Tea With Donna-Marie: Don't be shy!

Tea With Donna-Marie: Don't be shy!: "Feel free to leave comments here on the blog or email me at DMCOBoyle@aol.com with your questions about living the Catholic faith. I have so..."

Tea With Donna-Marie: "Do you have any ideas how to ignite her catholic ...

Tea With Donna-Marie: "Do you have any ideas how to ignite her catholic ...: "Dear Donna-Marie! What a wonderful idea of this blog! And what a great opportunity for me to ask you for your words of wisdom and experienc..."

Tea With Donna-Marie: "This killing place must be one of the most bazaar...

Tea With Donna-Marie: "This killing place must be one of the most bazaar...: "I enjoyed your informative article in the issue of the K of C's Columbia magazine. I am familiar with the value of Ultrasound. &..."

At St. Thomas More: Mother Teresa friend leads day-long retreat

At St. Thomas More: Mother Teresa friend leads day-long retreat

2011 Catholicism Reader's Choice Awards

About.com is now collecting nominations for the 2011 Catholicism Readers’ Choice Awards. You’re welcome to submit nominations for your favorite Catholic products, features, and services here..

EWTN to acquire National Catholic Register :: EWTN News

EWTN to acquire National Catholic Register :: EWTN News

Tea With Donna-Marie: "I find myself wondering if I am doing enough to s...

Tea With Donna-Marie: "I find myself wondering if I am doing enough to s...: "Hi Donna-Marie, I recently purchased your Prayer book for Mothers and absolutely love it. I am a 31 year old mother of two, a one yea..."

Papa John Paul the Great!

Tea With Donna-Marie: Stay tuned...

Tea With Donna-Marie: Stay tuned...: "Tea With Donna-Marie is coming up soon! If you have a question for Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle about living the Catholic Faith, email her a..."

Pope John Paul II's upcoming beautification!

In my dear friend Joan Lewis's words where she reports on her blog "Joan's Rome" about Pope John Paul II's upcoming beatification...

"May 1 is significant for so many reasons. In addition to being Divine Mercy Sunday, it is also the start of the month dedicated to Mary, whom the late Pope dearly loved, and the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, as well as being the first day of the month when he was born (May 18, 1920). In a statement made today, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales noted that, “Pope John Paul II put Divine Mercy at the centre of his spiritual life, his apostolic testimony and his teaching. It was also on the eve of this Sunday in 2005 that he surrendered his soul to the infinite mercy of his Lord and Saviour.” What a beautiful thought!...

See her whole post here.

Pope John Paul II to be beatified on May 1st!

New page!

Check out the new baby page on my website www.donnacooperoboyle.com . Click on the "Baby photos!" tab on top. If you have read my book Prayerfully Expecting: A Nine Month Novena for Mothers to Be and would like your baby's photo featured on my website, email me at DMCOBoyle@aol.com. Please pass along the word to others you may know who have read Prayerfully Expecting.

God bless you!

Donna-Marie

My fine feathered friends!

Lots of snow!

Too much snow for our dog Sweetpea!

We got up this morning to find an awful lot of snow, about 2 feet of it here in the back woods of Connecticut. That's on top of what already laid on the ground. Everywhere we looked was WHITE. My dog tried to go out this morning and sunk straight into the snow. She quickly turned around and ran back into the house.

My husband is out there braving the freezing temperature and shoveling now while I stay warm inside our house, writing away. On my stretching breaks, I throw out some more bird seed to my fine feathered friends.

It's almost time for hot chocolate! I'll make it from scratch with dark chocolate - with my secret recipe- yum!

Later on, my daughter and I will be baking cookies and I may make a big pot of healthy soup at some point. That's after I get a good chunk of writing work done.

I'll be back later to fill you in on a bunch of news. Stay tuned and stay warm!

Feast of St. Raymond of Penyafort

St. Raymond of Penyafort
PRIEST, RELIGIOUS
Feast: January 7

From the bull of his canonization, by Clement VIII in 1601, and his life, written by several Spanish, Italian and French authors. See Fleury, b. 78, n. 55, 64, and chiefly Touron Hommes Illustres de l'Ordre de S. Domin. t. 1, p. I

