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36 of 36 people found the following review helpful: Grew To Like This Book, December 29, 2006 By  J. Heath "wife and mother" - See all my reviews    I am a Catholic woman who was looking for a Biblical devotional for daily use. Obviously hard to find unless one uses Protestant books. I purchased this book, but immediately felt disappointed. I am an at-home, homeschooling, very traditional Catholic woman, and some of the reflections rubbed me the wrong way, or were hard to relate to, because they were so contemporary and did not seem universal enough to apply to my life. They also struck me less as meditations and more as anecdotes. However, after awhile, the book began having an unexpected effect on me which, while different than I expected, was positive nonetheless. While I could not relate to some of the anecdotes or reflections, I did find myself learning more and more about how to apply scripture to my life, beyond the obvious ways the Church has always taught. It was as if, by relating the experiences and thoughts of other women, the book was giving me permission to insert my own story, my own sufferings and struggles and joys, into salvation history. So, while I do not find myself meditating on the given reflections in the way I expected, they DO inspire meditation! A second positive effect is, I find myself obsessively reading scripture out of curiosity as to what the next reflection will be! Three words of caution: First, while some reflections are only a page or two apart, occasionally there are many pages between daily reflections. In that case, one must make a choice of reading many pages, or skip large sections of the Bible to keep pace with the sequence of reflections. Second, there are a few reflections which are questionable in terms of theological accuracy. One example describes Christ's birth as involving pain, blood, and an umbilical cord, which sounds to me like a denial of the Virgin Birth. Another cautions us against allowing our religious rituals to come between us and another person; this can be read in an acceptably orthodox way as advising us not to be too rigid, but could also be read as permission to skip Mass in the name of charity. Third, I am personally not fond of the inclusive-language translation of the NRSV. I realize it is approved by the Church, but sometimes in the awkward effort to use inclusive language, the meaning is diluted or completely altered. For example, sometimes the word "man" is used not simply to refer generically to any human being, but is meant to refer to Adam, either literally or figuratively. Therefore, changing it to "person" or "humankind" loses some of the intended meaning. As does the use of "students" in place of "brothers"; clearly those words are not synonymous. Thankfully, there are footnotes indicating the original words whenever these alterations are used. But these alterations seem unnecessary; I don't know of any woman who has ever been offended by the original language of the Bible, which was, after all, authored by God. Overall, a worthwhile book. I would like to see a somewhat different version for women, perhaps drawing more heavily upon women saints than contemporary authors, and with reflections which are more truly meditative than anecdotal,using a non-incusive-language text.  Comments (4) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful: Step by step companion to God's word, December 31, 2002 By A Customer This review is from: Catholic Women's Devotional Bible (Paperback) This is an absolutely wonderful book for all women. It walks you through many Catholic traditions plus it features daily devotional stories all written by women. It helps to translate God's word with everyday devotionals. Plus it highlights women of the bible every weekend. THe sunday readings allow you to learn how to use the women of the bible to pray for those around you. This has really been my first devotional bible and I have really used it to open up my life to God!  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful: Excellent Women's Bible, January 24, 2004 By  Colette Maria LaCasse "by Sawyer LaCasse" (Panama City, FL United States) - See all my reviews    This review is from: Catholic Women's Devotional Bible (Paperback) I have several bibles with different, including the NAB and RSV-CE. I love this women's bible! It's the one that I use for bible study and for just reading in bed. There is a new Couple's CAtholic bible that is this same style that I haven't bought. Yet. :) Anyhow....any ladies out there that want a great study, personal bible this is it!  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)