The Word in Your Heart: Mary, Youth and Mental Health

by Francis Etheredge

Chapter Four: “The Truths of Faith and Reason are  Complementary”: 

In the Pursuit of Truth; And What is Bioethics? Why Do We Even Think of a Bodily Expression of a Soul?; As Regards the Roots of the Bodily Expression of Being Male and Female; Unnecessary Pills Preceded Unnecessary “Engineering”; The Appearance of Male and Female and Surgery; With Respect to Mental Health and the Family; Are We Awake to the New Developments: What About Brain Privacy?

A prayer to end death from opioids: “Rock Bottom”

Chapter Five: Leading to the Word, the Community and to Christ and His Church: 

The wise man [or woman] has many counsellors (Proverbs 15: 22); We Are Not Alone!; Where to Start: A Relationship with Christ and His Church; Christ is Alive; The word of God in the life of Brother Wilfred, David, Saul, Hannah, Samuel and ‘a Jewish girl’

A prayer for maturing young people: “Crossing”

A Few Final Reflections: 

The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus Christ; ‘What advice would you give to young people who want to be happy? (From an Interview); The Next World Youth Day: South Korea; Panning Out From South Korea

A Prayer for Artists Who Create Sacred Art: Part I: “From Creator to Creative Creatures”     

A prayer for Church musicians Part II: “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord Help us!”

Guest Writer: Lara Katherine Miller: Biography and End Word: The experience of the absence and presence of “Christ the Eucharist”: 

Natural and supernatural wisdom; feeling good and meeting Christ; Coming out of media immersion and entering into our humanity; A society without or with Christianity; Alone with the Eucharistic Christ: “inpatient treatment”

A prayer for the intercession of Mary, the Mother of the Lord: “In the Midst of Life”

REVIEW

TESTIMONIALS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mr. Francis Etheredge is married with eight children, plus three in heaven.

Francis is currently a freelance writer and speaker and his “Posts” on LinkedIn can be viewed here. Poetry; short articles; autobiographical blog; excerpts from books; and “Philosophize: A Ten Minute Write.”

For a list of all of Francis’ books published by En Route Books and Media, click here.

See Francis’ other books, too, entitled Scripture: A Unique Word, From Truth and truth: Volume I-Faithful Reason, From Truth and truth: Volume II: Faith and Reason in Dialogue, From Truth and truth: Volume III: Faith is Married Reason.

He has earned a BA Div (Hons), MA in Catholic Theology, PGC in Biblical Studies, PGC in Higher Education, and an MA in Marriage and Family (Distinction).

Enjoy these additional articles by Francis Etheredge:

• Witness “begets” Witnesses
• Love is a Liturgical Act
• The Holy Family, Celibacy, and Marriage: A Reflection on the “Passage” from the Jewish Rite of Marriage to the Sacrament of Marriage
• “Do-it-Yourself” or Vocation: Coincidence or Providence

Mary, Our Blessed Mother

La Sainteté de la Féminité

par Mary Kloska

Click to See Mary’s Swag Shop!

Buy a pillow and email mahfood@wcatradio.com a photo of you holding it, and I’ll post your photo on this page with your message to Mary.

Interviews

The Holiness of Womanhood Retreat

The Heart of Fiat Crucified Love

TESTIMONIALS

“The Holiness of Womanhood by Mary Kloska is profound and remarkably readable, a great treasure for our times. I would recommend this book to anyone for their spiritual benefit.” — Fr. Ayub Francis Nasar

“Translating this book is really helping me to respect my wife, mother, sisters and all women more and more. I am very sure that I am going to get more depth and reverence for women as I continue to work on it. And really thanks for writing such a masterpiece. There is no doubt that our society here needs this book very much. I believe this book is not only going to change women, but also men. Praise the Lord for using you to be the sign of hope. This book is going to be hope for our women who really are struggling with their true identity.” — Aqif Shahzad- translator into Urdu