The house of Pegnafort, or, as it is pronounced, Pennafort, was descended from the counts of Barcelona, and nearly allied to the kings of Aragon. Raymund was born in 1175, at Pennafort, a castle in Catalonia, which in the fifteenth century was changed into a convent of the order of St. Dominick. Such was his rapid progress in his studies, that at the age of twenty he taught philosophy at Barcelona, which he did gratis, and with so great reputation, that he began then to be consulted by the ablest masters. His principal care was to instil into his scholars the most perfect maxims of a solid piety and devotion, to compose all differences among the citizens, and to relieve the distressed. He was about thirty years of age when he went to Bologna, in Italy, to perfect himself in the study of the canon and civil law, commenced Doctor in that faculty, and taught with the same disinterestedness and charity as he had done in his own country. In 1219 Berengarius, bishop of Barcelona, who had been at Rome, took Raymund home with him, to the great regret of the university and senate of Bologna; and, not content with giving him a canonry in his church, made him his archdeacon, grand vicar, and official. He was a perfect model to the clergy, by his innocence, zeal, devotion, and boundless liberalities to the poor, whom he called his creditors. In 1222 he took the religious habit of St. Dominick at Barcelona, eight months after the death of the holy founder, and in the forty-seventh year of his age. No person was ever seen among the young novices more humble, more obedient, or more fervent. To imitate the obedience of a Man-God, who reduced himself to a state of subjection to his own creatures, to teach us the dangers and deep wound of self-will, and to point out to us the remedy, the saint would depend absolutely on the lights of his director in all things. And it was upon the most perfect self-denial that he laid the foundation of that high sanctity which he made the object of his most earnest desires. The grace of prayer perfected the work which mortification had begun. In a spirit of compunction he begged of his superiors that they would enjoin him some severe penance, to expiate the vain satisfaction and complacency which he said he had sometimes taken in teaching. They indeed imposed on him a penance, but not such a one as he expected. It was to write a collection of cases of conscience for the instruction and conveniency of confessors and moralists. This produced his Sum the first work of that kind. Had his method and decisions been better followed by some later authors of the like works, the holy maxims of Christian morality had been treated with more respect by some moderns than they have been, to our grief and confusion.

Continued at EWTN here.

Happy feast of the Epiphany!

EPIPHANY, which in the original Greek signifies appearance or manifestation, as St. Austin observes, is a festival principally solemnised in honour of the discovery Jesus Christ made of himself to the Magi, or wise men; who, soon after his birth, by a particular inspiration of Almighty God, came to adore him and bring him presents. Two other manifestations of our Lord are jointly commemorated on this day in the office of the church: that at his baptism, when the Holy Ghost descended on him in the visible form of a dove, and a voice from heaven was heard at the same time: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." The third manifestation was that of his divine power at the performance of his first miracle, the changing of water into wine, at the marriage at Cana, "by which he manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him." Upon so many accounts ought this festival to challenge a more than ordinary regard and veneration; but from none more than us Gentiles, who, in the persons of the wise men, our first-fruits and forerunners, were on this day called to the faith and worship of the true God.


The call of the Gentiles had been foretold for many ages before in the clearest terms. David and Isaias abound with predictions of this import; the like is found in the other prophets; but their completion was a mercy reserved for the times of the Messiah. It was to him, who was also the consubstantial Son of God, that the eternal Father had made the promise of all "nations for his inheritance"; who being born the spiritual king of the whole world, for the salvation of "all men," would therefore manifest his coming both to those that "were near, and those that were afar off," that is, both to Jew and Gentile. Upon his birth, angels were dispatched ambassadors to the Jews, in the persons of the poor shepherds, and a star was the divine messenger on this important errand to the Gentiles of the East; conformably to Balaam's prophecy, who foretold the coming of the Messias by that sign.

Continued here at EWTN.

Feast of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Feast of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Review of The Domestic Church: Room By Room

Sharing a review of my book from Amazon.Com 5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book!!! skyewalker (Smolan, KS) - See all my reviews This review is from: The Domestic Church: Room by Room A Mother's Study Guide (Paperback) I am only halfway through this book, but it is a life-changer (or a life-affirmner if you are already on the right path). It makes you really think about the impact you have on the world as a wife and mother (and really, the impact that the whole of your family has on the world and on one another). The chapters will help you solidify your faith in areas that we all struggle in now and then. This is a book I will keep on my shelf forever and will buy to give to friends. At the end of each chapter there are a few questions for review and reflection. It will be interesting to me to reread this book in a few years, including the things I've written, and see how I've grown as a wife and mother. Perhaps husbands should read this book too (maybe even *after* wives have written their answers to the chapter questions). There is a lot of valuable information for the whole family and it is certainly a good discussion-starter. I am in a relationship w/ a man who is divorced (I am widowed), we are in our late 30s and between us, we have seven children. We are planning a marriage in the future and we are very deliberately reading and sharing these kinds of books to help our blended family and to help us grow as a couple. We are both faithful Catholics who have heavy burdens on us as single parents and as future step-parents to be an example of God's love and mercy to our children. This book is a wonderful tool to help on that journey of getting to the heart of what family means. (And, I should mention, though it is a Catholic book, the advice and writing is applicable to any Christian.) ******* Thank you very much, "Skyewalker." I pray that you will be richly blessed in your "domestic church." Thank you for taking the time to post a review to Amazon to help others know more about this book. God bless you! Donna-Marie

Pope Benedict

Pope Benedict

2010 Boston Catholic Women's Conference