Amata Means Beloved :

Rating:
Summary: From the Author
Review: A story of tender beauty that presents a rare glimpse into the life of cloistered, contemplative nuns.

When Sister Maria Amata-the former Emily Barone-enters newly-established Mater Christi Monastery, she is eager to become a spouse of Christ-to give all she is and has to God. However, Sister Maria Amata finds that living in the monastery with the other nuns radically confronts her understanding of the life itself and her own motives. Why did she really enter the monastery? Is she instead running from facing her inability to forgive the man who murdered her brother?
The possibility of acquiring a long-desired bell for the monastery catapults Sister Maria Amata into a crisis. The novice mistress challenges the young novice by appointing her as the bell ringer for the Angelus each day. She must choose to live in the ways of freedom and love if her gift to God at first profession is to be truly one of total surrender. She can no longer hold onto her anger and lack of forgiveness.
Can Sister Maria Amata overcome her fear? More importantly, will she open her heart to God's grace and forgive?

"More than just a sparkling portrait of religious life, Amata Means Beloved is the story of a woman's deep inner struggle with pain and forgiveness. Sr. Mary Catharine Perry takes the reader on a fascinating journey, and her writing is full of heart and soul. This beautiful book is impossible to put down after reading even just one page!" -Elizabeth Kuhns, author, The Habit: A History of the Clothing of Catholic Nuns

Rating:
Summary: A readable and enjoyable new 'nun' novel
Review: Any fan of Rumer Godden's brilliant In This House of Brede will see that books influence in this small but entertaing first effort by an enclosed Dominican. I'm hoping the authoress will write additional little stories about the other sisters in this fictional monastery. It could be a fascinating collection.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: I just finished this book and can't recommend it enough! The fear, the trepidation of Emily/Maria Amata comes across on every page as she struggles with her committment to the Lord and the concept of forgiveness. Truly, a good and thoughtful read for anyone of any age or faith - be you Catholic, Very Lapsed Catholic (like myself!), Protestant or of whatever faith you follow, this book will show a whole new world while telling a story that appeals to everyone's heart and soul.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Book - Recommend highly!
Review: If you're like me and love a good novel, you find yourself reading to discover new worlds that you may not ever be able to physically visit. A good book enables us to enter a place, interact with the community of characters living there, and grow to love and care about the people in that place and what happens to them. On a higher level, a book occasionally comes along and challenges us to look at our own lives and at how we might become more: by giving more of ourselves, by loving our family or friends more, by deepening our spiritual lives and our connection to God, even by seeing the daily tasks we undertake with a more positive attitude - seeing them as faith and love offerings to God. Amata Means Beloved is one of these treasures: a book that will take you into its world, cause you to fall in love, and challenge you to make your world a better place. Please read this book and share it with the special people in your lives - you'll be happy you took the time!

Rating:
Summary: A Great Book - Recommend highly!
Review: If you're like me and love a good novel, you find yourself reading to discover new worlds that you may not ever be able to physically visit. A good book enables us to enter a place, interact with the community of characters living there, and grow to love and care about the people in that place and what happens to them. On a higher level, a book occasionally comes along and challenges us to look at our own lives and at how we might become more: by giving more of ourselves, by loving our family or friends more, by deepening our spiritual lives and our connection to God, even by seeing the daily tasks we undertake with a more positive attitude - seeing them as faith and love offerings to God. Amata Means Beloved is one of these treasures: a book that will take you into its world, cause you to fall in love, and challenge you to make your world a better place. Please read this book and share it with the special people in your lives - you'll be happy you took the time!

Rating:
Summary: A moving and uplifting story
Review: Superbly written by Sister Mary Catharine (a cloistered Dominican Nun of the Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary, Summit, New Jersey), Amata Means Beloved is a profound and emotionally moving novel about Emily Barone, a young woman who seeks to become a nun and be known as Sister Maria Amata. Yet Sister Maria Amata is hiding from a tragic and painful secret - her inability to forgive the man who murdered her brother. Sister Maria Amata's test of spirit is at hand, and she cannot keep fleeing forever; she must make a hard choice before she can walk God's path. Amata Means Beloved is a moving and uplifting story -- and highly recommended reading.

Rating:
Summary: A Must Read!!!
Review: There are a lot of books out there that are about religious and what supposedly goes on behind the closed doors of convents and monasteries. But here is a work of fiction written by someone who lives the life and one can be assured that the struggles, hopes and dreams of Sister Mary Catharine are reflected in the characters in her fine novel.

This is a real page turner, a great read!