Everyday Blessings for Catholic Moms

Finding Holiness at Home

On Inspiration Day (the anniversary of the day that Mother Teresa received the "call within the call" from Our Lord to take care of the poorest of the poor all over the world), talking about holiness in the home and Blessed Mother Teresa. 

Are we "light and salt" to the world?

The Pain of Miscarriage

Parents are the first and foremost educators of their children

My appearance on "Sunday Night Prime" with Fr. Benedict

Segment of my EWTN show: "Everyday Blessings for Catholic Moms"

Creating a Prayer Corner in your home

Exciting News: "Everyday Blessings for Catholic Moms" premieres Monday, April 12th!

Praised be to God! I just got word from my EWTN producer who told me that "Everyday Blessings for Catholic Moms" will premiere this Monday, April 12th! The first one will air right before the Mass which is broadcast at 8:00am Eastern. So, if you turn your TV on about 15min before the Mass you should catch it. Another spot is set to air at exactly 6:20pm Monday night. These will be two separate episodes. I'm looking forward to seeing how they come out. :) I hope they will be inspiring to Catholic Moms everywhere. I hope you'll be able to catch them on Monday to hopefully give you a healthy dose of inspiration for your day. Please stop back and let me know what you think. Twenty five episodes have been taped so far and if they are well-received, God willing, I will do more.

God bless your week end, especially Divine Mercy Sunday!

hugs,

Donna-Marie

Faith & Family Live reporting on my EWTN series

Faith & Family Live reported on my new television series for EWTN. Go on over and take a look!

God bless your day!

Donna-Marie

Exciting announcement!

I announced this morning on my "Mom's Corner" segment on Teresa Tomeo's show at Catholic Connection that I am working along with EWTN programming to be able to present Catholic mothering segments to you on EWTN TV! I don't know when they will air, but I will be sure to let you know when I do. I will also announce it on my upcoming "Mom's Corner" segments. So, stay tuned! In the mean time, may God bless your faithful mothering in GREAT abundance!

God bless and hugs,

Donna-Marie

PS As soon as I get an MP3 for this morning's show, I'll post a link for you to listen in case you weren't able to tune in this morning.

My friend, Joan Lewis...

RADIO HIGHLIGHTS

EWTN Rome Bureau Chief Joan Lewis will not only be covering Pope Benedict XVI’s trip to the Holy Land for television, along with EWTN News Director and Anchor Raymond Arroyo, but she will also be making special appearances on EWTN Radio.

In addition to “NewsLinks” each day of the papal visit, listeners can hear Lewis on:

• “Son Rise Morning Show” with Brian Patrick at 7 a.m. ET.
• “Catholic Connection” with Teresa Tomeo at 9 a.m. ET. Also joining Tomeo is
Catholic Convert Steve Ray, author, producer and host of the “Footprints of God
series, and a certified guide to the Holy Land.
• “Open Line” at 3 p.m. ET
• “Kresta in the Afternoon” at 5 p.m. ET, when possible (pre-taped)

As most of these interviews will be live, this schedule is subject to change depending on events.

The Eleventh Hour Video by Fr. Corapi

EWTN's Fr. Corapi just made a video regarding the upcoming election. His video expounds upon what Bishop Rene H. Gracida boldly stated in a recent radio spot. (He is the Bishop that ordained Fr. Corapi a Deacon).

Bishop Rene H. Gracida's statement:
"This is Bishop Rene H. Gracida, reminding all Catholics that they must vote in this election with an informed conscience. A Catholic cannot be said to have voted in this election with a good conscience if they have voted for a pro-abortion candidate. Barack Hussein Obama is a pro-abortion candidate."

You can view Fr. Corapi's video by clicking here. It's in 3short segments. It's very good and I encourage you to watch it and pass it on to your friends and family.

Faith and Culture show tomorrow morning on EWTN: Be there!

I'll be featured on Faith and Culture with host, Colleen Carroll Campbell, Teresa Tomeo, and Genevieve Kineke on Sunday at 10:30 AM Eastern Standard Time and also again on Wednesday night (same show). This week will be the last in the 4 part series of roundtable discussions of Mulieris Dignitatem and women and the Church. I hope you can tune in. Check out more information about these programs in another post below this one.

