This book speaks to the importance of the virtue of friendship/relationship to carrying out the New Evangelization and seeks to refocus the conversation on Church teaching with humor, wit, and plenty of sources from the Deposit of Faith. It speaks of the friendship Revolution that can thwart our ages’ despair and loneliness and give hope for the purpose of bringing about the New Springtime to which Saint Pope John Paul II called us. It does this by examining the universal call to friendship found in Revelation, helping to discern between true and false friendships, giving tips to developing the virtue of friendship, looking at the scientific support for friendship from a psychological perspective, and then looking at how friendship can help the Church both internally (ad intra) and in the work of evangelization (ad extra).  Finally, it ends with an appendix on male-female relationships and their possibility and importance.

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Gerard-Marie Anthony is a Deacon of the Catholic Church and Spiritual Director of A Mom’s Peace, an organization that helps families experiencing miscarriage/stillbirth. He has an M.A in Theology, as well as Green Cross Trauma certifications including H.E.A.R.T. Model training for Treating Complex Trauma.  He recently co-authored with Dr. Sabine Heisman The Deacon and the Doctor: A Prescription for Navigating Child Loss. His website is: www.jmjgerardmarie.com.

We are about to undertake an exhilarating journey together. Throughout this book, we will travel to the Mount of Olives implementing the tools of the garden as we keep the Holy Gardener company in Gethsemane and garden our own hearts and homes in His honor. Jesus: the Vine, the Tree of Life, the one whose blood and tears were planted in the earth of Gethsemane, and whose body was placed in a garden tomb, is also the Risen and Victorious Gardener who has flowered forth from the grave. He awaits us. Let the gardening begin!

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“Annabelle Moseley’s own words sum up the more than implicit spiritual marriage that can come into the life of a Christian family when she speaks, in her own words, of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane: “I’ll share this cup too. Not just in the sweet – but in the bitter, like a marriage vow” (IV).

 

Annabelle’s book begins personally, immediately drawing me in; and, as she sustains this autobiographical work, we are invited to see that this is a long-rooted and fruitful spiritual growth.

 

“The warp and weft, between actual and spiritual gardening, has clothed a word for the whole family, including the children. She weaves in and around and through the Garden of Gethsemane to the Garden of the Resurrection! Each chapter draws, briefly, on a variety of flowers: St. Padre Pio, an assortment of saints, and Moseley’s own prayer-poems; and her well cultivated work forms the main bed from which, as we read on, we can transplant a variety of graced-gifts. However, like any family life and garden, there are the “weeds”, what we do not want to breed, like grumpiness and inhospitality; and, therefore, this is a book which is realistic about these daily pressures and sores, recommending as she does the sacrament of reconciliation, reconciling us with God and with each other. The “Holy Hour in the Home” that Annabelle recommends, is a homely centrepiece of the Domestic Church in an embracing ‘Cling’ (p. 126) to the liturgy of the whole Church; indeed, as the word ‘cling’ suggests, reminding us of Adam and Eve’s embrace (cf. Gen. 2: 24; and Ephesians 5: 32) her work is espousing a spousal love of Christ and His Church. In the end, ‘the site of the Agony is also the site of greater Glory’ (p. 146).

 

“In all this is a book which develops the liturgy of the “Domestic Church” and, perhaps in a modest way, it opens up the liturgical life of the family somewhat like the rule of St. Benedict for the monastic family. If, then, you are not already immersed in a rule of life, I invite you to consider this “domestic rule” rule and, as you go through its pages, to take on more and more of Annabelle Moseley’s lived recommendations for the domestic Church.” – Francis Etheredge, father of 11, 3 of whom are in heaven and author of 17 books: https://www.francisetheredge.online 

