Grab your cup of tea or coffee on Monday morning and join us!

I hope you'll join me on Monday morning! Brew yourself a cup of tea or coffee and sit down for 15 minutes to visit with Teresa Tomeo and me. We'll be doing our "Mom's Corner" segment on "Catholic Connection," Ave Maria Radio at 9:15 AM Eastern Standard Time. Perhaps you can also tune in from your vehicle on your way out for morning Mass or to do some last minute Christmas shopping! Either way, I hope you'll join us for a few minutes of some Christmas inspiration for Moms and families. Maybe we'll throw in something for the Dads, too!

I'll look forward to spending some time with you on Monday morning! In the mean time, watch out for the black ice and slippery conditions in some places out there. Try not to get flustered over the harried shoppers running around! Keep it simple if you can, so you can enjoy this beautiful season of Advent - of preparing our hearts for the Christ Child!

God be with you!

Yours in Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,

I'll be back later...

I'll be back later on today to share a little story about Jesus in the Post Office, perhaps share a photo or two with you from our little snowstorm yesterday, as well as to give you details about my Christmas radio show on Monday at 9:15 Eastern Standard Time with Teresa Tomeo for our "Mom's Corner" segment. I am running out to Christmas shop! I just finished the book I was writing (Yippee!!) and have to get ready for Christmas now. We've only had our Advent wreath out so far and just started with our decorations yesterday! It's been busy around here. I've been doing a lot of talks and book signings and I've also have Lyme disease and haven't felt well. I hope that you are enjoying your Advent and your family at this BLESSED time of year!

God bless!
See you later!
Hugs,

I hope it was worth the wait...

I decided that I couldn't possibly pick this winner from a hat...

Every one's entry was so compelling...

So, I decided that the winner is...

EVERYONE who entered!! SURPRISE!! After all, it is ADVENT and CHRISTMAS is coming! I know who you all are, so just email me again and this time give me your mailing address and please tell me who you want me to inscribe the book to (yourself or the person you were thinking of).

Have a BLESSED day!

The winner is...

I have picked the winner in this latest book contest! The winner was chosen yesterday on our Blessed Mother's beautiful feast day under her title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the unborn.

Drum roll, please...

I told you that I would pick the winner today!

Well, I told you I would pick the winner today on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe for my "Prayerfully Expecting" contest. I will have my daughter pick an entry out of a hat shortly! "Stay tuned!" Be back soon!

Our Lady of Guadalupe

"Hear me and understand well, my son the least, that nothing should frighten or grieve you. Let not your heart be disturbed. Do not fear that sickness, nor any other sickness or anguish. Am I not here, who is your Mother? Are you not under my protection? Am I not your health? Are you not happily within my fold? What else do you wish? Do not grieve nor be disturbed by anything."

— Our Lady to Juan Diego


"In the winter of 1531, a poor, 57-year-old Aztec Indian living five miles outside of Mexico City encountered a miraculous happening on his way to morning Mass. First he heard strange music coming from Tepeyac Hill, and then he heard a woman's voice calling his name. Juan Diego climbed the hill and encountered a young woman, appearing to be of his own people in physical appearance and dress. The woman identified herself as the Virgin Mary, and told Juan Diego to ask the bishop of Mexico City to build a church on the hill to assist in the conversion of the nation and be a source of consolation to the people.

Juan Diego obeyed the request, but the bishop was skeptical regarding the message, even though he perceived that Juan was a humble, and well meaning Catholic. Juan reported the bishop's doubt to Our Lady at Tepeyac Hill, and she asked him to return to the bishop once again, bearing the same message. The bishop once again heard the story, and told Juan Diego to ask Our Lady for a sign that it was indeed herself that wished for the church to be built.

When he returned to the hill, Mary gave Juan Diego such a sign. Miraculously, roses appeared on the hill in the middle of winter, and Juan gathered them in his tilma, or cloak. Our Lady arranged the roses in his tilma with her own hands, and Juan returned to the bishop's presence. When Juan released the tilma, allowing the flowers to fall to the floor, it was revealed that a miraculous image of Our Lady had imprinted itself on his tilma (see above).

The bishop immediately fell to his knees, and came to believe in Juan Diego's message. A church was built on the spot of the apparition, as Mary had requested, and 8 million people converted to Catholicism in a short period of time upon hearing of or viewing the miraculous image of Our Lady.

The tilma of Juan Diego has been the subject of much modern research. The tilma, woven out of coarse cactus fiber, should have disintegrated after 20 years, but although over 500 years have passed the tilma is still in perfect condition. The pupils of Mary in the picture reflect the Indians and clergy present at the time of the first revelation of the image. No paint was used, and chemical analysis has not been able to identify the color imprint. Additionally, studies have revealed that the stars on Mary's mantle match exactly what a Mexican would have seen in the sky in December of 1531." (from Catholic Culture)

Happy Feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe!

God of power and mercy,
you blessed the Americas at Tepeyac
with the presence of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe.
May her prayers help all men and women
to accept each other as brothers and sisters.
Through your justice present in our hearts
may your peace reign in the world.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

(opening Mass prayer, feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe)

PLEASE PRAY TODAY FOR THE UNBORN AND FOR THE MOTHERS WHO ARE TODAY CONTEMPLATING ABORTION.

