5-tracks available on iTunes, Amazon & CD

With One Heart

Boston, MA – It’s rare when a musical ensemble has the opportunity to perform before the preacher to the Papal Household, but also gets invited as part of the lineup at Blue Flame, an Oklahoma-based Protestant ministry that explores the intersection of worship and the arts. Now, the Boston-based With One Heart, a contemporary Catholic-Christian rock ensemble that can make such a claim, will release a long-anticipated 5-track EP Out of Darkness on iTunes, Amazon and CDBaby.com.

“It’s an exciting step we’re taking,” says Mike McDuffee, the band’s acoustic guitarist, who is no stranger to enhancing worship with music in and around Boston. “The EP allowed us the opportunity to really explore our passion for creating vibrant, life-filled music that helps us praise God.”

The band recorded their work in August of 2012 at Icon Studios with producer David Smith, who has also worked with Contemporary Christian singers and songwriters such as Nick Cardilino. Production finished this past fall and the ensemble has already received requests for the EP from venues where they have performed in the past, including Blue Flame.

“Playing before a largely Evangelical audience and alongside our Protestant brothers and sisters is an amazing experience,” notes lead vocalist Nicholas Hennessey. “When you sing, you pray twice, so maybe when we all play as a group and sing, we’re praying three times,” he says with a chuckle. “But seriously, the idea is to pour our heart into our performances and use the talents God gave us to encourage more prayer—I feel like we’ve really done that on this EP.”

Band Members:

Mike McDuffee-acoustic guitar/vocals
Nick Hennessey-vocals
Brendon McGrath-electric guitar
Patrick Hanafin-drums

Watch this video on YouTube.

LOUISVILLE, KY, May 1, 2013—Goodness Reigns, Inc.

Top finishers of the “Share the Story” Contest include:

Young Adult Category: Seth DeMoor of Englewood, CO, for “Father John Nepil”

Teen Category: Tracy Trembley of North Collins, NY, for “Choosing Prayer”

Missionary Spirit Category: Amy Dwight of Vancouver, BC, for “The Mutunga Project”

View all contest films at http://goodnessreigns.com/vote/.

From May 1 to June 2 the public is invited to view and vote for films, each created by teens and young adults from across the United States, Canada, and from as far away as Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Dominica, Philippines, Portugal and India.

To view a listing of all contest participants, visit:

http://goodnessreigns.com/vote/2013-share-the-story-contest-winners-special-thanks/

Numerous campus ministry leaders and media professionals served as judges for the 2013 contest. You can find the list of contest judges and judging criteria at http://goodnessreigns.com/vote/2013-share-the-story-contest-judges/.

Goodness Reigns, Inc. seeks to engage and inspire youth to explore the Catholic/Christian faith through the creation of media, which is then made available online for free.  To help grow digital witnesses with filmmaking skills it offers the free online Goodness Reigns Film School.

In 2011, GOODNESS REIGNS, Inc. hosted the first World Youth Day Film Festival of its contest films in Madrid, Spain, and plans to orchestrate a similar event at WYD 2013 in Brazil with support from Our Sunday Visitor.

GOODNESS REIGNS, Inc. is a 501c3. All contributions to this outreach in New Evangelization are tax deductible.

She had died 6 months earlier.

Losing a parent is the one life passage that all of us experience. If our parent is at an age when death is  more or less expected, the depth of our grief may catch us by surprise.

But, just as I nearly doubled over at the sight of a Mother’s Day card, we realize, “It doesn’t matter that she’s 90. She’s my mom! And she’s gone!”

Here are 3 ways to help you over the hurdle of that first Mother’s Day:

• Honor other moms in your life. I now send cards to my mother’s sisters and my daughter and daughters-in-law; even to an older friend who’s been like a mom to me.
• Talk to those whose lives your mom touched: her friends, her siblings. Ask questions that you’ve never taken time before to ask. Learn to see her not only as your mom but as the special person she was to other people.
• Remember your mom is creative ways: three sisters I know go to their mother’s gravesite and share stories and laughter. Another friend always makes an upside down cake from her mother’s special recipe to serve on Mother’s Day. Another  touches gently the ring that belonged to her mom.

