Great News for Lisa Hendey of "Catholic Moments"!

Lisa Hendey, a "Canticle" regular contributer and webmaster at CatholicMom.com, just sent me this news about the exciting new development for her "Catholic Moments" podcast ...

"Hey everyone, I just had to share this great news! Christmas came early for me this year!!You can check out the details at http://www.sqpn.com/?p=2489 and comment there if you are as excited as I am! This happened just in time for me to ask you to join me in supporting SQPN with any size donation you might be able to share this year. I truly believe that podcasting and new media are tremendous tools for lifting up our Catholic families and sharing our faith. If you can share a donation of any size, please visit http://www.sqpn.com/?page_id=528 - your donation will go to help SQPN continue to grow and will support the talented individuals who lead this organization and have committed their lives to this project.Thanks to all who have supported and encouraged me in this new project, and here's to many more "Catholic Moments" in 2008. Happy Fourth Sunday of Advent, Lisa"

Merry Christmas ... from Canticle!

For those of you in need of a little additional inspiration, who are recent subscribers to "Canticle," I wanted to alert you to the fact that our web guy, Tom Sullivan, recently posted back issues of the magazine on our website. Here's the link.

You'll especially want to check out the Oct-Dec 06 issue, which features Teresa Tomeo's Advent reflection on her trip to the Holy Land. Enjoy!

We are now putting together (believe it or not) the May/June 08 issue of the magazine. (If you're thinking of submitting something for this issue... I'll probably start selecting articles the first week of January.)

If you have time, you might also want to check out Mommy Monsters and Streams of Mercy, where I've recently put some special posts.

Merry Christmas!

Congratulations, Donna-Marie O'Boyle!

This week Donna (a regular contributer at "Canticle") got some great news that I wanted to share with you!

I want to share my excitement with you about being invited by Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Company to attend the RBTE as one of the three authors that they will sponsor for the event! I will do a book signing of my new book coming out in March, Catholic Saints Prayer Book.
Amazon.com: Catholic Saints Prayer Book: Books: Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle

I know you join me in congratulating Donna in this great opportunity, the sweet fruit of all her hard work! (Now I'm REALLY sorry the writer's conference won't be at RBTE this year. Oh, well. Let's pray next year works out!)

Advent Blessings...

Heavenly Hugs

Today was a day of special graces. I received a note from Christine Trollinger (a regular contributer at Canticle and the winner of our last writer's contest), who said that she received a special gift from God on the anniversary of her husband's death, December 13. Despite the snow storm in her area, the mini rosebush he gave her for Mother's Day 2005 bloomed (see picture).

The second blessing came a little later in the day, when I received an unexpected e-mail from a long-lost friend (we played together in 1984 in a church music group while I was on the short-term teaching assignment in Senegal, West Africa). Gondar is now married with four children (he married another teacher from Dakar Academy), and living in British Columbia. When I knew him, Gondar was a medical student at the University of Dakar; he had struggled between continuing his medical studies, which would have required him to return to his home country of Tchad and work for the government for a prolonged period of time, and becoming a pastor. It seems God took him along a third path ... and now he is using his musical talents for the Lord. Ironically, we communicate much more readily now (while my deplorable French has actually decreased in fluency, his English has improved considerably). The subject line of his first e-mail was "I can't believe you're Catholic now!"

Ah yes, how time does change things. In this case, infinitely for the better.

Christmas gift ... from the Vatican!

To all writers (and aspiring writers) out there ... I just received word about an exciting new website released by the Congregation for the Clergy. It offers online access to Scripture commentaries, Canon Law, and other documents that Catholic writers frequently need at our fingertips.

Feel free to "regift" this present to as many as you can!

Last-Minute Christmas Idea for Mom!

Did you know someone who struggles to cultivate a relationship with the Blessed Mother? Consider buying a copy "Mary, the Feminine Ideal" (program #14395), the LHLA program in which Patti Mansfield and I talk with Johnnette about Mary (and Canticle magazine). You can order a copy of the program here.

My book Raising Up Mommy: Virtues for Difficult Mothering Moments is now at press, and should be available in a few weeks. I'll post a message when it is actually in the warehouse, or you can get a message in your e-mail box directly if you send your request to me at hsaxton(at)christianword(dot)com. Thanks to all you kind souls who have offered to review it on your blogs and other venues. We'll need all the help we can get to spread the word!

Lent issue update

Congratulations to Gretchen Garrity, whose entry "Giving Lent a Try" was selected as the finalist in the "write about Lent" call for submissions. Her article will appear in the March/April issue. Thanks to all of you who participated. Selecting the final entry was difficult because there were several particularly well-written pieces. I wish I could have taken them all.

There are a couple of omissions and errors in the January issue that I'd like to bring to your attention.

• Donna-Marie O'Boyle alerted me to the fact that there were a couple of errors in the review of her book Unlikely Saints. The most important is that her book is not yet out -- it will come out sometime in 2008.
• Concerning the "Grace in Action" column on military chaplains, Renee Gardiner writes: "I'm sure you've already realized the Jan/Feb issue went out with a mistake in the article about the AMS. On July 12, 2007 Archbishop O'Brien was appointed Archbishop of Baltimore by Pope Benedict XVI and he was formally installed on October 1. 2007. Our new Archbishop 'to be" is Archbishop Broglio - this was announced on 19 Nov 2007." (Judy McCloskey informs me that Abp. Broglio's appointment may be temporary.)

Speaking of the military, I received this in the e-mail today, and thought I'd pass it along to those who have loved ones in military service. (Warning: be sure to have the tissues handy.)