PLEASE DEAR LORD HELP US! PLEASE DEAR LADY OF GUADALUPE, SPARE THESE INNOCENT CHILDREN FROM MURDER! HELP THEIR MOTHERS TO UNDERSTAND THAT THEY ARE HOLDING WITHIN THEIR BODIES A PRECIOUS LIFE! AMEN.


I will be back later to post more about this beautiful feast!

Advent: A Pilgrimage Blessed by Hope

As we begin our new Liturgical year, lighting our first Advent candle, we embark on a pilgrimage once again towards the Christ Child, a pilgrimage blessed with hope. Advent is the perfect time to rediscover the beauty and depth of Christmas hope. We are so fortunate and truly blessed that the Holy Spirit has inspired our holy father, Pope Benedict XVI to gift us with his new encyclical, Spe Salvi, Saved by Hope, at this moment in time to a world that is for the most part without God — a world seemingly depleted of hope.

Catholics are given this time of preparation by our Church to prepare our hearts, our families and our homes. We can succumb to the hustling and bustling that our material-oriented culture would have us participate in. After all, the newest toys, gadgets, electronics, and fashions are exploding from the television set, radio, the Internet, store window displays, and sales pages of the newspaper, each store boasting of the absolute best sale ever. Children know exactly what they want for Christmas and where it can be gotten! It's a difficult task for parents to teach the true meaning of the Advent season in an era when Christians are even prohibited to some extent from publicly expressing their faith-filled sentiments of this holy season.

It's almost impossible to escape the chaos to find some peace with the craze of materialism enveloping us. However, we can decide to stay away from the commercialism and materialism as best as we can and use this holy season wisely and prayerfully. Time can be put aside each day for essential personal prayer and family prayer, seeking a bit of stillness in which to retreat to the heart for reflection.

The Catechism tells us, "When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Savior's first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming. By celebrating the precursor's birth and martyrdom, the Church unites herself to his desire: 'He must increase, but I must decrease'" (CCC no. 524 and John 3:30).

Parents should make use of the Advent wreath tradition within their own homes — their domestic Churches. Each evening at the family dinner table... (my article is continued here at Catholic Exchange.)

Last chance to enter the contest!

Tomorrow, on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I will be picking the winner in the "Prayerfully Expecting" contest. The winner will receive a signed copy of my book, Prayerfully Expecting: A Nine Month Novena for Mothers-To-Be.

You still have time to enter if you do it right away!

Here's what you do:

Tell me why you are wishing for this book for yourself or someone else. Do this in a paragraph or less and please send it to me by email to: DMCooperOBoyle(at)aol(dot)com. You may enter only once for this contest. But, be sure to tell others about this contest and perhaps you can link to this from your own blogs to spread the word. :)

God bless you!

My new book cover!

I'm so excited! I was just shown my new book cover for my book, Catholic Saints Prayer Book which will be released in March 2008! I will show it to you very soon. I have to wait for the high resolution image to be sent to me before I can post it.

The Golden Compass again!

Kate at Rosemary Sauce offers a comprehensive look at The Golden Compass. Go check it out!

My Advent article

Here is an Advent article I have over at Catholic Mom.Com.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary

Happy feast day! What a beautiful one it is. I haven't been home. I was out of town giving a talk this morning to a wonderful Pro-Life group called, The "Gospel of Life Society."

I pray that you are all invoking our beautiful Mother Mary for all of your needs today and always. As Mother Teresa has told me, you may pray these simple but succinct words, "Mary, Mother of Jesus, be a mother to me now." She wants to be our mother and wants us to come to her often. She will bring us to Her Son, Jesus.

Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee.

Who is St. Nicholas anyway!

"The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in Patara, a village in what is now Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.

Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned. The prisons were so full of... (Continued here.)

The Golden Compass

Check out Jean Marie's fabulous post at Catholic Fire about "The Golden Compass" movie here.

St Nicholas's feast day today

Did your children put their shoes out last night? If you forgot, you can do it tonight. :)

"In many places St. Nicholas is the main gift giver. His feast day, St. Nicholas Day, is December 6, which falls early in the Advent season. Some places he arrives in the middle of November and moves about the countryside, visiting schools and homes to find out if children have been good. Other places he comes in the night and finds carrots and hay for his horse or donkey along with children's wish lists. Small treats are left in shoes or stockings so the children will know he has come.

Where St. Nicholas is prominent, his day, not Christmas, is the primary gift giving day. Parties may be held on the eve, December 5th, and shoes or stockings left for St. Nicholas to fill during the night. Children will find treats of small gifts, fruit or nuts, and special Nicholas candies and cookies. St. Nicholas gifts are meant to be shared, not hoarded for oneself." (More here including how this day is celebrated all over the world!)


This is from Catholic Culture today:

"St. Nicholas was born in Lycia, Asia Minor, and died as Bishop of Myra in 352. He performed many miracles and exercised a special power over flames. He practiced both the spiritual and temporal works of mercy, and fasted twice a week. When he heard that a father who had fallen into poverty was about to expose his three daughters to a life of sin, Nicholas took a bag of gold and secretly flung it through the window into the room of the sleeping father. In this way, the three girls were dowered and saved from mortal sin and hell."

Happy St. Nicholas day!

Advent activities for kids

Here is a nice selection of activity ideas for CCD (Religious Education) classes throughout Advent. Some of activities will work well with your children at home too. Just click here.

And some more Advent wreath ideas here.

Here is a St. Nicholas activity here.