“I picked this book up and could not put it down until I turned the final page… and I’m a man! If it captivated me to such a degree, I can only marvel at the wondrous effect it will have on women! This book is so uniquely beautiful that I would not be at all surprised if in time it is recognized as a classic in Catholic women’s literature. I would encourage every woman to read this treatise and to hold on to it for her entire life… keep returning to it; and finally… leave it as a special heirloom to someone you love dearly.” — Fr. Lawrence Edward Tucker, SOLT, author of The Redemption of San Isidro; To Whom The Heart Decided To Love; Adventures In The Father’s Joy; The Prayer of Jesus Crucified (La Oracion de Jesus Crucificado); and the new Catholic music album/CD, So Shine by brothersister

“Mary Kloska takes on an important, though much neglected issue: the real differences between women and men, with a focus on the impact of those differences on women’s spirituality. The joy of reading this is that in place of the anger that sometimes accompanies such issues, Mary gently and calmly observes the differences and celebrates both, even as she focuses her attention on the spiritual gifts of women. I, a man, have directed women, and I know a number of women who give spiritual direction to men, yet Mary’s insights into the spiritual life of women offer far more insight than I can. In addition, her experience comes from her having lived on four continents, among very diverse people — North America, Europe, Africa and Asia, which gives her insights breadth. Her own spiritual life is the obvious source of her depth. Her book is a profound aid in a woman’s spiritual development.” – Fr. Mitch Pacwa, SJ, president and founder of Ignatius Productions and senior fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology

“What a beautiful retreat for women! I love it. Full of deep insights. I can assure you from reading the book …that it is full of joy and peace and that it actually helped me at age 82 (even though I wrote a whole book about women and several books that I use on retreats myself). I still found new insights in this book. So even if you have been to women’s retreats, this could give you something new and very important.” – Dr. Ronda Chervin, leader of dozens of women’s retreats, and author of Feminine, Free, and Faithful

“The Holiness of Womanhood contains much wisdom and Truth for any woman who really wants to become what God created her to be. Having lived through the rise of women’s liberation in the sixties and seventies, which began the release of tons of literature about women that only polluted the mind, I find this book refreshing. It gives a Godly spin to femininity and has many riches for any woman who wants to be a woman of God.” – Clare R. Ten Eyck, Ed.D., Catholic Therapist and Retreat Director

“Mary Kloska’s retreat for women, especially in their early twenties, lays out the principles for motivating a young person’s true identity in the making. Even more, a mother of a family can find in this book, easy to read and think about, practical insights to help her daughters mature toward a deep sense of potential motherhood. Then she can more truly discern an authentic spouse to love her and her children in marriage with sacrificial love.” – Fr. Basil Cole, Professor of moral, spiritual, and dogmatic theology at the Dominican House of Studies

“This book provides a much needed insight into authentic femininity, and is a must read for young and old women alike, who wish to delve deeper into their individual vocations and their meaning and purpose as a daughter of the King.” – Theresa A Thomas, Mother of six daughters, 15-year family columnist at “Today’s Catholic News,” contributor to Integrated Catholic Life website, Catholic Exchange, freelance writer and author of Big Hearted: Inspiring Stories from Every Day Families (Scepter, 2013)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Mary Kloska is from Elkhart, Indiana. She was raised in a huge Polish family (12 brothers and sisters) along with a lot of foster babies and other needy people in and out of the house. She presently has 70+ nieces and nephews.  She has lived a very unique life. Upon graduating from Notre Dame in 1999 she spent almost 20 years in the missions serving the poor (including orphanages) as well as praying as a consecrated hermit all over the world –Siberia, Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, Philippines, Mexico, the Holy Land and all over Europe as well. Although she spent a lot of time away in silence praying, ironically she loves children and is very fun and outgoing when it comes to serving young adults, as well as the little ones. She also spent her time in the missions giving retreats, doing simple catechesis, leading prayer groups, giving spiritual direction, helping in deliverance, changing diapers, feeding babies and cleaning floors. After spending intense time serving in a mission she would withdraw for periods of ‘retreat’ as a hermit (including three years as an official diocesan hermit with vows under a Bishop.) The last few years she has spent as a fulltime nanny to infant triplets, twins and several large families. She speaks many languages (poorly) and enjoys playing guitar, painting icons, baking, gardening, reading, writing and simply filling in where there is the greatest need in the Church. Her WCAT Radio program, “The Heart of Fiat Crucified Love,” may be found here.

