Editor’s Note: Today, I am thrilled to share the following original children’s story from renowned author Katherine Valentine. This precious story is Katherine’s gift to our CatholicMom.com family of readers.  We hope you enjoy sharing this story with the children in your life and that you will visit Katherine at www.KatherineValentine.com to enjoy more of her writing.  Lisa

It was almost Christmas Eve and all the Christmas trees on Mr. Stilton’s Tree Farm had been taken home. All except the four trees that stood on a small hill behind the barn—Blue Spruce, Basil Balsam, Southern Pine and Tiny Tree.

As night slowly descended, the trees found it hard not to grow discouraged. Each one wanted more than anything to be taken home and to wear a Christmas Star, but now it looked as though their dream would never come true.

“Mr. Stilton said that if we’re not sold this Christmas, he’s turning us into firewood,” said Blue Spruce fearfully.

“Now, Blue, there’s still plenty of time left before Christmas Day arrives,” Tiny Tree said, trying hard to keep everyone’s spirits up. “I’m sure someone will come along and take us all home.”

“No one will want me,” said Blue, his branches sagging as they did under the weight of a heavy snow. “Just look at the empty space along my back. Who wants a Christmas tree that’s missing so many limbs?”

Southern Pine leaned over in the wind and sighed. “I dare say, Mr. Spruce that you have a far better chance of being chosen than I do,” she said in a soft southern voice. “Just look at me. All these branches and not one pine needle.”

It was true. Southern Pine hadn’t a one.

“Why, I’m as naked as a Jay Bird,” she said sadly. “No one wants a Christmas tree without pine needles.”

“Now, let’s not give up hope,” encouraged Tiny Tree. He couldn’t bear to see everyone so sad. “Why, I bet there are plenty of folks still left who haven’t chosen their Christmas tree.”

Basil Balsam forced back a tear. “It’s hard to have hope when everything seems so…so…hopeless.”

Basil had been passed over several times this week.  Folks said that he had too much trunk and too few limbs.

“Blue Spruce is right. We’ll probably all end up as firewood.”

With everyone growing so sad, it was hard for Tiny Tree to keep up a brave face. He, too, had hoped to be chosen this Christmas to wear a Christmas Star. It was the highest honor a Christmas tree could hope for. But Tiny Tree was just 41½ inches tall. Too big to sit on a table, yet too small to be placed on the floor which was why everyone that had visited the farm in search of a perfect Christmas tree had passed him by.

Folks just shook their heads and said, “He’s just too tall.” Or “He’s just too small.” And then they would wind their way along the paths that lead to another tree that was just right.

Just as his branches were about to sag, an old woodsman came crashing out of the forest, dragging a large, empty sleigh. A pack of dogs nipped at his heals.

“Get back, you mongrels!” he shouted. “Smelly brutes.”

A large black and white Great Dane, the size of a small pony began to sniff at the edges of Southern Pine’s branches.

“Dear me!” she exclaimed, drawing them aside.

The woodsman ignored Southern Pine’s protests, walking right past her to pause in front of the Tiny Tree.

“Now what do we have here?” he asked, rubbing a chin full of whiskers as he looked Tiny Tree up and down.

Tiny Tree felt his branches quiver with excitement. Maybe he was going to get to wear a Christmas Star after all.

“I need a Christmas tree for my cabin,” the woodsman explained. “Something small that the dogs can’t knock over.”

He eyed the dogs darkly then stepped back and titled his head to one side.

“I bet if I strung a rope around your middle and hoisted you up over the rafters, these mongrels wouldn’t be able to knock you over.”

Tiny Tree had often imagined himself dressed in gold and silver balls that dangled from his limbs and small white lights peeking out from among his pine needles. But he’d always pictured himself standing straight and tall on a brightly polished floor. He had never thought about being hung from the ceiling.

“Stand back,” the woodsman told the dogs as he pulled the sleigh around, parking it right in front of Tiny Tree.

“Just jump aboard,” he instructed.

Tiny Tree gathered his branches and was about to take a giant leap, when he happened to glance at Blue whose branches drooped sadly towards the ground.

He and Blue had been friends since seedlings, and he hated to see him so sad, but what could he do?  The woodsman couldn’t use two trees.

Then suddenly he had a wonderful idea!

“Mr. Woodsman,” he began. “Have you taken a look  at Blue Spruce? I think he would make a much better choice.”

“You do?” asked the woodsman.

“I would?” echoed Blue Spruce in great surprise.

“Yes, you would.” Tiny Tree explained. “Blue Spruce hasn’t any back branches which means he would fit perfectly in the corner of your cabin, safely out of the way of your racing dogs. And besides, it’s awful hard to decorate a Christmas tree when it’s hanging from the rafters.”

“You do have a point there, Tiny Tree,” the woodsman walking over to Blue Spruce and examining him more closely.

“He would fit nicely in the corner next to the fireplace. And it’s true that my dogs couldn’t knock over a tree that was tucked neatly into a corner. By golly…I’ll take him!”

So, the woodsman did as Tiny Tree suggested and asked Blue Spruce to hop onto his sleigh. Then he threw thick, brown rope over his shoulder and started up the hill towards home, dragging the sleigh behind as the dogs once again nipped at his heels.

“Well, at least one of us will get to wear a Christmas Star,” Basil Balsam said with a sad wistful note, watching his friend disappear into the woods.

Southern Pine agreed, heaving a mournful sigh.

Several moments later, an elderly couple came tottering up the path.

“Watch you step, Ma,” the man told his wife, carefully leading her up the steep hill.

Tiny Tree straightened his trunk and shook out his branches to display them as their finest. The couple was headed their way.

“What do you think, Ma?” the old man asked, walking right past Southern Pine to study the Tiny Tree.

“It’s certainly a nice little tree,” the old woman said thoughtfully. “But we have so many ornaments. I don’t think they’ll all fit.”

Southern Pine sniffled, watching her chance at wearing a Christmas Star fade. The sound filled Tiny Tree with a deep sadness and he knew at that moment, he just couldn’t let himself be chosen over Southern Pine.

So, he asked the old couple. “How many ornaments do you have?”

“We have too many to count,” the old man confessed. “Some were given us by friends and others by our children and then our grandchildren. Why, we’ve been collecting them ever since we got married. That was fifty years ago.”

The old woman sadly shook her head. “But we only use a few because no tree can hold them all.”

“Southern Pine could!” exclaimed Tiny Tree. “Her branches have lots of room, especially since she doesn’t have any pine needles to get in the way.”

The couple turned to examine Southern Pine more closely.

“Tiny Tree does have a point, Ma,” the old man said, looking over Southern Pine’s bare limbs. He took a measuring tape out from his back pocket and began to measure her from top to bottom.

“Why, it just might work, Ma,” he said with a note of excitement in his voice. “Without pine needles, I bet we could fit them all.”

“Oh, Pa, the children and grandchildren would be so pleased to see all of their ornaments displayed,” the old woman said, clapping her hands with glee.

And so, the old man and the old woman took Southern Pine to their home at the edge of town. That year, the couple took down all the ornaments they had stored in their attic and found every one fit along Southern Pine’s bare branches.

Back on the farm, it was growing dark. There were no other trees to help stop the cold winter wind that blew over the fields. Basil Balsam and Tiny Tree shivered.

“Well, I guess it’s just you and me,” Basil Balsam said, feeling as hopeless as a Christmas tree without a Christmas Star could be.

Tiny Tree searched his brain for something cheerful to say, when a young boy and girl came bounding up the hill.

