“Catch-Up”: Interview on Soul of Christ book & newest Lenten online retreat for the #YearofMercy!

It’s been a very busy couple of weeks for me, helping to “launch” 7 Qualities of Mercy: Become a More Merciful You online mini-retreat. As Reconciled to You’s Allison Gingras points out in her creative blogpost, making 7 Qualities of Mercy your Lenten Retreat this year is a powerful way to use social media to open you up to God’s presence in your real and online lives. (See her wonderful blogpost, Please Don’t Give Up Social Media for Lent!) 

Here’s a blurb about the retreat, which I had a hand in developing, and many of our sisters and wonderful lay collaborators wrote for (including Allison Gingras).

I’ll be making this retreat starting Ash Wednesday, and I might be blogging a bit about what are the pros and cons of making an online retreat?

This week, I also had the joy of speaking about my book, Soul of Christ: Meditations on a Timeless Prayer, on Breadbox Media on the show, “A Seeking Heart with Allison Gingras.” Allison is a good friend and a lovely, easy-to-talk-to host. Surprisingly, this show was our first opportunity to really talk about my book, Soul of Christ, so it’s quite conversational and filled with each of our experiences–with the Anima Christi prayer and with Eucharistic adoration. Last year, several sisters in my community used Soul of Christ for Lenten reading, and when I asked for feedback, they told me it was a really good fit for Lent, so the interview is timely. You can listen in to the podcast online or download it here.

Finally, I just had to mention a fantastic opportunity that’s coming up: the Catholic Writers Guild is offering their annual Catholic Writers Conference Online from March 4-6, 2016. The cost is reasonable, and the workshops in the past have been really valuable. You need to register by February 27th. Hope to “see you” there!

I’m about a month away from completing the rough draft of my book, which I’m also blogging at www.CoAuthorYourLifewithGod.com. Once the rough draft is complete, and barring a few weeks of travel in May, I am eager to get back to blogging here weekly. Thanks for your patience with me as I’ve unsuccessfully juggled a few too many weekly commitments!

Lovely Review of Soul of Christ!

Catholic Sistas posted a lovely review of my book, Soul of Christ: Meditations on a Timeless Prayer. They also posted their own beautiful line-by-line reflections on this wonderful prayer that is perfect to pray during Holy Week. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this lovely prayer, I’m posting it here. If you are familiar with it, you might find this Holy Week a good opportunity to pray this classic prayer recommended by many saints through the centuries, from Saint Ignatius of Loyola down to Blessed James Alberione:

Soul of Christ

Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O Good Jesus, hear me.
Within Your wounds, hide me;
Permit me not to be separated from Thee.
From the malignant enemy defend me;
In the hour of my death call me
and bid me come to Thee,
that with Your saints I may praise Thee
forever and ever. Amen.

Soul of Christ Book Tour Continues

I’ve eagerly started and re-started two blog posts for this blog in the past couple of weeks, but with the last stage of my traveling book tour coming up fast, I haven’t completed any of them. Thank you for your patience with me! When I return from my trip in mid-March, I am looking forward to picking up my blog here. I’ve actually been doing quite a bit of reading on communication spirituality, and have lots to share…

Until then, if you are in the St. Louis, MO, area or listen to Relevant Radio, I’d love to connect with you! (I’ll be on Wendy Wiese’s show “On Call” on Relevant Radio on Thursday, March 12th, from 1-1:30 PM CST, talking about media, faith, and families.)

 

Salt + Light Radio Interview on “Soul of Christ”

 

A beautiful quote to share from our book Soul of Christ by @SisterMPaul pic.twitter.com/5m35CEUB8g

— Pauline Publishing (@PBMPublishing) November 28, 2014

Deacon Pedro Guevara-Mann interviewed me about my new book Soul of Christ: Meditations on a Timeless Prayer. Check out the interview at Salt + Light Radio at noon today ET (Saturday, Nov. 29th). How exciting it is to share the great joy that we have in Jesus’ Eucharistic love!

