I’m so happy to announce that my terrific friends over at The Catholic Company have gone above and beyond to make my new book, The Handbook for Catholic Moms: Nurturing Your Heart, Mind, Body and Soul, available for pre-order on their website here.  There is so much I want to share with you about this book, but today I am actually playing “beat the clock” to complete final edits.  Please visit The Catholic Company for an introductory preview of the book and to read what some of those who have already read it are saying.  If you could also share this information on your personal blog or email it to a friend, I would be grateful and indebted to you!

Check out The Handbook for Catholic Moms today.

Teddy Bear hat by Shannon of Organic Mama's Shop

Nursing Bracelet by Shannon of Organic Mama's Shop

Visit Shannon’s Organic Mama’s Etsy Shop

Enter our November Pregnancy Product giveaway for your chance to win!

I just finished a terrific novel and simply had to pause and share my review with you.  The book in question is Through the Open Window by Catholic author Anne Faye. Here’s what I shared on Amazon:

If you’re looking for a great read that will uplift, edify and inspire you, look no further than Through the Open Window by Anne Faye.

The book’s heroine, Lucy, is looking to lead a simple, contented life employed as a children’s librarian in a new town where she doesn’t know a soul. Beyond her better judgment, Lucy decides to sign up for “NaNoWrMo” – a real world phenomenon called National Novel Writing Month. Committing to the task of writing 50,000 words of fiction during the month of November connects Lucy with Mike, an eclectic (and gorgeous) Art professor who leads the local NaNoWriMo group at Lucy’s library.

As the words of Lucy’s novel begin to pile up towards her goal, we watch her personal story begin to unfold. We learn about the heartbreak and tragedy that caused her to begin a new life. We watch as her growing friendship with Mike has to withstand a few tests and challenges. We see Lucy take timid steps toward a faith life she has dismissed in anger. When a very sad dilemma develops in Lucy’s family, we watch as she must walk away from the life she is just rebuilding.

Ultimately, Lucy’s novel and her own life come to a satisfying conclusion that will have the reader wiping away a few tears and looking for a sequel to this very engaging story.   Author Anne Faye definitely has a way with words and creates characters you will quickly grow to know and love. Hope for more soon from this talented writer!

Purchase Through the Open Window and support CatholicMom.com.

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Cohabitation has become as commonplace as seeing Angelina Jolie’s face on tabloid covers in the checkout aisle these days. “Everybody” seems to be doing it, and “everybody” seems to think it’s a good idea. In fact, more than 62% of young adults believe it would be a good idea to cohabitate before marriage.

On the surface, cohabitation seems logical. Divorce rates are skyrocketing worldwide, yet you want lifelong love and lasting happiness when you get married. You’d test drive a car before buying it, so why not take your relationship around the block to make sure everything works well before marriage?

Unfortunately, shopping for cars and spouses do not require the same techniques. Research has overwhelmingly shown that the only reasons anyone would ever want to cohabitate are…

1. You think commitment is overrated

If you think commitment is an overrated virtue in a relationship; that partners should be allowed to cheat on each other; and if you girls don’t mind living indefinitely with a guy without hope of a marriage proposal, then cohabitation would suit you well.

Cohabitation kills motivation and incentive for men and women to commit exclusively to each other in a relationship. Studies show that those who cohabitate before marriage are three times more likely to engage in an extramarital affair.

Cohabitation particularly affects a man’s ability to commit. According to the Family in America Report (March 2004), young men unwilling to cohabitate are 133% more likely to marry.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains why cohabitation is not good preparation for faithfulness in marriage:

#2391: “Human love does not tolerate ‘trial marriages.’ It demands a total and definitive gift of persons to one another.”
#2390: “…The expression ‘free union’ is fallacious: what can ‘union’ mean when the partners make no commitment to one another, each exhibiting a lack of trust in the other, in himself, or in the future? … These situations offend against the dignity of marriage; they destroy the very idea of the family; they weaken the sense of fidelity [and]… are contrary to the moral law.”

So what’s missing in cohabitation that causes a commitment failure? The wedding ring: that small piece of jewelry placed on the finger that symbolizes “til death do us part.”

2. “Achy Breaky Heart” is your favorite song

If you enjoy bonding romantically with a person and then breaking up and getting your heart broken, then cohabitation is definitely the way to go. Cohabiting relationships are usually brief, and they often cause a string of successive relationships, each starting with a lower level of trust.

Studies have found that only 1/6 of cohabiting relationships last as long as three years. It’s also common for those who cohabitate to become what experts call “serial cohabitors” – those who enter into a series of cohabiting relationships. The greatest danger of repeated romantic bonding and breaking up, according to Barbara Dafoe Whitehead of the National Marriage Project, is “once this low-commitment, high autonomy pattern of relating is learned, it becomes hard to unlearn…the experience of dissolving one cohabiting relationship generates a greater willingness to dissolve later relationships.”

Sure sounds like a great way to prepare for divorce later in life.

3. You can’t stand hearing Bobby McFerrin sing “Don’t Worry Be Happy”

If you don’t want to be happy in life, by all means, cohabitate! Cohabiting couples report lower levels of happiness and higher levels of depression than married couples.