“Look, Basil!” he shouted, pointing a quivering branch in their direction. “There’s still hope that one of us might wear a Christmas Star.”

“They’re probably going to pick you, and I’ll be firewood by tomorrow,” Basil said, forlornly.

“Hurry up, Johnny,” the girl told her brother.

The sun had just slipped over the hills and the lights from the village hadn’t yet been turned on. Shadows hid the path.

“It’s almost Christmas Eve,” she said. “We need to find a tree before it gets too dark.”

Their mother was in the hospital and the children wanted to surprise her with a Christmas tree. They thought it would help to cheer her up.

The children stopped in front of Tiny Tree.

“This one will do nicely,” the girl said.

“I think so, too” agreed the boy. “It would fit perfectly in our mother’s hospital room.”

Basil Balsam’s deep, mournful sigh echoed across the farm.

“Passed over again,” he lamented.

Tiny Tree’s heart nearly broke. He couldn’t bear to see his friend so sad. So, although Tiny Tree knew that this was his last chance to wear a Christmas Star, he decided to give it away to his friend.

“Is your mother in a hospital bed?” Tiny Tree asked the children.

They nodded.

Tiny Tree shook his head sadly. “I’m afraid that she would never be able to see me if I were placed on the floor, and I’m much too big to sit on a table.”

“He’s right,” the boy said, turning to leave. “Come on. Let’s go. We’ll have to think of something else to cheer her up.”

“You can’t celebrate Christmas without a Christmas tree,” the girl sobbed.

“”You can still surprise your mother with a Christmas tree,” Tiny Tree said, waving a branch in Basil’s direction. “He would be the perfect tree. He has a long truck and high branches just right for viewing form a hospital bed.”

“Why, yes!” the boy exclaimed, taking a step back.

“”Why didn’t we see that before?” the girl asked, as she envisioned how beautiful Basil Balsam would look with his branches reaching up over he mother’s bed, decorated with stands of tiny white lights, gaily colored glass ornaments and a string of popcorn laced around his branches.

And so the boy and girl gently laid Basil Balsam on their red wagon and started down the hill.

Night was quickly falling. Shadows thickened across the snowy hills that encircled the village, and the night sky grew as dark as black ink.  Stars appeared and shown like a thousand polished diamonds.

Tiny Tree looked out over the empty tree farm, his pine needles chattering in the winter night’s breeze. He was the only tree left on Mr. Stilton’s Tree Farm. Everyone else had been taken home.

He thought about Blue Spruce tucked in a corner of the woodman’s cabin; his branches covered in tinsel and bright colored lights. And the sound of the dogs racing happily about as the woodsman smoked a pipe, the smoke curling up the chimney.

Then he pictured Southern Pine with her branches gaily colored with hundreds of cherished ornaments, displaying them proudly to all of Ma and Pa’s children and grandchildren.

As he pictured Basil Balsam, beside the hospital bed, decorated with paper chains and strings of popcorn, smiling at the way the mother’s eyes lit up with joy as she gathered her children close to her side.

But mostly, Tiny Tree pictured each of his friends with their top branch held high and a Christmas Star perched on their heads. And, although he was glad for his friends, he was a little sad, knowing that he would never get to wear a Christmas star.

….And tomorrow, Mr. Stilton would chop him up for firewood.

“I hope I make for a warm fire,” he said, gazing down at his trunk.

Just then the sound of church bells rang out in the distance. It was Christmas Eve. Christmas carolers joined the church bells and drifted up from the village down below.

Tiny Tree watched as colored lights twinkled gaily over doorways and lampposts, and when he leaned just a little to the left, he could see around the corner of the big red barn at the bottom of the hill to spy the twelve foot Christmas tree that stood on the town’s green, a giant red star poised on its head.

Slowly, his spirit began to lift as the wonder of Christmas, like fairy dust, softly fell across his heart. He closed his eyes and drank in its magic.

“Tiny Tree,” a voice echoed from the night’s sky.

He looked up and what he saw made him quiver all over. Why, an angel was slowly drifting down from among the stars. He was as tall as Mr. Stilton’s barn and was dressed in a robe that sparked with jewels.

“My name is Gabriel,” the angel told him and when he spoke, his voice sounded like the tinkling of hundreds of tiny bells. “God has sent me with a gift for you.”

“A gift? For me?” Tiny Tree stammered.

“God has seen how you gave away that which you treasured the most, the chance to wear a Christmas Star. By your compassion for others, you have shown that you possess the real spirit of Christmas.”

“I did?” Tiny Tree’s voice shook.

“You put the love of others before yourself and in doing so, you allowed God to share His love through you.”

“But I only did it because I didn’t want them to be sad. And I knew how much it meant for them to wear a Christmas Star,” Tiny Tree explained.

Gabriel smiled. “And wasn’t that your dream as well?”

“Yes, well….”

Gabriel’s smile broadened as he removed a golden trumpet from the folds of his robe. Putting it to his lips, he blew. At the sound of the trumpet, the heavens opened and the night sky flooded with a brilliant ray of golden light.

“Wow!” Tiny Tree shouted as hundreds of angels appeared.

“These are the angels who announced the birth of a Savior to the field full of shepherds,” Gabriel explained. Then he bent closer to Tiny Tree and whispered, “Look, they carry a star.”

It was unlike any Christmas Star that Tiny Tree had ever seen and filled the valley with a dazzling white light.

“This is the star that once pointed the way to a manger,” Gabriel said.

“It’s so bright!” Tiny Tree said, shading his eyes.

“That’s because it carries the light of God’s love,” Gabriel said. “The same love that you showed when you gave away what you treasured most. It is the love you displayed for your friends that has earned you the honor of wearing the brightest Christmas Star of all, the Bethlehem Star.”

Gabriel beckoned the angels to gather around and to place the star upon Tiny Tree’s highest branch. Tiny Tree could hardly contain his joy as golden rays of light blazed out from the star, illuminating the dark night.

The angels began to sing, their voice sweetly washing over the night skies….

O Holy Night…a star was brightly shining…

Tiny Tree stood straight and tall, as the Bethlehem Star shown out over the world. And at that moment, he knew that Christmas wasn’t about wearing a star or the gaily wrapped packages tucked beneath branches.

The true spirit of Christmas was knowing that we are loved by God.

The End

Copyright 2010 Katherine Valentine

For years, the book

has sat on my nightstand, ready whenever I need a boost of motherly inspiration.  This summer, I had the amazing pleasuring of meeting author Julie Cragon, who is not only a talented writer but who also runs St. Mary’s Bookstore in Nashville, Tennessee.  Julie and I hit it off immediately — I wish we lived closer so that I could spend a few hours each week lounging in her store!  Now, Julie has two brand new books out and a third on the way.  These new titles are simply so beautiful that you’ll need to pick up at least two copies:  one for yourself and another as a gift.  I’ll share the descriptions below, but PLEASE take time to check these out and add them to your library.  I’m using both in my current writing project and simply can’t praise them highly enough!

Illustrated Lives of the Saints

From St. Agatha to St. Vincent de Paul, the lives of these 107 Saints are both informative and enlightening. Stories are told of men and women who emulate the love of Christ and the holiness of the Church. From the simple to the complex, these saints have walked the path of Jesus. Their stories are filled with examples many of us can follow.

Illustrated Lives of the Saints includes a page and a half on the life of a Saint, their Feast Day, their Patronage and the meaning of their name along with a beautiful picture of the saint from the Bonella line of Italian art.

