The TV series and contests continue…

Hello!

Lots of buzz lately. Have you seen yesterday’s first show of my brand new Catholic Mom’s Cafe series? It’s about kids, modesty, and fashion. When EWTN re-airs the show I’ll be sure to let you know. Take a look at this blog post about tonight’s new show which is about kids and the culture (airing at 6:30 PM ET) and the cool contests you can enter to win just by watching the show.

Kids and the Culture

Kids and the Culture

Take a moment and subscribe to my newsletters (right column of this website) to be kept abreast of my news, contests, new books, inspiration, and more.

Take good care!

God bless!
Donna-Marie

Eating cactus

During my recent visit to San Antonio, Texas my friend Rosie told me that her family has frequently eaten cactus. In fact, she said her grandparents lived to over 100 years old each! They attributed their longevity to eating cactus. I have drunk pure Aloe Vera juice in the past and now I was ready to try cactus!

We bought some at the local grocery store and Rosie prepared it for me.

cactus at the grocery store.

cactus at the grocery store.

Taking off the prickly parts.

Taking off the prickly parts.

 

Chopping the cactus.

Chopping the cactus.

 

Some onion, some garlic...

Some onion, some garlic…

Add some sea salt and then fresh chopped cilantro.

Add some sea salt and then fresh chopped cilantro.

Served with rice and black beans or with whatever you'd like.

Served with rice and black beans or with whatever you’d like.

Notice I didn’t have a whole lot of catus on my plate. But, I was pleasantly surprised when tasting the cactus. I would definitely eat it again. In fact, I did, the following day. 🙂

My new television mini-series launching next week!

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The month of October has been very busy. I have been conducting lots of contests to celebrate Moms and GrandMoms since my new television series designed for Catholic Moms and GrandMoms will be launching next week on EWTN. You can still enter to win books and fun things. Here’s a link to enter the latest. In addition, I’ll be conducting fun contests to win great gift cards and books next week during the launch. Stay tuned for more information on that.
I hope you can tune in next week to Catholic Mom’s Cafe. It’s set in the heart of a Catholic home. “Catholic Mom’s Café” dishes up bighearted helpings of inspiration, encouragement, and Church teaching as it delves into the challenges and joys amid the miraculous yet crazy vocation of motherhood.
Here’s the schedule:

On the set of Catholic Mom's Cafe.

On the set of Catholic Mom’s Cafe.

Mon 11/03/2014 03:00 AM: The Skinny on Catholic Fashion
Mon 11/03/2014 06:30 PM: The Skinny on Catholic Fashion
Tue 11/04/2014 03:00 AM: Kids and the Culture
Tue 11/04/2014 06:30 PM: Kids and the Culture
Wed 11/05/2014 03:00 AM: Going it Alone (single motherhood and moms who “feel” single)
Wed 11/05/2014 06:30 PM: Going it Alone (single motherhood and moms who “feel” single)
Thu 11/06/2014 03:00 AM: Upholding Dignity through Contradictions
Thu 11/06/2014 06:30 PM: Upholding Dignity through Contradictions
Fri 11/07/2014 03:00 AM: Dealing with Loss through Miscarriage
Fri 11/07/2014 06:30 PM: Dealing with Loss through Miscarriage

I hope you enjoy the series!

Visiting the “Body of Christ”!

Beautiful setting for my presentation.

Beautiful setting for my presentation.

I recently visited Corpus Christi, Texas because I was invited by the Bishop and staff to be the primary presenter at a diocesan retreat day. The day of travel was pretty much uneventful and I was happy at the end of the day to see the Deacon who was waiting for me the airport. I was taken to a small restaurant and enjoyed a Mexican type of salad (the first meal since breakfast). We chatted and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to meet this gracious Deacon as we compared notes on mutual friends and about matters of the faith.

It was getting late and I was fading fast after that long day of travel. The Deacon drove me to my hotel and said he’d be back the next morning at 7:15 to take me to the event. Pretty much all hell broke loose after he dropped me off. I’ll perhaps fill you in on the details later on. Suffice it to say that it was not a pleasant evening and I had less than one hour of sleep that night (or shall I say, “morning”?). And in the morning, to add insult to injury,  I found this frightening looking knife on my chair of my hotel room!