According to the National Fatherhood Initiative, “annual rates of depression are three times higher” for cohabiting couples compared to married couples. Cohabiting unions “have more disagreements, fight more often, and report lower levels of happiness and fairness than their married counterparts”. Cohabiting men and women also reported “significantly more alcohol problems than married or single men and women.”

On the other hand, if you want to be happy, follow God’s plan for true happiness. The Bible promises happiness to those who follow His will for our lives:

“Hear instruction and be wise…Happy is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For he who finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord” (Proverbs 8:33-35).

“Blessed is every one who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you” (Psalm 128:1-2).

4. Your favorite TV show is Divorce Court

If you love watching couples scream at each other in front of their friendly neighborhood judge, and would like to experience the same splitting headaches in your own relationship, then you’re a perfect candidate for cohabitation.

While 62% of young adults agree that living together before marriage is a good way to avoid eventual divorce (according to a 2001 Gallup survey), the reality is cohabitation actually increases your probability of divorce by at least 46% (c.f. 1992 National Survey of Families and Households). [Note: this is a conservative estimate. Some studies found cohabitation increases one’s probability of divorce by as much as 75-80% (c.f. National Marriage Project, 2002)].

Thanks to the mistakes of our parent’s generation, who issued in the sexual revolution in the 60s, you and I already have about a 50% probability of divorce without any other factors involved. Add a much higher risk factor to that figure by cohabiting, and we might as well start auditioning for Divorce Court right now!

One reason for the correlation between cohabitation and divorce, according to David Popenoe and Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, is the increased levels of selfishness and reduced level of commitment: “People’s tolerance for unhappiness is diminished, and they will scrap a marriage that might otherwise be salvaged.” Furthermore, a study conducted by the National Survey of Families and Households found that “no positive contribution of cohabitation to marriage has ever been found.”

5. You find black eyes attractive

Cohabitation is dangerous for the physical well-being of women and children. Women in cohabitating relationships are more likely to report physical and sexual abuse. Some researchers found that “aggression is at least twice as common among cohabitors as it is among married partners.” Canadian and U.S. studies also identified that “women in cohabiting relationships are about nine times more likely to be killed by their partner than women in marital relationships” (Todd Shackelford, Aggressive Behavior, p. 27, 2001).

On a recent radio broadcast I hosted on the topic of cohabitation, a police officer from a college campus in Phoenix called in to confirm that the above correlation between cohabitation and abuse are true. “We get calls for domestic issues all the time,” the officer said, “and nine times out of ten it’s a live-in boyfriend and girlfriend situation.”

Cohabitation is also dangerous for children living in a home with cohabitors. According to the 2000 Census Bureau, 41% of all unmarried-couple households include a child under 18, and three quarters of children born to cohabiting parents will see their parents split up before they turn 16. Children living in cohabiting households with “step-fathers” or “mom’s boyfriends” are at a higher risk of sexual abuse and physical violence, including lethal violence, than children living with married biological parents (c.f. R. Gelles and J. Lancaster, eds., Child Abuse and Neglect: Biosocial Problems, 1992). So unless you want to see your child become the next Eminem, don’t bring him or her into a cohabiting relationship.

6. Just for Girls: you want to marry a guy who can’t talk

Ladies, if you enter a cohabiting relationship with a man before marriage, and engage in pre-marital relations, you will kill his ability to verbally communicate with you later in marriage.

As we all know, God designed men and women differently – us women got the lion’s share of verbal communication skills and guys are wired more physically than we are. During courtship, a man has a chance to learn how to express his thoughts and feelings to a woman – he learns to verbally communicate with her.

If a couple becomes physically active during the time when they should be learning how to verbally express love for each other, the girl will spend the rest of the relationship waiting for her man to talk to her, when in reality her relationship has become a re-make of Cool Hand Luke: “What we have here is a failure to communicate.”

Lack of communication is one of the major reasons listed on divorce filings today.

7. You like to vacation in unusually hot places

All of the social, emotional, and physical issues aside, cohabitation also directly affects your relationship with God and your eternal destiny. When we disobey God’s law and engage in a relationship that contradicts the Creator’s design for man and woman, we sin and turn our back on God’s love and His plan for our lives.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly explains the immorality and eternal consequences of cohabitation:

#2353 “Fornication is carnal union between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman. It is gravely contrary to the dignity of persons and of human sexuality which is naturally ordered to the good of spouses and the generation and education of children.”

#1755: “There are some concrete acts – such as fornication – that it is always wrong to choose, because choosing them entails a disorder of the will, that is, a moral evil.”

#2390: “[These situations] are contrary to the moral law. The sexual act must always take place exclusively within marriage. Outside of marriage it always constitutes a grave sin and excludes one from sacramental communion.”

The Bible also clearly outlines the eternal effects of unrepented cohabitation. St. Paul wrote: “Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters . . . will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

Because mortal sin turns the mind and heart away from God, it’s not surprising that researchers have found that couples who cohabitate are “less religious” than married couples. (c.f. Linda Waite, “The Negative Effects of Cohabitation”.)

“But I don’t want my relationship to end in divorce!”

Of course, those couples who choose to cohabitate before marriage aren’t doing so because they love Divorce Court. They’re cohabiting because they desire true love – they want to safeguard that their future marriage will last a lifetime. Research shows that many cohabiting couples come from broken homes or divorced families, and they’re looking for ways to avoid their parents’ mistakes.

