Archives: Product Reviews

Father Diego Fares, SJ does a masterful job of explaining both the essence and genesis of the world view of Pope Francis, without falling into the politicized black holes that attracted so many of America’s TV “talking heads” during the Pope’s recent visit to the USA.  As Father Fares reveals, the Pope’s message of striving for authentic encounters with others as a fundamental practice of our faith is not a new theme, but one honed from his early days of formation as a Jesuit priest dedicated to helping the poor and marginalized as a true path to a better world.  But even 25 years ago, as the newly minted Auxiliary Bishop Bergoglio cautioned that one needs more than a mere charitable gesture: “If I simply toss him some coins … if I have not actually touched him, I have not encountered him.” And long before his words as Pope would take on instant global acclaim, in 1977, then Father Jorge Bergoglio told his Jesuit brothers: “By walking patiently and humbly with the poor, we will discover how we may help them, after first having welcomed them.  Without this slow, patient walk alongside them, any action we might take on behalf of the poor and oppressed is contrary to our intention and instead we will impede them from fully feeling their own aspirations and from acquiring those tools they need to effectively assume responsibility for their own and collective destiny.”

And there is much more — all succinctly captured by Father Fares in this short, very readable edition.

A Stamford-born writer is releasing a book next month that aims to inspire Catholic mothers to view their job as God’s work.

“I try to praise mothers,” Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle’50 said of “The Heart of Motherhood: Finding Holiness in the Catholic Home.” “I want them to see how sublime their role is.”

The contemporary mother has many challenges, she said. She pointed to the pressure to work outside the home and said the job of looking after children can be stressful on its own.

O’Boyle said the biblical figure of Mary did not try to rescue the suffering masses all at the same time. Instead, she helped one person at a time, and eventually the number of people was in the thousands. So if all mothers chip in by raising good families, the world will end up being a better place overall.

O’Boyle a lifelong Catholic and a mother of five children who lives in New Milford, is the author of a prayer book for mothers and is set to release another book aimed at expectant mothers this spring.

For 12 years she was a single mother while running a preschool, teaching religious education and, more recently, writing her manuscripts and articles.

She embarked on a spiritual quest 20 years ago when she met Mother Teresa in Washington, D.C. O’Boyle became active in Mother Teresa’s order, Missionaries of Charity, as a layperson and carried on a correspondence with the Nobel Peace Prize winner until her death in 1997.

But it was when O’Boyle was pregnant with her fifth child 15 years ago that she found her calling. The doctors told her that she would have a miscarriage. But O’Boyle confined herself to bed rest, prayed and corresponded with Mother Teresa. She gave birth to her daughter, Mary Katherine, who is a healthy teenager today.

During that pregnancy, O’Boyle, who had loved creative writing but had never published, started writing manuscripts about motherhood, including one that would become “The Heart of Motherhood.” The manuscripts sat in boxes, and it was not until her children were older that she sat down to revise them and get them published.

For spiritual consultation, O’Boyle turned to her friend Mother Teresa, who later endorsed O’Boyle’s works. Although the book is aimed at Catholic mothers, she says she has readers from different faiths.

“I think there is a whole movement of young mothers who really are spiritual,” she said. “I’m trying to show them that they can find holiness right in the heart of the home.”

I recall a day not too long ago when our first child was around 6 months old. My husband and I had just stepped into church with our daughter for daily Mass. In an unusual turn of events, we had actually managed to get ourselves and the baby to the church 15 minutes before Mass began, and as I sat down in the pew with the baby quietly resting in my lap, I relished this rare opportunity for a new mother to have quiet and uninterrupted prayer.

Suddenly, a familiar sound emanating from our daughter not only interrupted the silence, but also indicated that my prayer time was over and a trip to the changing station was immediately in order. When, I wondered, do mothers ever have the opportunity to pray?

In The Heart of Motherhood: Finding Holiness in the Catholic Home, Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle describes the common dilemma of mothers seeking to balance the demands of home life and responsibilities of mothering with opportunities to pray and grow in holiness. “Duty calls constantly. Moms are on call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week,” she explains. “So we learn to make our life a prayer.”

Drawing largely from her relationship with BI. Teresa of Calcutta and quotes from various saints, Church leaders and documents, and Sacred Scripture, Cooper O’Boyle emphasizes the mother’s God given role at the heart of the home and of the family. She balances these sound theological and catechetical reflections on the dignity of Christian motherhood and family life with a good dose of practical advice for daily living and personal reflections from her own experience as a wife and mother of five children. A particular focus of this book is the importance of a woman’s work in the home and ministry of presence to her family, especially to young children in their most formative years.

Cooper O’Boyle encourages mothers in their daily tasks, and especially commends those duties that get little recognition or praise as possible places of grace and encounter with God. She extols the virtues of those self-sacrificing and saintly mothers who are often quietly and humbly hidden in their families, but whose impact is nonetheless of great import not only to their own families, but to society at large. To mothers in particular, Cooper O’Boyle recommends the little way of the great St. Therese of Lisieux, who encourage us all to “remember that nothing is small in the eyes of God,” and to “do all that you do with love.”