God bless!

Donna-Marie

I will be on EWTN Sunday morning and at other times coming up

(photo of the American delegates who attended the congress in Rome earlier this year and who are on the shows)

Just a quick note to let you know that I will be on EWTN television tomorrow and Wednesday, as well as the following Sunday and Wednesday. The times I will give here are for Eastern Standard Time. You'll have to check for your own area.

Additionally I do have a little "button" in the right hand column of my blogs to view EWTN television right from your computer if you are living in an area without EWTN, such as my friend, Heidi who is in Alaska. So, be sure to check the "button" out.

Here is the info copied from my blogs:



"Faith & Culture" is scheduled to air throughout August! (Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time and Wednesdays at 11 p.m. Eastern Time). If you don't have EWTN, you can also watch the shows on the Internet at those times. They will also eventually re-air on radio.

Here are the dates you can expect to see the shows on TV:

August 3 and 6: Women's Round table on Mulieris Dignitatem; episode one (Dale, Genevieve, Elizabeth)

August 10 and 13: Women's Round table on Mulieris Dignitatem; episode two (Dale, Genevieve, Teresa)

August 17 and 20: Women's Round table on Mulieris Dignitatem; episode three (Genevieve, Elizabeth, Donna)

August 24 and 27: Women's Round table on Mulieris Dignitatem; episode four (Teresa, Donna, Elizabeth)


I hope that your summer is going well!



God bless you!

Donna-Marie

EWTN's Religious Catalogue

My Catholic Prayer Book for Mothers (Our Sunday Visitor Pub. Co.) at EWTN's online store is here. All of my books will be sold in the very near future through EWTN since I was recently profiled on their "Book Mark" television show with Doug Keck. I will be sure to let you know when the episode will air.

"Joan's Rome" blog about President Bush and Pope Benedict

UPDATED LINK


Joan Lewis is EWTN's Rome Bureau Chief stationed right near the Vatican. You can see St. Peter's from her dining room window! What a beautiful view she has there! I had the distinct pleasure of spending much tme with Joan while I was in Rome, participating in the International congress for women for the 20th anniversary of Mulieris Dignitatem. Joan also interviewed me on Vatican Radio (which you can listen to from my blogs by looking in the right hand column to find it and then clicking on the link).

Joan also invited my two daughters that I brought with me to Rome, as well as Teresa Tomeo, (my best girlfriend on the air at Ave Maria Radio!) who is a dear friend of Joan's to a lovely dinner at Joan's home on our first evening in Rome. Teresa and Joan have been friends for quite some time and I am just so happy that Teresa has "shared" Joan with me! We were able to be together on many more occasions together while in Rome in February. I feel so very blessed and honored to know Joan.

Go on over to "Joan's Rome" to read her blog about President Bush's visit with Pope Benedict. You can read her post and see many photos here. Her coverage of the event is excellent! I love her title and commentary! "POPE BENEDICT OFFERS U.S. PRESIDENT BUSH UNPRECEDENTED WELCOME...Oval Office meets Round Office – so to speak."

My trip to EWTN in Alabama

Last week I left for Chicago as I have posted earlier, to attend the RBTE (Religious Booksellers Trade Exhibit). Over 300 book store buyers come from all over the world to get copies of the displayed books at the HUGE event. It was a very nice experience and then I was whisked off to the next hotel to be closer to the airport since I had to catch a very early flight to Birmingham, Alabama to be taped on some EWTN television shows.

As many of you already are aware, I was one of 260 delegates from around the world to participate in an international women's congress in Rome earlier this year. I felt very honored and humbled to be able to be part of a group of women (and a few good men) to "go up to the mountain" to listen, study, reflect, and pray together on the Apostolic Letter, Mulieris Dignitatem/On The Dignity and Vocation of Women penned by our dear Pope John Paul II twenty years ago. The Pontifical Council for the Laity invited the delegates to come together from five continents and about 46 countries to listen to presenters, Biblical scholars, theologians and women from various parts of the world presenting the issues that they face as women in their countries. We heard some incredible stories and shared an amazing and intense three days together--a history-making event that I am sure will be etched in my memory. The profundity of the experience is still sinking in with me.