The blessing of the Advent Wreath

Have you blessed your Advent wreath? It's not too late. Here is a suggested prayer.

1. Make the Sign of the Cross
2. Pray the Responsory

The father of the family (or other leader) recites the verse, and the family (or group) responds. If you are alone, recite both the verse and the response

V. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
R. Who made Heaven and earth.

Optional: Read Isaiah 9:1-2, 5-6

The father (or other leader) reads this passage from the Prophet Isaiah, familiar to many from Handel's Hallelujah Chorus, which reminds us that Christ is our light, and that His Birth brought us out of the darkness of sin and saved us.

Isaiah 9:1-2, 5-6

The people that walked in darkness, have seen a great light: to them that dwelt in the region of the shadow of death, light is risen.

Thou hast multiplied the nation, and hast not increased the joy. They shall rejoice before thee, as they that rejoice in the harvest, as conquerors rejoice after taking a prey, when they divide the spoils.

For a CHILD IS BORN to us, and a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace.

His empire shall be multiplied, and there shall be no end of peace: he shall sit upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom; to establish it and strengthen it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth and for ever: the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Source: Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition of the Bible (in the public domain)

Pray the Prayer of Blessing

The father (or other leader) prays the following prayer over the Advent wreath, and the family (or group) replies "Amen."


O God, by whose word all things are sanctified, pour forth thy blessing upon this wreath, and grant that we who use it may prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ and may receive from Thee abundant graces. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Sprinkle the Advent Wreath With Holy Water
The father (or other leader) sprinkles the Advent wreath with holy water.

Optional: Pray the Advent Wreath Prayer for the First Week and Light the First Candle

While the blessing ceremony can take place at any time, if you are ready to light the first candle, the father (or other leader) leads the family (or group) in the Advent Wreath Prayer for the First Week of Advent and lights the first candle.

We begin this first week of Advent by asking Christ to come, to set us free from our sins and from the punishment that we deserve. He is our salvation.

Advent Wreath Prayer for the First Week of Advent

Bestir, O Lord, Thy might, we pray thee and come; that, defended by Thee, we may deserve rescue from approaching dangers brought on by our sins, and being set free by Thee, obtain our salvation. Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

End With the Sign of the Cross

Advent: Time to get ready...

Our new liturgical year begins. Advent is upon us! It's time to get our hearts and homes ready to greet the Christ Child! Are we getting caught up in the worldly hustle and bustle of getting ready for Christmas? Let's be sure that we take the time to pause each day in prayer to prepare our hearts as we also set the example and guide our household in prayer.

Did you get a chance to set up your Advent wreath? It's not too late, of course. It can be simple or elaborate. A prayer said together as a family each evening at the dinner table after the first candle on the wreath is lit is in keeping with a wonderful tradition of our Catholic Church (of course, always use caution with a flame and candles with children and also pets).

In Hope We are Saved: our holy father, Pope Benedict XVI's new encyclical, Spe Salvi was just released and is extremely beautiful. I encourage everyone to read and reflect upon this document that is so beautifully written and came at an absolutely perfect time immediately before Advent. You can get the encyclical here. I plan to bring it with me before the Blessed Sacrament and prayerfully read it and reflect upon it.

God bless you this first week of Advent!

First Sunday of Advent!

Are you WISHING for this book?

Since my Prayerfully Expecting: A Nine Month Novena for Mothers-To-Be is ranked number 8 at Amazon.Com (it changes hourly) in the Mother Teresa category (she wrote the foreword) in the most wished for list, I will give this book away! So, for this contest, tell me why you are wishing for this book for yourself or someone else. Do this in a paragraph or less and please send it to me by email to: DMCooperOBoyle(at)aol(dot)com. You may enter only once for this contest. But, be sure to tell others about this contest and perhaps you can link to this from your own blogs to spread the word. :)

I will pick a winner on December 12th, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

So, what are you waiting for? Christmas?? :)

Don't forget to give your smile away - especially to those you don't particularly feel like smiling at - it may help them to change their perspective and their heart!

God bless!

Catholic Educator's Resourse Center

The Catholic Educator's Resource Center which can be found here has requested my article.

This website is one I'll be checking regularly now that I am aware of it.

Christmas music

Someone just told me about a "Pod Safe Christmas" music site for Christmas songs that you can download to your Ipod and computer. Check it out here.

Feast of Christ the King!

"Lord, you give us Christ, the King of all creation,
as food for everlasting life.
Help us to live by his Gospel
and bring us to the joy of his kingdom,
where he lives and reigns for ever and ever."
(Prayer after Communion from today's Mass)

"Jesus of Nazareth...is so intrinsically king that the title 'King' has actually become his name. By calling ourselves Christians, we label ourselves as followers of the king...The feast of Christ the King is therefore not a feast of those subjugated, but a feast of those who know that they are in the hands of the one who writes straight on crooked lines."--Pope Benedict XVI

Surrounded by my beloved and "kooky" children on my birthday!

Culture's pressure on girls

In case you'd like to leave a comment at Catholic Exchange on my article there today about the pressure on our teen and "tween" age girls, or to read the article, click here.

It's my birthday!

It's my birthday today. I'll be enjoying it with my family. I hope you all had a very nice Thanksgiving day! Have a happy day today during this holiday week end, everyone! Try to take at least a few moments to pause and enjoy and listen to what our Lord is telling you.

I'll be back tomorrow, God willing. :)

God bless!

Happy Thanksgiving!

O give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love endures forever.--Ps 136:1

Enjoy your day, snuggle together to watch the parade, cook together, pray together, eat together, chat, play, make memories!

God bless!

One more day until "Turkey" day

Thanksgiving is tomorrow! We are busy with some preparations here at my house. I had a bad migraine all day yesterday and into today. I pray it lets up a little. In the meantime, I am blessed to have my two college kids back home to be with us for Thanksgiving! I'm looking forward to doing some baking a little later on. I have to pick up a "Tofurkey" for the ones here who don't eat turkey, as well as a few other forgotten items. I am so excited that we will all be sitting around the dinner table tomorrow, by God's grace, giving thanks! We'll also be celebrating some birthdays at my house.

As you prepare for a big holiday filled with food and football for some, be sure to take the time to just be and first and foremost, to be thankful.

Try not to get caught up with doing so much that you don't have a chance to enjoy. It's hard, I know, because there is always so much to do. It can even make us feel cranky if we're not careful! However, we can delegate some of the tasks to some of the kids or hubby. We can have everyone contribute to make it all come together. Who's going to help peel the potatoes? Who will mash? Who will set the table? Who will tend the fire in the fireplace? Who's in charge of dinner music? We can set these plans up in advance so we are not running around doing everything! Let's get others to help with the dishes, too. Many hands make light work, right?

Also, please be careful out there driving. You know how this is really the busiest time on the roads with people traveling to get home for Thanksgiving. My husband ran into many traffic jams on the highways yesterday going to pick up the kids from college. Please watch out for the partying people who may be drinking and driving. Let's pray for safety for everyone.

Make sure that you make the time to be with the family --not just at the dinner table -- but to play a game, to chat, to watch a movie, or go for a walk. Perhaps you may all offer a little reason to give thanks after saying your Grace before your meal. Do something together and make your memories. You don't want to be standing in the kitchen looking at the dirty dishes at the end of the day, lamenting that you never took the time to stop and pause to enjoy.

Thank you dear Lord for all of Your blessings and LOVE!

Clip to radio show this morning...

Here's the clip to my radio segment this morning on "Catholic Connection" with Teresa Tomeo on Ave Maria Radio (EWTN) You can listen to it by clicking here.

Be back a little later on with some more tips! :) While you're waiting, feel free to leave a comment and tell us how you plan to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday!

Thanks and God bless,
Donna-Marie

Tips to ease into Thanksgiving

Stop back a bit later for some tips to help ease into the Thanksgiving holiday!

In the meantime, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Leave me a comment if you'd like. How do you celebrate? I'll be back a little later on. :)

God bless,
Donna

Two lovely visits and now a little surprise!

The past two weekends I gave talks to two lovely gatherings of women. One gathering was a Communion Breakfast for the women of St. Lawrence parish and the other day was a Communion Breakfast for the women of St. James parish. Each bunch of women was as warm and beautiful as could be! I really enjoyed visiting with them and have a little message to them here:

I hope and pray that you are all keeping Jesus' fire of love burning in your heart and giving that burning love to all you meet. Here is a little surprise for each of you.

Just click here after turning up your speakers. Then close your eyes and enjoy! :)

God bless!

"Mom's Corner" tomorrow...tune in about Thanksgiving!

KEEPING IT SANE AND SIMPLE

It's almost Thanksgiving day. How do you celebrate? At our house, we like to bake pies and breads together and have a nice Thanksgiving dinner, maybe take a walk, weather permitting, have a fire in the fireplace, celebrate our many November birthdays - the best part is being together with the family, for sure!

How can we keep this holiday that is meant to give thanks, sane and simple and not out of control? There's the temptation to get more and more elaborate with dinner and decorating with the added demands for perfection thrown in to the mix. This all may equal disaster or a disillusioned hostess when things don't go as smoothly as hoped.

Tune in tomorrow Tuesday, November 20th at 9:15 AM Eastern Standard Time to my "Mom's Corner" segment on "Catholic Connection" with Teresa Tomeo on Ave Maria Radio (EWTN). We'll be discussing the Thanksgiving holiday and how to keep it sane and simple while still meaningful, beautiful and enjoyable! Feel free to leave a comment here with your thoughts on the subject as well as to call in to the show. I hope you'll tune in and join us! You can listen in at this link from your computer!

God bless!

Would you like to join me in praying the Miraculous Medal Novena?

Today starts the Miraculous Medal Novena. I will be praying this powerful novena and invite you to join me to pray this prayer for the next nine days. St. Catherine of Laboure's feast day is November 28th.

In keeping with Blessed Mother Teresa's tradition of giving out Miraculous medals to all she met, I do the same at all of my talks and book signings. I wear the one that Mother Teresa gave me during my precarious pregnancy with my daughter, Mary-Catherine.

I have witnessed amazing works from the Blessed Mother through her Miraculous medal. Fr. John Hardon S.J. a now deceased renowned Catholic theologian and author and my former spiritual director spoke highly about the Miraculous Medal and told a story about how the Miraculous medal changed his life. I tell his story in my book about Mother Teresa which is tentatively called, Unlikely Saints and will be out sometime in 2008.

