Grace Cafe Review

available at:
www.donnacooperoboyle.com

"I'm so thankful for Donna-Marie and her wonderful books! She's is a bright light on the path for faithful Christian moms in our world today. There's something so familiar about her writing that speaks straight to my heart. It's as if I'm able to sit down for coffee with a trusted friend or around the dinner table with my mom, Grandma and aunts for treasured time who know both Jesus and our calling as mothers (whether physical or spiritual) well. Someone who seems to know my heart and can speak uplifting words of inspiration, confidence and encouragement. For example, how to maintain an active prayer life throughout the very busy and often chaotic days and nights of mothering, how to sanctify each day as we take steps each day to answer our universal call to holiness by our Baptism - for ourselves and for our family's salvation- and especially words of wisdom from years of experience how to serve in love and joy. To keep the fire of love and faith alive in our hearts and share it with others, with sincere joy. How to not miss the tremendously beautiful gifts that God has given us, and how to cooperate with His grace with our Yes. Especially in this "Year of Faith," and the 50th Anniversary of Vatican II when the council fathers said in closing that women living the Gospel could do much to "aid humanity in not falling," I believe this is an excellent book to help us on that path."

Thank you very much for the review, Julie.

God bless you and your family!

Listen in!

You can hear a snippet of my book Embracing Motherhood narrated by yours truly! Simply click on this link and then on the image of the Audio book.http://catalog.franciscanmedia.org/Product.aspx?ProductCode=A36336

Serving God in the here and now

Here's an older video. may it bring you inspiration!

Excited to announce my upcoming book!

Releasing in March 2013 by Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Company

More details to follow as we get closer to the release!

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

Snippet of inspiration for Moms!

Embracing Motherhood!

Amazon says my book Embracing Motherhood is in stock and ready for delivery!

Here's the link:
http://www.amazon.com/Embracing-Motherhood-Donna-Marie-Cooper-OBoyle/dp/086716994X/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_10

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

Excited to unveil my new upcoming book!

My new book will be released in January 2012! As well, an audio version of the book will be available too--at the same time!

God bless your vocation of motherhood! Embrace it with all your heart!

hugs and prayers,

Donna-Marie

Worrying about praying enough...

Next time you worry about fitting your prayers in during your overly-packed days with the kids, think about this notion which I wholeheartedly agree with, and well, it comes from a saint!

"Do not distress yourself about your prayers. It is not always necessary to employ words, even inwardly, it is enough to raise your heart and let it rest on our Lord, to look lovingly up toward this divine Lover of our souls for between lovers the eyes speak more eloquently than the tongue."

~ St. Francis De Sales

Of course, this doesn't mean you don't look for every opportunity for prayer because you can fit your Rosaries in on your fingertips when your hands are busy with the care of the household and family. But, there are plenty of times when your focus is critically needed for your family, and you can't formulate the words to speak to Our Lord; it is then when your loving looks to Him are enough - He knows!

Upholding the Dignity and Blessedness of a Mother's Vocation

Upholding the Dignity and Blessedness of a Mother's Vocation

By Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle
How wonderful that holy Mother Church upholds the dignity of women and motherhood. This fact alone should help us feel at peace in our hearts and souls knowing that our womanly gifts are fully recognized and that our loving service to our families is encouraged for its intrinsic beauty -- for all that it entails -- with all its challenges, sacrifices, deep and inexpressible joy, and at times, when hearts are pierced with sorrow when a mother loses a child to miscarriage or at any time after their child’s birth. Every moment of mothering is overflowing with grace and blessings in one form or another. It’s a vocation of unquestionable blessedness to a faithful woman who embraces her vocation.

Our late dear Pope John the Great expressed his deep and brilliant understanding of the human heart quite often in his encyclicals, letters, and to his audiences. In describing the many faceted duties of parenthood, he said in Mulieris Dignitatem (On the Dignity and Vocation of Women): “The eternal mystery of generation, which is in God himself, the one and Triune God (cf. Eph. 3:14-15), is reflected in the woman’s motherhood and in the man’s fatherhood. Human parenthood is something shared by both the man and the woman. Even if the woman, out of love for her husband, says: ‘I have given you a child,’ her words also mean: ‘This is our child.’ Although both of them together are parents of their child, the woman’s motherhood constitutes a special ‘part’ in this shared parenthood, and the most demanding part. Parenthood – even though it belongs to both – is realized much more fully in the woman, especially in the prenatal period. It is the woman who ‘pays’ directly for this shared generation, which literally absorbs her energies of her body and soul. It is therefore that the man be fully aware that in their shared parenthood he owes a special debt to the woman. No program of ‘equal rights’ between women and men is valid unless it takes this fact fully into account.”