After my parents died just two years apart, I wrote the book, Nobody’s Child Anymore: Grieving, Caring, Comforting When Parents Die.  I wanted to offer compassionate help to other ‘adult orphans’ and I’m grateful to know it has been in print for 15 years.  Perhaps the true stories–and the “steps forward” that accompany each story– will be a help to you.

Order Nobody’s Child Anymore: Grieving, Caring, Comforting When Parents Die and support CatholicMom.com with your purchase

Barbara Bartocci has authored nine hard copy books  and two kindle books. Nobody’s Child Anymore: Grieving, Caring, Comforting When Parents Die (Sorin Books: Ave Maria Press) won First Place Honors from the National Catholic Press Association the year it was published. A companion book is titled From Hurting to Happy: Transforming Your Life After Loss. Barbara also gives talks and leads church retreats. Learn more at BarbaraBartocci.com.

Copyright 2013 Barbara Bartocci

Bishop Joseph McFadden

Catholic schools and their students lost a singular witness to hope last week with Bishop Joseph McFadden’s passing into eternal life. Through a lifetime of joyful service as a teacher, coach, pastor, bishop, and mentor, Bishop McFadden embodied the Good News and inspired all those who knew him to do the same.

In his ministry in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the Diocese of Harrisburg, and the USCCB Committee on Catholic Education, Bishop McFadden served as a catalyst for the transformation of K-12 Catholic education throughout the United States. In the face of unprecedented challenge, he was a passionate and prophetic voice for the indispensable role that Catholic schools can and must play as agents of the common good – tirelessly inviting us all to “put out into the deep” to renew these national treasures.

Read the entire article on the ACE Website here.

Copyright 2013 Rev. Timothy R. Scully, CSC

Watch this video on YouTube.

The Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill invite single Catholic women ages 18 to 40 to “Pray and Serve” with them June 20-24, 2013. Participants of these service days will have the opportunity to reach out to those in need in Fayette and Westmoreland Counties. In addition to providing service to the underserved and marginalized, guests will have opportunities to reflect on the experience of service in the spirit and tradition of charity, shared prayer and Eucharistic Liturgy, enjoy quiet time inside and outside, interact with the Sisters of Charity, meet new people, and make new friends.

The service experience will begin with dinner on Thursday evening, June 20, after guests arrive at 6:00 p.m.  Friday through Sunday, June 21–23, will be full days of prayer, service, liturgy, fun, sharing, reflection, and great food. The program will conclude on Monday morning, June 24, after morning liturgy, prayer, breakfast, and a departure blessing. There is no fee.

For more information, contact Sister Barbara Ann Smelko at 724-836-0406, ext. 622, or bsmelko@scsh.org. Brochures and registration forms are available for download at www.scsh.org.

The Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill is an international apostolic congregation of women religious who serve in five countries, 10 United States dioceses and four United States archdioceses. The Sisters of Charity minister primarily in the areas of education, health care, pastoral care and social services. For additional information about the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill and their ministries, visit www.scsh.org.

How Do I Get to the Right Work Life Balance?

There are lots of people talking and writing about maintaining work life balance these days.  They talk about trying to do it all and yet still give ample attention to every area of your life.  Yeah, sure.  No problem.

The idea of maintaining balance comes right out of the Bible.  In 1 Peter 5:8 (AMP) it says:

“Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring (in fierce hunger), seeking someone to seize upon and devour. “

It’s pretty clear that making sure you don’t get out of balance is a key to living a happy life.   But as a Christian Life Coach, I hear from Christian women who are pretty much the opposite.  They are burned out, stressed out, and pulling their hair out.

I once coached a client who was completely miserable.  She couldn’t understand why she felt so stressed all the time, even though she knew she was abundantly blessed.  It wasn’t until we began digging into all the things she did each day, particularly the reasons why she was doing them.

She discovered that not only was she giving her time and attention to things that didn’t really matter, she was also doing for other people many things they should’ve been doing for themselves.  Her misplaced sense of having to do it all, be it all, and carry it all had completely thrown her into a state of constant running, stressing, and worrying.

When she finally slowed down enough to look at where she was in her life and how she got there, she was able to start getting control by identifying the most important people and tasks that genuinely contribute to your life.  She began allowing time only for those things that contribute to her goals of focus, balance, and peace.

