This Just In: Selfless: The Story of Sr. Theophane’s Missionary Life in the Jungles of Papua New Guinea

Selfless: The Story of Sr. Theophane’s Missionary Life in the Jungles of Papua New Guinea by Reida Immolata

This was a surprise review book that showed up on my doorstep via UPS last night. The cover and photos inside remind me of Story of a Soul (St. Therese of Lisieux’s autobiography). This is not an autobiography but is written so far in the same sweet, gentle style of the early-middle 1900s.

I’m still on Sr. Theophane’s (Inez’s) youth but that little tomboy’s earnestness and devotion is getting to me. It probably helps that this is reminding me somewhat of Cheaper by the Dozen in the New York state setting and time period.

I look at this woman’s life spent giving to others for love of Christ (the overview makes that clear although I am not far into her actual life). Then I look at the people spending so much time and energy blabbing about changing things to their own tastes (ordaining women priests and suchlike) … things which they do not have the power to change, for one thing, so they are doing nothing but raising acrimonious feelings on both sides.

It makes me think that if we stopped talking and began doing, giving, serving the less fortunate all around us, how much better the world would be. And our own souls. And, hopefully, the souls of those around us.

It may be that the life of this little anonymous missionary is a true message for our times much along the lines of that of the more famous Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

Just a train of thought that this book began in me as I was washing dishes, musing over the book …