Dear Pope John Paul II was certainly a hero to mothers! Isn’t it so wonderful that he has asked men to consider all of woman’s services to life and take all of it into account? Further, he says that men actually owe a special debt to women! I find those words uplifting and amazing! Pope John Paul II so beautifully recognized and expressed what it means for a woman to give her body to God and to her husband so that it can be used to bring new life into the world. I love that Pope John Paul II was not afraid to acknowledge the fact that it is the woman pays directly with the selfless gift of her life and her own body. She is subject to wear and tear of body and spirit as she gives her “Yes!” to God to new life and the special role of her motherhood.

Gift of Body and Spirit
We can certainly understand the physical wear and tear we mothers experience as we house our unborn infants within our bodies and stretch beyond the point we imagined our bodies could possibly extend, and as we are sometimes subject to morning sickness, as well as the kicking and poking of little feet up under our rib cages keeping us up at night, and even sometimes when facing precarious health issues.

What about the wearing down of our spirits too? Yes, we women “pay” for bringing forth new life and the mother’s role in parenting is realistically the most demanding position in many ways. To add to that, our braising culture batters and bombards women with many misleading and confusing messages causing them at times to doubt their divine purpose in their vocations of motherhood. Even during an economic recession when jobs are difficult to be secured, our society still looks down their noses mockingly at the role of a faithful mother who is dedicated to raising her family within the guidelines of holy Mother Church. Our society and much that comes through the secular media imply that mothers should be searching for something much more satisfying than dishes, demands, and diapers within the confinement of the walls of the home. We do know though know that a mother’s role at the heart of the home is immensely more than merely doing housework and caring for the myriad of demands that come with the territory of raising a family today. It is a mission that is actually responsible for raising little saints to heaven! What can be more important than this?

This is what Pope John Paul II was talking about when he said, “It is the woman who ‘pays’ directly for this shared generation, which literally absorbs her energies of her body and soul.” As well, women pay directly and dearly when they are ridiculed for their faithfulness and dedication because they have more children than the standardized one child or two children sized family that our society expects.


Discovering the Holy in the Ordinariness of Life

Yet, today’s Catholic mothers can rise above the onslaught of mixed messages and the downright belittling criticisms aimed at them from an ungodly culture and rally together to encourage one another in their roles as the hearts of their homes – actually on a journey together towards Heaven. Today’s Catholic mothers have many God-given gifts that are meant to be shared. They can come together physically or even through the Internet to compare notes, share ideas, encourage one another, and relish in their Catholic camaraderie. Some ways that this can be accomplished is through everyday encounters within our family and community and also in gathering together to study and share the faith. We can look to our Blessed Mother as a model to follow and the saints to emulate their virtues. A deep prayer life will give us the strength and faith to accomplish all that God wants to do through us. When we open our eyes to a new day each day, we should give our entire day over to the Lord and ask Him to use us for His glory. He will do the work and sometimes will give us the glimpses of amazing transformations occurring.

Pope Benedict XVI recently spoke about looking to the example of the saints to “provide a credible and comprehensive answer to the human and spiritual questions which give rise to the deep crisis of the contemporary world: charity and truth.” He also mentioned that to follow the saints’ example is not necessarily an easy task, but indeed a necessary one for authentic Christian life.

Especially during this month of September, when we celebrate Blessed Teresa’s feast day on the 5th and “inspiration day” on the 10th when she received her “call within a call” from our Lord to serve the poorest of the poor, I can’t help but be reminded of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta’s teachings about our own individual call to holiness. She told us again and again that “Holiness is not a luxury of a few, but a duty for us all.” How do we become holy? One certain way is by being faithful to the nitty-gritty details of our lives with prayerful and loving hearts. Blessed Teresa reminded us that small things done with great love are works of peace. As mothers, we know that our days are chock full of small loving acts, many times unnoticed by others around us. But we must be convinced in our hearts that these seemingly tiny acts of love are actually huge in God’s eyes. He is the one who placed us in the hearts of our homes. Every little act of love can be redemptive and holy.

Let us go forward, then, each day – confident in our vocations of motherhood, striving to satiate the thirst of Jesus in all whom God has put in our midst, starting first within our own families and when all are satisfied, reaching out into our communities. By doing so, we will be helping to sanctify our families and others by our examples of love.

Oh dear Lord, allow us to be YOUR love to our families and others and help to bring countless souls to You! Amen.

(This article first appeared in the TORCH website for homeschooling families and is used by permission.)

