Several names familiar to many of us: St. Gianna Beretta Molla, Mother Teresa (St. Teresa of Calcutta), St. Padre Pio, though a greater number are new and revealing, and not all are martyrs. St. Josephine Bakhita, a Sudanese slave sold to an Italian diplomat, encountered Jesus while serving as a nanny. In 1893 she received her freedom, and the author’s prayer reads, “Dear Lord Jesus, Josephine was once a slave under human bondage, but you took away her chains. Today so many of us struggle as slaves under sin. Through her intercession, remove us from bondage by enabling us to know you…”

On the surface, these men and women appear to be ordinary people, though the stories reveal their deep and abiding faith. They are “witnesses of the courage we need to stand firm in the face of secularism, the culture of death, and other evil forces.” Their lives serve as inspiration to us that we too can live our faith with courage and conviction, either out loud or quiet and prayerfully, humbly in service to each other and the Lord.