Unfortunately, our society isn’t presenting the brutal truth about the effects of cohabitation to our generation. That’s why it’s so important for us to search the Bible, the teachings of the Church, and solid research from the social sciences to learn how to best prepare for lifelong love.

Just remember: taking the car around the block doesn’t help when it comes to relationships. Saying “I Do” is the best way to increase your chances that you will.

Reading Recommendation:

If you or any single friends you know have questions about the issue of cohabitation and its potential effects on your life and relationships, I cannot recommend this book highly enough: How to Avoid Falling in Love with a Jerk, by Dr. John Van Epp

References Used:

* “Should We Live Together? What Young Adults Need to Know about Cohabitation before Marriage: A Comprehensive Review of Recent Research.” 2nd Edition. David Popenoe and Barbara Dafore Whitehead. National Marriage Project of Rutgers University, 2002.
* “The State of Our Unions: The Social Health of Marriage in America.” David Popenoe and Barbara Dafore Whitehead. 2002. National Marriage Project of Rutgers University.
* “The Family in America Report”, March 2004.
* National Fatherhood Initiative. Selected Policy Statements. 2000 Report.
* Linda J. Waite, “The Negative Effects of Cohabitation.” The Communitarian Network, Volume 10, Issue 1, Winter 1999/2000.

* Stephen Wood, “Extinguishing Real Love Before Your Marriage Begins”. Chapter 5 in The ABCs of Choosing a Good Husband (and Wife). Family Life Center International, 2007.

Stephanie can be reached at stephanie@catholicmatch.com

Prize Pack 1:

• 1 copy of Erin O’Brien’s Complete Pregnancy Fitness DVD set
• 1 Bella Band
• 1 copy of the complete Laugh and Learn DVD package including Laugh and Learn about Childbirth, Breastfeeding, and Newborn Baby Care;  1 Laugh and Learn T-shirt; 1 copy of Sheri Bayles’ Laugh and Learn about Childbirth book
• 1 copy of Prayerfully Expecting: A Nine-Month Novena for Mothers to Be by Donna Marie Cooper O’Boyle
• 1 copy of Margo B. Smith’s CD “Sending Up A Prayer”
• 1 Nursing Bracelet from OrganicMama’s Etsy Shop

Prize Pack 2:

• 1 copy of Erin O’Brien’s Complete Pregnancy Fitness DVD set
• 2 boxes of Organic Preggie Pop Drops
• 1 copy of the complete Laugh and Learn DVD package including Laugh and Learn about Childbirth, Breastfeeding, and Newborn Baby Care; 1 Laugh and Learn T-shirt; 1 copy of Sheri Bayles’ Laugh and Learn about Childbirth book
• 1 copy of Prayerfully Expecting: A Nine-Month Novena for Mothers to Be by Donna Marie Cooper O’Boyle
• 1 copy of Margo B. Smith’s CD “Sending Up A Prayer”
• 1 Hand knit “Teddy Bear” newborn hat from Organic Mama’s Etsy Shop

Visit Kate Wicker at Momopoly for a detailed review of the Complete Pregnancy Fitness DVD set.  Visit Anne McClure at Catholic Mommy Brain for reviews of the Bella Band, Laugh and Learn package, and Prayerfully Expecting.  For additional information and products by Shannon and Organic Mama’s visit their adorable Etsy shop.

To enter to win this contest, you must leave a comment on this post with a valid email address (which won’t be published or shared) before Midnight PST on November 30, 2009.  I’ll draw two random winners and announce the winners when the contest has ended.

Editor’s Note – A HUGE Thanks to Anne McClure of Catholic Mommy Brain for coordinating this giveaway!

I know that you are concerned about the media’s negative influences on our nation’s children. As former Senator of Pennsylvania, I remain passionately involved in issues that concern American families. And as a Dad, I know firsthand the challenge of trying to raise good kids in a culture saturated with offensive media that undermines the values Karen and I want to instill in our kids.

America’s children spend an average of 4 hours a day watching TV and on the Internet. Contrast that with the typical 15 minutes a day kids spend talking to parents or the weekly hour in Church. The media’s power to shape our children’s hearts and minds is staggering.

As I travel across the country, parents ask me, “Isn’t there something that can be done so we can watch the shows we want to watch without exposing our children to scenes and commercials we don’t want them to see?” The answer is “yes.”

There is a solution that I’d like to share with your readers. More importantly, I’d like their feedback and their input.

After I left the Senate, I joined Mpower Media, an independent company founded by Steve McEveety (producer of The Passion of the Christ) and Ken Ferguson (former Chief Operating Officer for National Geographic Television). Mpower’s unique vision is to give parents the control over TV and Internet content according to their own standards, so that families can enjoy popular shows–without the offensive scenes or commercials.

Imagine. No more erectile dysfunction commercials during football games.  No more surprise sex scenes or graphic violence. No more offensive scenes or websites.  Children can watch the popular shows they want, and parents get peace of mind, confident that their children are protected – even when they are not there.

Our market surveys tell us that millions of families want to learn more about the Mpower Box. I am turning to you, because we want to know what your readers think.  We would love to hear how real families who share our values react to the Mpower technology.

