Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle

“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” - Saint Francis of Assisi

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Recently, Chris Cash of Catholic Spotlight interviewed me about my Vatican trip to the international congress on women, “Woman and man, the Humanum in its Entirety.” We talked about my new saints’ book, Catholic Saints Prayer Book and some of my other books as well.

Chris says, “In this interview with Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle we talk about a wide range of topics around motherhood and women in the church. We discuss her books–Prayerfully Expecting, Catholic Saint’s Prayer Book, and Catholic Mother’s Prayer Book. We also discuss her recent trip to Rome to participate in the 20th anniversary conference on Mulieris Dignitatem - On the Dignity and Vocation of Women. Donna-Marie also tells us how she got such a long mouthful of a name, so be sure to sit down and share with us this week.”

You can hear the interview by clicking here.

Hello Everyone,

I encourage you to visit my two blogs for information about my recent Vatican trip in which I paricipated in as one of the 260 people who attended from all around the world. I will be putting up photos hopefully each day. Take out a few moments and listen to the audio interviews that I have posted at my blogs as well.

“Daily Donna-Marie: A Dose of Inspiration,” click here or for Embracing Motherhood click here.

God bless you!

“What is a Christian?” someone asked a Hindu man. He responded, “The Christian is someone who gives.” - Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

Let us give of ourselves to light the way for others.

God bless you!

Jesus, I trust in You!

I was profiled on the Crossroads Magazine Television show on February 18, 2006.

You can watch the episode here. I am in the second segment of the four segment show.

You will need Real Player to view the episode.

Now that I have my nifty little Catholic Blog Awards image, I will bring to your attention once again that it is time to vote for your favorite Catholic blogs and there are many categories and blogs to choose from. I am not here asking you for your votes - seriously. Well, actually I am asking for votes - for somebody - anybody - whomever you want to vote for. Just vote!

I will repeat my information from the other day.

I was pleasantly very surprised to find out that two of my blogs were nominated in three categories.

If you dear reader, feel inclined to vote, go over and take a look! You will need to register (if you aren’t already) which takes all of 60 seconds or so. Then the fun begins as you scroll through the categories and recognize some awesome Catholic blogs.

My Embracing Motherhood blog was nominated in two categories. 1) “Most Spiritual Catholic Blog” and 2) “Best New Catholic Blog.” My Daily Donna-Marie: A Dose of Inspiration was nominated for “Best Individual Catholic Blog.”

Thank you again for the nominations and to those who may feel inclined to vote for my blogs. But truly, it doesn’t matter if I win anything. I am just happy to have been nominated.

God bless!

Donna-Marie

Article from today’s News Times (January 22, 2008)

NEW MILFORD — Devout Catholic author Donna Cooper O’Boyle believes motherhood is one of life’s highest callings. She finds it disturbing when that dignity is in any way diminished or demeaned.

O’Boyle has written three Catholic-oriented books in the past three years aimed at empowering mothers to see the solemnity of their duty. Her fourth book, titled “Catholic Saints Prayer Book,” will be in bookstores at the end of March.

The author is also delighted to be one of 250 people on five continents whom the Vatican invited to attend a three-day international congress in Rome early next month, which will focus on the dignity of women in today’s world.

The mother of five — Justin Emerson, 31; Chaldea Emerson, 26; Jessica McCarthy, 22; Joseph McCarthy, 19; and Mary-Catherine McCarthy, 16 — will take her eldest and youngest daughters along.

“I wouldn’t just go off on a trip, but the Vatican is calling me,” said O’Boyle, one of about seven members of the U.S. Catholic laity to participate.

O’Boyle, a long-time member of St. Francis Xavier Church, is involved in various Catholic lay organizations and hosts retreats and talks related to her beliefs on motherhood. She has several Web sites devoted to issues concerning women and motherhood, including one titled Dignity of Women.

Another conference participant is Catholic radio host Teresa Tomeo, and O’Boyle was on her program last week to talk about the conference.

“I feel honored and humbled,” O’Boyle said of the

invitation to Rome. “I feel the hand of God in it, and I pray I can live up to the responsibility.”
Each year, the Vatican schedules a variety of international conferences for Catholic laity on various themes, and this particular one is focused around the church’s relationship to and recognition of women, particularly with the societal struggles women face today.

The letter O’Boyle received from Vatican officials said conference seminars will include reminders to women “of the beauty of the vocation of holiness, that to belong to the church is to be enfolded in the mystery of communion, and that, as players in the mission of the church, they are to place all the richness of the feminine genius at the service of evangelism within the family, in the workplace, politics and culture.”

O’Boyle hopes the conference will offer practical advice on how to help direct women who are bombarded by mixed messages about who they should be.

Today’s women often feel overwhelmed by the need to be perfect at home and in the workplace. For those who place a priority on family and children, such stress can make them feel “unaccomplished and confused,” she said.

O’Boyle said she believes it is a major undertaking to have women “see their dignity through God’s eyes, the church’s eyes and the world’s eyes.”

She said her aim will be to “soak it all up, so I can inspire others.”

For more information on the Vatican trip and coming book signings, visit O’Boyle’s Web site, www.donnacooperoboyle.com

A new year is here. We’ve just navigated the beautiful Advent and Christmas season amid the commercialism that enveloped us. The New Year promises us hope and challenge. What will we do to open our hearts to others in need? How will we resolve to seek our Lord out in others to bring Him hope and love?

This morning I spoke about this recipe when I was on the air with Teresa Tomeo on “Catholic Connection” discussing Christmas reflections. I promised that I would post the recipe for all of you. I will also post the segment soon so that if you didn’t get a chance to tune in this morning, you’ll be able to listen to it from my blogs and website. I’ll also tell you the story behind this recipe - but FIRST the recipe for all of you eager chefs out there! Here it is!

Overnight Christmas Blueberry-Pecan French Toast

Ingredients:

nonstick spray
1 baguette, cut into 20 one inch slices
6 eggs
3 cups of milk
1 cup brown sugar
vanilla to taste
nutmeg to taste
1 cup pecans, toasted
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

Preparation:

Coat a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with the nonstick spray and arrange the baguette slices in a single layer in the dish. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, three-fourths of the brown sugar, vanilla and nutmeg. Pour the mixture evenly over the bread.

Cover and chill the mixture overnight. There will appear to be a lot of moisture when the mixture goes into the refrigerator, but it will all soak into the bread by morning.

Just before baking, sprinkle the remaining one-quarter cup brown sugar, pecans and blueberries over the bread. Bake the dish in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to one hour (the recipe says 30 minutes, but I found that it takes longer, so check at 30 and be sure to have allowed for 45 minutes to 1 hour) or until golden and bubbling. Serve with maple syrup. For an added treat, heat the syrup with blueberries and have blueberry-flavored syrup.

Enjoy!

I love this recipe because you do the preparation beforehand and only need to pop in into the oven on Christmas morning 45 minutes to an hour before you’d like to serve it. I like to also serve fresh fruit with this “french toast,” which can be washed and prepared on a dish in advance to save you the trouble on Christmas morning. I also like to serve fresh muffins - various kinds along with the fruit and “french toast.” You may also use a whole grain type baguette in this recipe for added nutrition. You can put this dish in the oven Christmas morning, set the timer and go open your presents! So EASY - that’s the idea - keep it simple and enjoy your loved ones!

Let me know how you like it if you decide to make it.