_________________________________
Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle is a Catholic wife, mother of five, catechist, award-winning journalist, best-selling author, and Lay Missionary of Charity. She is the author of "Catholic Prayer Book for Mothers", "The Heart of Motherhood: Finding Holiness in the Catholic Home", and "Prayerfully Expecting: A Nine-Month Novena for Mothers To Be" (with a foreword by Blessed Teresa of Calcutta). All were endorsed by Blessed Teresa and blessed by Pope John Paul II. Her latest books are "Catholic Saints Prayer Book", "The Domestic Church: Room By Room: A Mother's Study Guide", and "Grace Café: Serving Up Recipes for Faithful Mothering". They are available through her website: www.donnacooperoboyle.com and she offers daily inspiration at her blogs: "Daily Donna-Marie: A Dose of Inspiration", "Embracing Motherhood," "Moments of Inspiration with Your Favorite Saints" and "View from the Domestic Church." Her work can be seen in several magazines, newspapers, and Catholic websites. Her forthcoming books are: "Mother Teresa and Me: Ten Years of Friendship" (September 09) and "The Heart of Catholicism" (July 2010).

Tune in this morning to "Mom's Corner"!

I hope you can tune in to my chat with Teresa Tomeo this morning on Ave Maria Radio on "Catholic Connection." Just tune in at 9:15 AM Eastern Standard Time by clicking here at avemariaradio.net and then click "listen live."

It's the first day of Autumn! I'll be back later to post a link a little later on in case you can't tune in.

God bless!

Donna-Marie

Summer and Prayer

I posted a summertime prayer strategy article over at View from the Domestic Church today. Go take a look!

Review of the Domestic Church: First Chapter

This is a review from Sarah at "With a Hopeful Heart" blog

I've decided to post a book review of the above by Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle in weekly segments as I read it. The book is done in a format that I think will work well for a weekly review.

In case you haven't heard of this book, hopefully my very amateur review will help you decide if it is one you'd like to add to your own library. It is available from Circle Press. This book can be used as a part of a study group or for individual use. Each chapter is broken up into 'rooms' for the reader to contemplate different topics and identify them as rooms in their domestic church. My hope is that each week I will read the chapter for that week and then be able to give you several points to ponder and excerpts as well in Monday's post. Hopefully. I think it will also serve as a wonderful way to walk the journey of lent as I focus on my domestic church in the process.

I am really enjoying this book so far and in the first chapter I have already repeatedly gone back to re-read what I've highlighted in order to refocus my meditations on the subject. As I said, this book is written in Study Guide type format for weekly meetings with other women and mothers. It comes complete with thought provoking discussion questions at the end of each chapter as well. It is much more than a study guide though, because it brings to light Catholic teaching through Scripture, papal encyclicals, apostolic letters, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the words of our great Saints. They are sprinkled throughout as a wonderful addition to the eloquent words of the author.

This Week's focus:

The Foyer: Our Blessed Mother Mary and Motherhood

How can I aspire to imitate such an amazing Mother as Blessed Mother Mary? That's a big question. Mary's "Yes" to the angel Gabriel was a courageous "Yes" to God. It was not a mediocre surrender to God's Will. It was a full, complete surrender to her becoming the Mother of Jesus. What is my answer when I am asked for that surrender in my vocation of wife and mother? I must admit, it is not always the full-hearted "Yes" that Mary gave. I should consider all of my responses to God as a mother, reflecting upon my willingness-or lack thereof-to accept everything that God has for me. This is not always easy as a mother, but I desire that complete "Yes" to my motherly vocation. Like Mary when she visited her dear cousin, Elizabeth, while with child herself, I desire to have Mary-like sensitive attentiveness to the care and needs of others. I love that phrase! Sensitive attentiveness. I will admit that sometimes I do not have sensitive attentiveness towards members of my family and that it does not always come easy. This will be a wonderful phrase to stick on my fridge for this week so that I may become more aware of improving it in my domestic church.

How can we as mothers and women follow Our Blessed Mother more faithfully and discover peace as we follow her "Yes" with sweet surrender? Here's a few things to ponder from the book that I picked out for this week:


A mother can learn from Mary by asking for God's grace to entrust herself completely to him with the "full submission of intellect and will".



For mothers, it means service first in her family and then reaching out to the world. At times, good intentions and a mother's loving heart may cause her to stretch herself too much to administer to the needs of others outside her home. It's wonderful and holy to want to help, yet mothers must remember that their love begins first and foremost at home. Being sure that her family is properly cared for before she embarks in other areas of ministry will ensure that she is not inadvertently neglecting her family in the process of helping others.



Silence can ironically be found in the busyness of a mother's day as a mother learns to retreat to her heart even as she is involved in the care of her family. Within the "silence" of a mother's heart, Our Lord can speak.