MARIE, NOTRE MÈRE BÉNIE

​

Medjugorje: Mon long chemin de conversion avec Notre Dame de la Paix de Medjugorje

Par Penny Abbruzzese et traduit par le P. Michel Legault, M.S.A.

Penny présente à Marie à Medjugorje la traduction française de son livre

Medjugorje Message de la Sainte Mère à la voyante Marija Pavlovic

25 mars 2021

Chers enfants, aujourd’hui encore, je suis avec vous pour vous dire Aujourd’hui encore, je suis avec vous pour vous le dire : Petits enfants, qui priez, ne craignez pas l’avenir et ne perdez pas espoir. Vous êtes choisis pour porter la joie et la paix parce que vous êtes à moi. Je suis venue ici avec le nom de “Reine de la Paix” parce que le diable veut la paix et la guerre, il veut remplir votre cœur de la peur de l’avenir – mais l’avenir est à Dieu. C’est pourquoi, soyez humbles, priez et remettez tout entre les mains du Très-Haut qui vous a créés. Merci d’avoir répondu à mon appel.

TESTIMONIALES

“Mon amie Penny Abbruzzese a écrit un livre passionnant sur ce que signifie consacrer sa vie aux révélations privées qui se déroulent au sanctuaire de guérison de Medjugorje. Alors que beaucoup d’entre nous croient que Marie est le prophète de notre temps, peu sont plus dévoués à la diffusion des messages de Marie que Penny. Son livre est une véritable source d’inspiration, non seulement pour les informations spirituelles qu’il transmet, mais aussi comme un témoignage de ce qu’une personne dévouée peut faire dans ses efforts pour déplacer des montagnes”. – Peter Breen, auteur de Prodigal Pilgrim: Letters to Pope Francis on Lourdes, Fatima, Garabanal and Medjugorje (Prodigal Pilgrim: Lettres au pape François depuis Lourdes, Fatima, Garabandal et Medjugorje)

Dans Matthieu 5, 14-16, Jésus a dit : “Vous êtes la lumière du monde”. Dans ce magnifique mémoire, le lecteur verra comment cela se produit ; comment Jésus illumine, élève et sanctifie une âme docile ouverte à son amour transformateur… et comment cette âme s’avance alors comme une lumière dans les ténèbres de ce monde. La merveilleuse histoire de Penny témoigne avec force du rôle fondamental de notre Mère dans ce processus mystérieux par lequel notre Père attire ses enfants en sa présence et les fait devenir un avec lui… comme il est un avec eux.” – Lawrence Edward Tucker, SOLT Auteur de The Prayer of Jesus Crucified (La prière de Jésus crucifié); Adventures in the Father’s Joy (Aventures dans la joie du Père); To Whom the Heart Decided to Love (À qui le cœur a décidé d’aimer); The Redemption of San Isidro (La rédemption de San Isidro)

“Le livre de Penny Abbruzzese, Medjugorje: Mon long chemin de conversion avec Notre Dame de la Paix de Medjugorje est un hommage sincère à la puissance de l’amour de la Vierge qui agit dans une vie et un cœur vraiment ouverts à sa grâce. Penny prend le lecteur par la main et voyage avec lui à travers les joies et les peines de sa propre vie, tout en montrant l’influence croissante de l’amour et des enseignements de la Vierge, en particulier tels qu’ils ont été partagés avec elle à travers Medjugorje. Ce livre inspirera au lecteur la foi et l’espoir que la puissance de Dieu et la sollicitude maternelle de la Vierge sont vraiment vivantes et actives dans la vie ordinaire de chacun. – Mary Kloska, auteur de A Heart Frozen in the Wilderness: The Reflections of a Siberian Missionary (Un cœur gelé dans la nature: Les réflexions d’une missionnaire sibérienne)

