Welcome to #OpenBook. I'm joining up with Carolyn Astfalk who hosts an #OpenBook Linkup on CatholicMom.com. Here's what I've been reading this past month. This was a short "month" because we did the #OpenBook for March late. The dates indicate when I finished the books. Thanks for stopping by!   3-19-24 Toward the Dawn - Mary Connealy - One of the challenges of being a book reviewer is that sometimes I am assigned books in the middle of a series. Sometimes this is fine - they work as a standalone. On the other hand, this one had a complicated backstory that I think one could probab ..read more

 Welcome to #OpenBook. I'm joining up with Carolyn Astfalk who hosts an #OpenBook Linkup on CatholicMom.com. Here's what I've been reading this past month. The dates indicate when I finished the books. Thanks for stopping by!   2-9-24 Befriending St. Joseph: Finding Faith, Hope, and Courage in the Seven Sorrows Devotion - Deacon Greg Kandra - St. Joseph's feast day is March 19th. This book would make for wonderful spiritual reading or an at-home retreat during this month. It offers short chapters that reflect on the seven times St. Joseph is mentioned in Scripture. Learn more about ..read more

  We know relatively little about St. Joseph. He is sometimes called “the silent Saint” because no words of his are recorded in Scripture. Yet, devotion to St. Joseph, who was the foster father of Jesus and husband of the Blessed Mother, has a long history in the Church. In Befriending St. Joseph: Finding Faith, Hope, and Courage in the Seven Sorrows Devotion, Deacon Greg Kandra shares how the tradition of meditating on the seven sorrows of St. Joseph began with a shipwreck. Two Franciscans were traveling on the coast of Belgium when a storm hit, and the ship sank. They clung to the wre ..read more

  In 1859, Belgian immigrant Adele Brise was visited by the Blessed Mother in Champion, Wisconsin. This Marian apparition, commonly known under the title of Our Lady of Good Help, was granted ecclesiastical approval by Bishop David Richen in 2010, making it the first approved Marian apparition in the United States. In Our Lady of Good Help: Prayer Book for Pilgrims, Fr. Edward Looney introduces readers to this apparition, its message for all of us, and the shrine located in Wisconsin. Our Lady’s message for Adele was one of spreading the Good News. She wanted Adele to “gather the childre ..read more

 Amazon has a new beta service whereby ebooks can be converted into Audible versions through automated technology. While I realize that these can't match the quality of a human narrator, I appreciate the opportunity to share my work with people who prefer audio books. Please click the links below to purchase audio, paperback, or ebook versions. Thank you!   The Life and Lessons of St. Zelie Martin   Discover St. Zélie and the important lessons she can teach us! Although she lived a hundred and fifty years ago, St. Zélie Martin (1831-1877) was a modern woman. She was a worki ..read more

  Lent is the perfect time to reflect on the gift and message of Divine Mercy. Fr. Chris Alar is a member of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, an order of priests who have made it one of their missions to spread the good news of Divine Mercy. In Understanding Divine Mercy, Fr. Alar explains the visions of Jesus that St. Faustina wrote about in her famous diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul, showing how the Divine Mercy message permeates Scripture and Catholic tradition. He also provides ways we can live and share that message in our own lives. We are all sinners in need of God ..read more

Welcome to #OpenBook. I'm joining up with Carolyn Astfalk who hosts an #OpenBook Linkup on CatholicMom.com. Here's what I've been reading this past month. The dates indicate when I finished the books. Thanks for stopping by!   1-6-24 Sensitive: The Hidden Power of the Highly Sensitive Person in a Loud, Fast, Too-Much World - Jean Granneman & Andre Solo -  I am definitely a sensitive person (I scored 30 out of 32 on the in-book test). I always thought it was simply due to being an introvert, but while there is some overlap, sensitive people can be extroverted or introverted. This ..read more

 Lent is two short weeks away. Here are three books to help you focus on your spiritual life this Lent.  Turn to the Cross: Daily Prayers for Lent and Holy Week -Josh Noem - This is a Lenten devotional that offers a Scripture passage or quote, a reflection passage, prayers, and reflection question for each day of Lent. It focuses on the Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, and will help deepen your prayer life this Lent.  Messages of Perseverance for Lent 2024 - Fr. Michael White and Tom Corcoran. This duo has put together a number of these short de ..read more

  Happy New Year! Welcome to #OpenBook. I'm joining up with Carolyn Astfalk who hosts an #OpenBook Linkup on CatholicMom.com. Here's what I've been reading this past month. The dates indicate when I finished the books. Thanks for stopping by!   12-1-23 The Heart of Christmas - Victoria Magazine - I've been a fan of Victoria Magazine since I was a teenager. This was one of their early books, published in the 1990s, that focused on Christmas. I found it at the library and appreciated both the historical traditions that they shared as well as what now seems historic from the 1990s! One ..read more

In honor of St. Zelie Martin's birthday on December 23rd, The Life and Lessons of St. Zelie Martin is free on Kindle today through Christmas. Please download! Merry Christmas ..read more