This 2 minute video shows the difference Mpower can make for families and our culture.  Please feel free to post this video on your website and get the word out to your readers that we are very interested in hearing from them – they can contact us through our website.

I hope you’ll take a few moments to view the video and explore the Mpower website.  I have obviously not been able to preview this product aside from exploring their website, so I have no idea about the costs associated with the product.  But as a mother of teenage young men, I see the value in creating a safer viewing environment for my family.  I’m curious about your reaction to Mpower – feel free to chime in here in the comments.  Would you purchase a product like this for your home?

MeFertil Tutorial from SignalFive on Vimeo.

Learn more at www.TobiasMag.com.

Our Lady of Kibeho: Mary Speaks to the World from the Heart of Africa.

We will have additional information for you on Our Lady of Kibeho during the month of November.  The following is a lovely prayer, shared by our friend Brian Kravec of the Immaculee Committee at St. Patrick’s Parish in Merced.

Prayer to Our Lady of Kibeho

Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Word,
Mother of all those who believe in Him
and who welcome Him into their life,
we are here before you to contemplate You.
We believe that you are amongst us,
like a mother in the midst of her children,
even though we do not see You with our bodily eyes.
We bless You, the Sure Way that leads us to Jesus the Saviour,
for all the favours which You endlessly pour out upon us,
especially, that, in your meekness, You were gracious enough
to appear miraculously in Kibeho, just when our world needed it most.
Grant us always the light and the strength necessary to accept,
with all seriousness, Your call to us to be converted,
to repent, and to live according  to your Son’s Gospel.
Teach us how to pray with sincerity,
and to love one another as He loved us,
so that, just as You have requested,
we may always be beautiful flowers
diffusing their pleasant fragrance everywhere and upon everyone.
Holy Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows,
teach us to understand the value of the cross in our lives,
so that whatever is still lacking to the sufferings of Christ
we may fill up in our own bodies for His mystical Body,
which is the Church.
And, when our pilgrimage on this earth comes to an end,
may we live eternally with You in the kingdom of Heaven.
Amen.

* Imprimatur:
* Gikongoro, the 25th of March, 2006-05-29
* + Augustin Misago – Bishop of  Gikongoro

Like many of you, I have admired Dr. Coleen’s work on her terrific Ave Maria Radio program, “The Doctor is In”.  But there is much more to know and love about this terrific wife and mother of five.    Her professional bio from TMG Speakers gives a great overview of the breadth of her expertise:

Coleen Kelly Mast, an author, public speaker and radio talk show host, is a pioneer in the field of chastity education. Dr. Mast currently hosts a popular call-in radio advice show, The Doctor Is In produced and syndicated by Ave Maria Radio for more than 100 stations of the Catholic Radio Association, EWTN and Sirius Satellite Radio. She provides Catholic-flavored practical solutions to callers who seek her advice on a variety of personal, spiritual and family problems.

Mast holds an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Quincy University, a Masters Degree in Health Education and Secondary teaching certificates in four specialty fields: Theology, Health, Physical Education and Science. She has taught at the elementary, junior high and high school levels and has been involved in Family Life Education since 1975.

Mast has written both the ‘Love and Life’ and ‘Sex Respect’ chastity education programs, which include books, seminars and videos for teachers, teens and parents. Mast’s programs have been sold in 23 countries and all 50 states. She has appeared on Oprah, Geraldo, Mother Angelica Live, 60 Minutes, andat Steubenville High School Youth Conferences. Mast has debated the Presidents of SEICUS and Planned Parenthood on television and debated ACLU representatives on public radio.

She assisted with the writing of the USCC Bishops 1992 document on Human Sexuality Education Guidelines, and in 1997 Mast was one of four people from the United States invited to the Vatican by the Pontifical Council for the Family for an in-depth study of the ‘Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality’ document when it was released. Based on those teachings and the need for additional parent catechesis today, her ‘Love and Life’ Parent and Teen Series was updated for 2006 complete with Imprimatur and published by Ignatius Press.

She has been married for 30 years to Kent Mast. They have five children and live in Illinois.

Several times a month, I find myself referring parents who contact me to Coleen’s website at www.SexRespect.com.  Her resources, aimed at providing a Christian moral framework for sexual abstinence, are a life saver for families struggling with the pressures placed on today’s teens by their peers and society.  While I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Coleen Kelly Mast in person, I remain a tremendous fan of her work and thank Matthew Warner for the opportunity to introduce this Catholic speaking champion to our readers.

HANCEVILLE, Ala. — In medieval days, knights were men who were elevated by their king and consecrated to a position of trust. These noble and faithful men would pledge to give their very lives to the service and protection of their lord and his kingdom.

Today, members of the Knights of the Holy Eucharist, a vibrant community of consecrated young men deeply committed to the Catholic faith, provide that very service for their Lord and King, Jesus Christ, through their work at the magnificent Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady of Angels Monastery in rural Hanceville, Ala. Situated on 400 acres of lush farmland along a remote country road some 45 miles north of Birmingham, the Shrine receives thousands of pilgrims each year who seek to nourish their faith amid this sacred and peaceful environment.

The Shrine and monastery, home to a cloistered community of Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration, were founded by Mother Angelica, the beloved nun who entered religious broadcasting in 1981 on little more than a prayer and developed the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), the largest and most popular religious media network in the world. EWTN is headquartered some 50 miles to the south in the Birmingham suburb of Irondale, where the nuns resided in the original monastery until their relocation to the present site in 1999.