“Au cours des 40 années d’apparitions quotidiennes sans précédent de Marie à Medjugorje, les messages de la Vierge, que Penny s’efforce d’imiter, l’ont conduite à une nouvelle vie dans l’Esprit Saint, comme j’ai pu le constater au cours des 30 années qui se sont écoulées depuis que nous nous sommes rencontrés. L’école d’amour de la Vierge à Medjugorje fait passer Penny de la douleur et de la souffrance liées à la mort tragique de son frère à la paix et à la confiance en la Providence de Dieu, alors qu’elle partage son chemin de foi que je trouve vraiment inspirant”. – John McFadden, prêtre retraité du diocèse de Scranton, PA

“C’est un excellent livre sur une vie transformée par un simple message de la Vierge. J’ai été inspirée par le courage de Penny de se rendre dans un pays inconnu ; l’aventure m’a captivée, mais ce qui m’a poussée à continuer à lire, c’est la façon dont ce voyage a continué à porter ses fruits de tant de façons inattendues!” — Marie Baker- Harrogate, N. Yorkshire, UK

“Penny Abruzzese démontre à travers ce livre qu’elle est une lumière qui brille dans l’obscurité, dans la lueur partagée de la lumière qu’est Notre Dame de Medjugorje! – Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, auteur de The Narrative Spirituality of Dante’s Divine Comedy (La spiritualité narrative de la Divine Comédie de Dante)

SUR L’AUTEUR

Penny Abbruzzese, qui a une grande dévotion pour Notre Sainte Mère, est coordinatrice de pèlerinages religieux. Elle a effectué son premier pèlerinage à Medjugorje, en Bosnie-Herzégovine, en mars 1984. Depuis, Penny s’est rendue plus de 100 fois à Medjugorje avec des groupes venus de près ou de loin. Au cours des 37 années qui se sont écoulées depuis son premier pèlerinage, Penny a dirigé des excursions vers des lieux saints tels que Fatima, Lourdes, Garabandal et Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle. Elle a visité des sanctuaires en France, en Italie, en Bavière, au Mexique, en Turquie, en Grèce, en Pologne, à Prague, à Vienne et dans les lieux saints chrétiens d’Israël.

En collaboration avec l’église croate de New York, qui est une paroisse sœur de Saint-Jacques de Medjugorje, Penny a parrainé plusieurs voyants et prêtres célèbres de Medjugorje pour qu’ils s’expriment à New York. En tant qu’une des fondatrices d’une organisation à but non lucratif, Our Lady Queen of Peace Prayer Group, Penny a publié un bulletin, Mary’s Mantle, pendant 25 ans avec un lectorat de plus de 5.000 abonnés. Mary’s Mantle exposait les messages de la Vierge, avec des articles importants sur la guérison – physique et spirituelle – et de beaux témoignages de conversion à travers les apparitions rapportées de la Vierge.

Plusieurs groupes de prière ont été créés par Penny et (toujours) un prêtre, ainsi qu’un petit groupe d’amis qui avaient fait l’expérience de Medjugorje ensemble. Quatre groupes de prière se sont réunis chaque mois, de 1986 à 2013, pour prier pour les vocations, les familles, la paix dans le monde et pour mettre fin à l’avortement du premier vendredi jusqu’en mars 2020, date à laquelle le risque de COVID19 a mis fin à cette dévotion.

Penny a été l’invitée du réseau Telecare du diocèse de Rockville Centre de Monseigneur Tom Hartman en 1987 et dans les années 1990. Elle a partagé son expérience en amenant à Medjugorje un ami proche et un partenaire de prière de renommée internationale, l’inspecteur Steven McDonald. Steven est devenu tétraplégique après avoir été abattu dans Central Park à New York en 1986.

