Head to Kelly's for a Big Giveaway

Kelly Mantoan is hosting a mega-giveaway during her Link-toberfest! I'm offering a copy of Through the Year With Mary: 365 Reflections and there are loads of other books and prizes. The giveaway is for both bloggers and readers. Kelly's instructions:

This is how it will work; link up your blog for an entry. Link up a Seven Quick Takes post every week between now and October 23 for up to four chances. Readers, leave a comment for an entry. Leave comments here [at This Ain't the Lyceum] every Friday between now and October 23 for up to four chances. Bloggers, for a bonus entry, answer the featured question in your takes each week, and leave a comment here so I know. Readers, for a bonus entry, Tweet me @kellymantoan with your favorite Takes of the week, up to four times between now and October 29th. Winners will be selected at random and announced in the October 30th Quick Takes.

At This Ain't the Lyceum, you can find a complete list of the prizes, and either link up or leave a comment.

Have fun!

In this month of the Rosary

Just wanted to mention that Amazon has my Rosary book on its 4-for-3 promotion -- buy four copies of the book (or combine it with any of their other three 4-for-3 books) and get four for the price of three.

And, here's a lovely quote about the Rosary from Through the Year With Mary: 

 

"The Rosary taught Bernadette everything …
The Rosary was her dictionary, her spelling book,
naming and explaining the mysteries of God’s kingdom;
it was a map guiding her to the heart of  God’s love for humanity."

 

~~ Fr. John Lochran, The Miracle of Lourdes

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary

"Because He was God, he could give his mother gifts not only before he was born of her, but before she was born herself. This is the meaning of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception."

~~ F. J. Sheed

In creating a pure and perfect Mother, Lord, and in saving her before she was born, You gave us hope for what we can become.

"In her, the destinies of the world were to be reversed, and the serpent’s head bruised. In her was bestowed the greatest honor ever put upon any individual of our fallen race. God was taking upon Him her flesh, and humbling Himself to be called her offspring – such is the deep mystery!"

~~St. John Henry Cardinal Newman

In the midst of mystery, Lord, you give me something real and solid -- a mother to cling to.

(from Through the Year With Mary: 365 Reflections) 

Feast of the Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary

"In fact, the more I looked at it, the more it seemed to me that God virtually always comes to us through some creature. And when he does that, some glow of his glory is left on the creature, like the radiance on Moses' face (cf. Ex. 34:29-35). But at the same time it remains clear the glory is God's, not something the creature could claim for himself." 

~~ Mark Shea, Mary, Mother of the Son, Vol. I 
as quoted in Through the Year With Mary, 365 Reflections 

Mary, you shone with the glory of God, 

never claiming merit for your virtues. 

Help me to always deflect praise and glory to our Father. 

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

"The light could not be divided from the sun. The light was Mary’s soul, rich in grace from the very moment of its creation; and the sun was her immaculate body, in which the Holy Spirit had formed the humanity assumed by the Word."

~~ Blessed Bartolo Longo 

Such a pure and perfect vessel -- Lord, make me whole someday in heaven, as Mary was whole from the moment of her conception. 

"Belief in the Assumption is a source of hope for all Christians because it foreshadows what will one day happen to each faithful Christian. The raising of Mary, body and soul, to the glory of heaven anticipates what will happen at the final judgment to all who are to be saved."

~~ Alan Schreck, Catholic and Christian

Mary, model of our salvation, I long to be where you are. 

(from Through the Year With Mary: 365 Reflections) 

Quote for a Sunday

So take heart and listen.

As God looked at Mary, as Mary looked at Bernadette,

So God looks at you with love.

~~ Fr. John Lochran

(as quoted in Through the Year With Mary: 365 Reflections)

Quote for a Thursday

"Like (Mary), great are the graces we have received. Like her, let us always accept the cross in whatever way it comes. Like her, let us with grace and delicacy touch the lonely and unwanted. Like her, let us not be ashamed or slow to do humble works." 

~ Blessed Teresa of Calcutta 

The Mother of God washed dishes, changed diapers, and swept floors; my daily work is often as mundane. And as holy.

(from Through the Year With Mary: 365 Reflections) 

A Lovely Review of Through the Year With Mary

from Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle at View From the Domestic Church.

Thank you, Donna!

Quote for a Sunday

 "God, in his mercy, does not tell us everything our yes will mean. Most likely, Mary did not understand  everything her yes would mean. She had much to ponder; however, she still gave God permission to work in and through her life as he saw fit. Like Mary, we don't have to know everything our yes will mean; we just have to yield ourselves, trusting God." 

~~ Kimberly Hahn, quoted in Through the Year With Mary: 365 Reflections

Lord, let me say “yes” without counting the cost. 

Then, help me to bear the cost for Your sake.

And the Winner Is ...

... RosaMaria!

This morning, we put all the names in a coffee cup, and Ramona did the honors:

RosaMaria, I'll be emailing you for mailing address details.

Thanks to everyone who participated!

Last Chance to Leave a Comment and Win a Book

I was going to end the contest at midnight tonight (Tuesday, December 14), but I'll also include in the drawing any comments I receive overnight. The final cut off will be when I drag myself out of bed tomorrow (which is usually about 5:45 a.m., so let's just round it up to 6:00 ....)