So how do you go back and start over?  How do you rewind until you come to a place where you were a whole lot happier and in control?

What are the conditions that have to be present in your life in order for you to feel balanced?

Here are some questions to ask :

• If I were to rate my life happiness on a scale of 1-10, with 10 as deliriously happy, what number would I give it?
• How long ago was I truly happy and how did my life look back then?  What made my life work back then?  What’s changed?
• What area of my life is the hardest for me right now?  Is it my health?  My work?  My family life?
• What area would I most like to make changes? 
• What is the biggest energy drainer in my life right now?  If I could change just this part of my life, how would it look different?

If you’re like most Christian women, some of these questions are not only tough to answer, but the answers are a little scary.  As you take the time to slow down, breathe, and take a good, long look at how you’re living your life, it may be time to make some changes.

But making life changes is never easy.  It’s not so simple to just stop what you’re used to doing and go another direction.  It’s like driving down the highway at a high speed and throwing the car into reverse.  It just doesn’t end well.

So what are the easiest ways to make necessary changes?

First, describe exactly how you want your life to look.  Put as much detail to your plan as possible.  Break your life down into each area of the life wheel and describe how it would look if it were exactly as you would like it.

Second, make sure you consider all the areas of your life.   Sometimes we decide to make life changes because we feel out of balance.  But we only do it in one area without considering how all the areas of our lives are connected.  Make sure each area of your life is in balance and that any changes you make flow smoothly through all of them.

Third, consider the other people in your life and how they factor into your new plan.   It’s not always easy to arbitrarily make life changes when they affect other people.  Discuss the changes with the affected people.  Be specific and give dates.  That way they aren’t taken by surprise.

Fourth, start thinking about small steps you can take to move toward the life you described above.   You can’t expect things to be different unless you actively take steps to change.  Even baby steps are good because you’re moving in the right direction.  What can you do today?  What changes can you make this week?  This month?

Here is a free downloadable report that will help you in your journey to focus, and live a more balanced, and peaceful life.

www.christian-books-for-women.com/life-balance.html

As a Christian life coach, Karen Wolff specializes in helping Christian women, particularly entrepreneurs and other professional women find more hours in the day, less stress and ways to be happy and productive at work and still make it to their child’s soccer game! Her first website, www.christian-books-for-women.com helps Christian women connect their faith with everyday life.  She offers lots of great books, practical articles, print & pray prayers, and a place to both offer prayer requests and pray for other Christian women. 

Copyright 2013 Karen Wolff

The Embrace Ministry has been formed to embrace families who have lost children through miscarriage, still birth, and infant death. It is our mission to provide comfort, support, and education. Embrace is an act of helping families embrace the loss of their child through acknowledgment and respect, while continuing life on earth without them.

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Memorial and Healing Mass

St. Brigid’s Embrace Ministry will celebrate the first annual Pregnancy and Infant Loss Memorial and Healing Mass on Thursday May 9th at 6:00pm. There will be a reception with refreshments and information immediately following in the Parrish Hall. This mass is being offered for anyone who has suffered the loss of a child, no matter what stage of life they attained.

National Infant Loss Remembrance Day Walk

In Mid-October each year, Embrace will host a walk and prayer service. This is the day when parents come together and are embraced by the love and support of their family and friends. Our walk for 2013 is set for October 12th.

Christmas Gathering

Bereaved families are invited to join us for our Christmas Gathering as we celebrate the life of your little one. We will discuss ways to cope with the holidays and ways to remember your baby during this time of year. During the gathering we will be making a remembrance ornament and will have a candle lighting ceremony. Our date for 2013 is December 19th.

Infertility Workshops

Woven into the very fabric of marriage is the desire to bring children into the world. Among the most painful and distressing problems a husband and wife can encounter is the heartache and worry that arise when they find themselves with serious difficulties in conceiving a child. We will schedule workshops on dealing with infertility.

Life Certificates

Embrace offers families a Certificate of Life to honor and remember the brief life of their baby. The baby’s name will also be entered into the Book of Life Register.

Support Group

Families are invited to join support groups. They offer opportunities for families to share with each other and encourage each other. You will also have opportunities to join together in prayer and hear from people with experience in dealing with loss.

For more information on Embrace click here.

Contact Information:

www.embracefresno.com
Sara@embracefresno.com
Lisa@embracefresno.com
Kristina@embracefresno.com

Copyright 2013 Sara Champi

This week: In this segment Matt shares his thoughts about the 100th episode of ClearVoice, a terrific program from CatholicTV.

Matt Weber is the new and social media officer at Harvard University and in his spare time produces segments for CatholicTV that have appeared on This is the Day, Blink, our Telethon and now every week on the CatholicTV Network’s magazine show ClearVoice™.
In this segment, he talks about what making the most of all of that time we spend waiting.

Join Matt and television-news veterans John Monahan and Christine Caswell for new shows Fridays at 11 a.m. with reebroadcasts at 8 p.m. and all weekend on CatholicTV’s ClearVoice. For even more words from Weber, check out his first book Fearing the Stigmata available from Loyola Press. In the book, Weber employs his sharp wit, earnest candor, and gift for great storytelling to illustrate for young adult Catholics both the real challenges and the immense joys of publicly living out the Catholic faith.

Order Fearing the Stigmata and support CatholicMom.com with your purchase

Watch this video on YouTube.

Visit donate.crs.org/mothersday for more information.

Watch this video on YouTube.

What do a diamond ring and potty training have in common? A mother.  A child.  Giggles.  In her story, “Diamond’s are a Girl’s Best Friend,” Suzanne Shady tells the delightful story of her exasperation in trying to potty train her three year old son, only to have laughter solve the problem when her diamond ring made a bright tiny ball of light that danced on the bathroom wall. Inspiration struck Sue and she moved the “fairy light” around the wall and to her son’s tummy. The child went into gales of giggles, relaxed and produced the needed results on the potty! This is just one of the many stories that you will find in “Mothering, An Art of the Heart.”

“There is a richness and a power and a wisdom to be found in a circle of women”, says Suzanne Shady, co-editor and author.   Our story has a small beginning, as most stories do.  Two of us met for coffee and shared in the joy of a young adult child who had come through some difficult years to securing a good job and a hopeful future.  “We should write a book!” they agreed.

Nine of us, all Catholic moms with forty-three children collectively, came together to collaborate on a book that we hoped would be an inspiration and affirmation for mothers of all ages.  We come from all walks of life.  Our group includes a nurse-midwife and college professor, two Catholic chaplains, a speech teacher, an elementary education teacher, a children’s librarian, an artist, a junior high teacher, and a paralegal turned teacher’s assistant.

As we sat together and talked, we realized that the journey of motherhood had taught us many lessons that we were eager to pass on. We first came together on December 12^th, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, our Patroness.  Six years later on the Monday before Mother’s Day, 2012 we published our book!”

Mothering is more art than science.  Mothers are different; children are different.  Our book is not a manual.  It is a collection of short and engaging stories that celebrate family life, real moms and real children honestly looking at the messy and wonderful business of raising children!  We hope mothers will see that you can take things in pieces.  Over time, it would seem that those pieces come together to form a story, a tale of love and devotion, a chronicle of the relationship between mother and child, something to really celebrate on Mother’s Day!

“Mothering, An Art of the Heart,” is organized into eight sections, –Joy, Nurturing, Socialization, Values, Traditions, Faith, Humor and Creativity, and Wisdom.  In these chapters we share stories of mother/child bonding, enforcing rules, our personal failures, and times of wonderful moments when families come together.  “These chapters describe parents’ doubt and fear, loss and acceptance, and show how a family, at its best, serves as a network of support and unconditional love.”* It is a book about mothering but also a memoir.

Keenly aware of the struggle that parenting can be, we share what we have learned from our mothers, grandmothers, other moms and from our own experience.  We are acutely aware that we have not been perfect moms nor do we have perfect children.  “Building strong families is a challenge to all of us,” writes Mary Jo Brach, Service Director of the Family Resource Center of Crestwood Children’s Center in her endorsement of our book.  “Parenting skills are learned—over time, and within whatever networks of support we have in our lives—often through the sharing our experiences as we go.”

During the writing of “Mothering, An Art of the Heart” we faced many of life’s challenges.  One mom experienced the untimely death of an adult child and another was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Two of us had sons deployed in the Mid East.  There were moves to new homes, renovations of old homes, launching college graduates, sending adult children to volunteer in foreign countries, weddings and welcoming new grandbabies!  Our goal was to write a book; our gift was that we found each other.  We meet monthly and are still telling our stories and learning from each other.  We hope our book is an encouragement to mothers to join with other mothers and tell their stories, developing their own “mother wisdom.”

“Mothering, An Art of the Heart” is available through the book website http://motheringanartoftheheart.com  or major online booksellers such as www.Amazon.com and  www.BarnesandNoble.com - order your copy at Amazon to support CatholicMom.com with your purchase. 

 *Kirkus Indie book review

Copyright 2013 Diane Knittle

Officially, Easter lasts an entire season, all the way to Pentecost. This year, it’s still “Easter” until halfway through May! And yet, in real life, Easter seems to evaporate before we finish the hard-boiled eggs.

Lent’s an awful lot of work for just a new spring outfit and a day or two of gorging on your Lenten sacrifice (chocolate, TV, impersonating Pee-wee Herman, whatever.) Let’s stop ripping ourselves off. Let’s celebrate Easter for a full season.

It’s not like we don’t know how to do seasons. Look at Lent. Once you enter that Ash Wednesday tunnel, you don’t forget where you are until the Easter exit. Every time you pass the television or a friend dancing the tequila, you scrape the tunnel wall. Yes, it’s still Lent.

Learn the Resurrection Story by Heart

With Easter, we get freedom — but we forget. How can we keep remembering Easter? Here’s my suggestion: learn to remember the Easter story. A little each day.

In the Gospel of John, the Resurrection stories add up to 51 verses. That’s almost exactly one verse for each day of the Easter season.

You might think you have a bad memory, but trust me, you can learn one verse a day. Millions of Muslims have learned the entire Quran by heart, and that’s 80,000 words, a good-sized novel.

You don’t need to craft crazy memory pictures or become a super-genius. Instead, form a new, simple habit.

A Simple Memory Habit

When you wake up, start at the first verse, and recite all the verses you’ve learned. Then learn your new verse for today.

Before each meal, say your new verse again. Check for any mistakes, and say the verse again correctly.

These recitations only take a few minutes, but they’ll make your memorization actually work. Psychologists have found that when you learn something new, you need to repeat it several times within a short timeframe.

Now you know why we usually forget. We read something once, and don’t try to remember it until long after.

When you go to bed, say all the verses again one more time.

Keeping Easter in Mind

See what’s happening here? You’re thinking about Easter five times a day. You keep trying to jolt yourself into noticing that you’re going to live forever. You’re making Easter last.

Tools for the Journey

I’ve made a few tools to help you learn these Easter verses.

First, my new book: Easter by Heart: How to Memorize the Gospel Stories of the Resurrection. You’ll get more tips on how to memorize easily, especially on using rhythm.

You can also listen to these verses with my new podcast: Books by Heart. Each episode offers the verses for that day, with time for you to repeat what you hear. You don’t have to start on Easter Sunday. Just start today, with the first episode.

If you’re on Facebook, join me and other Bible learners on our “Books by heart” page. I’d love to meet you.

Easter doesn’t have to fizzle. Let’s bring this season back to life.

Bill Powell

About the Author

Bill Powell has learned tens of thousands of words by heart, including the entire Gospel of Mark. He lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with his wife Beth, their four children, and a young forest garden.

Copyright 2013 Bill Powell

This week: In this segment Matt shares his thoughts on Spring, and why we should all have a real spring in our step!

Matt Weber is the new and social media officer at Harvard University and in his spare time produces segments for CatholicTV that have appeared on This is the Day, Blink, our Telethon and now every week on the CatholicTV Network’s magazine show ClearVoice™.
In this segment, he talks about what making the most of all of that time we spend waiting.

Join Matt and television-news veterans John Monahan and Christine Caswell for new shows Fridays at 11 a.m. with reebroadcasts at 8 p.m. and all weekend on CatholicTV’s ClearVoice. For even more words from Weber, check out his first book Fearing the Stigmata available from Loyola Press. In the book, Weber employs his sharp wit, earnest candor, and gift for great storytelling to illustrate for young adult Catholics both the real challenges and the immense joys of publicly living out the Catholic faith.

Order Fearing the Stigmata and support CatholicMom.com with your purchase

Watch this video on YouTube.

I visited my very first monastery in 2012, and all it took was one day of prayer with the young Norbertines before I realized I was finally home. The view of the 26 fully-habited nuns as they chanted the Divine Office from behind a screened window blew me away, and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass celebrated by a Norbertine priest was like a symphony of adoration. The ancient traditions preserved within the walls of this enclosure elicited reverence unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. They bowed low for the “Gloria Patri…” and holiness seemed to flow out of every corner of the Bethlehem Priory of St. Joseph.

After over a year of seriously discerning an active religious vocation, it became undeniably clear that the Lord was calling me to something even more radical. He was leading me even further out of the world than I thought I’d be led as a teaching sister or missionary, and opening my heart to my true calling: a contemplative life of prayer and sacrifice in the cloister. How did I respond? Well, like anyone being asked to leave the world and give her life to Christ as His bride: I laughed, I cried… I prayed. And I registered for a marathon, of course! Yes, 26.2 miles.

You see, the focus of life as a Norbertine canoness is prayer. They pray in community at least 7-8 hours a day, and strive to pray without ceasing even during work hours. It is a life of penance and sacrifice for the Glory of God, and the salvation of souls. So, several months ago, as I was wracking my brain trying to figure out just how I might speed up repayment of my student loans so that I can be fully free to give my life to God – I suddenly understood that prayer (and sacrifice) was exactly the solution.

I was inspired to develop a marathon effort that I’ve dubbed “Litany Run,” which has turned out to be one of the greatest blessings of my life. In a little over two weeks I will be heading to southern California to run in The OC Marathon, during which I will be listening to (and praying with) a recording of hundreds of prayers, instead of music. In view of my future as (God willing) a Norbertine canoness, I feel strongly called to serve the Lord through the physical sacrifice of running this race, while praying the Litany that I’m currently creating out of prayer requests I receive from anyone who is able to sponsor Litany Run and contribute to the resolution of my student debt, with any amount! In praying through a marathon, I hope not only to offer my sponsors the opportunity to help make my vocation a reality, but also to inspire awareness about vocational discernment – and to encourage others to consider the power of making challenging sacrifices for the sake of God’s Kingdom.

“ Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3-4

This Year of Faith has been the source of abundant grace as I find myself surrounded by faithful people – more eager than ever to transform our culture into one that seeks holiness through daily life. God calls each person to fulfill his or her vocation to sainthood by taking on various duties, yet working together as one Body of Christ. The work assigned to cloistered religious communities is hidden in the very center, the very heart of Christ’s Body – pumping out life-giving prayers into the Church, like the blood that is necessary to support all the other working limbs.

Praying the Angelus in my home before my morning run.  My daily morning prayer includes Matins (Office of Readings), Lauds (Morning Prayer), the Angelus and a Rosary. 

“Cloistered nuns fulfill that mission by dwelling at the missionary heart of the Church, by means of constant prayer, the oblation of self and the offering of the sacrifice of praise. Their life thus becomes a mysterious source of apostolic fruitfulness and blessing for the Christian community and for the whole world.” –Verbi Sponsa 7:38-39

Throughout these last few months of training, I have been running in prayerful thanksgiving for the help I’ve received so far, and praying every day for the intentions of my sponsors. But I still have a long way to go and my entrance date (August 28^th) is coming up fast! I can think of no better way to spend these final months than to run my longest distance ever as a sacrifice for the intentions of the faithful. May the Good Lord mercifully send Litany Run many souls for whom I can pray by name during the marathon, and for the rest of my life in the cloister! Please visit my site www.litanyrun.com to read more about me and my race, and find out how you can support my vocation by becoming a sponsor or getting involved.

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” -John 15:13           

May God bless you abundantly. I am praying that you will all become saints!!

Jenn Garza is a graduate of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London where she taught speech, phonetics & Shakespeare at various universities. She currently serves as the Secretary of Vocations for the Diocese of Fresno, sings in her church choir and enjoys studying French & the lives of the saints. Pending the resolution of her $46,000 student debt, her entrance date into the Norbertine priory in Tehachapi, CA has been set for August 28, 2013. More information can be found at www.litanyrun.com.

Copyright 2013 Jenn Garza

Julie Kelly, Author

There is a vibrant new thread in the beautiful tapestry of Catholic children’s literature, and with God’s grace it will be a humble instrument to joyfully draw many young hearts to Jesus. Hello, and peace to you in our Risen Lord! My name is Julie Kelly and I am a Catholic wife and home educating mother of six children ages 1–16 in Arkansas. I have written and self-published a book – something I never planned to do.

Approximately four years ago I began to write a handful of entertaining, engaging  stories to help my strong-willed daughter better understand some truths of our faith, with a young girl like herself as the main character. I wanted my daughter to effortlessly, and with a large dose of joyful light-heartedness, experience this little girl’s transformation from a self-absorbed child to a faithful follower of Jesus. And I wanted this little girl to be REAL. With faults. And failings. And with a strong will that proved difficult to subdue. And I wanted her to meet Jesus – to get to know Him personally – and to offer Him her heart – at ANY cost.

So I prayed. And I wrote. And I prayed some more. And the stories came. I shared them with my children and they asked me to read them again. And to write more. And I did. At some point in the course of writing, the idea occurred to me that these stories of struggle, perseverance and surrender could possibly help other young hearts discover the transforming power of Christ’s love and the joy of living the holy Catholic faith.

Clare’s Costly Cookie: A Young Heart Discovers the Way of Love

This is how Clare’s Costly Cookie: A Young Heart Discovers the Way of Love, found its way into the beautiful tapestry of Catholic children’s literature. Nine-year old Clare, a thunderbolt in pigtails and the title character, models for young readers that following Jesus and striving for true holiness are worth any cost. With pluck, giggles and grit she invites young readers to experience her transformation in Christ as she offers to Him the most meaningful gift she possibly can: her self-will. With simple honesty she declares, “So I will continue to pray every day, Jesus, for the strength and grace to do Your will, but it will not be easy. I guess I’ll try it one day at a time…no, maybe half a day…well, maybe one hour at a time…it will be a lot easier when I’m sleeping.” Some of the topics explored in the book are obedience from the heart, sibling relationships, selfishness, surrendering the self-will, the rosary, Holy Communion, the Mass, adoration, the desire for holiness, and others.

Because there is a little bit of Clare in all of us, the book is speaking in a surprisingly powerful way to the hearts of adults as well. Ann Applegarth, poet, writer and former book reviewer for the National Catholic Register and Catholic Parent magazine, wrote, “I just finished (at one sitting because I literally couldn’t put it down) Clare’s Costly Cookie: A Young Heart Discovers the Way of Love.  I bought it to send to my granddaughters, and so I wanted to read it before sending it.  To my astonishment, it also works as a book for Everycatholic!  I found myself identifying with the selfish, childish girl in the book and praying some of the prayers that changed her in the hope of changing my heart, too.  Quite an accomplishment for a book intended for children and parents of young children! Julie Kelly has written what I think is one of the best books I have ever read for Catholic parents — and their children.”

An eight year old boy shared, “I like all her talks with Jesus and how she struggles and gets help from Him. And she’s funny!” An 11 year old girl shared, “It helped me talk to Jesus, and I am talking to Him more. I think it is a funny and prayerful book at the same time.”

The book, released in February of this year, is delightfully illustrated by Mary MacArthur, a graduate in Art and Theology of the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, and the Foreword is written by Father Antoine Thomas, csj, founder of Children of Hope. Clare’s Clare’s Costly Cookie: A Young Heart Discovers the Way of Love is 112 pages, softcover, and currently available from:

• Nativity Press
• Sacred Heart  Books and Gifts online
• Catholic Heritage Curricula
• Seton Home Study School

Order Clare’s Costly Cookie: A Young Heart Discovers the Way of Love at Amazon and support CatholicMom.com with your purchase

Copyright 2013 Julie Kelly

Vocational Discernment Retreat

May 31- June 2, 2013

Hosted by the Daughters of St. Paul – young women between the ages 18 to 30 are invited to attend.

172 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL

Contact Sr. Helena:
helraphaelfsp@aol.com
617-850-5584

www.DaughtersOfStPaul.com

Watch this video on YouTube.