En 2014, Penny a coproduit un documentaire sur les apparitions signalées à Medjugorje, intitulé “God Exists… The Queen of Peace Speaks from Medjugorje” (Dieu existe… La Reine de la Paix parle depuis Medjugorje). Le film de Penny a été écrit et produit par Peter Powell, un chercheur et directeur de la photographie qui a travaillé sur plus de 150 campagnes médiatiques aux États-Unis et à l’étranger. La narratrice de Penny était Rita Gam, une actrice chevronnée, sous contrat avec les studios MGM. Plus de 3 000 exemplaires du documentaire de Penny ont été distribués et sont disponibles sur Amazon.

La vie de Penny a pris un tournant radical lorsqu’elle était très éloignée de sa foi. La douleur du suicide de son jeune frère a mis Penny à genoux. L’histoire de sa conversion, Medjugorje… My Lifelong Journey with Our Lady, a été inspirée par le Père Svetazor Kraljevic, OFM, à Medjugorje. Dans son livre, Penny emmène le lecteur depuis les jours les plus sombres de la perte de son amie la plus proche, en passant par les étapes de l’abandon, pour finalement se rapprocher de Jésus par le biais des messages de la Vierge de Medjugorje.

Penny est mariée à Michael depuis 50 ans. Elle est mère de trois enfants et grand-mère de six enfants et vit actuellement à Lynbrook, dans l’État de New York.

MARIE, NOTRE MÈRE BÉNIE

Rosary Consecration: Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary and Her Most Holy Rosary

by T.J. Burdick

What if you knew what God’s will was for your life right now? What if you had the ability to destroy vice, decrease sin, and cause good works and virtue to flourish? What if you could have the light of God and the plentitude of his graces every single day of your life, leading to true peace in your soul? That’s exactly what you’ll get at through this book, which will prepare you for total consecration to Jesus through Mary. It is the most practical, deep, and accessible way toward becoming a closer disciple of Christ and attaining, as St. Paul wrote to the Colossians, “full knowledge of God’s will through perfect wisdom and spiritual insight” (1:9). To make it so, Burdick combines the timeless Marian prayer of the Rosary and intertwined its mysteries with St. Louis De Montfort’s True Devotion, St. Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, and the four Marian Dogmas of her Immaculate Conception, Divine Motherhood, Perpetual Virginity, and her Assumption into Heaven.

Paperback $14.99 | eBook $9.99

PRAISE FOR Consecrate Me

“In Rosary Consecration: Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary and Her Most Holy Rosary, T.J. Burdick masterfully weaves together the mysteries of the Rosary with key insights from St. Louis De Montfort’s True Devotion, St. Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, and the four Marian Dogmas. The reader is invited to prayerfully reflect for 33 days on designated brief daily reflections. At the end of the 33 days, total consecration to Jesus through Mary is to take place. Consecration to Our Lady is a source of holiness that many saints have availed themselves of, and in so doing grew in sanctity. Burdick’s creative methodology is well suited to our times so that people of today, like great saints of the past, may readily consecrate themselves to Jesus through Mary and grow in sanctity.” — Fr. Peter Samuel Kucer, MSA, author of A Brief Historical Survey of Marian Devotion and Theology 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

T.J. Burdick the author of several books and article on the Catholic faith. He is the founder of the Dominican Institute (dominicaninstitute.com) and blogger at tjburdick.com. A missionary to Latin America, T.J. writes on how to grow in holiness amongst the distractions and difficulties of the current age. He resides in Grand Rapids, MI, with his wife and four children when he is no on mission al over Latin America and throughout the United States.

House of Gold

by Mary Elizabeth Anne Kloska, Fiat+

Click to See Mary’s Swag Shop!

Buy a pillow and email mahfood@wcatradio.com a photo of you holding it, and I’ll post your photo on this page with your message to Mary.