“Annabelle Moseley brings us deeply to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, in a distinctly accessible and intimate voice, drawing us closer to its mysteries while offering a meditation on what it is to be asleep and also awake there.  She offers us a way to extend the first kind of Holy Hour to a second and third, right in our home.  She weaves her own experience where God led her to an immersion in the Garden alongside historical contributions such as St. Margaret Mary Alacoque’s Sacred Heart devotion, the Nocturnal Adoration in the Home, Padre Pio’s Prayer to Jesus in the Garden, Fra Angelico’s 1450 painting of the “Agony in the Garden” depicting Mary and Margaret praying in Bethany, as well as detailed meditations on Scripture.  Her understanding of how consoling Jesus is to be consoled is enriched by her metaphors of the garden: attention to and ascertainment of beauty; the congruence of neighboring plants; drainage and soil capabilities; and climate, sun, and shade influences. These garden and plant meditations deepen an understanding of the body’s soulful connection to the Divine. She delineates the necessity of the balance of contemplation followed by action and aptly gives practical examples of when they are imbalanced in our home life.  She does a contextual reading of Scripture to elaborate upon such, with great attention to Martha and Mary as models of prayer and mourning, prayer and service. Indeed, along with Christ, these sisters are her spiritual guides throughout this book which elucidates the way prayer can be part of a practical life. For those who benefit from guided prayer in the Holy Hour, this work is ripe with prayers, reflections, suggestions for journaling, and her poems to inspire one during Holy Hour.  Within the Garden, there is a gem, and that is this book.” —Angelyn Arden, Ph.D., author of Figures in Orbits of Symphony: Stories and Ideas and “Empty Nest” and Other Stories

“Awake With Christ teaches us how to have a holy hour right at home! With practical suggestions and activities for families and children, this book helps us enter into the Garden of Gethsemane where we are loved, nurtured, and can grow in ways we never thought possible. We find that the sorrows and joys of our own lives can be united to those of our Lord Jesus, and this gracefully allows for new and unexpected spiritual growth. Very practical and down to earth for tilling the soil of our own garden of life.” —Kiki Latimer, author of Home for the Homily: The Sacred Art of Homiletics

“What a moving and delightful book! Annabelle Moseley shows us how to stay awake with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, to console Him, to give him our own loneliness and abandonment, to be replaced by lasting peace and joy. Awake with Christ is replete with powerful insights from Scripture, from well-known and lesser-known saints, with beautiful poetic prayers to Christ, and explicit guidance for adults and for children on how to make Holy Hours within our own homes. Abounding in beautiful garden metaphors that should make spiritual (if not literal) gardeners of us all, as we grow in our love for the Master Gardener.“ —Kevin Vost, Psy.D., is author of Catholic books including Memorize the Latin Mass!and You Are That Temple! 

“‘Do you realize you are ‘living the dream’ in a life more lovely than a fairy tale?’ writes Moseley. With every page of the book she elucidates this reality, and reading the book is like watching a gorgeous flower bloom in spring. Indeed by the end of the book, you find yourself in a cloistered garden where you know God better, love Him more, and know yourself better too. We start living in Heaven or Hell already in this world…this book, truly a spiritual work of genius, helps place one on the narrow road to Heaven, a place of supernatural joy in both pleasant and painful times. You will be happy to stay awake with Jesus in this garden!” —Keith Berube, PhD cand., author of the books Mary the Beloved and Mary: The Rosary, the Relationship and Dragons, as featured on EWTN, and A Love Letter to Mary.

“In a time of constant noise and distraction, Annabelle Moseley guides adults and children alike entry into the Heart of Our Lord in Gethsemane where we can contemplate with Him His prayer of surrender, ‘Not mine, but Your will be done.’ Awake with Christ: Living the Catholic Holy Hour in Your Home helps readers explore biblical gardens while challenging us to cultivate a fertile garden in our own heart and home where we can intentionally keep watch with Our Lord and enter more deeply into His love for us while growing in our love for Him. In her beautifully inviting style, Moseley introduces readers to the intimate devotion of an at-home Holy Hour. This book will become a well-loved resource of everyone who has been blessed by reading it.” —Joni J. Seith, author of Pain of Grace: Living and Suffering with Dignity and Cloud of Witnesses

“Even if you are not a ‘devotional Catholic’ type, you can get a fresh beginning in prayer by using this beautiful, poetic, engaging ‘how-to’ book with your family or in your own personal life. Highly recommended also as a gift.” —Dr. Ronda Chervin, author of numerous books about Catholic spirituality and media presenter

“Annabelle Moseley has poetically and prayerfully interwoven the temporal and spiritual garden in the context of one Holy Hour spent with Jesus in the shadow of Gethsemane. Individually, or in the company of family, Annabelle provides the ‘gardening tools’ required to realize an hour dedicated to intimacy with God.” —Anne Stokes, author of Will the Real Church Please Stand! A Conversion Journey from Fundamental Baptist to Roman Catholic

“From the time I was young, I was close to Jesus in Gethsemane, where I learned from Him all about the Interior Suffering of His Passion. When after years of living as a Catholic hermit I had to return to the world to provide for myself financially, the Lord led me to a job working as a night nanny for newborn triplets. As I cared for the babies all through the night for 10 months, I divided the time up into a clock of what Jesus suffered in the Garden at each hour and I would spend these nights awake in silence and prayer (caring for the babies) and spiritually adoring Jesus in all of the Tabernacles close by in downtown Chicago, while the giant city slept. This year of doing ‘night adoration’ from my place of work was very different from the nights I had previously spent in prayer with Jesus in the tabernacle, but I knew that He was not separated from us in time or space. Years later, I learned about this devotion that St. Margaret Mary had of spending Thursday evenings ‘in the Garden’ with the Lord’, and now Annabelle Moseley introduces this devotion in a new way, making it possible for many in our modern time to easily follow from their homes. This book Awake with Christ: Living the Catholic Holy Hour in Your Home will be especially helpful for those who are not accustomed to long periods of prayer with Jesus. Annabelle’s guided meditations and suggestions of prayers make home adoration something attainable and inspiring for every soul to include in their spiritual routine, regardless of where they are on their personal journey. I highly recommend that families keep a copy of this book in their home library so that both the young and old can use it as the Holy Spirit inspires them!” —Mary Kloska, author of In Our Lady’s Shadow: The Spirituality of Praying for Priests

“Physical and spiritual nakedness are deep realities in these words of Mary Kloska. Jesus, totally exposed to the evil of generations past and to those yet unborn. And in this book is the call and the invitation to expose our spiritual nakedness and to be one with Him on His journey to the Father’s will. Yes, there is a light to come from the tomb, but first we enter the darkness.” – Deacon Tom Fox, Catholic Podcaster and Catholic Radio Host

“Mary Kloska has painted yet another wonderful icon as the title of this book. She provides a good explanation of the icon, which depicts Christ’s love as gentle, humble and strong. Even though Jesus is shown on the cross and bleeding profusely, Mary shows us that He is in control. He looks at the scene in front of Him. It is as if He is directly looking in each person’s eyes, who lived, is living, or will live. He looks into the eyes of the aborted and miscarried. He knows their need for salvation and sacrifices Himself. His strength is clear in that look, in the fact of giving Himself up, even more than the weakness of His of being crucified. That depth of profundity enters into the pages of the book and engages the reader, contemplatively.  A reader cannot rush through the chapters. Every sentence must be thought about; every picture must be entered. Each section of each chapter builds on the next in a way that is deliberate and written with the attempt to bring spiritual understanding to the reader.” – Dr. Cynthia Toolin-Wilson, WCAT Radio host of “Author to Author“

“This manuscript deeply affected me in my spiritual life… and its very hard for an 82-year-old to learn anything new… this was really life-changing to my spirituality.” – Ronda Chervin, author of Always a New Beginning: A Conversation Between Broken Catholic Spiritual Warriors