It is when she realizes that Our Lord actually wants to use her attentiveness to her family's needs that she will understand the value and prayerfulness in performing little things with great love. The mother becomes an everyday example to her family as she raises her children in holiness and goes about with a prayerful heart, striving to emulate the Blessed Mother's virtues.



Isn't that just beautifully said? I think these are all such important things to remember as mothers. I am striving to keep in mind that my small acts throughout the day and my little prayers and offerings in my mind and heart bring holiness and blessing to my home. How important are the needs of my family and the manner in which I attend to them! They are my simple offering that I give daily, along with my morning offering of all my works,joys and sufferings that I pray before the day begins pulling me in all directions. This week I have a lot to focus on and meditate upon as I enter the season of lent. I will need to write some of the quotes down in order to call them to mind frequently this week. I just wonder if I'll have enough room on my bathroom mirror and my fridge to hold them all??

Blessings this week as you focus on your domestic church's foyer!

Next Week: The Garage!!

*******

Thank you very much, Sarah, for your beautiful review! Your blog is so lovely, by the way. Enjoy your journey in The Domestic Church: Room by Room!

Special prayers going out today for newly formed mother's group!

I am praying for Kim, a Catholic mother in Texas who has decided to start a Catholic mother's group after reading two of my books! God bless you Kim! She will conduct her first meeting tomorrow (Friday) and will do a study on my book, The Heart of Motherhood: Finding Holiness in the Catholic Home. Please say a prayer for Kim and her group as they embark on their study of the vocation of Catholic motherhood and meet together as sisters in Christ!

A copy of Kim's review that appears at Barnes & Noble.Com appears below.

LIFE CHANGING!
Kim Venneman Cooper, A reviewer, 04/29/2008

I am a mother of 3 children ages 3 and under and have read THE HEART OF MOTHERHOOD and it has truly changed my life! The author's outlook on the vocation of motherhood could only have come from the Holy Spirit....Donna Marie Cooper Oboyle's writings are awe inspiring. I encourage all mothers to read this book. It is easy reading and one you can't put down. The writings of this book are ones you remember in the middle of the night when you are up with sick children and want to break down and cry or the days you don't know how you are going to make it through the day....the voice of this book sticks with you and truly helps you become a better mother and helps you to live a holy life at home. IT is a reminder of the true vocation of motherhood that has been lost in today's society. I am starting a mother's group at my church based on this book because the message is so powerful that all mothers need to be touched, encouraged and inspired by the words of this book, especially in today's world!

*****************************************************************

Thank you, Kim for your very kind words. Most especially, thank you for your courage to go forward to gather women together to work together to understand the beauty and holiness hidden in an ordinary yet extraordinary vocation! I'm praying for you and your group!

God bless and hugs,

Donna-Marie

Good news for Moms!

I will be telling you about some exciting news I have for Moms and Grandmoms, Godmothers, and StepMoms coming up very soon!

Stay tuned!

God bless your day!

Donna-Marie

Review on "Catholic Prayer Book for Mothers"

Catholic Prayer Book for Mothers (Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Company, Oct, 05)

Review By M. Mccormack (Sandown, NH United States)


A couple of weeks ago, I did a review for Donna Marie's book Heart of Motherhood. And then I picked up this gem & started to read it. What a WONDERFUL book for the busy Catholic mother! The chapters are short & divided by topic but they aren't your standard "chapters" either. Each has a few prayers, specific quotes from Pope John Paul II, Blessed Mother Teresa about the topic and then ends w/a "think about it" sort of reflection to keep the mind & heart focused on the truth about our vocation as mothers. Definitely one for every Catholic mother's collection and easy to dive in & read over & over & over again. This is going to be another of Donna Marie's books that I give as a gift, too! Do yourself a favor & get this one!

Mothers, children and prayer...

"We know that it is our duty to teach our children to pray. Pope John Paul II reminded us of this when he said, 'By reason of their dignity and mission, Christian parents have the specific responsibility of educating their children in prayer, introducing them to a gradual discovery of the mystery of God and to personal dialogue with Him.'

Therefore, for eternal happiness for the family, a mother needs to develop her own personal prayer life, a family prayer life, and also encourage her children to have their own individual prayer lives.

Each morning as our children are leaving for school or work or play, we can send them off with a Morning Offering and a prayer to their guardian angel, asking for protection and guidance throughout the day.

We should get then in the habit of looking to God when they first wake up to face a new day, a fresh start, more blessings, and more chances to spread his love to others. It takes only a moment to drop down to our knees in humility before our Lord. Our children should be taught to take a minute out, no matter how much of a hurry they are in, to greet the Lord at the beginning of a new day. And when they forget, they will know they are welcome to speak to him as soon as they remember."--excerpt from my book, The Heart of Motherhood.