In the spirit of St. Francis

The Knights of the Holy Eucharist represents part of the resurgence of vocations in the Catholic Church developing from the “new evangelization” promoted by Pope John Paul II and continued by Pope Benedict XVI. Its members have as their primary focus the fostering of reverence for the Blessed Sacrament as well as the assistance and protection of the nuns of the monastery. Along with maintaining the grounds and facilities, the Knights host clergy, brothers, and seminarians on retreat; serve as acolytes at Shrine liturgies; and provide assistance for pilgrims.

Community members live the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience but do not profess public vows. In their daily work and personal contact with pilgrims, the Knights also seek opportunities to evangelize by performing works of charity and providing instruction and comfort when necessary. Putting aside the things of this world, they live by the motto of their patron, St. Francis of Assisi: “My God and my All.”

The Knights strive for a structured balance of work and prayer. In addition to their assigned labors, Knights participate daily in Mass, the Rosary, Morning and Evening Prayer, and two hours of scheduled adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. They also take formation classes three days a week, make a Holy Hour on Thursday evenings, and plan a monthly one-day retreat.

Luke Johnasen, whose religious name is Brother Laurence, finds the life of a Knight to be very fulfilling. He entered the community in 2006 after visiting his younger brother Nyles (Brother Philip), who had joined the Knights a few years earlier after making a retreat at the Shrine.

“When I saw the Knights and how they lived their lives in work and prayer, with daily adoration, it really seemed to speak to me,” said Brother Laurence, 28, who is originally from Hilo, Hawaii. “Even when we are not physically in the chapel of adoration, we are doing work around the chapel all day long, so we are still doing work centered on the Blessed Sacrament.”

David Rodriguez, known as Brother Juan, became part of the community at the age of 18. The formation he has received there has given him “a deeper understanding of how God’s grace works in each and every one of our hearts,” he said.

Now 21, Brother Juan said that the sacrifices he has made to pursue his vocation bring him “a fulfillment largely in the joy that comes from answering God’s call.”

Called to serve

Like EWTN, the Knights of the Holy Eucharist was the inspiration of Mother Angelica herself. In the summer of 1998, with the Shrine under construction and nearly 18 months from completion, the foundress decided to start a new community of men dedicated to maintaining the facility, assisting at liturgies, and providing hospitality for pilgrims. Among those she invited to consider this vocation in consecrated life was 35-year-old James Fazzini, who had only recently come to work at the monastery. “What have you got to lose by trying it?” she asked him. He joined the Knights that August and in December received Brother David as his religious name.

Initially, the Knights boarded temporarily in a house just down the road. “We took an existing pole barn on the monastery grounds and converted it into living quarters because Mother wanted us to be on the property,” said Brother David, who presently serves as the Brother Guardian of the community. “We’ve added to it ever since, and now we receive 200 priests each year who come to the Shrine for retreats.”

One of the original seven Knights is Brother Pio, who is named after St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio), the 20th-century mystic who suffered the stigmata, the wounds of Christ on his own body. Like his namesake, Brother Pio is a “victim soul,” having been disabled since he sustained a serious spinal injury in a fall several years ago. Brother Pio presently lives in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., but visits the community once or twice a year.

“We felt in the early stages that we needed to have a victim soul, one who was called to suffer for the community, and Brother Pio is our victim soul,” said Brother David, a native of West Virginia. “Because he is confined to a wheelchair, all the suffering he endures and all his prayers are offered for the community.”

Two years ago, the Knights of the Holy Eucharist became affiliated with the Heralds of the Gospel, a rapidly growing evangelistic community that was founded in Brazil in 1999 and canonically recognized as an “association of the faithful of pontifical right” in 2001. The Heralds and their founder, Msgr. João Scognamiglio Clá Dias, had developed a relationship of mutual support and admiration with Mother Angelica and were very receptive when the Knights petitioned Msgr. Clá to join the Heralds family.

On June 29, 2007, the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, the Knights of the Holy Eucharist thus became “a branch within the Heralds of the Gospel,” said Brother Thomas Walsh, who lives and works in a Heralds community in Houston. With that union, the Knights of the Holy Eucharist share the Heralds’ pontifical blessing.

That fall, the Knights enrolled its first candidates for the priesthood at Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, Conn. This coming academic year, the Knights will have six seminarians at various stages of formation.

Twenty-four-year-old Damien Pellerin, now Brother Michael, was one of the first Knights to enter the seminary. He was working in construction for his father in southern Louisiana five years ago when the two of them happened to stop by the monastery en route to a builders’ convention in Florida. Having already decided to spend a year to discern his vocation, Damien was impressed with the Knights and applied for acceptance shortly thereafter.

“After I was there just a short time, I felt this was it,” said Brother Michael. “It was really the charism of the community, the great spiritual life, the solid formation. Life at the monastery is a great gift to all of us.”

Developing a sense of vocation

By fall, the community will have 12 members in all. Many more are envisioned for the future.

“Mother Angelica has felt for a long time that the vocations are truly there, that God continues to call young men to the consecrated life. Unfortunately, with all the distractions of today, they don’t hear God’s voice calling them,” said Brother David.