How does one become a saint? In official Church procedures there are three steps to sainthood: one becomes Venerable, Blessed and then a Saint. Venerable is the title given to a deceased person recognized as having lived heroic virtues. To be recognized as a blessed, and therefore beatified, in addition to personal attributes of charity and heroic virtue, one miracle, acquired through the individual’s intercession, is required. Canonization requires two, though a Pope may waive these requirements. Martyrdom does not usually require a miracle. VATICAN CITY, JUL 29, 1997 (VIS)

“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 may we also know their peace in Your Kingdom. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

Purchase Illustrated Lives of the Saints

Illustrated Book of Mary

“It is pleasing to God that we honor Mary. Her many different titles have developed from her personal life, her places of honor in the life of the Church, her role in the plan of our salvation and her intercession to God on our behalf. Devotion to her has not just come about because of the writings of the saints and the Church fathers but also due to the belief in Marian apparitions and the reports of miracles and healings. Because of her special role in union with God, when we honor Mary, when we pray the rosary and the stations and the many other prayers associated with her, we honor God.”

Illustrated Book of Mary includes a page with a prayer and a page and a half of the history of Marian Apparitions and devotions from Our Lady of Grace to Our Lady of Altagracia. There are 30 different Marian stories along with popular Marian prayers including the Rosary, the Litany, the 54 day novena, first Saturday devotion and a list of the feast days of Mary. The Illustrations included in this book are from the Bonella line of Italian art.

This book would be a wonderful gift for anyone who wants to know more about Mary, for new Catholics, for young people and for anyone who has a devotion to Our Blessed Mother. It is a beautiful book for Our Lady.

Purchase Illustrated Book of Mary

Please join me in thanking our Catholic Moments contributors by visiting their sites:  Deacon Tom Fox, Lisa Mladnich, Avery, Sarah Reinhard.

This episode of Catholic Moments is sponsored by CatholicMatch.com, the Leading Catholic Singles Community.  Share your feedback at 206-339-9272, comment here on the blog or email lisa@catholicmom.com.

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• USCCB Top Movies of 2009
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• The Handbook for Catholic Moms:  The Catholic Company, Amazon, Aquinas and More or Barnes & Noble
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Mitford

Although they do not have to be read in order, I felt like I was catching up with old friends as I started each book.  There are new characters in each book, but the favorites Pam and Mark Walker are at the center of each.  The series starts when Pam and Mark purchase a struggling Monastery, quit their corporate careers and begin the second part of their lives.  They make friends and gain help from the local residents, as they work to make a success of their Montis Inn.  The Monks who were the former residents of the Montis Inn become close friends and advisers, and are part of each of the books.

You may just laugh out loud as you read excerpts of the Lumby Lines, and learn of the antics of Hank – one of the town’s most colorful residents.

Each of the characters has a unique personality…some you love immediately, and some you will grow to love.  Gail Fraser used a lot of imagination in developing her characters.  The series has four books, but if you are like me, you will wish there were  more.

Gail included some interesting  notes, recipes and ideas which would make the series fun for book clubs.  These are easy reads with a bit of mystery and a bit of romance and many quirky characters.

Purchase the Lumby series by Gail Frasier and support CatholicMom.com.




Copyright 2010 Anne B.

They didn’t know it at the time, of course. I was just one of their invisible fans, enjoying the immense work they do online. Though I’ve gotten to know each of them a bit better in the last few years, I still face close calls with my bladder and have difficulty not just going into psycho fan-girl mode with them.

They are, after all, Catholic moms, just like me. They get up in the morning, face the battles of their days, and plow on through to bedtime.

Maybe that’s why they are so popular. Maybe that’s why I’m just one of about a million of their fan-moms. Maybe that’s what makes their latest project, Small Steps for Catholic Moms: Think. Pray. Act. Every Day., such a treasure.

Small Steps isn’t a tome about how you can be more of a super-mom. This isn’t a book that will unlock the secrets of momhood and give you the elixir of needing less sleep.

What you’ll find, which is better, is a daily dose of inspiration, wisdom, and encouragement from women who know how lonely and hopeless it can be in the trenches of motherhood. This isn’t preaching, this is touching and giving in the most beautiful of Catholic traditions. This is a cup of tea with friends, a hug from a fellow trooper, an embrace from God Himself.

In Small Steps, you get just what it says: a quote from a saint, a short prayer, and a to-do item. Every month is centered around a virtue, and the companion journal gives you a chance to jot notes and reflect more deeply about that virtue, even as each day of that month takes you on a small step toward that virtue.

This book couldn’t have come at a better time for me. Early in my current pregnancy, I was hugging toilets and buckets and trashcans every morning. My prayer time was slashed in favor of sleep. By the time the kids woke me up, that precious quiet time was…gone. By the time the kids were in bed at night, I was collapsing along with them.

Small Steps is a lesson for all of us: we don’t reach sainthood in giant leaps, unless we look back over our entire lives. Instead, the road to heaven is a series of moments, of small steps we take, holding on tight to the hands of those who have gone before us and who are carrying us when we fall.

Would you like a chance to win a signed copy of Small Steps for Catholic Moms? Leave your name in the comments by next Friday, and we’ll choose one lucky winner.
//

The contest ended June 18…congratulations to our winner, Erin G (commenter #34)! For those of you who didn’t win, don’t forget that this book (and its companion journal) make a great gift idea.

Copyright 2010 Sarah Reinhard

Mentioned in this week’s show:

• John Michael Talbot
• Illuminated Ink
• Wee Believers
• Vatican Library Collection
• Pauline Books and Media
• 10-20-30 Go!
• Bert Ghezzi
• The Word Among Us
• Paulist Press
• Ave Maria Press

This episode of Catholic Moments is sponsored by CatholicMatch.com, the Leading Catholic Singles Community.  Share your feedback at 206-339-9272, comment here on the blog or email lisa@catholicmom.com.

Don’t get me wrong: I love reading about Mary. It’s just…well, sometimes the books are hard, or thick, or…well, maybe it’s just that I’m lazy and busy.

So I dragged my feet before I bought Mark Shea’s Mary, Mother of the Son trilogy. It wasn’t until a good friend, a friend who gets so many review books that she doesn’t often actually part with her money for them, told me she had bought them that I started to reconsider.

After all, I have always enjoyed Shea’s writing. It seemed like a formula for success: love author + love subject = love book. Right?

Except…there are three volumes.

I love to read, but my to-read shelf has started to own me lately. In fact, in a fit of decluttering, I got rid of a bunch of (gasp) unread books recently (and it didn’t kill me).

I was about two paragraphs into Volume One, Modern Myths and Ancient Truth, when I realized I had hesitated far too long and for no good reason. I was captivated. I was enthralled. I was falling in love with Mary all over again.

Volume Two, First Guardians of the Faith, was no less enchanting, and Volume Three, Miracles, Devotion, and Motherhood, might have been my favorite.

The kicker, for me, is that Shea does not consider himself a Marian devotee. He writes about this from a very facts and figures standpoint, and yet there are moments, as in Volume Three when he shares reflections on each mystery of the rosary, when his faith shines through and becomes synonymous with Mary.

That’s the point, isn’t it? Mary doesn’t ever take us away from our faith. She leads us to it and helps us deepen it.

This trilogy is a must-read for every Catholic – and many non-Catholics – I know. It’s approachable while intelligent, and it explains all those objections in such black-and-white terms that I think I’ll be dog-earing new pages as I go back and reference, reread, and quote from them.

And now, I’m going to give you the chance to WIN this indispensable Marian trilogy. Leave a comment here and next Friday, May 21, I’ll use the random number generator to select a winner who will win a copy of the trilogy. Many thanks to Mark Shea and Catholic Answers!