(In this photo, I am presenting my books to Cardinal Rylko, President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity as as "Catholic Connection" radio host and author, Teresa Tomeo looks on)

Because of this Vatican experience, EWTN arranged with TV host, Colleen Carroll Campbell to conduct a four part series of round table discussions about women and the culture on Colleen's show "Faith & Culture." I was honored to be among these women who comprised the series: Author, and host, the lovely and very accommodating Colleen Carroll Campbell, author, Genevieve Kineke, author, Dale O'Leary, Notre Dame University's Elizabeth Kirk, and "Catholic Connection" radio host and author, Teresa Tomeo. We hope that the shows will be enlightening, informative and may spark an interest in viewers to read and reflect upon the Apostolic Letter, Mulieris Dignitatem, the first letter written exclusively for women. It has been my experience that women have been brought to tears during my talks about women's God-given gifts and dignity while speaking about it and quoting from Pope John Paul II's beautiful affirming words.


(On the set of "Faith & Culture" with the American delegates who are in the four part series)

For more information about Colleen Carroll Campbell's show, "Faith & Culture" you may go to Colleen's website.



"Faith & Culture" is scheduled to air throughout August!(Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time and Wednesdays at 11 p.m. Eastern Time). If you don't have EWTN, you can also watch the shows on the Internet at those times. They will also eventually re-air on radio.

Here are the dates you can expect to see the shows on TV:

August 3 and 6: Women's Round table on Mulieris Dignitatem; episode one (Dale, Genevieve, Elizabeth)

August 10 and 13: Women's Round table on Mulieris Dignitatem; episode two (Dale, Genevieve, Teresa)

August 17 and 20: Women's Round table on Mulieris Dignitatem; episode three (Genevieve, Elizabeth, Donna)

August 24 and 27: Women's Round table on Mulieris Dignitatem; episode four (Teresa, Donna, Elizabeth)

After finishing up a full day of taping for the series, I had the treat of being in the studio audience of the "Life on the Rock" show in which Teresa Tomeo and Colleen Carroll Campbell were the guests. Fr. Mark and Doug Barry of RADIX (new to the show and a GREAT addition) did a wonderful job moderating and discussing our cultural climate today. I have to say that Teresa and Colleen did a brilliant job in expressing their concerns about the culture today; pointing out several areas to watch out for as well as some things we can do to help.




Some of us were able to spend some time together after the show and had a bite to eat. Teresa, Colleen, and I stayed up much too late that night because we embraced the time we had together, staying at the Madonna House at EWTN in Birmingham; catching up and discussing many issues. All the while knowing that morning would come quickly and both Teresa and Colleen had early flights out and I had a show to tape. I felt like the "Mother Hen" who every so often would say, "We'd better get to bed." But we didn't get to bed until it was the wee hours of the morning! So much to talk about and so little time!

The following morning, I had to be up bright eyed for my show with the very gracious, Doug Keck for an EWTN "Book Mark" series in which we discussed all of my books: Prayerfully Expecting: A Nine Month Novena for Mothers-To-Be, Catholic Prayer Book For Mothers, The Heart of Motherhood: Finding Holiness in the Catholic Home, and Catholic Saints Prayer Book, my newest book. This show will be aired sometime in the near future and when I know for sure, I will let you know.



God bless you!

leaving for two events!

Dear Friends,

I will be leaving for Chicago tomorrow (Tuesday) morning to go to the RBTE, Religious Booksellers Trade Exhibit to do a book signing of my newest book, Catholic Saints Prayer Book and then I will be going to Birmingham, Alabama later in the week to tape some episodes on EWTN. I'll let you know when they will be aired as soon as I know.

I most-likely will not be able to post messages for a few days. If it is possible, I will. I would appreciate prayers for safety if you would be so kind. Thank you in advance for the prayers! I will keep you all in mine.

God bless you!

Donna-Marie

Trying to catch up...

I told you recently that I would catch up with you. I have been so busy! My new book, Catholic Saints Prayer Book was just released! I have been doing book signings as well as planning and preparing retreats that I will be giving. One is coming up on April 26th in Connecticut and will be very beautiful because it also includes an opportunity for Mass in the morning, two talks, lunch, a time of Eucharistic Adoration and an opportunity for Confession, plus a book signing. Details are on the appearance section of my website here.

