Book Reviews and More: Set Aside Every Fear: 30 Days with Catherine of Siena - John Kirvan

Set Aside Every Fear:

30 Days with Catherine of Siena

Great Spiritual Teachers

John Kirvan (editor)

Ave Maria Press

ISBN 9781594719752

eISBN 9781594719769

ASIN B082FW2Z8Z

Set Aside Every Fear: 30 Days with Catherine of Siena - John Kirvan - Great Spiritual Teachers Series Rebranded

This is the twelfth volume in the Great Spiritual Teachers series I have read. It is a an older title in the series, it was originally released in 1997, and rebranded in 2000’s, the physical edition was rebranded again in 2024 or 2025 rebranding’s, but not the eBook yet. Over a year ago I read my first book in the series, it was Born to Do This: 30 Days with Joan of Arc by Jaymie Stuart Wolfe, and loved it and the concept of the series. I have read one almost every month since that first one, and if I can track down all the out of print, will do so until I finish all 24 released to date in the series.

The description of this volume states:

“Set Aside Every Fear is a simple, thirty-day devotional based on the classic spirituality of St. Catherine of Siena, who was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1970. In only a few minutes each day, this book offers you a glimpse of St. Catherine's passion for living steeped in the intimate connection between love of God and service to others, which has inspired people of faith for more than six centuries.

Originally published in 1997 and now back in print, Set Aside Every Fear is the perfect prayer companion for busy people who want to root their spiritual practice in the solid ground of St. Catherine of Siena's timeless--and timely--teachings on divine and human relationships. Catherine brought together two frequently unconnected charisms--mysticism and active ministry--and embodied both throughout her life. Her intimacy with God through prayer enabled her to minister to the poor and sick more deeply and to boldly speak truth to Church authorities. When the papacy fled Rome for Avignon because of political conflict, Catherine tirelessly encouraged the popes to return to Rome, and was ultimately successful.

Set Aside Every Fear offers prayers in the voice of God and responses in the voice of humanity based on Catherine's own words, which encourage you in your own practice of dialogue with God. As you reflect on the mystery of divine love, Catherine shares her own relationship with God in a way that challenges you to place your trust in God and abandon your worries as you follow him.

All the titles in the 30 Days with a Great Spiritual Teacher series contain a brief morning meditation, a simple mantra to use throughout the day, and a night prayer to focus your thoughts as the day ends. John Kirvan is the series editor.”

About the series we are informed:

“Each book in the Great Spiritual Teachers series provides a month of daily readings from one of Christianity's most beloved spiritual guides. For each day there is a brief and accessible morning meditation drawn from the mystic's writings, a simple mantra for use throughout the day, and a night prayer to focus one's thoughts as the day ends. These easy-to-use books are the perfect prayer companion for busy people who want to root their spiritual practice in the solid ground of these great spiritual teachers.”

I believe there are 16 volumes in this series currently in print. There are also a number that are currently out of print, The oldest I have seen are from the mid 90’s and it looks like they went through a rebranding and format change in the mid 00’s, and they have undergone yet another rebranding in the 2020’s including some new titles available in the series. I must admit I do not recall running across this series prior to that first volume on Joan. I have however added all of them to my ‘to be read list’. I love the most recent rebranding, and hope Ave Maria completes the rebranding across all volumes, and brings back into print some of the volumes currently not available; specifically the volumes on John of the Cross, Evelyn Underhill, Mother Theresa and others. This specific volume was released in 1995, making it one of the oldest in the series.

The sections in this volume are:

Timeline

Catherine Of Siena

How To Pray This Book

Thirty Days With Catherine Of Siena

One Final Word

This volume begins with this quote from Catherine:

“With God as your companion

you will

live in the light of faith,

with hope and fortitude,

with true patience and perseverance,

all the days of your life.

You will never be alone,

never fear anyone or anything,

for you will find your security in God.”

While reading this I several a few passages, some of them are:

“Here, we will focus on the image of the river and the bridge—the river that most of us dispiritedly slog through, and the bridge built over it for our safe passage. And we have chosen one of several great themes, perhaps the most central that gave substance to her insights and her career as a world figure—the irreducible connection between love of God and service of humanity.”

“The purpose of this book is to open a gate for you, to make accessible the spiritual insight and wisdom of one of history’s most extraordinary women, Catherine of Siena. This is not a book for mere reading. It invites you to meditate and pray its words on a daily basis over a period of thirty days and in a special way to enter into prayer through the unique doorway of Catherine’s visionary experiences, her dialogue with “Sweet Truth.” It is a handbook for a special kind of spiritual journey.”

“You will never fear anyone or anything, for you will find your security in me.”

“I loved you before you existed, and knowing this you can place your trust in my love and set aside every fear. Enjoy my love, live in me and take from me the light of my wisdom.”

“The only way to taste my truth and to walk in my brilliant light is by means of humble and constant prayer, that is rooted in a knowledge of yourself and of me.”

“You have loved me even before I existed, and knowing this, I can place my trust in your love and set aside every fear. Amen.”