To give you a little background on the Miraculous Medal and Saint Catherine Laboure who was the recipient of the message of the Miraculous Medal, I will give you a little sneak peak of an excerpt of my new book about the Saints called, Catholic Saints Prayer Book which will be released in March by Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Company. It can also be preordered from my website or Amazon.Com.

...On November 27, 1830, four months after Mary’s first visit to Catherine, she graced Catherine again with her presence; revealing the details of the Miraculous Medal as Catherine was at prayer.

The Blessed Mother showed Catherine every detail of a medal she told her to have made. The words, “O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee,” were shown to her. “Have a medal struck upon this model. All those who wear it, when it is blessed, will receive great graces especially if they wear it around the neck. Those who repeat this prayer with devotion will be in a special manner under the protection of the Mother of God. Graces will be abundantly bestowed upon those who have confidence.”

Indeed these graces were profoundly abundant. Catherine was doubted at first about the apparitions, however after two years the Bishop of Paris said the medals were in perfect conformity to the Church. Once these “Medals of the Immaculate Conception” were struck and distributed, miracles, cures, and conversions constantly occurred. Because of these extraordinary miracles and graces, the medal became known as the “Miraculous Medal.” Over a billion medals had been distributed all over the world by the time Saint Catherine died on December 31, 1876.

Catherine kept silent about the apparitions for forty six years, remaining humble until her dying breath. Only her spiritual director knew about the extraordinary occurrences granted to Catherine and then Catherine also disclosed it to one of her superiors. In 1933, fifty seven years after her burial, her body was exhumed for beatification and was found to be incorrupt, as fresh as it was they day it was buried and can be seen today at the Mother House of the Sisters of Charity, 140 Rue du Bac in Paris. She was beatified in 1933 and canonized July 27, 1947 by Pope Pius XII...(excerpt from Catholic Saints Prayer Book, by Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle)

Today is the day to start this nine day novena. I encourage all to pray this beautiful novena for all of your intentions and ask you to please add the intentions for safety for the unborn and the elderly, those who are weak and poor and are not able to voice their own rights. Our Lord has asked us through the Gospel of Matthew to take care of the poor, the sick, the lonely, the dying. This is one simple way in which we can.

The Novena prayer is here:

Novena of the Miraculous Medal

O Immaculate Virgin Mary,
Mother of Our Lord Jesus and our Mother,
penetrated with the most lively confidence in your all-powerful and never-failing intercession, manifested so often through the Miraculous Medal,
we your loving and trustful children implore you to obtain for us the graces and favors we ask during this novena,
if they be beneficial to our immortal souls,
and the souls for whom we pray.
(Here form your petition)

You know, O Mary, how often our souls have been the sanctuaries of your Son who hates iniquity.
Obtain for us then a deep hatred of sin and that purity of heart which will attach us to God alone so that our every thought, word and deed may tend to His greater glory.
Obtain for us also a spirit of prayer and self-denial that we may recover by penance what we have lost by sin and at length attain to that blessed abode where you are the Queen of angels and of men.
Amen.

Novena of prayer for the Autistic

Visiit here for a Novena for Autistic children and adults.

If you would like the "Daily Donna-Marie" button...

Let me know if you'd like to put the "Daily Donna-Marie" button that you see in the right hand column of this blog on your own blog and I will send you the code. You can send me an email to DMCooperOBoyle(at)aol(dot)com.

By the way...Ads by Google...Not on this blog!

Yesterday I took the ads by Google called, "Ad Sense" completely off this blog. A couple of weeks ago, I thought I'd try it out. I am very leery about putting ads and outside things on my personal blogs for fear it will introduce something contrary to my beliefs, so had not done it up until this point. But, I thought I'd give it a try. Well, it did happen. Yesterday the ad that was placed on my blog was for "Abortion T shirts for kids"!!! What?! I had to really look at it - I was in disbelief. At first I thought maybe they meant ANTI-abortion shirts. I checked it out. Mixed in with some Pro-Life shirts were some Pro-abortion shirts! NO THANK YOU!! Not on my blog!!

The Golden Compass

Go and check out a fantastic article at Catholic Exchange. about the movie "The Golden Compass" titled, "The Golden Compass, Phillip Pullman, and The God-Killing Books for Kids" written by Dr. Marc Newman.

Dr. Newman quotes Phillip Pullman, the author of the books from where the movie comes, as saying, "My books are about killing God" I personally don't think it should take a lot of pondering after knowing this for a Christian parent to decide what is best for their children.

Pray for this doctor...

British doctor under investigation for helping patients not to have abortions

London, Nov 16, 2007 / 12:03 pm (CNA).- LifeSiteNews.com is reporting that a well-known British doctor could be forced out of a job for helping women decide against having an abortion. Dr. Tammie Downes is under investigation for professional misconduct after she said in an interview with the Daily Mail that she had been instrumental in helping many women patients decide to continue to carry their children to term.

In the Daily Mail interview, Dr. Downes said she asked women in crisis pregnancies, “What would have to change to make... (Continued here.)

Pro-Life Novena

Women for Faith and Family has a beautiful novena for the protection of the unborn. Check it out and pray it with your Pro-Life group or with your family.

Autistic children

Recently I posted about a Mom who contacted me asking for information about Autism and a Catholic perspective. Please check my post "Can you help me?" More information has been added to the comment section. Also, feel free to comment if you'd like to offer some other information. Thanks!

Have a BLESSED day!

