wimp Schmidt, Lisa Cotter, Sonja Corbitt, and Martha Fernandez Sardina. The contributions received an imprimatur from Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend and were reviewed by Catholic biblical scholars including Christmyer, Cavadini, Mary Healy, Pia de Solenni, and Jennifer Grillo.
1984 pages, Hardcover
Published December 16, 2022
18 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 10, 2023
"Women's Bible" usually makes me roll my eyes — they're not my cup of tea. I've never been very "girlie" and my experience with the "women's" label has resulted in a lot of emotional, sentimental interpretations accompanied by a lot of pictures of flowers. That's not how I roll.
However, this women's Bible is something special. It is solid and realistically written — not sappy — and just looking at the samples gave me a few moments of stopping to think about different perspectives than I usually come across for scripture. The few contributors' names I recognizes are really good Biblical scholars — as well as being women.
It was too expensive for them to send the entire book but I asked for the Book of Genesis as a pdf so I could properly look at the extras. I liked what I saw. There is an emphasis on lectio divina (divine reading) throughout. Readers are given several ways to begin prayerful scripture reading. There are a few essays explaining how to do it as well as several well interesting reading plans and a scriptural rosary guideline. Also, each essay has an interesting point or question for meditation. For example, the essay on Sarah in Genesis turns a major plot point of her laughing at God into a question for the reader: "When was the last time God made you laugh?" (Answer — all the time.) It's a great way to start that conversation with God.
A variety of essays both focus on women of the Bible in prayer and their lives while other series cover topics like the sacraments, Catholic practices and life with God. Most of these feature ideas for further reading, both inside and outside the Bible. The scripture itself doesn't have many notes, except for cross-referencing with the Catechism and occasional points of clarification about context to make the text more understandable. Each biblical book has a specially written, theologically sound introduction.
I especially liked the fact that there are women highlighted who I've never seen anyone focus on. For example Lot's wife is examined as an example of spiritual sloth and then contrasted with Martha and Jesus' parable of the talents. Potiphar's wife, who tries to seduce Joseph when he's a slave in Egypt, leads to a discussion of virtues and vices. Then her story is contrasted with Susanna from the Book of Daniel. These are discussions that are pertinent to our times and also lead the reader to think more deeply about scripture as a whole. All of it opens the door to conversation with God.
This Bible is practically perfect although I do wish they'd have included brief bios of the quoted saints in the back. Also the script used for quotes is very pretty but also occasionally extremely hard to read. These are very minor points but perhaps a second edition will pick up these elements.
The art throughout is nice, the colors are pleasing, the paper is not wafer-thin as in some Bibles, and the format leaves generous margins for note taking. There are flowers but I liked the art so ... it worked for me.
So I said at the beginning of this review that I roll my eyes at "Women's Bibles." Not this time.
Reader, I bought one.
Go forth and do likewise.
However, this women's Bible is something special. It is solid and realistically written — not sappy — and just looking at the samples gave me a few moments of stopping to think about different perspectives than I usually come across for scripture. The few contributors' names I recognizes are really good Biblical scholars — as well as being women.
It was too expensive for them to send the entire book but I asked for the Book of Genesis as a pdf so I could properly look at the extras. I liked what I saw. There is an emphasis on lectio divina (divine reading) throughout. Readers are given several ways to begin prayerful scripture reading. There are a few essays explaining how to do it as well as several well interesting reading plans and a scriptural rosary guideline. Also, each essay has an interesting point or question for meditation. For example, the essay on Sarah in Genesis turns a major plot point of her laughing at God into a question for the reader: "When was the last time God made you laugh?" (Answer — all the time.) It's a great way to start that conversation with God.
A variety of essays both focus on women of the Bible in prayer and their lives while other series cover topics like the sacraments, Catholic practices and life with God. Most of these feature ideas for further reading, both inside and outside the Bible. The scripture itself doesn't have many notes, except for cross-referencing with the Catechism and occasional points of clarification about context to make the text more understandable. Each biblical book has a specially written, theologically sound introduction.
I especially liked the fact that there are women highlighted who I've never seen anyone focus on. For example Lot's wife is examined as an example of spiritual sloth and then contrasted with Martha and Jesus' parable of the talents. Potiphar's wife, who tries to seduce Joseph when he's a slave in Egypt, leads to a discussion of virtues and vices. Then her story is contrasted with Susanna from the Book of Daniel. These are discussions that are pertinent to our times and also lead the reader to think more deeply about scripture as a whole. All of it opens the door to conversation with God.
This Bible is practically perfect although I do wish they'd have included brief bios of the quoted saints in the back. Also the script used for quotes is very pretty but also occasionally extremely hard to read. These are very minor points but perhaps a second edition will pick up these elements.
The art throughout is nice, the colors are pleasing, the paper is not wafer-thin as in some Bibles, and the format leaves generous margins for note taking. There are flowers but I liked the art so ... it worked for me.
So I said at the beginning of this review that I roll my eyes at "Women's Bibles." Not this time.
Reader, I bought one.
Go forth and do likewise.
June 9, 2025
Absolutely Love this Bible! It's my EDC
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews