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Month: February 2018
Wake Up Your Rosary This Lent With Meggie K. Daly’s New Devotional
This winter has been BIZ ZEEE, my friends, and I’m afraid I’ve just been going through the motions of the seasons: Mardi Gras, ashes, fast, fish, grumpy ’cause I’m missing extra coffee. But I found a remedy for this lackluster Lent in my stack of beach reads! Maggie K. Daly’s Bead by Bead: the Scriptural Rosary (I got the gorgeous full color version) was just what I needed. 
I took my copy down to the beach about 3 PM Friday to say my Rosary while my oldest tried out her new boogie board. No sooner had I made the sign of the cross and read this line: “I renounce all distractions that may come to me while I am saying this Rosary…” (p 57 *) a laughing gull landed right in front of me and began laughing.
Soon after, the “Mom, look at me!” comments began, followed shortly by the congregation of the rest of the family with various wants, needs, and comments.
Lord, I need this book.
Somehow, I got through the Sorrowful Mysteries. And I made some very important observations along the way. My prayer life is sub-par. I can no longer hear the silence through all this chatter going on around me, both outside and inside my head. For example, Daly provides a short, one-liner bible verse after each Hail Mary, like this:
Hail Mary… Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength. (LK 22:43, NRSV)
to be read with each bead. As I was moving to the next bead and began saying that Hail Mary, I caught myself looking ahead as my noisy mind “recited” the Hail Mary. Yes, I was “saying” a Hail Mary in my head at the same time I was reading ahead to the verse that Daly had so carefully chosen. Busted.
I turned my beach chair and pushed my sunglasses up onto the top of my head. Now I was forced to close my eyes from time to time, and I used those moments to say the Hail Marys. My eyes could open against the bright sun only long enough to read the brief reflections. And what beautiful reflections! I was transformed back to the early days of my “re-version” (you know, like what you call a fallen-away Catholic who comes home: not a convert, but a revert) when tears would pour down my face every Tuesday and Friday as I said the Sorrowful Mysteries.
Every now and again, we need a little something to get us back on track. Bead by Bead: A Scriptural Rosary is the something I need right now, and I will be keeping it handy not only this Lent, but all year long. I highly recommend this devotional as an aide to rejuvenate your daily Rosary.
What are your favorite daily devotionals?
*Daly cites prayers from St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort’s The Secret of the Rosary throughout Bead by Bead.
You can follow Meggie K. Daly on FB here.
Her publisher’s website is here.
What are you reading? You can share your favorite books by tagging your social media posts with #OpenBook and linking up with us at Carolyn Astfalk’s “My Scribbler’s Heart” blog as well as CatholicMom.
Mystical and Natural (Theology) Shall Kiss
A friend recently turned me on to this contemporary Catholic poet, and so I purchased Roses For the Most High on Kindle. This work is nothing short of stunning. Colonel Ronald Smith’s name belongs with Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, and Robert Frost. One can read just a few lines from Roses for the Most High and hardly disagree:
“I contemplated mantric shores
and living mist upon the moors
when breath of heather blushed the lea
medieval chants by ancient sea
would reeve galactic jewels that kite
the indigo of endless night”
I’m going to push the envelope a bit farther. Smith’s ability, to craft poetry that brings readers deeper into an understanding of our Faith, is truly inspired. Perhaps his military experience, combined with a brilliant understanding of Mystical Theology and the lives of the saints, contributes to making his reflections so captivating. Natural Theologists will appreciate Smith’s way of conveying awe of the beauty of God’s creation as could only be attained through the very unique position of an Air Force pilot who found himself flying in the north and south Polar Regions.
Colonel Smith is a fascinating person. I found this article about him:
http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/home-and-garden/retired-air-force-colonel-fills-downtown-loft-with-art-and/article_b6355509-2df8-58bc-8574-c0efdd0107f0.html.
His poems belong in the curriculum of every Catholic high school. Seton Homeschool, Memoria Press, Classically Catholic Memory, Homeschool Connections, Kolbe Academy, and other traditional and classical Catholic educators: this poetry belongs in your high school literature requirements, right beside Joyce Kilmer, Hilaire Belloc and G. K. Chesterton. I fully expect my grandchildren and their grandchildren will one day be memorizing Smith’s words as part of a classical Catholic education.
Smith’s book starts are on Amazon and also https://www.westbowpress.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-001128600.
Click here for Author website .
What are you reading? You can share your favorite books by tagging your social media posts with #OpenBook and linking up with us at Carolyn Astfalk’s “My Scribbler’s Heart” blog as well as CatholicMom.
Molly For President!
The Perks of Banking Catholic: A New Twist On Ash Wednesday
Who(m) Do You Love?
The Cover Image: I think Bear came first. He might be about a year older than Hearts. I think Hearts was a Valentine’s Day gift to our little “Molly” when she was 3. They are well-loved.
The Title: As a homeschooling mom, I’m a little bit ridiculously proud of how I’ve managed to produce two mini grammar police.
But, what’s more important than a misplaced modifier or a surplus of exclamation points? How about a lesson in LOVE?
A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh (who may or may not be the inspiration behind a certain wolfpet-named-Francis) said you don’t have to know how to spell love, you just have to feel it.
The point is, kiddos aren’t just born knowing how to perform acts of charity; they must be taught. Ideally, we are molding them into selfless adults through our own example. But when the day is long and the night is short, we may find that we have neither the energy to shuttle everyone off to help ladle noodles at the soup kitchen, nor the funds to adopt a highway. In these cases, we may have to resort to some direct, didactic teaching, or, even better, read stories!
May I suggest the latest in the Molly McBride series? It’s called Molly McBride and the Party Invitation and it’s available both at Amazon and direct from the publisher at Gracewatch Media.
- A true love story, Molly McBride and friends, with the help of Father Matt, learn the real meaning of charity. The story also subtly examines school bullying through a unique lens: “loving thy enemy” via the Gospel of Matthew.
Party Invitation is a tale of true love, charity. I’m talking about “love” as in the word Paul used in writing to the Corinthians, using the Greek work agape, (also used by John to equal “God,”) that was later translated into the Latin caritas, the root of the English word “charity.”
And in this love story, Molly McBride and friends, with the help of Father Matt, learn the real meaning of charity in a surprising way: the story examines school bullying through a unique lens: “loving thy enemy” via the Gospel of Matthew.
As in the first 2 Molly McBride books, lessons abound whenever the fiery-haired 5-year-old encounters her faithful friends, the Children of Mary sisters and, in Book 2, Father Matt. It is my dream that every child will learn a little something, in a fun and entertaining way, from the relatable characters in these books. And, hopefully, the books will fulfill the daily goal of every teacher and homeschooling parent, that is, to help children learn to enjoy reading and to continue to grow in their faith.
Blessings!
Jeanie
What are you reading? You can share your favorite books by tagging your social media posts with #OpenBook and linking up with us at Carolyn Astfalk’s “My Scribbler’s Heart” blog as well as CatholicMom.
I Promised You a Party
As well as a Trifecta in February as we unveil the long-awaited sequel to Molly McBride and the Plaid Jumper, and so, at last! here it is:
From the back cover:
Molly McBride is turning 6, and her Momma is planning a BIG party. Everyone in Molly’s class is supposed to get an invitation. But should a certain class bully be invited, too? Or would it be better if his were “lost”?
Join Molly and friends as they learn that doing actor of charity, while always a good thing, isn’t always a party.
A true love story, Molly McBride and friends, with the help of Father Matt, learn the real meaning of charity. The story also subtly examines school bullying through a unique lens: “loving thy enemy” via the Gospel of Matthew.
As always, in my effort to expose Catholic kids to the religious life, there are special guests in this book: along with Father Matt, the Children of Mary sisters play a big part in Party Invitation.
Friends, it’s ready to order NOW via Amazon here: Party Invitation! It’s the perfect Valentine’s Day, Easter, birthday, or First Communion gift for the Catholic kids in your life. Miss Molly is turning 6 in this story, but the Molly books are enjoyed by kids of all ages, especially the 3-9 year-old crowd.
Momma here wishes to thank all Molly’s faithful fans, especially my family: may charity and love prevail.
Blessings,
Jeanie