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Actually, I just missed sitting on it. I have to say, my life is very interesting. 🙂 A similar thread  (having to do with violence from a knife and an Eagle which is represented on the knife) was woven throughout the next couple of days as well–but this time with amazing graces of transformation becoming very apparent. Perhaps I’ll write about them later. I think I will mention one of the transformations at an upcoming talk.

Back to the retreat day presentation…I would be presenting talks throughout the entire retreat day. I am not a coffee drinker so no help in that department and I couldn’t seem to find a cup of caffainated tea to save my life! I have some health issues that are hugely affected when I am sleep deprived so it would surely have to be God’s grace to keep me standing at the podium (or perhaps I should say, “His grace to keep me from tipping over!”) I got a quick word out beforehand and asked for prayers from friends.

It turned out to be an amazing grace-filled day. I am thanking God. Here is an article printed in the Catholic magazine about the event. I look a little sleepy in the photo used at the beginning of the article. 🙂 There are many additional photos at the bottom of the article.

Pray for me please. The journey continues…

God bless you!

Donna-Marie

Leaving on a jet plane…

I just returned from Cajun country, more specifically, I was in Lafayette, Louisiana where I presented at a beautiful parish–first in the daytime to the parents group and later that evening to the parish. I enjoyed the warm and welcoming people there–talk about Southern hospitality!

As soon as I returned to Connecticut I needed to immediately get ready to present at a Magnificat group here in Connecticut. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the beautiful grace-filled women that day and afterward at my book table where they shared their personal stories and asked for prayers as well as offered their prayers.

It’s been a very busy month of travel and speaking. It’s hard to believe that I will be leaving early morning to head south to Texas. I will be presenting a retreat for the diocese of Corpus Christi, Texas (the bishop, about fifty priests, and about 300 women or so). Afterwards, I will scoot over to San Antonio where I will be presenting at a parish there. All in all, I will be away for nine days for this Texas trip.

As I was just asking a few friends for prayers for my travels and presentations since I am under the weather with the effects of three tick-borne diseases I currently have going on, it occurred to me that the prayers for the next nine days can be kind of like a nine day novena!

Would you like to pray a novena for me? Actually, it is also for all of the hundreds and hundreds of people to whom I will be presenting while in a few locations in Texas. If you’d like to pray for me, my travels, and presentations, I humbly ask that you please ask for the intercession from your favorite saint (or saints–the more the better!) over the next nine days (October 21st to October 29th). I hope some of you will ask dear Saint Joseph, St. Therese, St. John Paul II, and dear Blessed Mother Teresa. I could go on with lots of favorites, but you choose. 🙂

Thank you SO much in advance for your prayers!

God bless!

Donna-Marie

Good Saint Joseph Can Turn Up Anywhere!

One day about seven years ago my friend Lisa noticed something strange poking up in her yard. She bent down and took a closer look and decided she should dig it up to find out what it could be. To her surprise it was a statue of Saint Joseph the Worker who had been buried face down!

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Lisa’s discovery: Saint Joseph the Worker

Yes, she was aware of the popular practice of burying a statue of the poor over-worked saint when one was trying to buy or sell a house. But, how long was this statue in the earth? She wondered because she knew she had not buried it. She was quite curious to learn the origin of this mysterious Saint Joseph statue.

Lisa decided to ask the previous owner of the property who happened to be a member of her family. It was her mother-in-law, who, by the way, was not Catholic. Her mother-in-law explained that she had certainly not buried the statue in all the thirty years that she lived in the house.

The plot thickened! How did it get there? How long had it been in the ground? But, Lisa wasn’t able to find out any more information about the origin of the uninvited guest.

Lisa, a practicing Catholic scrubbed the layers of dirt off of the newly discovered statue and upon seeing his attractive colors and design decided to give him a proper place of rest and honor on her night table where he would keep watch over her and her husband throughout the years to come.