Copyright 2010 Sarah Reinhard

If a child tries to combat deep-seated fears with will power alone, any eventual success is tempered by the child’s struggle.  In my case, for example, the battle against childhood fears was often a kind of (internal) wild flailing: unfocused and largely unproductive.   One episode that illustrates this particularly well took place when I was car camping with my mother at the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge on Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula.  When night fell, I became frightened by the deep darkness beyond the car windows.  As a city boy, it was one of the darkest nights I had ever seen.  In the middle of the night, I quietly exited my mom’s old Vega and began to sleep-walk through the quiet campground.  It was pitch black, and I remember stumbling into cold puddles with my thick wool socks.  At one point, I came conscious enough just to see twinkling city lights in the distance–either Sequim or Port Angles.  I recall half waking up to make decisions as to which direction to go, then I’d find myself somewhere else entirely.

Although my sense is that it took me a long time to find my way back to our camp spot, I never felt anything I would quite describe as fear.  This seems to have been how my subconscious tried to take on the fear of the dark coastal night.  It would have been so easy for that night to have ended tragically for me, and that’s why this experience highlights the trouble with “going it alone.” It’s the job of the parents and other trusted adults to help guide these children away from their fears and to the welcoming light and safety of Christ.  I am particularly grateful for the kindness and endless patience demonstrated by my mother over my early years.  Without her help and support, I’d probably still be scared of the dark!

Prayer and humor seemed to be two of the more powerful weapons against fear.  After all, it’s hard, if not impossible, to be simultaneously laughing and afraid.  Perhaps that’s why I chose overcoming fear as one of the main themes in my upcoming children’s book entitled Tristan’s Travels (coming from Rafka Press in fall/winter 2010).  One of the verses that guided me on my writing endeavor was Philippians 4:8.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

In an age where too many children seem to bypass the innocence and lighthearted joy of childhood altogether, it was always my goal to make children laugh–without polluting their minds with our cultural garbage.  That is how I, at least, write for children.

The best way to illustrate this is to quote directly from my tale.  The following scene concerns Tristan and his central fear of flying (among other things).  Tristan’s squirrel friend Nipper is replaying a memorized children’s homily overheard outside a church window (courtesy our own parish priest, Father Timothy Mockaitis).

Nipper carefully wrapped his tail around his head and began the “recording.”   “…Now, St. Francis walked up to this wolf who had terrorized the people of a town called Gubio.  It was not far from Assisi where Francis lived.  They came to Francis and told him the wolf was chasing and sometimes hunting down the sheep in the fields around Gubio.  So, what do you think Francis did?’”

Nipper sprung up like a jack-in-the-box and scampered forward a short distance before spinning around to face spot where he had just been.  He waved his paw in the air.  “Oh, I know!  I know!  Call me!” Nipper said before darting forward again to face his “audience.” Tristan and Furdock watched the spectacle unfold with astonishment.  Nipper smiled faintly as he called on himself.   Then, like a shot, he was back in the audience with his paw raised.  For a split second, a look of confusion settled on Nipper’s face, then he declared confidently, ‘Francis went to help the people!’

“That’s right, Margaret,” Nipper recollected, not bothering to change places again.  “He did more than just help.  He walked out to the field and confronted the wolf.  He scolded him for being so mean and for scaring and chasing the sheep.  What do you think happened then?  Well, what actually happened surprised everyone.  That vicious wolf walked slowly up to Francis, lowered his head, and sat down at the feet of Francis – like a puppy who just wants to be petted.  And from that day onward, that wolf followed Francis everywhere he went and became his pet.  No longer were the people afraid of the wolf and they loved Francis all the more.  Francis was never afraid, and he changed fear into love.  Love is always more powerful than fear, and God’s love takes away all fear.” Nipper promptly collapsed.

“It all makes sense now,” Tristan said.  “When Saint Francis was telling me not to be afraid, he meant that I would be safe, because God’s love takes away all fear…”

When we find ourselves or a loved one walking “through the valley of the shadow of death,” hold fast to Christ.  Like Lady Galadriel’s vial given to Frodo as a light for dark and terrifying times, darkness flees the light.  If we remember that love is greater than fear, we can overcome anything through Him who is within us.  His power transforms our weaknesses into new strength and infuses us with a courage that is not our own.  As Father Dwight Longenecker recently quoted Martin Luther within an article appearing in the National Catholic Register, “The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn.” Laughter and love are powerful weapons indeed for one’s spiritual arsenal.

Copyright 2010 Karl Erickson

About the Writer – Karl Erickson is the author of Tristan’s Travels, scheduled for publication by Rafka Press in late 2010.  Although he considers himself primarily a children’s writer, his articles have appeared in America, The National Catholic Weekly, Catholic Answers’ This Rock, Church Music Association of America’s Sacred Music, Episcopal Church News, Seattle Pacific University’s Response, TiberRiver Catholic Book Reviews, and even as a special feature writer in an issue of the Portland Tribune.  His fantasy short story entitled “Stars Within the Glass” appeared in Catholic Blog Fiction.  He was also a photographic and written feature contributor for Churchmouse Publications.

When not writing, his wife, Kimberly Erickson, and he enjoy opportunities to speak and share their family’s spiritual journey. Karl is also one of the founding members of the Catholic Writers’ Guild, a new association of Catholic writers and artists engaged in trying to make a difference for God and bring creative renewal to Catholic literature.

Besides being the illustrator of Tristan’s Travels, Kimberly is skilled at water gilding (ancient technique of gold leafing).  She is also the daughter of artist John Collier, the celebrated sculptor of the Catholic Memorial at Ground Zero in New York City.  It should be no surprise, then, that the busy intersection of faith and the arts is a particular passion for both Karl and Kimberly.

In Karl’s “spare time,” he currently works as a Tax Auditor for the State of Oregon.

For more information visit http://www.tristanstravels.com/

Have you ever heard a Pentecostal Preacher? Ever heard a Catholic who used to be a Pentecostal Preacher? Join Tom in this Deacon Moment about Alex Jones and his conversion.

Lisa Mladnich shares a “public service announcement” for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

As we near Divine Mercy Sunday, Sarah Reinhard uses this week’s Mary Moment to share her experience with praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. She also mentions the free Rosary CDs from Catholicity, the Divine Mercy Novena, and the sung version of the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

This episode of Catholic Moments is sponsored by CatholicMatch.com, the Leading Catholic Singles Community.  Share your feedback at 206-339-9272, comment here on the blog or email lisa@catholicmom.com.

Links for this Episode:

• Greatness in Our Teenagers: A 10 Step Guide for Parents and Educators
• Greatness in Teens website
• Music – Popple, Matthew Baute
• Current CatholicMom.com Contests
• CatholicMom.com Book Club
• The Catholic Company
• The Handbook for Catholic Moms:  The Catholic Company, Amazon, Aquinas and More or Barnes & Noble
• Lisa’s Facebook Profile, SQPN Connect Page, Plurk, Twitter
• Catholic Mom Logo Store
• Yoursphere

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Deacon Tom invites those without sin…. and those with oft-repeated sins to join him in confession at your parish penance service. Tom will be there – but in the longest line for Confession. Listen and hear why he chose that line.

Lisa Mladnich recommends savoring scripture and taking time to learn it too.  Avery shares a reflection on Psalm 95 as it relates to hearing God in our lives and responding to His call.

It’s all rainbows in this week’s Mary Moment as Sarah Reinhard shares a quote from St. Bridget.

