The Valiant Woman: A Series of Discourses Intended for the Use of Women Living in the World

This is the book that traditionally minded Catholic family women have been looking for. Long out of print, this rare jewel is destined to become the favored spiritual guide for Catholic wives and mothers. Msgr. Landriot gave these conferences over 100 years ago but they are as relevant to us today as the Gospels. Think of this book as a practical guide for women who want to achieve sanctity in the home. Reading this book is the best thing you could do for your husband and children, as well as yourself, if a common sense plan for becoming a Valiant Woman yourself is what you need. To help women to raise truly Catholic families and keep them Catholic and striving for sanctity is why this book was published. This is not a book that will be read once and then gather dust for years on the shelf. It is a handbook and will be read over and over again.

REVIEWER: Mrs. Colleen Hammond --REVIEWER: Mrs. Colleen Hammond - Angelus Press

The influence of a virtuous mother raising her children is undeniable. One woman can make or break a culture by how she raises one child. Where would we be today if Moses mother had not chosen to be the queen of her home? How about Charlemagne s mother, Bertha? But the opposite is true as well. It is said that much of Karl Marx s life of revolt was aimed at revenge toward his manipulative and possessive mother. Granted, women have the indisputable gift of multi-tasking. So, if anyone can handle running the many facets of a home it s a woman. But with that gift comes a caution from Archbishop Landriot: keep yourself occupied with good things because the brain is always busy doing something! Is it busy balancing domestic affairs and piety? Or are we being sentimental and daydreamy? Let s face it. With us gals, if our brain isn t busy with something productive, it may tend to be occupied with something to do with hair, make-up, or fashions or some sort of gossip. We can t get away from it at the check-out counter in any store. What about e-mail? Detraction, calumny, and backbiting have become a daily pastime. Now anyone can rob his neighbor s reputation by forwarding an e-mail or posting to a chat board or group. And even if we re only reading it, we may be the guiltiest of all! Both the backbiter and his listener have got the devil in them, one in his mouth and the other in his ear (Sins of the Tongue, Fr. Belet of the Diocese of Basle). Archbishop Landriot suggests that our brain must be more active than our fingers. He proposes that we fill our mind with good thoughts, good books, and tranquility. If possible, we ought to sing while you work, and shun not the joyous canticles and simple expressions of a happy soul (p.22). That got me to thinking what songs do my children hear me singing in our home? What books do they see me reading? Ah, books. Here is where Archbishop Landriot won my heart. In one of his conferences, he said, Nothing which elevates the mind and ennobles the heart should be unknown to you. A woman s soul has the same origin as a man s, and needs light no less than his (p.36). Even St. Clement of Alexandria said that it was a duty for women to study philosophy (p.34). And we have the female saints as examples! From the Acts of Saint Catherine, Archbishop Landriot quotes St. Catherine as saying that she applied herself to every branch of rhetoric, philosophy, geometry, and other sciences (p.34). But my personal favorite is St. Monica. The Archbishop says that she is another admirable model for you in this respect. She loved to discuss the highest problems of philosophy with Saint Augustine and his companions; and she did so with a breadth of view and elevation of thought which astonished her hearers. (p.34) Archbishop Landriot understands that study has great advantages; it elevates the mind, and keeps us away from frivolous magazines and conversations that only focus on other people, make-up, hair styles, and fashions. He even recognizes that the more a woman cares for her body, the less will she cultivate her intellect (p.166). It makes you wonder if he had visions of our make-up counters at the mall, our work-out clubs and weight lifting centers. Being well read also allows us to carry on intellectual conversations with our husbands. Archbishop Landriot says that we can retain the respect and love of a husband through a delicate, well-cultivated mind, which looks on all things from the highest, the most amiable, and most holy point of view (p.30). That s better than peppering our husbands with diaper stories and news of our girlfriends! All of this encouragement to study and expand our minds comes with a warning, however. Our household duties and family affairs must come first! Once those are accomplished, then we can --REVIEWER: Mrs. Colleen Hammond - Angelus Press