Mother Maria Skobtsova: Essential Writings (Modern Spiritual Masters Series)

Rating:
Summary: Scandalous life! Holy life!
Review: To any who think that Orthodox Christians do not have the social conscience of Catholics, here is Mother Maria (now St. Maria)clearly stating that Christ will not ask us how many prostrations we have made, but whether or not we have loved our neighbor. This is a moving and perhaps jarring collection of writings by an Orthodox martyr of modern times, which serves to illustrate that words and gilded Gospel books are not enough. She was known to leave a liturgy to answer the door when someone in need came for help to the "house of hospitality" she established in Paris. She would roam Paris in search of aid, puffing a cigarette. She spoke of the sword which pierced the heart of the Virgin Mary and which should pierce ours as well, that of love. This is not a self-consumed religion Mother speaks of, but one of ultimate self-denial in acts of love for the other, even when the other steals from us. We can only hope more of her works appear in English.