Missing girl update

I have wonderful news! The seventeen year-old girl, Megan who used to be my next door neighbor as a little girl and who was just missing for the past couple of weeks has been found! She was out of state and is now back in her home state but is at a hospital being evaluated. Please say a prayer for her.

Time to give thanks - keeping it SANE and SIMPLE!

It's just about Thanksgiving time. How do you celebrate? At our house, we like to bake pies and breads together and have a nice Thanksgiving dinner - the best part is being with the family, for sure!

How can we keep this holiday that is meant to give thanks, sane and simple and not out of control? There's the temptation to get more and more elaborate with dinner and decorating with the added demands for perfection thrown in to the mix. This all may equal disaster or a disillusioned hostess when things don't go as smoothly as hoped.

Tune in on Tuesday, November 20th at 9:15 AM Eastern Standard Time to my "Mom's Corner" segment on "Catholic Connection" with Teresa Tomeo on Ave Maria Radio (EWTN). We'll be discussing the Thanksgiving holiday and how to keep it sane and simple while still meaningful, beautiful and enjoyable! Feel free to leave a comment here with your thoughts on the subject as well as to call in to the show. You can find the details for tuning in at this Embracing Motherhood blog and my Daily Donna-Marie blog soon. I hope you'll tune in and join us!


God bless!
Donna-Marie

Updates

Remember Bryant, the teen aged boy who fell down the cliff whom we were storming Heaven for? He had so many broken bones and head contusions. Well, he is doing very well now after time in the hospital and rehabilitation center. He walks with a cane, but has started college and has been healing up amazingly well.

Remember Clare, my neighbor - the woman who took a bad fall by her house and was airlifted to a trauma center because she was so badly hurt; two broken shoulders, hands, cheek bone, and injury to her eye? Well, after eight weeks or so in the hospital and rehabilitation center, she is now home and very thankful for the outpouring of prayers. She's taking it easy at 86 years old and still healing up.

Thank you ever so much for all of your concern and prayers! God is so good!

God bless you!

Oh Happy Day!

Oh happy day...all of my ducklings in a row! Two of my children are away at college but managed to come home for just a couple of hours today to celebrate their sister, Chaldea's birthday which was today. I had to act quickly and snatch a few photos before they were off again - two of them back to college. What a nice thing they did to make such an effort to travel home for hours to be together for a short while (my poor son, Justin at the left had to wear his hat because his head was bleeding - he banged his head on his trunk of the car because someone accidentally closed it when his head was leaning in! OUCH!). After worrying about his head, I was in my glory, of course because all of my kids were together. And now, next week end, we have another birthday to celebrate! Yippee! We'll have to see how we'll pull this one off. Thanksgiving is coming too - I'm so excited we'll be together again! Thank you dear Lord!

Parents be aware! "Aqua Dots" toy with powerful chemical recalled!

WASHINGTON - A mother said Thursday she knew something was terribly wrong when her 20-month-old son began to stumble and started vomiting. He had just ingested a popular toy that contains a chemical that turns into a powerful “date rape” drug when eaten.

It was the latest Chinese-made toy pulled from shelves in North America.

Shelby Esses, 30, said her son Jacob fell and went limp after getting into his older sister’s Aqua Dots set, which was recalled Wednesday by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Please read article here.

Family Night!

I found a really nice Family Night activity at Catholic Exchange. It is directed by Jeff and Emily Cavins "designed to help conduct weekly family time together. Each week focuses on a theme from the Sunday readings. Through activities and discussion you can help bring the word of God alive in your family. Below, you will find an Introduction to Family Night containing helpful hints on how to conduct a successful meeting. We have also provided a suggested list of traditional prayers to use. Family Night can be viewed here on the web or downloaded and printed out" and you can check it out here. There are instructions, themes and prayers. Go take a look!

Autumn Treasures

The leaves have been changing colors and falling to the ground far too fast for me this year. Summer was difficult to part with. It was a particularly busy summer—leaving no time for rest or relaxation for me this year. How I longed for just a little bit of summer “pausing.” That was not in the plan for me this year. Now, it’s merely a season past and I’ll need to wait a year to experience some needed summer “pausing.”





However, Autumn promises to bring its own gifts and beauty which oftentimes is breathtaking to me as I delight in a moment’s respite observing the sun’s rays pouring through white fluffy clouds that dot...

Here is my article from my column at Catholic Mom.Com. Just a little light Autumn reading. :) and at Catholic Exchange today.

A Missing Girl

Would you please take a moment to pray for a girl named Megan who has been missing for about two weeks now? She is seventeen years old. She used to be my next door neighbor and was a daily visitor to my home when she was a young girl. I just recently heard the news that she has been missing. Would you please pray that she will be safe and that she comes back home? I will keep you updated. Thank you.

God bless!

Talking Pro-Life

Making the Pro-Life Case

Check out this article about how to talk to people; particularly the Democrats about the Pro-Life issue. Many strategies are given. Just click here.

I caught you!

I caught you not resting on a Sunday! Oh, you are resting? You're just checking out a few blogs? I'll let it slide this time. :)

When I was growing up, Sundays were special--reserved for Mass together as a family, a nice big Sunday meal usually in early afternoon, and either visiting relatives or they visiting us. You knew it was a Sunday. These days it's hard to tell one day from another sometimes. We are so busy that I think we carry our busy-ness into Sundays, too. It's hard not to when there's so much to do and so little time, it seems! Are we doing too much? Do we need to plan better?

So, what's a Christian mother to do? How do we observe the Sabbath when we are catching up on laundry, washing the kitchen floor (because we haven't had a chance to do it the other day and it is disgusting), and endless other household tasks as well as trips to the store for materials for a school project or kids just wanting to shop?

We have to draw the line somewhere and then stick with that. Perhaps it will be vowing not to do laundry on a Sunday, refusing to go to stores unnecessarily on Sundays, and certainly spending more family time together and making sure everyone knows that they are all required to be present for Sunday dinner. Of course, we know that some sports events have crept into our Sundays so we need to adjust our schedules at times, perhaps. However, it is up to us parents to set the limits and lay down the foundations. The traditions we begin now will be carried out throughout our family's life to a certain extent and even into our children's future family's traditions.

How can we slow down a little and what can we do to enjoy a day of rest?

1) Vow to make certain adjustments to the Sunday schedule.
a) a regular dinner time when everyone is required to be there.
b) less or no shopping.
c) no doing laundry.
d) and wherever you need to adjust the hectic-ness to achieve more calmness.

2) hug your kids and spouse.
3) hug them again.
4) and again (now wasn't that nice?)
5) read a book.
6) read to the kids.
7) take a nap. what?! I've not done this but hope to try it sometime. :)
8) do something outside together.
9) do some yard work together (even though it's technically work, it can be fun!)
10) take a walk in the fresh air, weather permitting.
11) tell a story while walking.
12) tell jokes.
13) play a game.
14) talk about something inspirational.
15) pray.
16) plan dinner together (hopefully you have already planned it previously but want the kids to feel included).
17) get the family to help out with dinner--make it fun.
18) bake a dessert together.
19) call a relative you have been meaning to talk to but haven't had time.
20) invite a relative over.
21) give the dog a bath (well, maybe not. My dog needs one, though!).
22) write a letter--not an email, an actual letter or card that you will put in an envelope and put a stamp on to mail to brighten some one's day.
23) have the kids write a thank you note to someone special in their lives.
24) pray some more.
25) plan an outing.
26) get creative - draw some pictures with the kids.
27) start a tradition with the kids.
28) think about what you can do to help a needy family with in the upcoming holidays.
29) smile!
30) smile some more, happy that God has truly blessed you!

I'm sure you get the idea. Think of some of your own things to do. I have to go now to hug my family and enjoy this beautiful Sunday which I hope will include going for a walk on this gorgeous Autumn day! Go and have a BLESSED day!

God bless!

All Souls day

Reading 1
Wis 3:1-9

The souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
For if before men, indeed, they be punished,
yet is their hope full of immortality;
chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them
and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
they shall judge nations and rule over peoples,
and the LORD shall be their King forever.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
and the faithful shall abide with him in love:
because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
and his care is with his elect.

Don't forget prayer octave!

Start praying today to pray the octave of prayer from November 1st until November 8th to possibly receive a Plenary indulgence (under the usual conditions) to be applied to the poor souls in purgatory (see my post on All Saints and All Souls days below). They will help you when they get to Heaven!

***

Someone asked me today what an indulgence is.

Quoting from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

INDULGENCES

The doctrine and practice of indulgences in the Church are closely linked to the effects of the sacrament of Penance.

What is an indulgence?"

"An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints" (Paul VI, apostolic constitution, Indulgentiarum doctrina, Norm 1).

"An indulgence is partial or plenary according as iyt removes either part or all of the temporal mpunishment due to sin (Indulgentiarium doctrina, Norm 2; cf. Norm 3). Indulgences may be applied to the living or the dead." (CCC no. 1471)

Feast of All Saints

God our Father,
source of all holiness,
the work of your hands is manifest in your saints,
the beauty of your truth is reflected in their faith.
May we who aspire to have part in their joy
be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives,
so that having shared their faith on earth
we may also know their peace in your kingdom.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
[opening Mass prayer, solemnity of All Saints]

***

Below is the Litany of the Saints which is long but very special prayer. Perhaps you can attempt at least part of it with your family. :) Or at least Mom and Dad can pray it together and the kids can chime in.

Litany of Saints

This litany is the oldest litany continually in use. It was used if not by Pope Liberius certainly by Pope St. Gregory the Great in the "Litania Septiformis" at Rome and in the procession of St. Mamertus at Vienna. This litany forms one of our oldest liturgical offices in the West, and is the model for all others.


Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us. God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.

Response: pray for us

Holy Mary, Holy Mother of God, Holy Virgin of virgins, St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, All you holy Angels and Archangels, All you holy orders of blessed Spirits, St. John the Baptist, St. Joseph, All you holy Patriarchs and Prophets, St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Andrew, St. James, St. John, St. Thomas, St. James, St. Philip, St. Bartholomew, St. Matthew, St. Simon, St. Thaddeus, St. Matthias, St. Barnabas, St. Luke, St. Mark, All you holy Apostles and Evangelists, All you holy Disciples of the Lord, All you holy Innocents, St. Stephen, St. Lawrence, St. Vincent, Sts. Fabian and Sebastian, Sts. John and Paul, Sts. Cosmas and Damian, Sts. Gervase and Protase, All you holy Martyrs, St. Sylvester, St. Gregory, St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Jerome, St. Martin, St. Nicholas, All you holy Bishops and Confessors, All you holy Doctors, St. Anthony, St. Benedict, St. Bernard, St. Dominic, St. Francis, All you holy Priests and Levites, All you holy Monks and Hermits, St. Mary Magdalen, St. Agatha, St. Lucy, St. Agnes, St. Cecilia, St. Catherine, St. Anastasia, All you holy Virgins and Widows, All you Holy Men and Women, Saints of God, make intercession for us.

