The Friendship Project: The Catholic Woman’s Guide to Making and Keeping Fabulous, Faith-Filled Friends

Faehnle and Jaminet (Divine Mercy for Moms), contributors to the Catholic Mom online magazine and organizers of the Columbus Catholic Women’s Conference, facilitate deeper friendships between Catholic women in this practical book. Early on, Jaminet relays a conversation she had with a woman in which she realized that the woman’s friendships had dissolved over time, “having been replaced by shallow social media friendships and work acquaintances.” In that moment Jaminet realized God was calling her to take a deeper look at how to be a better friend by following the virtues of Catholicism. She concluded that friendships come from being true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and gracious. In presenting their advice, Faehnle and Jaminet discuss seven pairs of well-known women of faith who were intimate friends, using them as representations of important aspects of a strong friendship: St. Gertrude and St. Matilda represent the early stages of bonding through faith, St. Thérèse of Lisieux and Léonie Martin represent charity and selflessness, and St. Hildegard of Bingen and Blessed Jutta of Disibodenberg represent the practice of prudence. Faehnle and Jaminet lace in stories of their own friendship as well as others, creating a light, conversational guide to making and keeping friends. [em](Sept.) [/em]