As a result, “many young men today are not thinking about their vocations,” he said. “There’s a sense of a lack of fulfillment in the soul, and the soul can’t be at peace where it is, and ultimately that leaves them unhappy. They have to develop not only the awareness that they have a vocation from God, but also how to carry out that vocation plan in their lives.”

The community seeks applicants between the ages of 17 and 21 and hopes to draw more young men right out of high school. Part of the vision is to establish an academy near the Shrine that can begin the formation of young men separated from the world, Brother David said.

As the vision continues to unfold for the Knights of the Holy Eucharist, many more community members will be needed to serve the Shrine and monastery, form young men in the academy, and provide priestly ministry to pilgrims, sisters, and fellow Knights alike.

There is further expansion planned for the monastery grounds as well. Among these plans is the Pope John Paul II Eucharistic Center, conceived as an educational center designed to lead both Catholics and non-Catholics to a deeper appreciation of Christ’s Eucharistic Presence — which is what the Knights of the Holy Eucharist are all about.

For young men still trying to discern the path upon which God is calling them, Brother Michael offered simple and straightforward advice.

“Seek to do the Lord’s will,” he said. “That’s where we find our peace and joy.”

How to inquire:
To become a Knight of the Holy Eucharist, a young man must meet the following requirements:

1. Be a single male Catholic in good standing with no legal responsibilities.
2. Have good physical and mental stability.
3. Be between the ages of 17 and 21.
4. Be a high school graduate.
5. Have the ability to perform strenuous manual labor.
6. Have a desire to serve and not to be served.

If you are interested in becoming a Knight of the Holy Eucharist, please send us a letter including an application (available on the website), a recent photograph of yourself, and a statement or essay stating why you are considering the possibility of becoming a Knight.

For more information, contact:
Knights of the Holy Eucharist
Attn.: Brother David
3222 County Road 548
Hanceville, AL 35077
knightsinfo@gmail.com
www.knightsoftheholyeucharist.com

A Knight’s  prayer
An Act of Consecration to Jesus Christ, by the hands of Mary, a daily prayer of the Knights of the Holy Eucharist:

I, [name], a faithless sinner,
renew and ratify today in thy hands,
O Immaculate Mother,
the vows of my Baptism:
I renounce forever Satan, his pomps and works;
and I give myself entirely to
Jesus Christ,
the Incarnate Wisdom,
to carry my cross after Him
all the days of my life
and to be more faithful to Him
than I have ever been before.
In the presence of all the heavenly court,
I choose thee this day
for my Mother and Mistress.
I deliver and consecrate to thee,
as thy slave, my body and soul,
my goods, both interior and exterior,
and even the value of all my good actions,
past, present, and future,
leaving to thee the entire and full right
of disposing of me and all that belongs to me,
without exception, according to thy good pleasure,
for the greater glory of God,
in time and in eternity.
Amen.

The Holy Scriptures are filled with hope and consolation. Paul tells us
that the “gifts of God and the call of God are irrevocable.” All of the
covenants and promises that God has made with us are faithfully kept by the
God of both testaments (the Old Testament and the New Testament). God’s
covenants are meant for our own call to be faithful to the precepts and the
love commands in the Scriptures. Paul realized that his Bible and that of
Jesus are meant in this context: that the gifts and calls of God are never
abrogated. That gives us Christians the need to reflect that
“supersessionism” is not part of the biblical message. What Paul is saying
is coming from his own appreciation and interpretation with he gives us in
Romans 9:6-13. This passage helps us to understand Romans 11:29. The
promises of God continue throughout the centuries, but they demand a deep
spiritual reflection on our part to understand them.

We Catholic Christians of a certain age did not read the Bible very well
and had some bad impressions and images of God when we referred to the
Hebrew Scriptures. Fortunately, Catholic scholars have helped to get rid
of this heretical and negative idea. It started with Marcion who wanted
to irradicate anything that was Jewish or Hebrew in the Bible. We would be
reduced to a few chapters called the Marcionite New Testament–some of Luke
and Paul. Yet, we hear many Catholics saying the God of the Old Testament
is an angray and wrathful God. We need to learn to read within the context
of the historical period in which these books were written and realize that
the God of both testaments is the same and that God is a God of love. If
we take away the Old Testament from our reading then we do not really
understand the New Testament. Almost every writer of the Bible were Jewish
and understood what Paul is saying in Romans 9-11.

Words like loving-kindness, grace, glory and the word love are present in
the Bible and the Psalms are the prayers wherein the word for love
predominates and shows us the heart of Judaism. We have to learn how to
read both with the history behind them as well as with the feeling and
ethos contained in them. Not an easy task, but it must be done with
starting with a prayer to the Holy Spirit and then pondering over,
studying, and seeing the full scope of what is written in these love letter
of God. Both the Old Testament and the New are filled with God’s love for
everyone. The deeper spiritual reflection we make in the light of our
respective faiths help us to understand some difficult passages better. We
need to be informed. We need to read more completely and avoid the
Marcionite tendency that comes from laziness and ignorance of what the
Scriptures mean for both Jew and Christian. Paul knows this and is doing
this in Romans where he is certainly conscious that both Jew and Christian
are living together as neighbors and whom both are under the scrutiny of
the Roman government. Paul’s dearest friends Aquila and Priscilla were
exiled from Rome because they were Jews. This happened in the forties of
the common era ( 44 A.D.).

Paul’s words are precious and guide us to go more deeply than what we have
heard from others who never have read the Bible with sensitivity and
reverence. The gifts of God and God’s call are forever. Jesus is sharing
his Judaism with us and deepening the interpretation by his spiritual and
prophetic proclamations, yet, he promises us that he is not changing one
iota or tittle of the Hebrew Scriptures. God is Creator, Revealer, and
Redeemer of us all through the inspiration shared by those who have written
the Scriptures under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Old Testament
not the New is the Bible of Jesus. It is his words and his interpretations
and actions that lead others to write under the Spirit to form the New
Testament.Both Testaments help us to relate in an intimate way as did Jesus
and Paul to what was written and preached. Our Psalm for this day is a
confirmation that the Lord does not abandon his people ( we all fall under
this). This verse of the Psalm is a good insight into what Paul is saying:
“For the Lord will not cast off his people, nor abandon his inheritance;
But judgment shall again be with justice, all the upright of heart shall
follow it.” That means no one is left of the hook when it comes to
observing the commandments of both the Old and New Testament.

– Post From My iPhone

As we close out this Month of the Rosary, it’s not too late to put a little spark into your devotion to the Rosary.  One of the best resources I’ve seen lately that will help you fall in love with this wonderful devotion is

The Rosary: Keeping Company with Jesus and Mary. 

I am pleased to share the following Book Spotlight interview with Karen Edmisten, author of The Rosary: Keeping Company with Jesus and Mary.

Please briefly introduce yourself and your family to our readers.

I’m the homeschooling mom of three wonderful daughters, ages 15, 13 and 7, and I am blessed to have been married to Tom for 25 years. We are both converts to the Catholic faith — I was received into the Church in 1995, and Tom came in five years later. It’s been a lively, unpredictable and exciting journey.

Please share an overview of your wonderful book, The Rosary: Keeping Company with Jesus and Mary.

Thank you! The book is meant to be a source of information, encouragement and support for anyone interested in the Rosary — cradle Catholics, converts, and even non-Catholics.

I include some personal stories about my own experience with the prayer, especially since when I first came into the Church, I had some anxiety about the Rosary. I worried that one had to pray it a certain way, in order for it to “count.”  It also seemed dry and rote to me, and not particularly meaningful. As I worked on this book, I found that my early anxieties weren’t altogether uncommon. So, it was important to me to address them in the book.

I also include a brief history of the Rosary, and cover some common misconceptions (held by Catholics and non-Catholics alike) about Mary, and about the prayers of the Rosary. There’s also an explanation of the role of the mysteries, and some down-to-earth, practical help offered — ways to incorporate the Rosary (and more prayer in general)  into our lives.

I’d love to hear about your conversion story and what prompted you to become a Catholic author.

I grew up without any kind of religious belief. My parents are great people, but they simply didn’t have a religious background, and they had no interest in Christianity. By the time I was in college, I was seriously questioning the meaning of life — more specifically, the meaning of my life. I explored a number of different philosophies and tried on different belief systems. But I couldn’t find a good fit — nothing answered all my questions. I stayed away from Christianity for a long time, because I couldn’t believe that such a “patriarchal” religion had anything to offer me. But I ran out of things to investigate … and since I wanted to honestly examine all options, I did begin to look more closely at Christian ideas.

Reading C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity was a huge turning point for me. Also, a good friend of mine had grown up Catholic, left the Church, and then returned, and he became a great source of information for me on what Christianity was really all about. Eventually, I began to read the Bible and pray that if God were real, He would somehow reveal Himself to me. I always say that once we start to pray, we “haven’t got a prayer”! And that was true in my case. Objections began to topple, and before I knew it, I desired baptism. At the age of 30, I was baptized by an Episcopal priest, and five years later, after further prayer and study, I was received into the Catholic Church. I love being Catholic, and I love to share this beautiful faith with others.

As far as becoming a Catholic author, it happened slowly. I worked with our parish’s RCIA team, and gave witness talks about my conversion. A priest friend encouraged me to write my conversion story and send it to OSV’s New Covenant magazine, which at the time was edited by Mike Aquilina. Mike very kindly accepted the piece (which was twice as long as what NC usually ran — he deftly edited it to an acceptable length, when he could have simply told me to take a hike for not reading the writers’ guidelines.)  I wrote several other pieces for New Covenant after that, and began to write a bit for other magazines as time, homeschooling, and mothering allowed.

What motivated you to write this book on the Rosary?

The book actually came about in a funny way. I started blogging in 2005, as a way of pulling all my writing links together in one place on the web. I occasionally review books (mainly books I love — I’m not always terribly objective) and I had just reviewed Mike Aquilina’s Love in the Little Things: Tales of Family Life. His editor at Servant read the review, and we ended up connecting. The result was this Rosary book. It was such a privilege to have the opportunity to write it and to share my love for this prayer with other people.

What have you learned and implemented in your own spiritual life as a result of writing this book?

What a great question! I learn something from everything that I write, and that’s one of the things I love about writing.

I actually learned quite a bit about the history of the Rosary during the writing of this book. Many of us are familiar with the stories of St. Dominic and his role in the Rosary — a book by a Dominican priest helped me to clarify and convey a lot of that history.

From a spiritual perspective, the book has been an affirmation of my own commitment to the Rosary, and a re-examination of how easy it can be to “put off prayer” until a “convenient” time. The tips I share in the book are tips I return to repeatedly myself, so it’s really a matter of one sojourner encouraging another, not the case of an expert dishing out advice.  I think it’s important to acknowledge that in our fallen condition, prayer is always a battle. We need to constantly encourage ourselves and one another.

In the book, you share encouragement for folks who may feel overwhelmed or anxious about praying the Rosary.  Can you share some of that with our readers?

I’d love to. First, we all need to remember that prayer is indeed a battle! (See the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2725.) We will fail, but we can’t let our failures discourage us — just as we encourage our children to learn and mature from their mistakes, our Heavenly Father encourages us to do the same. We have to persevere. When we do, we will eventually see progress.

Second, I think we have to be willing to take baby steps. If you don’t currently pray the Rosary, try incorporating it into your life in small ways — a decade on the way to Mass, a decade in the shower, a decade in the car. Small habits grow, and these things can be great starting points.

Third, don’t worry about “doing it right.”  For example, if your Rosary repeatedly stalls out because you’re constantly interrupted right after the Apostle’s Creed, try jumping right into some decades. Those decades still “count.”

We’re all so busy these days!  What are some of your suggestions for finding time to pray the Rosary?

I find that I have to be brutally honest with myself — if I think I don’t have time to pray, I need to take a closer look. Is there something — anything — in my day that I can cut out so that I will have time?  TV? Computer time? Phone time? There’s usually something that can go, especially if we’re looking only for an extra fifteen or twenty minutes in a day.

Also, attaching prayer to other activities works well for me — praying while I walk or work out, praying in the car and the shower, or while doing a chore or errand. Certainly those times will not have the contemplative dimension that we desire and often associate with the Rosary — it’s supposed to be all about meditating on the mysteries, right? And it is about the mysteries … they are what make the Rosary a contemplative prayer, and they plunge us deeply into the life of Jesus. But, establishing some rhythms for prayer is the first step. Adding the mysteries, and deepening one’s prayer time, will follow.

How does the Rosary ultimately draw us closer to Christ?

In the book, I quote Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, several times. He offered such beautiful answers to this question.  First, he pointed out something very basic about the tool we use to help us pray the Rosary: when we look at the beads, we see that they all “converge upon the Crucifix.” He went on to say: “Everything begins from him, everything leads towards him, everything, through him, in the Holy Spirit, attains to the Father.”

Even the Hail Mary itself is about Jesus — He is implicitly present in it from the beginning. (I go into more detail about this in the book, and look at the Hail Mary line by line.)

And, in meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary, what we end up doing is journeying with Jesus Christ. Because the mysteries are Scriptural references to the lives Jesus and His mother, meditation becomes a way to spend time with, to keep company with, Jesus and Mary.

And, remember, meditation, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, simply means using “thought, imagination, emotion, and desire” to enter more deeply into prayer (see CCC, 2708.) Don’t be intimidated by the idea of meditating, or worry that it’s beyond your spiritual grasp. If you can think about Jesus, and imagine being with Him at various times in His life, if you can ponder the attendant emotions, and desire to know Him better, then you are meditating!

The bottom line is that Mary doesn’t want our attention, and she isn’t trying to draw us closer to her –  she wants us to direct our attention to Jesus. The Rosary can help us do that.  However, praying the Rosary will draw us closer to Mary, too, because it will help us to see (and want to emulate) her as a beautifully devoted disciple. But, Mary will always lead us to her Son.

Are there any additional thoughts or comments you’d like to share with our readers?

I often remind myself that all prayer “counts” — from the quick thoughts tossed up to God to the slow, meditative Rosary on a quiet Sunday afternoon … from the depth of a sublime holy hour to the rote Hail Marys droned while doing a load of laundry … it all counts. It’s all part of our relationship with God. Just as we have different levels of interaction with our spouses — from quick, utilitarian conversations, to intimate exchanges — so will the spectrum of our communication with God play out. Prayer is about talking to the One we love, so don’t wait for the perfect time to talk. Just talk to Him. All the time.

Purchase The Rosary: Keeping Company with Jesus and Mary and help support CatholicMom.com.

Top Ten Reasons You Should Turn In Your Early Action Application on Sunday

1. Dean Nondorf wants You! To apply to the University of Chicago.

2. Winter will be SO MUCH WARMER, comparatively.  To January 20, 1985.

3. You can’t get into college if you don’t apply!

4. Turning in a college application is a time honored All Saint’s Day tradition.

5. Procrastinating is only cool and fun once you’re in college.

6. You are one step closer to winning a Nobel Prize! Or at least closer to people who have won the Nobel Prize.

7. If you turn in your application early, Jon and Kate will a) get back together or b) stay divorced. Choose your own adventure!

8. Every time an Early Action application is sent in, a fairy gets its wings.

9.That Hogwarts letter isn’t coming. This is the next best thing.

10. You send us an application, we send you cookies. (Note: The University of Chicago cannot guarantee the delivery of any and all baked goods to applicants.)

Best,
Office of College Admissions