Every day and night the small peculiar figure stood guarding from his new post on the night table. Lisa was reminded of Saint Joseph each time she observed the statue on her nightstand—that mysterious gift she never once asked for nor did she ever expect to suddenly come into her life the day she spotted a bit of it poking up through her front yard. But, there he was in all his splendor, inside her home now—a constant reminder to Lisa to offer her heart up in prayer.

Lisa one day decided to pray to Saint Joseph and ask for his help in the family, especially during particular trying times. She recalled, “I often looked at the statue of Saint Joseph there on my nightstand and I often thought about his prompt intercession in answer to my prayers.” She continued to beseech him in prayer.

Many seasons passed in that busy household. Along with them came the strains, joys, and challenges of raising a family and navigating life. Life was very busy. Yet, through it all, Lisa was developing a quiet yet steady relationship with this humble yet powerful saint—even if she didn’t fully recognize that it was happening at the time.

 'Childhood of Christ', c1620. Artist: Gerrit van Honthorst

It would be years later that Lisa realized that the illustrious saint had truly been watching over her and her family. Perhaps the one thing that Lisa deeply yearned for, but could not totally articulate or even ask for since it didn’t seem to be a possibility, was for her husband to share the beautiful Catholic faith that she possessed.

Lisa explained, “I thought it would be impossible. With his strong United Methodist roots and strong family ties—that conversion to Catholicism would be near to impossible.” She didn’t expect it to happen. She certainly didn’t want to coerce him, nag him, or push her husband into something he didn’t desire for himself. Lisa simply went about her days setting a humble example in remaining faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church—going to Mass, praying, and partaking in the sacraments. She hoped that someday her innermost wish could come to fruition—please God! Then, she’d push it from her mind and simply pray for what was best for them, their marriage and their family. Lisa would leave everything to God to ultimately decide.

Lisa began a novena to Saint Joseph which she has since kept up almost perpetually. Thanks be to God, Lisa’s prayers were heard and her husband came into the Church! Lisa feels quite sure that Saint Joseph has been responsible for many other wonderful helps to her family and most especially for her husband’s conversion to the Catholic faith!

I love Saint Joseph and consider him to be a hero. I have written about him in some of my books and have often recommended that people ask for his untiring intercession. He is a powerful saint—a wonderful friend to have. I heartily encourage you to call upon him often. Saint Teresa of Avila expressed that Saint Joseph has never failed her.

Don’t be afraid to call upon dear Saint Joseph for help in your family.

And you never know…Saint Joseph might possibly decide to just show up unexpectedly in your life as he did for Lisa!

Prayer to Saint Joseph from my book Catholic Saints Prayer Book

Dear St. Joseph, you were an ordinary man, a humble carpenter. But you were a prayerful, holy soul, the foster father of Jesus, a model for us all. Please guide me in my own journey through life, and help me be aware of God’s specific call to me. Help me to see that in my own life God is calling me to greater things for His glory. Please pray to the Blessed Trinity for me to be granted the graces I need most. I pray that I can be faithful to my state in life, totally trusting in God’s divine providence for me. St. Joseph, pray for all who invoke your aid. If it is God’s holy will, please grant me (here mention your request). Amen.

Prayer composed by Pope Saint John XXIII (1958-63)

O glorious Joseph! Who concealed your incomparable and regal dignity of custodian of Jesus and of the Virgin Mary under the humble appearance of a craftsman and provided for them with your work, protect with loving power your sons, especially entrusted to you. You know their anxieties and sufferings, because you yourself experienced them at the side of Jesus and of His Mother. Do not allow them, oppressed by so many worries, to forget the purpose for which they were created by God. Do not allow the seeds of distrust to take hold of their immortal souls. Remind all the workers that in the fields, in factories, in mines, and in scientific laboratories, they are not working, rejoicing, or suffering alone, but at their side is Jesus, with Mary, His Mother and ours, to sustain them, to dry the sweat of their brow, giving value to their toil. Teach them to turn work into a very high instrument of sanctification as you did. Amen.

You can see this article here at ICL too.