Insider's View of Papal trip to Britain...

While at the "Church Up Close" conference I attended last week in Rome, I met Paul Burnell from BBC Online who also attended and became fast friends because he is such a joyful and faith-filled man. We were blessed to enjoy precious conversations over meals and gelato. I also had the pleasure of meeting up with my friend and colleague, Mary De Turris Poust whom I have known for a few years because of our Catholic writing work, but had not the chance to meet face-to-face until we both traveled to Rome from the east coast of the U.S. to attend the Catholic journalist's conference. Needless to say, I was constantly thanking God for the blessed opportunities to meet up with such wonderful people and get more up close (no pun intended!) with our Church too!

Sarah Hayes (OSV), Mary De Turris Poust, (OSV and author) and me after a very long day of lectures and events and
a lot of walking (blisters to prove it) in search of a certain restaurant.

Enjoying a moment of conversation and gelato in Piazza Navona after a full day of lectures
[Paul and me]

And, what I'd like to share with you now, before I have a chance to continue with my blogging (Part Four) about my journey to Rome, is this wonderful piece at the OSV Daily Take below. Fellow conference-mate Mary De Turris Poust asked Paul to share his insights since he is there right now covering the Pope's visit to the UK. You'll love his vivid account weaving the past with the present.

First, Mary's Intro...

"I met Paul Burnell, a UK-based Catholic journalist, at "The Church Up Close" program in Rome earlier this month. Paul checked out of the newsroom to attend the beatification Mass for Cardinal John Henry Newman as a regular member of the faithful this weekend. I asked him if he would be willing to share his experience with OSV Daily Take. Thank you, Paul, for giving us this exclusive insider's view:"

"Pope Benedict came to Britain to beatify John Henry Cardinal Newman – one shy intellectual Catholic genius honouring another. But in a certain sense the pope’s visit resembled that of the forgotten hero in the Newman story – Blessed Dominic Barberi, the Italian Passionist who received Newman into the Church.

Pronouncing the Church’s latest Blessed at the massive outdoor Mass in Birmingham on September 19, the Pope revealed that his feast day would be October 9, the day when Blessed Dominic arrived soaked to the skin and freezing at Littlemore near Oxford after traveling on top of a stage coach to Oxford from the North of England. Blessed Dominic believed in the conversion of England, a vision that had inspired his order’s founder, St Paul of the Cross. Little did he know how profound – yet unsung -- his role would be in English Catholicism’s Second Spring.

Like Dominic I arrived freezing and soaked to the skin for the outdoor Mass in a park close to Newman’s grave and the hills where he sought R and R. We were delivered by our coaches – the police decreed no pilgrim could travel on their own – to a post industrial wasteland, the site of one of the UK’s biggest ever car plant..." Continued here.

My new book for Catholic Women is coming very soon!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Exciting discovery - my new book!

Coming very soon!

As I took a quick walk around the trade floor between a couple of my events at the CMN conference last week, I happened upon the Our Sunday Visitor booth. I have two books published currently with them: Catholic Prayer Book for Mothers and Catholic Saints Prayer Book. And my newest book with OSV will be released next month. It's titled A Catholic Woman's Book of Prayers. I spotted the "mock" copy of the book displayed prominently and so I posed for a photo op with it.

OSV's new catalogue advertises my book for its September release and has this to say about it...

Here it is!

With all the mixed messages that women receive from society today, women can be distracted from--and even unreceptive to--the deep and abiding love that Christ has for them. Whether single or married, religious or consecrated, parenting children, or spiritually mentoring others, women need to know that the Lord understands the many challenges they face, their desire for inspiration, and, above all, their need to be affirmed as women.

Through this book of original and traditional prayers from one of the top ten most fascinating Catholics of 2009 as rated by Faith & Family Live, women can realize God's divine Love, thrive in inspiration from Saints and the Church and rest in the affirmation of the "feminine genius" that Christ offers.

From Our Sunday Visitor's blog...

"This week, in anticipation of Mother’s Day, I will be featuring interviews with and books by Catholic moms. Today I’m talking with Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle, author, speaker and host of EWTN’s 'Everyday Blessings for Catholic Moms.' Her first book was the “Catholic Prayer Book for Mothers” (Our Sunday Visitor, 2005), which immediately hit the Catholic bestseller list. She followed that up with “The Heart of Motherhood: Finding Holiness in the Catholic Home” (Crossroad Publishing, 2006). Here’s what Donna had to say in an email interview about Catholic moms and the struggles they face..." Continued here.