Be merciful, spare us, O Lord. Be merciful, graciously hear us, O Lord.

Response: O Lord, deliver us

From all evil, From all sin, From your wrath, From sudden and unprovided death, From the snares of the devil, From anger, and hatred, and all ill-will, From the spirit of fornication,. From lightning and tempest, From the scourge of earthquake, From plague, famine, and war, From everlasting death, Through the mystery of your holy Incarnation, Through your Coming, Through your Nativity, Through your Baptism and holy Fasting, Through your Cross and Passion, Through your Death and Burial, Through your holy Resurrection, Through your admirable Ascension, Through the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, In the day of judgment,

Response: We beseech you, hear us

We sinners, That you would spare us, That you would pardon us, That you would bring us to true penance, That you would deign to govern and preserve your holy Church, That you would deign to preserve our Apostolic Prelate, and all orders of the Church in holy religion, That you would deign to humble the enemies of Holy Church, That you would deign to give peace and true concord to Christian kings and princes, That you would deign to grant peace and unity to all Christian people, That you would deign to call back to the unity of the Church all who have strayed from the truth and lead all unbelievers to the light of the Gospel, That you would deign to confirm and preserve us in your holy service, That you would lift up our minds to heavenly desires, That you would render eternal blessings to all our benefactors, That you would deliver our souls and the souls of our brethren, relations and benefactors, from eternal damnation, That you would deign to give and preserve the fruits of the earth, That you would deign to grant eternal rest to all the faithful departed, That you would deign graciously hear us, Son of God,

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord. Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Our Father, etc. (inaudibly).

V. And lead us not into temptation. R. But deliver us from evil.

Psalm 69: Deign, O Lord, to rescue me; O Lord, make haste to help me. Let them be put to shame and confounded who seek my life. Let them be turned back in disgrace who desire my ruin. Let them retire in their shame who say to me, "Aha, aha!" But may all who seek you exult and be glad in you, and may those who love your salvation say ever, "God be glorified!"

But I am afflicted and poor; O God, hasten to me! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, hold not back! Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

V. Save your servants. R. Who trust in you, O my God.

V. Be a tower of strength for us, O Lord, R. Against the attack of the enemy.

V. Let not the enemy prevail against us. R. And let not the son of evil dare to harm us.

V. Lord, deal not with us according to our sins. R. Neither requite us according to our iniquities.

V. Let us pray for our Sovereign Pontiff, Pope N. R. The Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies.

V. Let us pray for our benefactors. R. Deign, O Lord, for Your name’s sake, to reward with eternal life all those who do us good. Amen.

V. Let us pray for the faithful departed. R. Eternal rest give to them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them.

V. May they rest in peace. R. Amen.

V. For our absent brethren. R. Save your servants, who trust in you, my God.

V. Send them help, O Lord, from your sanctuary. R. And sustain them from Zion.

V. O Lord, hear my prayer. R. And let my cry come to you.

V. The Lord be with you. R. And with your spirit.

Let us pray: O God, whose property is always to have mercy and to spare, receive our petition, that we, and all your servants who are bound by the chains of sin, may, by the compassion of your goodness, be mercifully absolved. Graciously hear, we beg you, O Lord, the prayers of your suppliants, and pardon the sins of those who confess to you, that in your bounty you may grant us both pardon and peace.

In your clemency, O Lord, show us your ineffable mercy, that you may both free us from all our sins, and deliver us from the punishments which we deserve for them.

God, who by sin are offended and by penance pacified, mercifully regard the prayers of your suppliant people, and turn away the scourges of your anger, which we deserve for our sins.

Almighty, everlasting God, have mercy upon your servant N., our Sovereign Pontiff, and direct him according to your clemency into the way of everlasting salvation, that by your grace he may desire those things that are pleasing to you, and perform them with all his strength.

O God, from whom are holy desires, good counsels, and just works, give to your servants that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts be set to keep your commandments, and that, being removed from the fear of our enemies, we may pass our time in peace under your protection.

Burn our desires and our hearts with the fire of the Holy Spirit, O Lord, that we may serve you with a chaste body, and with a clean heart be pleasing to you.

O God, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful, grant to the souls of your servants and handmaids the remission of all their sins, that, through devout prayers, they may obtain the pardon which they always desired.

Direct, we beg you, O Lord, our actions by your holy inspirations, and carry them on by your gracious assistance, that every prayer and work of ours may begin always with you, and through you be happily ended.

Almighty and everlasting God, you have dominion over the living and the dead, and you are merciful to all who you foreknow will be yours by faith and good works; we humbly beg you that those for whom we intend to pour forth our prayers, whether this present world still detain them in the flesh, or the world to come has already received them our of their bodies, may through the intercession of all your Saints, by the clemency of your goodness, obtain the remission of all their sins. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

V. O Lord, hear my prayer. R. And let my cry come to you.

V. May the almighty and merciful Lord graciously hear us. R. Amen.

V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. R. Amen.


Prayer Source: Enchiridion of Indulgences , June 29, 1968