The program with my interview will also air on:

–The Catholic Channel (Sirius XM 129) this Saturday at 3 and 10pm ET (7pm PT) and on Sunday at 2pm ET (11am PT).
-The Spirit Catholic Radio Network (Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa: Spirit 102.7FM; Spirit 88.3FM, Spirit 91.5FM and Spirit 90.1FM) on Saturday at 10am and 9pm CT
-Holy Family Radio at WJTA 88.9FM, in northeastern Ohio on Saturday at 1pm
-The Lamb Catholic Radio (South Dakota KSJP 88.9FM and KSTJ 91.3FM) Saturday and Sunday at 9pm
-The Baraga Radio Network (northern Michigan: WIDG 940AM, WICK 90.9FM, WICK 92.1FM, WTCY 88.3FM, WGZR 88.9FM, WGJU 81.3FM) on Monday at noon.

(And you can listen to previous editions of the SLHour–an excellent show for Catholics!–at www.saltandlighttv.org/radio.)

In the meantime, someone just pointed me to a series of blogposts on www.catholicsistas.com dedicated to the Soul of Christ prayer! I’m looking forward to reading them all.

Twitter share of quote from Soul of Christ

Sharing from my new book, Soul of Christ: Meditations on a Timeless Prayer

Beautiful quote from the book Soul of Christ written by @SisterMPaul pic.twitter.com/oNiAjX704j

— Pauline Publishing (@PBMPublishing) November 25, 2014

New book Soul of Christ is out!!!

My new book, Soul of Christ: Meditations on a Timeless Prayer, is officially out! I don’t know if all our Pauline Books & Media Centers have received their copies, but I know it’s shipped out, and that you can already pick up a copy on our Pauline webstore.

It’s incredibly exciting–and scary!– to see a book that came from deep within my heart on the shelf, packed into a box, and online. When a book that I write comes out, I always feel a bit exposed. Which is uncomfortable but ultimately a good thing. Why is that a good thing? (As I’m preparing to speak about my book at our Pauline Book & Media Center in Toronto, it doesn’t feel like a good thing right now.)

• Because it means that the book really did come from my heart. If it was just an intellectual treatise, I wouldn’t feel uneasy about putting myself out there.
• Because any book I write is far from perfect and readers might be disappointed. (This is good for growing in humility and for entrusting the book into God’s hands. After all, this book was his idea, and whatever good comes from it is ultimately his work. All for God’s glory!)
• Because no book ever completely captures my vision of what I wanted to write about or how I wanted to write about it. Which means I’ll keep on writing. (The perennial insecurity of writers definitely fuels my writing some days.)

Whatever the inadequacies of my latest book, I am truly thrilled that it’s out and that I can share with others the beauty of the Anima Christi, the importance of Eucharistic prayer, and the difference that Eucharistic prayer can make in our lives–and ultimately in the world, if we allow Christ’s Eucharistic love to transform us. I also want to give a big thank you to all of the sisters who worked so hard to make this book both user-friendly and attractive. The layout alone makes me want to pick up this book and pray with it!

If you’d like to see the features of the book and download the introduction for free, you can visit the landing page for the book here. If you live in the Toronto, ON area, I’ll be visiting this week for a talk and book signing on Thursday, November 6th at 7 PM and Saturday, November 8th at 2 PM. (I’m also doing some fun stuff with Salt + Light TV and Salt + Light Radio.) I hope to see you there!

 

 

Book-signing/Talk Schedule for “Soul of Christ” release

My new book on Eucharistic prayer, Soul of Christ: Meditations on a Timeless Prayer, will be available on November 1st, and I’m going to be offering a talk and book-signing in a number of our Pauline Book & Media Centers over the next few months. You can see my entire schedule on my author page.

If you’re in or near Toronto, I’d love to meet you at one of the two talks/book-signings that I’m able to offer the first week of November. Future presentations will be in Chicago, St. Louis, and California.