Interviews

The Heart of Fiat Crucified Love

TESTIMONIALS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Mary Kloska is from Elkhart, Indiana. She was raised in a huge Polish family (12 brothers and sisters) along with a lot of foster babies and other needy people in and out of the house. She presently has 70+ nieces and nephews.  She has lived a very unique life. Upon graduating from Notre Dame in 1999 she spent almost 20 years in the missions serving the poor (including orphanages) as well as praying as a consecrated hermit all over the world –Siberia, Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, Philippines, Mexico, the Holy Land and all over Europe as well. Although she spent a lot of time away in silence praying, ironically she loves children and is very fun and outgoing when it comes to serving young adults, as well as the little ones. She also spent her time in the missions giving retreats, doing simple catechesis, leading prayer groups, giving spiritual direction, helping in deliverance, changing diapers, feeding babies and cleaning floors. After spending intense time serving in a mission she would withdraw for periods of ‘retreat’ as a hermit (including three years as an official diocesan hermit with vows under a Bishop.) The last few years she has spent as a fulltime nanny to infant triplets, twins and several large families. She speaks many languages (poorly) and enjoys playing guitar, painting icons, baking, gardening, reading, writing and simply filling in where there is the greatest need in the Church. Her WCAT Radio program, “The Heart of Fiat Crucified Love,” may be found here.

MARY, OUR BLESSED MOTHER

Peregrino Pródigo: Cartas al Papa Francisco desde Lourdes, Fátima, Garabandal y Medjugorje

by Peter Breen

TESTIMONIALS

“En su libro, el Peregrino Pródigo, Peter Breen se enfoca en la crisis del medio ambiente. Señala el pensamiento del Papa Benedicto XVI – mencionado por el Papa Francisco – en que sería necesaria la intervención divina para superar esta problemática. Breen, en una serie de cartas a Francisco, recurre a declaraciones del Papa Benedicto para concluir – de manera fascinante – que esta intervención ya se ha producido a través de los mensajes de la Virgen en Lourdes, Fátima, Garabandal y Medjugorie.” – Dra. Cynthia Toolin-Wilson, Profesora de Teología Dogmática, Colegio y Seminario de los Santos Apóstoles

“El Peregrino Pródigo envuelve al lector en un conflicto cautivador; el impulso hacia la incredulidad, por un lado, y, por el otro, la devoción generada por la fe. Algunos pueden leer el Peregrino Pródigo como una versión de Disenso Leal de Charles E Curran. En la introducción del libro, Peter Breen confiesa ser un católico practicante con una crisis de fe en la Iglesia, derivada de razones que van más allá de los escándalos sexuales del clero. A través de un confesionario enrejado, Breen hace una apasionada súplica al Papa para que reconozca los milagros de Medjugorje. Lleva al lector y también al Pontífice, en una peregrinación a los lugares de las apariciones de Nuestra Señora: Lourdes, Fátima, Garabandal y Medjugorje, fomentando la devoción a María como profeta de nuestro tiempo. María, la Madre de Jesús, se presenta como la que ofrece al mundo un salvavidas. La forma epistolar en la que el autor expresa su mezcla de fe y disidencia, es inusual. Podría haber sonrisas y ceño fruncido en lo que algunos pueden considerar como la mejilla del autor al escribir una serie de cartas personales al Santo Padre Francisco, dirigidas como el Padre Jorge Bergoglio; cartas que comienzan con un querido Padre Jorge, como si fuera un párroco. Es una lectura atractiva; una invitación a creer ante los baches intelectuales. Ofrece al católico disidente, pero leal, un lugar en el que podemos llamar, después de Breen, la peregrinación pródiga.” – Ivan Arthur, autor de Saynt Lachmi y Pavement Prayers

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Peter Breen es un escritor australiano y autor de varios libros, incluido el éxito de ventas The Book of Letters, publicando por Allen & Unwin. Es un abogado de casos de difamación y medios de comunicación y ex miembro del parlamento estatal. En su neuvo libro Peregrino Pródigo, Peter vuelve a escribir cartas en un libro de correspondencia al Papa Francisco sobre la Iglesia en el mundo moderno y la revelación Mariana privada.

MARÍA, NUESTRA BENDITA MADRE