Just leave a comment either on this post, or on the original post, which is found at this link.

I'll announce the winner by noon central time on the 15th.

Thanks to you all for your interest!

An Advent Giveaway: Leave a Comment, Win a Book

I have a copy of Through the Year With Mary here, and I want one of you to have it.

Just leave a comment on this post and one of the girls will pick a name at random next Tuesday, December 15th. (Please include an email address in your comment if you don't have a blog or other easy-to-reach link. Thank you!)

~~~~~

I also have a handful of copies of The Rosary: Keeping Company With Jesus and Mary for sale here. They are $8.99 with free media mail shipping (faster shipping if you're interested in paying a little more for that.) Send an email to  karen (dot) edmisten (at) gmail (dot) com if you want to order one or have any questions.

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary

"When one seeks out the place of the Virgin Mary in history as it is conceived by humans, her role seems paltry indeed ... But if history finds its final meaning in the saga of sanctity, if the value of human beings can be measured by their closeness to Christ, the Holy One of God, the source of all supernatural life, then suddenly Mary is at the summit ... She is the masterpiece of God, the one who after Christ has been the object of his thought for all eternity."

~~ Fr. Henri Rondet S.J.

Mary, how could I ever think of you as “just” the mother of Jesus? You are the result of God’s artistry -- perfectly, immaculately conceived in the mind of God.


(Painting: detail of Madonna and Child with St John the Baptist, Bouguereau, 1882)

Quote for a Monday

from Through the Year With Mary: 365 Reflections


"There is little doubt that we are passing through a period marked by a lack of interest in the saints. Much more is involved here than devotion to the saints, even St. Mary. What is at stake is the reality of the humanity of the risen Jesus. There is danger of so spiritualizing the risen Christ that we diminish awareness of His humanity ... Fr. Karl Rahner declared that the special temptation that affects Christians today, Catholics and Protestants alike, is the temptation to turn the central truths into abstractions, and abstractions have no need of mothers." 

-- National Conference of Catholic Bishops (Mary in the Church: A Selection of Teaching Documents)

Recently I had a great interview with Judy Zarick, producer of "Living Faith" on American Catholic Radio. The interview can be found here, at their website, and is the first feature on the current program

On the Radio Again

Last week I had the great pleasure of talking with Kris McGregor of KVSS Spirit Catholic Radio in Omaha.


Kris hosts Inside the Pages, where she chats with authors about their books. Our extended interview can be found here, on her Discerning Hearts website.  I had such a lovely time with Kris, whose warmth and love for the Blessed Mother shine through her every word.

~~~~~

Tomorrow (Tuesday, November 16th) at 3 p.m. (central time), I'll be talking with Leo Brown at Real Life Radio.  You can listen live from the site -- just click on their live stream link.

Beautiful Review of Through the Year With Mary at Catholic News Agency

Many thanks to Br. Benet Exton at the CNA for his review of Through the Year With Mary. Br. Benet writes:

There have been several books offering one minute meditations published over the years, but this one is one of the best.

Wow -- thank you, Br. Benet!

You can read his entire review here.

The Snoring Scholar Reviews Through the Year With Mary

Sarah Reinhard, of Just Another Day of Catholic Pondering, Faith and Family Live, CatholicMom.com and Catholic Exchange, has posted an absolutely lovely review of my new book, Through the Year with Mary.

I especially love Sarah's honesty in admitting that she wasn't initially thrilled with the idea of a "daily devotional" sort of thing, as she often tends to fall away from those.

She says that Through the Year With Mary was:

not at all what I expected. At 117 pages, it was slim enough to fit into any purse I would leave the house with. The quotes were not the usual Marian fare and the reflections were substantial, though often only a sentence long.

I read this book in about a week — a month or two each evening after it came — and I can tell you, with complete confidence, that it’s completely worth what you’ll spend for it. Whether you use it as it’s intended, as a daily devotional, or you read it as it suits you, you’ll find that you glimpse Mary in unexpected ways. The combination of off-the-beaten-track quotes and Edmisten’s accompanying meditation makes for a read that sticks with you in the very best way.

Find Sarah's full review here.

Thank you, Sarah! (said the author, blushing.)

In this month of the Rosary ....

October is the month of the Holy Rosary and here are a couple of my favorite quotes about this sublime prayer, from Through the Year with Mary:

Call [the Rosary] spiritual homeopathy if you like. Many a proud spirit has been brought down by it -- many a faddy spirit has been made patient by it. Many a queasy spirit has been made strong by it. Many a distracted spirit has become recollected by it. The weak things of this world hath God chosen to confound the strong.

~~ Archbishop William Bernard Ullathorne

Some people do not like to take the medicine that would heal them, and call it nonsense. The rosary is exactly that medicine which cures an amazing deal of nonsense.

~~  Archbishop Ullathorne

Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary

"The Rosary taught Bernadette everything …
The Rosary was her dictionary, her spelling book,
naming and explaining the mysteries of God’s kingdom;
it was a map guiding her to the heart of  God’s love for humanity."

~~ Fr. John Lochran, The Miracle of Lourdes