This episode of Catholic Moments is sponsored by CatholicMatch.com, the Leading Catholic Singles Community.  Share your feedback at 206-339-9272, comment here on the blog or email lisa@catholicmom.com.

Links for this Episode:

• Robert Rogers Might in the Land Ministry
• Music by Angelina
• Lent at CatholicMom.com
• Current CatholicMom.com Contests
• CatholicMom.com Book Club
• The Catholic Company
• The Handbook for Catholic Moms:  The Catholic Company, Amazon, Aquinas and More or Barnes & Noble
• Lisa’s Facebook Profile, SQPN Connect Page, Plurk, Twitter
• Catholic Mom Logo Store
• Yoursphere

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Celebrate Animals – A Story about Family Life on Noah’s Ark – Through captivating photographs of children interacting with animals, life on Noah’s Ark becomes a beautiful word picture for contemporary families learning to gently take care of one another and all God’s creatures.

Celebrate Family – A Story about Your Own Special Family – Captivating photography and simple text create a beautiful canvas of love and care lived out in today’s families.

Celebrate Feelings - A Story about God’s Love for Me – Happy. Silly. Sad. God is with me, no matter how I feel!

Celebrate Me & You – A Story about Your Special Part in God’s Family – God made me special, and he made you special too!

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 March 27, 2010.  I’ll draw three random winners and announce the winners when the contest has ended.

Update: Our lucky winner is Barb (#10). Your prize will be sent soon.  Take a look at our other CatholicMom.com contests for more great chances to win!

Have you heard of the Fairy Tale Novels?

I’m so excited that we’re able to bring you this amazing giveaway this month, just in time for Valentine’s Day (not that I need an excuse to rave about my favorite books, mind you).

So far, there are four books in the series (and I can’t be the only fan who’s waiting impatiently for the next one).  Here’s a bit about each of them:

The Shadow of the Bear

“One winter night as they sat at home, there came a knock at the door.” 
– Grimm

Once upon a time, in New York City, two girls meet a mysterious stranger, Bear, who comes to their door one winter night. 

Who is Bear? Is he a seemingly homeless young man who has an unusual love for literature and poetry? Or is he a thief who hangs with the local drug dealers? Has he befriended the girls for sinister purposes? For impulsive red-headed Rose, Bear becomes their only friend in a hostile city: to shy older sister Blanche, Bear means danger for their family. And what is Bear’s connection to the abandoned church next to their high school, and the unsolved murder of a Catholic priest?

As Bear slowly wins their trust, taking the girls on a surprise trip to the Met and helping Blanche go to her senior prom, Blanche begins to believe that this rough-edged stranger is hiding a heart of gold. And yet, as events unfold, even Rose must admit that Bear is keeping a dangerous secret from them.

A classic fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm comes to life as two very different sisters, timid Blanche and daring Rose, seek to discover Bear’s identity and secret mission in a suspenseful adventure that brings each of them face to face with their own weaknesses and possible death.

Read Chapter One of The Shadow of the Bear.

Black as Night

“… a girl as white as snow and red as blood with hair as black as night…”
– Grimm

Blanche Brier is alone for the summer in New York City, separated from her family.

And her summer job inadvertently brings her a jealous enemy and unsuspected terror.

She finds temporary shelter with seven friars, but it’s not clear to Blanche how she can escape the evil that’s stalking her.

After Bear and his brother, Ben (a.k.a. “Fish”), discover that Blanche is missing, they cut short their European trip and begin to scour New York City looking for Blanche.  But the same malevolence that is lurking over Blanche seems to be hunting them as well.

With the lively help of the seven friars, Blanche struggles to sort out the ominous and apparently disconnected events that continue to build until it seems that all hope is gone. 

Yet during this time, the desires of her heart are being clarified – and so are Bear’s.

A black night.  Honest faith.  Tested love.

Read Chapter One of Black as Night.

Waking Rose

“Once upon a time…” 
– Grimm

“I love him more than poetry… I love him more than song.”

Ever since he rescued her from Certain Death, Rose Brier has had a crush on Ben Denniston, otherwise known as Fish.

But Fish, struggling with problems of his own, thinks that Rose should go looking elsewhere for a knight in shining armor.

Trying to forget him, Rose goes to college, takes up with a sword-wielding band of brothers, and starts an investigation into her family’s past that proves increasingly mysterious.

Then a tragic accident occurs, and Fish, assisted by Rose’s new friends, finds himself drawn into a search through a tangle of revenge and corruption that might be threatening Rose’s very life.

The climax is a crucible of fear, fight, and fire that Fish must pass through to reach Rose and conquer his dragons.

Read Chapter One of Waking Rose.

The Midnight Dancers

Why live in the light, when the night seems so irresistible?

Rachel Durham, 18, is tired of her father and stepmother’s staid morality and pristine prosperity.

The summer of her senior year, she’s more than ready for a walk on the wild side, and the door opens – literally – when she and her eleven sisters (and stepsisters) discover a secret passageway out of their historic home on the Chesapeake Bay.

At night, boys in boats and a forbidden island beckon from the shore, and Rachel and her sisters jump aboard.

The night becomes Rachel’s true world, and her daytime life becomes a disposable mask.

Her puzzled father tries to tow his daughters back into line by enlisting the help of Paul, a med student with a seasonal job juggling at the town festival.

But Paul realizes that simply blocking the girls from their midnight parties isn’t going to solve the family’s problems.

So he embarks on a risky balancing act to gain the girls’ trust – and to make Rachel see that splitting her life between night and light is a dangerous dance.

Read Chapter One of The Midnight Dancers.

I raved about them over at my blog a while ago, but what inspired us to organize this giveaway was hearing about hard times for this favorite author of ours.

Regina Doman is a very special Catholic homeschooling mother, author, speaker, and editor at Sophia Institute Press.  Recently, her 6-year-old son was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. Unfortunately, her family’s current financial and insurance situation leaves little, if any, room to cover the projected ongoing costs of managing this illness.

Knowing what a supportive community this is, we want to ask you to help, first and foremost, with your prayers.

If you find that you need a gift for a birthday or a Valentine that’s sure to endear you to that avid reader in your life, would you consider purchasing one or more of her books?  It helps Regina’s family most if you buy them through her website, but they are also available from a variety of other booksellers.

We’re going to give away all four of the Fairy Tale Novels, one each to four lucky winners. Leave a comment by January 31, and we’ll randomly draw winners.

Here are other ways you can use your purchasing power to help Regina’s family:

• This month, Hillside Education’s Helping Those in Need page is focusing on Regina’s family. There are some good buys and people can help a struggling family at the same time. The links are small so you need to look closely for the links that say Handmade Items, Books Used, Books new, etc.
• Homeschool Connections will donate 50% of all live courses and $30 for every subscription (recorded courses). People can email homeschoolconnections@gmail.com to let them know to credit their enrollment or subscription to Regina and her family.
• Ask your bookstore, library, youth group, homeschool group, school, and book club to consider buying Regina Doman’s Fairy Tale Novels.  I actually did this over the summer, and my librarian thanked me; it turns out they are always looking for good YA titles (and especially ones they can label Christian, in our area, though I wince when I hear that — these are books that DO NOT shove Christianity down your throat, though it’s so much a part of how they’re written).

Enter your name below and consider growing your library (or the library of someone you love) by purchasing the Fairy Tale Novels!
//

The contest is now closed. Thanks for your participation and generous response to this.

Congratulations to our winners:  Monica (comment #62), Barb Patterson (comment #61), Andrea J (comment #68), and Peggy Cortez (comment #6).

Please join me in supporting our good friends Greg and Jennifer Willits and their Rosary Army Apostolate by supporting this year’s Rosary Army Giving Campaign.

Are you going to be taken up in the Rapture? Deacon Tom invites you to live in the NOW of the Eucharist rather than worrying about the End Times.

This week’s Mary Moment is a reflection on the wedding at Cana as Sarah Reinhard taps into Mary’s title Mother of Divine Providence.  You can read more of Sarah’s reflections on this title, including the history, at her column at Today’s Catholic Woman.

Links for this Episode:

• www.Kimand Jason.com
• There’s An Adult In My Soup
• Preorder The Handbook for Catholic Moms
• Yoursphere
• Current CatholicMom.com Contests – Pregnancy Product Giveaway
• CatholicMom.com Book Club
• The Catholic Company
• Lisa’s Facebook Profile, SQPN Connect Page, Plurk, Twitter
• Catholic Mom Logo Store

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“Today, if you hear His Voice, do not harden your hearts…” Hebrews 3:15

Have you ever heard God talking to you? He does, you know, and He longs for you to listen. Sometimes, we’re so preoccupied with going here, doing that, that we don’t hear it. His Voice gets lost in our grocery lists, our work responsibilities, while driving the kids to music lessons, and while packing lunches. Others hear Him, but ignore what they hear. But how can you listen, and really hear the Holy Spirit for yourself?

You must be silent.

This doesn’t just mean turning off your iPhone or the TV. Getting rid of all external noise is a start, of course, and very necessary. But to really listen for God, you must also still your mind. Think about God, and think about how much He loves you and wants to talk to you. Be really, truly silent—with your ears and your heart.

St. Therese, the Little Flower, was good at this. She knew the importance of quieting the mind and listening for His Voice. Sometimes we are so busy talking to ourselves or hearing unimportant chatter of the day from electronics or people around us that we aren’t letting God get a word in edgewise.

Sometimes, though, God speaks to you when you least expect it, and aren’t even prepared for it. This happens a lot to me!

On a grey winter day, in the silence of my car, God told me He had a plan for me: I was to write a fiction book for Catholic preteens, and it would be about St. Therese, my dear friend in Heaven. I was excited, but I had many doubts. Would this be a book kids would want to read? Could it actually be published? What if I got some information wrong about St. Therese? I have to admit that I was plagued by doubt. As many do, I questioned the Voice.

God and St. Therese (who is wonderfully persistent!) had other ideas, however. Because I listened to Him, God made so many wonderful things happen in one year. I know that St. Therese was praying for me during this time, interceding for me and giving me new ideas while I wrote, nudging me along. Last month, I celebrated the one-year anniversary of Olivia and the Little Way, when God made my writing dream come true. In one short year, I’ve had three printings, a Catholic Press Association book award, met hundreds of wonderful, faithful people, and have thousands of readers and fans of my little book. Amazing. And to think it is all because of a Voice.

I love going to book signings and meeting my readers. They tell me their stories about St. Therese, their grandchildren, their parents, their teachers, their children. I’ve been told I have a friendly face, and I like to think that I am approachable. It must be true because people tell me, a person they have just met, their personal stories all of the time! I love to listen. They love to tell. There’s something about St. Therese that brings out so much love in so many people. Some of them have much emotion when they talk about her, and some start to cry. “Little Therese,” as she liked to be called, has had such a powerful impact on so many people.

At one particular book signing this past spring at a church, I sat and chatted with parishioners about my book and St. Therese. The day was very long, and, being human, I started to get hungry and a little tired. Anyone who knows me knows that when I get hungry, I can get a little…crabby. Usually all it takes is a handful of cookies or crackers and I’m back to my old self. At this book signing, I was starting to feel the effects of a long day. I stood up and straightened up the books and St. Therese chaplets on the table, then started to rummage through my purse for a quick snack. While I was doing this, a very old woman came up to the table. Elderly and frail, she stopped and looked at me.

“I do love St. Therese,” she said, her eyes red and brimming with tears.

I sat down, smiled, and asked her to share her story.

She began a halting explanation of how St. Therese had touched her life in many ways. As she spoke, I couldn’t help but notice that the frail woman had not bathed in a long time. While she was talking to me, a parishioner came up beside her and offered to treat her to a copy of Olivia and the Little Way. She was delighted to accept, and was very grateful.

I signed a book for her and watched her hobble away. I felt very saddened because I knew she was poor, but I felt very happy too that she had a loving friend in the parish. She lingered by the church and stared inside while I watched her quietly, feeling something in my heart I could not explain.

It was in that instant that I heard His Voice.

“Give her a chaplet.”

The Voice was as clear as day. It was the same one I had heard before, and I smiled. I glanced at the table, which held books and chaplets with pink rose beads.

“Give her a chaplet,” the Voice said again, very insistent.

I reached over and collected a chaplet and the instruction card that I make to go with it. I approached the lady and held both of them out to her.

“Excuse me, Ma’am, these are for you,” I said.

The look on this lady’s face was sheer joy as I placed the items in her wrinkled hands.

“Oh, thank you! Thank you!” she cried.

“Thank you for coming to talk to me and sharing your story,” I said. Then I thought to myself, You’ve given me so much more than what I have given you.

Listen to His Voice. Do what He wants you to do. Be still and hear what He wants to say to you and you will be amazed, as I was and still am.



Copyright 2009 Nancy Carabio Belanger

Finding Faith in a Godless World: A Catholic Path to God,

Lessons From the Master: Living Like Jesus

I hope you’ll also enjoy watching the video below – it gives a great overview of Alex’s first book and shows how it has impacted upon readers.

Please briefly introduce yourself and your family to our readers.

I have been married for 14 years to my beautiful wife, Allison. We live in Lynbrook, New York with our two children Alex and Maggie. I have taught at Kellenberg Memoial High School in Uniondale, New York for 13 years. I serve as the Religion Department Chairman and an assistant chaplain. I also produce music CDs for Kellenberg. We distribute these CDs to our students, their families and faculty free of charge. We have just finished our 15th CD. Our Catholic school has over 2600 students. Before I came to Kellenberg, I owned a delicatessen for 12 years. I have also performed in an Irish band for over 27 years called The Irish Mist ( www.theirishmist.net).

Please offer an overview of the book for anyone who has not yet read it.

My book Finding Faith in a Godless World: A Catholic Path to God is based on the many discussions that I have had with my students in and out of the classroom. I always tell my students that the presence of God is evident in the Catholic Church. Whether it be the Eucharist, the Resurrection, the saints, Mary, etc, we can easily find God if we can take off the blinders that prevent us from seeing Him.

What prompted you to write this book and what message do you hope to share with it?

There is so much resistance in our world to a relationship with Jesus Christ. Our culture does not endorse a faith filled life. Many of my students find the allure of materialism tempting. I spend many of my days using the headlines from Hollywood illustrating the dangers of this lifestyle.  Young people today must realize that they should not have to apologize pursuing a relationship with Jesus Christ.  It is the source of true happiness.

What type of research and preparation went into the writing of Finding Faith in a Godless World?

I sat down and made a list of the things in my life that have shown me that God exists. My approach is very staright forward and practical. I would rather forego abstract theology and give people simple ways to approach their search for God. I have shared my experiences and the experiences of my students as we have journeyed towards faith. I use some of the cornerstones of our faith and philosophy in my book.

It has been stated that your book is a wonderful resource for young people examining the role of faith in their lives.  How has your book been received by youth and other faith seekers?

My students and people of all ages have told me that my book has served as an excellent reflective tool for examining the most important question that we will ever ask ourselves: Does God exist?

How do you nurture your own relationship with Christ in today’s busy world?  What suggestions can you offer to readers looking to increase the role of faith and spirituality in their own lives? My students would tell you that I spend most of my time speaking about the importance of our relationships. Every relationship is interconnected. We can not love “Our Father” in heaven without loving our earthly dad. The key to every relationship is love. Love demands that we shed the veil of selfishness. Once we remove this we can see God much more clearly.

I also tell my students to reject the unhealthy aspects of our culture. I urge them embrace a faith filled world. Even when faith is lacking, go to church and pray. We can not discover Him if we stand on the sidelines.

Do you have any additional writing projects in the works?

My second book was recently released. It is called Lessons From the Master: Living Like Jesus (Saint Pauls/Alba). I also recorded the first ever audiobook on Finding Faith In A Godless World from Saint Pauls/Alba.

I am pleased to share the following Book Spotlight interview with Chris Benguhe, author of

Overcoming Life’s 7 Common Tragedies: Opportunities for Discovering God.

Q:  Please introduce yourself and your family to our readers.

A:  I grew up in the cozy confines of Phoenix, Ariz, where I was an alter boy, and I believed in my faith.  I went from attending a Jesuit prep school to being up to my scruples in the glamor and greed of Tinseltown, and at the ripe young age of 41, I have been kicked out of more places than most people ever get into – as a reporter for the National Enquirer, and then People Magazine.

It all started when I was a pre-med student in college and a piece of paper literally blew in my face for a writing contest. I entered on a whim, and I won. The next thing I knew I was sitting in an interview with a cagy British editor interviewing for a junior reporter’s position with the scandal sheet – the Enquirer.  My first story was to chase Farrah Fawcett around to catch her cheating on her husband. I was one of the first reporters on the scene of the grizzly Nicole Simpson murder, I covered every one of Tom Cruises “perfect” marriages and I knew Brittney Spears was crazy before anyone else.

Q: Please provide a brief overview of your inspiring book, Overcoming Life’s 7 Common Tragedies, for our readers.

A: The worst of times are windows to the best. Tragedies and tough times lead us to others – to love and to be loved – and to a greater understanding of our faith and our beliefs.

Overcoming Life’s 7 Common Tragedies: Opportunities for Discovering God offers a practical everyday faithful philosophy on how to apply the “positive potential” of problems to the seven most common catastrophic life situations through revealing personal reflections plus compelling anecdotes of everyday people who found joy through enduring life’s greatest tragedies.

Most of the people I featured in my first three books went through extremely difficult times in their lives and were made better by their experiences. In fact, those tough times were some of the best things that ever happened to them because the struggles brought them closer to loved ones and made them stronger in their faith and their beliefs. It made them say, no matter what, I’m going to stick up for what I believe. As soon as they realized and accepted those difficulties as opportunities to love and be loved, their whole life changed.

That philosophy inspired me to write this book which shows people prevailing in difficult situations and being better for them, though they may not have realized it at the time.

But I also included plenty of my own personal revelations about my own struggles with gambling, poverty, relationships gone bad and the like. This was the first time I bared my soul like that. It was tough at first, but quite liberating and cathartic once I finished. I think privacy is overrated.

Q: I’m interested in hearing more about your transition from being a secular journalist to a Catholic author and columnist.  How has your faith life impacted upon your professional career?

A: I bounced back and forth in the business and wound up finally as a senior editor for the Tabloids. But you feel so isolated in Hollywood – and in the culture of Tinseltown – it is much more desperate and soulless of a town and a lifestyle than you have ever seen in movies or on TV.  I really started questioning my identity and wondering if this was what life was all about. It really is all about self-centered self satiation out there.

Then the Columbine shootings happened in the spring of 1999, and it changed my life. I saw journalists from across America converge on this tiny Colorado town of Littleton, trying to out-sensationalize each other, and I was one of them!  I really believe that was a turning point in American journalism. Before, he said, there was an unwritten rule that journalists would be more respectful and less harassing of “ordinary people.” Not anymore. You make excuses that the people you’re writing about are celebrities. They got what they bargained for. But we would get right up in the faces of these parents who lost their children at Columbine and try to get them to cry, or hate or blame the shooters’ parents. It was ugly and heartbreaking. And it flew in the face of my faith and my upbringing. Plus the fact that the overtly sensational coverage was what I called “tragicide” and it was terrifying Americans into being afraid to send their kids to school even though the rate of violence of schools has been consistently dropping in the U.S.

I knew I couldn’t go on making money off the misery of others. So I walked into my boss and told him very respectfully that I just couldn’t do this anymore. He said, “You mean the story?” I told him, “No — the job!”

After about a month wandering on the beach and growing out my beard – the money and the margaritas started to run out.  I realized I had to get on with my life, doing something that I believed in – something that could make a difference.

I went back over my files of unpublished stories from my reporter days. Many of them were about ordinary people who overcame tough times. They were inspiring, but not sensational enough to make it into the tabloids. So I put them into a book and pitched it to Penguin – they gave me my first book deal. It was called “Triumphs of the Heart,” and President G. W. Bush the introduction for it, which was very appreciated. Then I wrote a sequel to that and a third book about heroes and the principles they live by called “Beyond Courage: The 9 Principles of Heroism”.

Q: Given today’s economic and political climates, your book is extremely timely.  What motivated you to write on this topic?

A: People are hurting. But could the worst of times be windows to the best? Yes, absolutely. But in order to realize that we need to get out from under the influence of the religion of success in America that tells us that if things don’t go our way, that we are worthless failures who shouldn’t even bother to keep trying.

What if we realized that our happiness is buried deep within the experiences of our ordeals themselves? What if obstacles are actually the intended route to our ultimate happiness? What if God purposely made us fallible and vulnerable?

Actually life’s struggles and failures are what lead us to others, to God and to finding purpose and meaning in our confusing world.

Tragedies will always happen and problems will always be a part of our lives — especially now!  More and more people are waking up to find themselves out of work, out of money and out of ideas for how they will stay afloat when everywhere they look ships are sinking.

But maybe in our increasingly demanding, confusing and failing economic environment, where a mainstream culture of success preaches it’s all about the bottom line, the innate value of work, social responsibility and human dignity has become muddled, if not completely lost, and maybe that’s exactly what led to our demise.

In other words, ironically, trying too hard to succeed has led to our failure. And maybe doing the opposite will actually lead to our success?

But what if true happiness is buried deep within the experiences of our ordeals themselves? What if we discovered that the shortest route to success wasn’t really about success at all, but instead about realizing our value and net worth is not only a relative RESULT of economic viability or human marketability but instead is an innate asset that can enable and create ethical and profitable behaviors that will lead to long-term and stable success?

Maybe it’s not about whether the glass is half full or half empty, it’s about the value of the glass- the glass of your life is always valuable.

Q: Please give a brief overview of your “Steps to Serenity”.

STEP 1 – Avoid the TRAGEDY SPIRAL
STEP 2 — REALITY CHECK
STEP 3 — Be LOVED
STEP 4– Be LOVING
STEP 5–LOVE yourself!
STEP 6 – Do the Leg Work
STEP 7 – Keep the Faith

(See Chapter 3 for more info)

Q: What are some of the common themes in the book that can help readers in their quest to overcome some of life’s challenging situations?

A: What’s the point of our lives?  It’s not to be perfect or to be a “success” or to “maximize” our potential.  All that misses the point of why we were created – to love and be loved!

As I said above I think the real point to take home from the book is that the worst of times are windows to the best because they lead us to realizing that purpose, they lead us to reaching out to others, to God and to finding purpose and meaning in our confusing world. We should love ourselves because we are part of God’s creation – part of his plan.

Q: Can you share a story or two from your own personal experiences or those stories you’ve shared in the book that will provide some inspiration for our readers.

A. There really are so many, but one in particular really stands out to me because it was the original impetus for the book – an equestrian champion named Lance who was left paralyzed and unable to speak after a swimming accident. Well it is an extraordinarily miraculous story that’s too long to tell here, but long story short after almost two decades of amazing love and devotion from his father, father and son developed the most incredible bond. And 17 years after the accident Lance woke up in his hospital bed after a routine surgery, turned his head for the first time in that long and spoke for the first time since the accident. First words out of his mouth were “I love you dad.”

But even more amazing was the father’s response whenever I asked him how he endured such a tragedy and kept the faith through such a long-lasting ordeal. His answer: “The way I saw it was that I got to love my son more than most fathers ever get a chance to.”

It was a totally different perspective on life when things go wrong.  And it changed my life.

Q: What do you hope readers will take away from having enjoyed your book?  What type of feedback have you received from those who have read it and implemented some of your precepts in their lives?

A: I hope that readers can see the same insights and life changing lessons that I was able to while writing the book – that’s the reason why I wrote it. I gave up a very lucrative career writing material that I thought added very little to the human consciousness for a career that was much harder to make a living at so that I could make a difference. These stories will make a difference in your life for sure. And every time I receive a letter from someone somewhere in the world who tells me that, it tells me that I made the right choice.

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

Right now America, and the world, are facing some of the toughest times in a long time. But we are obsessed with a religion of success. Do we realize that within that struggle are some of the greatest opportunities to reach out to others, to respect humanity, to realize what is important, to understand the difference between what we need and what we want, and finally to grow stronger in our faith and relationship with God.

Inspiring people and those who need to be inspired are all around each one of us everyday, in every way and every place we go. Whether I am on a plane or in a pub or a coffee shop – I can’t help reaching out and saying hello, asking how their day went and really wanting to know and to listen to their answer.  I have met people who have changed my life, and those whose lives I have changed saved doing just that. I hope this book inspires a whole lot of others to do the same.

Ultimately all of life’s struggles, and all of our imperfections, are a chance for us to reach out to others to love and to be loved. That is where we find our true purpose, our real value, and our greatest joy and triumphs.

Purchase Overcoming Life’s 7 Common Tragedies: Opportunities for Discovering God and help support CatholicMom.com.

In this Deacon Moment, Tom shares an incident that happened just this weekend when a Eucharistic Minister didn’t give a blessing to two young people coming forward at Communion time. What do you think about this?

Why does a picture need a frame? Is a giraffe still a giraffe if you draw it with a short neck? This week we contemplate frames on Chesterton Moments with Nancy Brown.

In this week’s Mary Moment, Sarah Reinhard shares a reflection on Mary written by her parish priest.

Today’s song:  Let’s Work Together by Gerard Faucheux

Share your feedback at 206-339-9272, comment here on the blog or email lisa@catholicmom.com.

Links for this Episode:

• Jim Merhaut:
  • JimMerhaut.com
  • Your Catholic Family: Simple Ways to Share the Faith at Home, Godparenting for Life
  • LifeLongFaith.com
  • Villa Maria Education and Spirituality Center
• Current CatholicMom.com Contests – Truth for Teens Contest
• SQPN Connect
• CatholicMom.com Book Club
• The Catholic Company
• Lisa’s Facebook Profile, SQPN Connect Page, Plurk, Twitter
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Everyone loves surprises. But only Chesterton realizes Who first thought about surprising us. What will you do to surprise your family today? Enjoy this week’s Chesterton Moment with Nancy Brown for the American Chesterton Society.

What’s that? The Leaky Deke? What the heck is that about? Today, Deacon Tom combines Confession, a visit by the Bishop and the Holy Spirit to help solve one of Tom’s problems.

This week, Sarah Reinhard shares a reflection on making grape jelly and the Blessed Mother’s upcoming birthday.

Share your feedback at 206-339-9272, comment here on the blog or email lisa@catholicmom.com.

Links for this Episode:

• Sr. Prudence Allen, R.S.M.:
  • The Foundations of Religious Life: Revisiting the Vision
  • Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious
  • Sacrifice of Enduring Love Eucharistic Congress
• Current CatholicMom.com Contests – Making Music Praying Twice Homeschool Edition
• SQPN Connect
• CatholicMom.com Book Club
• The Catholic Company
• Lisa’s Facebook Profile, SQPN Connect Page, Plurk, Twitter
• Catholic Mom Logo Store

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I am pleased to share the following Catholic Book Spotlight interview with Richard Maffeo, author of We Believe: Forty Meditations on the Nicene Creed and Lessons Along the Journey.

Please briefly introduce yourself and your family to our readers.

I was born into a Jewish home in 1950. Twenty-two years later, I discovered Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, and I served Him in evangelical Protestant churches for more than thirty-two years. During that time I earned my BA in Bible and MA in Bible languages, both from Assemblies of God schools. In 2005 I was received into the Catholic Church, where I continue my faith journey toward the One who died, and then rose again to save us from the penalty our sins deserve. Nancy and I are married 34 years and we have three grown children.

What prompted your conversion to Catholicism and how has your faith journey impacted upon your writing?

While I was deployed overseas with the Navy I met a Catholic man who was the first Catholic I’d ever met who was actually conversant with the NT – so much so that he was able to challenge my long-held assumptions about Christian doctrine (for example, the Eucharist, Communion of Saints and the doctrines about the Blessed Mother).  His challenges forced me to go back to the Bible so I could have an answer for him. But when I researched the Scriptures, I discovered he was right and I was wrong about many of my long-held positions.

Please describe your two books for readers who may not yet be familiar with your writing.

I wrote We Believe: Forty Meditations on the Nicene Creed because I had become too familiar with the words I said during each Mass. And I sensed the Holy Spirit ask me, “Do you know what you are saying?”  When I realized I was simply mouthing those ancient words of our faith, I went home and began to parse the Creed into words and phrases – and wrote meditations surrounding each thought.

My second book, Lessons Along the Journey, is actually a compilation of essays I’ve published in many venues over the years. The forty or so essays chronicle in a way my faith journey, but also illustrate how God is in the midst of the significant and not-so-significant events of our lives.

At your blog Equipping Catholics, you feature an online bible study.  What motivated you to begin the blog and what is your goal for this study?

If my Catholic friend I mentioned above had not been schooled in the Scriptures, I would not have become a Catholic. My passion is to teach God’s word, rooted in the authentic teaching of the Church, to my fellow Catholics. Through my online Bible study and other blogs I write, I hope to challenge, exhort, encourage and provoke a deeper hunger for God’s word among my Catholic brethren. Who knows how many other men and women are out there who, like me, would turn their hearts to the Catholic faith – if only someone would lead them through the Scriptures?

What do you hope readers will take away from their experience of reading and studying your books?

I hope they will take away three things: First, that God loves them. Second, God loves them. Third, God loves them.

Are you at work on any future projects?

I’m working on a couple of other books, each based on my current blogs (the online Bible study, and my Contemplative Catholic Convert blog (www.thecontemplativecatholicconvert.blogspot.com).

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

We have the awesome privilege to be co-laborers with Christ for the salvation of souls (1 Corinthians 3:9). For that, we should be most grateful to our God.