Seeming to recognize that her appreciation and endorsement of the traditional role of mothers in the heart of the home and family may be met with resistance from those of us formed by the influences of modern society, Cooper O’Boyle wisely shares the mind of the Church on these matters. She heavily quotes Pope John Paul II, who said that it is “necessary to counter the misconception that the role of motherhood is oppressive to women and that a commitment to her family, particularly children, prevents a woman from reaching personal fulfillment and from having an influence in society.” She also quotes him (twice, for some reason) as saying that “the mentality which honors women more for their work outside the home than for their work within the family must be overcome.”

In addition to good advice pertinent to all Christian mothers, Cooper O’Boyle adds many distinctively Catholic features to her hook. Such reflections include those on Mary as our sublime model of motherhood, tips on praying the Rosary throughout a busy day, praying to receive a spiritual communion with Jesus when we cannot receive Communion at daily Mass, blessing ourselves with the Sign of the Cross throughout the day, and imparting parental blessings upon our children. She also gives examples of holy mothers-including Sts. Monica, Elizabeth Ann Seton, and Rita of Cascia-as inspiration to all of us mothers striving to travel the path of sanctity.

While I enjoyed this hook overall, I did find Cooper O’Boyle’s writing and organization of thoughts to be a hit choppy and confusing at times. For example, in a chapter titled “Mary, Our Sublime Model,” Cooper O’Boyle does not actually make any mention of Mary until the fourth page of the chapter, and the opening pages consist of a series of true but disjointed thoughts on various attacks on the family and motherhood that confront us in modern society. In addition, there are other areas of the book where I felt the author presented some good and praiseworthy thought, but it was either in a slightly confusing location or was never followed through to its full conclusion.

The Heart of Motherhood encourages and inspires mothers to strive for holiness within their families through sound theological and practical principles, while still being easy to read and to understand. And while light enough for any Catholic mother to read and enjoy, it is not just some “Chicken Soup for the Catholic Mother’s Soul.” The author bravely delves into more weighty topics, such as learning not to run from our sufferings, but to offer them to Jesus as we learn to embrace the Cross. Finally and most importantly, Cooper O’Boyle urges mothers to learn to live and rest in God’s presence always, for often, as Pope Benedict XVI describes, “the deepest cause of suffering is the very absence of God.”

During May, Mary’s month and the month in which we celebrate the vocation of motherhood, it seems fitting to write about what is undoubtedly one of my favorite mothering books in recent years. The Heart of Motherhood: Finding Holiness in the Catholic Home by noted author Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle offers and encouraging and inspirational look at the vocation of motherhood.

In her introductory remarks, Donna-Marie shares that today’s mothers need encouragement and recognition. Her mission statement for the book comes in these early pages: “My hope is that I can help more mothers realize and embrace the sublimity of their missions as mothers, responsible for the souls entrusted to our care.”

Having savored the pages of this book through several readings, I would say that Cooper O’Boyle manages to hit that mark head on. Among the highlights of this book, along with Donna-Marie’s warm and engaging writing style, are the many quotations she shares from two luminaries of our Church: Pope John Paul II and Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, with whom the author shared a personal correspondence. The Heart of Motherhood is the type of parenting book I favor most. Concise enough to be read in a few short settings, yet thought provoking enough to invite its reader back repeatedly for in depth illumination. Each chapter ends with dual prayers, inspiring pause and reflection upon the content discussed.

In her chapter on the need for saints in our world today, Cooper O’Boyle shares the life story of Mother Teresa, reminding readers that each of us is called to be a saint in our own walk of life. It is fitting that the author reminds mothers that an, task, done with love, becomes an act of faith, love and prayer. In this manner, she commends and affirms the role of any mother who may feet that the mendacity of her day to day lives is not “good enough” or sufficiently holy. Remarks by Pope John Paul II reinforce the dignity of the role of every mother. Cooper O’Boyle also underscores the vital necessity for mothers to take breaks for prayer and refreshment throughout the course of their daily familial service.

As Catholics, we have in the Blessed Virgin Mary the greatest role model for parenting with faith and love. Cooper O’Boyle (reminds mothers to strive to imitate Mary and her virtues in their lives and to turn to Mary, mother of Jesus and our mother, when in need of help or consolation. Additionally, she reminds mothers of their duty to pray on a regular basis, to teach their children to lead lives of constant prayer, and to seek out opportunities for evangelization in our everyday relationships. The age old conundrum of taking small children to Mass is lovingly and patiently discussed as the author shares her own experience as a mother of five. Donna-Marie encourages mothers to pray throughout their day and to model this prayer to their families. Families should emphasize family dinner as a time of spiritual and physical nourishment and each day should end in quiet prayer with our children.

In subsequent chapters, Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle shares the story of female saints whose lives of quiet service to their families shine as a true lesson for today’s mothers. Additionally, and with great charm, Donna-Marie addresses the topic of suffering as a form of prayer and encourages mothers to look for life’s “everyday miracles”, those moments of grace and opportunity that are sprinkled throughout family life.