The Joy in Loving: A Guide to Daily Living (Compass)

The authors, who worked closely with Mother Teresa during her lifetime, have drawn together stories and prayers inspired by the missionary, who worked tirelessly on behalf of India's poor with her sisters of charity. Each day of the year is assigned a brief story or blessing: A child goes without sugar so Mother Teresa may have it; a truckload of bread miraculously arrives for starving Indians when the rice has run out. Many of the passages are quotes from Mother Teresa herself, and all of them challenge the reader to live up to her saintly view of humanity and suffering. If the day-by-day approach doesn't fit, there's an easy-to-browse index, organized by theme ("cheerfulness," "humility," "suffering"). Her standards are high, however, and normal sinners may find her words more challenging than uplifting.