I've been so busy with family, projects, my book launch and all, that I forgot that a Television series that had been taped about me a few months ago was airing! I missed the first episode which aired last Thursday! However, I thought, well, that's okay because the Part One will air again next week. Guess what? Missed that one too! I have the tapes, so it is not a big deal. Parts Two and Three will be aired this month, as well. Maybe I'll find some time to sit down and watch them with my family.

Let's see, what else? Want to get your house in tip top shape? It happens when the TV station calls and asks if they can come over and feature you on their show because of your recent trip to the Vatican Congress! Need I say more? You certainly don't want anyone zooming in with their TV camera on a little stray "dust bunny" or a possible smear or anything on the window as the sunlight streams in, now would you? I even allowed the photographer into my little office which is a big mess! I am trying to get it organized. My husband had just brought another set of shelves into my office. I had my papers and things in piles on the floor to sort and put away nice and neat and organized! You know, some good old spring cleaning. However, with all of the busyness with book signings and appointments at physical therapy and doctor's offices, writing articles, as well as dealing with major head and body pain, needless to say, my piles of stuff that were to be organized did not get done in time for this interview. I told the photographer and the reporter that no one had been allowed in my office except family, so far. But, they wanted to see my office to get a few shots in there. So, you'll get a peak at where some of my books "come from!"

This show will air around Mother's day. I will also be able to link it to my blogs and website as I have done with this ORTV Crossroad's Magazine television show (same people) before when they featured my Catholic Prayer For Mothers book and my relationship with Mother Teresa.

In addition, there were reporters to my house and phone interviews with others about my new book and the Vatican experience.

I've also been busy getting details worked out and flights booked for my trips to Chicago and EWTN in Birmingham, both in May. The Chicago trip will be to the RBTE (the Religious Booksellers Trade Exhibit) which is the largest Catholic bookseller conference! I have been invited by Our Sunday Visitor to be one of their three chosen authors to do a book signing there with my newest book. Straight from there, I fly down to Alabama to be featured on four segments on the "Faith & Culture" show moderated by host, Colleen Carroll Campbell about the Vatican Congress and Mulieris Dignitatem with a few other women whom I was very honored to get to know while we attended the congress together. They are: Genevieve Kineke, Teresa Tomeo, Dale O'Leary, and Elizabeth, Kirk. I'll let you know when EWTN will air the segments as soon as I know.

I've posted this before, but here is a reflection I wrote for Lay Witness magazine about the International congress that I attended which was held in Rome in February.

And by the way, I am scheduled for an MRI on my brain on Thursday, April 17th. The doctors want to make sure there's a brain in my head somewhere! :) Actually, it's really because of the car accident that my daughter and I were in which has caused some problems. If you could spare a prayer, please pray for me for Thursday. I'm more concerned about the procedure, to tell you the truth, than the test results. It's the dye they'll put in me and the fact that I have had severe allergic reactions to medications in the past. Plus the tight quarters of the MRI and all. But, with prayer, and God's good grace, I'll get through it and then, God willing, back on my feet to do my Barnes & Noble book signing this Sunday in Danbury, CT.

So, there you have at least a bit of an update on what's been going on here. Oh, and throughout all of this, I had to say, "Good bye" to my artist daughter, Chaldea who went to Ireland and Scotland to work on some farms for a couple of months. She's like me, she loves nature. She deserves this bit of time enjoying Ireland, a place some have called "a piece of Heaven."

I'll bring you some more news soon and will be posting a beautiful letter from a Mom to her son about her faith. Stay tuned for that.

God bless your day! Wherever you are in this great big world, give your smile away and brighten someone's day. Hug your children a little tighter, hang on to those family times. Be understanding of the grumpiness of some people - maybe they just need a little love. Pray, pray, and pray some more.

I hope you experience the sites of some bright blooming forsythias or early spring flowers. It's happening here and it's gives a fresh feeling of rebirth.

Be good, be happy, take care of the people around you and love them with all of your heart!

Thank you in advance for your prayers.

God bless!

Donna-Marie