“You can in no way repay me for the love I have lavished on you, except by taking the path I have given you, serving me by serving your neighbor.”

“But be clear about this: in order for you to have life, it is not enough that I have built this bridge, You must walk across it.”

“You have loved me even before I existed, and knowing this, I can place my trust in your love and set aside every fear. Amen.”

“If you keep in mind my mercy, you will not be mean-spirited with yourself or with your neighbor. On the contrary, you will be generous in your compassion, nourishing your neighbor with all that you have, all that I have given you.”

“The soul naturally relishes goodness though it is also easily blinded by self-love, and readily fails to discern what is truly good and valuable to both soul and body.”

“This book is no more than a gateway—a gateway to the spiritual experience and wisdom of a specific teacher that opens on your own spiritual path. It is an opportunity to join the dialogue between Catherine and God.”

Each day follows the same format with three main sections:

AS YOUR DAY BEGINS: “As the day begins set aside a quiet moment in a quiet place to do the reading provided for the day

The passages are short; they never run more than a couple of hundred words. They have been carefully selected, though, to give a spiritual focus, a spiritual center to your whole day. They are designed to remind you, as another day begins, of your own existence at a spiritual level. They are meant to put you in the presence of the spiritual master who is your companion and teacher on this journey. This is especially true of this journey with Catherine of Siena. The readings are her report of God’s words to her, God’s side of the dialogue. And since the purpose of the passage is to remind you that at every moment during you are in the presence of a God who invites you continually, but quietly, to live in and through him, what better source than the words of God himself?”

ALL THROUGH YOUR DAY: “Immediately following the day’s reading you will find a single sentence, a meditation in the form of a mantra, a phrase meant as a companion for your spirit as it moves through a busy day. Write it down on a 3" x 5" card or on the appropriate page of your daybook. Look at it as often as you can. Repeat it quietly to yourself, and go on your way.

It is not meant to stop you in your tracks or to distract you from responsibilities but simply, gently, to remind you of the presence of God and your desire to respond to this presence.”

AS YOUR DAY IS ENDING: “This is a time for letting go of the day, for entering a world of imaginative prayer … This exercise is not meant to last more than a few minutes. End it when you are comfortable doing so. It has two parts. The first, in keeping with Catherine’s model, is a personal response to the words spoken by God in the day’s reading. Just as God has spoken to you, so you speak to God. Second, you are invited to turn to the familiarity of a prayer based on Catherine’s own words. It is an act of trust and confidence, an entryway into peaceful sleep, a simple evening prayer that gathers together the spiritual character of the day that is now ending as it began—in the presence of God.

It is a time for summary and closure.”

A sample day is:

“DAY 13
My Day Begins
God Speaks …

There are two ways,
and both are hard to travel.
There is the way of the river,
but there is also the way of the bridge
that I have built to cross that river.
How strange it is
that so many
still prefer to walk through the water,
even though I have built a bridge for them,
a bridge that offers delight,
where all that is bitter becomes sweet,
and every burden light.
Those who cross the waters of life
by taking the way of the bridge
see light,
even though
they are still in the darkness of their body.
Though mortal,
they taste immortality,
though weary,
they receive the refreshment they need
when they need it,
in my name.
There are no words adequate
to describe
the delight experienced by those
who choose the way of the bridge.
While still in this life
they taste and participate
in that good
which has been prepared for them
in the next.
You would be a fool, indeed,
to reject such a great good
and choose instead
to walk by the lower road
with its great toil,
and without refreshment or advantage.

All Through The Day

There are always two roads …

My Day Is Ending
I Respond …

Be my companion
through the darkness of this night.

How strange it is
that despite the trust I profess,
I still so often
prefer to take the harder path,
battling dangerous currents,
risking the shoals
rather than crossing
by the bridge you have made for me.

Point out the bridge to me again.
Let me experience light
in the darkness of my days,
a taste of immortality,
a moment of refreshment
in your presence.

You have loved me
even before I existed,
and knowing this,
I can place my trust
in your love
and set aside every fear.
Amen.”

I hope those quotes and the sample days give you a feel for this excellent volume. This volume does not have the section Night Prayer to end the day that some have. But the My Day is Ending is mostly a prayer and as can be seen from the times I highlighted and shared them above.

I have now read 12 volumes in this series, and currently working on a thirteenth, and I can state this is another great offering in the series. I find that some speak to me more than others. With one I did not highlight as much as in previous volumes, nor even as extensive highlights. But I still greatly enjoyed it. I can state I benefited from the month with each person being profiled. And if I went back and did a volume again at a different point or season in life I might interact with it differently. I already plan to circle back to both this volume and the volume on Joan and reread them once I have completed the series, or at least those I can track down.

This was one another of the volumes I connected with, this one more so the My Day Begins sections. This is a good read, it is one I really enjoyed reading. I can easily recommend this volume and the series as a whole, and I look forward to reading others in the series. If you have not given any in this series a try this would be an excellent starting point or whichever one seems to call to you.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan!