As we move toward the 21st century, we are in desperate need of spiritual heroes who can challenge us to heed the voice of God within and to incarnate the imperatives of justice and compassionate service. In A Passion for Life Benedictine sister Joan Chittister has chosen 30 individuals from all eras and many religious traditions who are "icons of the human face of God." These fearless women and men compel us to reimagine the human task in light of spiritual conviction.

Hildegard of Bingen speaks across the ages reminding us of the feminine voice of God. Rumi, the Sufi poet and mystic, helps us see that everyone is called to live a holy life. Dorothy Day does just that on the streets of New York City serving the poor. Oscar Romero proves that "the prophetic is possible in all of us." And Mohandas Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Martin of Tours model what it means to be nonviolent. In A Passion for Life the stirring words of Joan Chittister and the profound icons of Robert Lentz combine to show how these saints speak to our time.