Amy Welborn Interview

You can read part one of an interview I did with the Catholic Match website here.

It's about the book Wish You Were Here: Travels through Loss and Hope.. 


The Random House website for that book is here.

The Amazon page for the book is here. 

Praying the Rosary in May

Michael Dubruiel conceived and put together the small hardbound book, Praying the Rosary.  Click on the cover for more information.

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Also, check out this post from 2003, in which Michael Dubruiel narrates the events of one of his "rosary walks."

Pentecost Novena

It's the first novena. The very first one.  The novena - nine days of prayer - prayed by the apostles, that led up to Pentecost.

Read about it and the traditional Pentecost Novena prayers here. 

The Church's Most Powerful Novenas is a book of novenas connected with particular shrines.  Michael Dubruiel wrote in the introduction to this book he compiled:

When Jesus ascended into heaven, he told his Apostles to stay where they were and to "wait for the gift" that the Father had promised: the Holy Spirit.  The Apostles did as the Lord commanded them. "They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers" (Acts 1:14). Nine days passed; then, they received the gift of the Holy spirit, as had been promised. May we stay together with the church, awaiting in faith with Our Blessed Mother, as we trust entirely in God, who loves us more than we can ever know. 

Michael Dubruiel's Pocket Guide to Confession

For a brief, pointed and helpful guide,

All of Michael Dubruiel's books listed on Amazon.

The Power of the Cross free download and audio files.

The New Version of the Stations of the Cross link

Confirmation Gift Idea

The How to Book of the Mass  by Michael Dubruiel would be a great gift for a newly-confirmed Catholic.

The How-To Book of the Mass is the only book that not only provides the who, what, where, when, and why of themost time-honored tradition of the Catholic Church but also the how.
In this complete guide you get:

• step-by-step guidelines to walk you through the Mass
• the Biblical roots of the various parts of the Mass and the very prayers themselves
• helpful hints and insights from the Tradition of the Church
• aids in overcoming distractions at Mass
• ways to make every Mass a way to grow in your relationship with Jesus

If you want to learn what the Mass means to a truly Catholic life—and share this practice with others—you can’t be without The How-To Book of the Mass. Discover how to:

• Bless yourself
• Make the Sign of the Cross
• Genuflect
• Pray before Mass
• Join in Singing the Opening Hymn
• Be penitential
• Listen to the Scriptures
• Hear a Great Homily Everytime
• Intercede for others
• Be a Good Steward
• Give Thanks to God
• Give the Sign of Peace
• Receive the Eucharist
• Receive a Blessing
• Evangelize Others
• Get something Out of Every Mass You Attend

"Is this not the same movement as the Paschal meal of the risen Jesus with his disciples? Walking with them he explained the Scriptures to them; sitting with them at table 'he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them." 1347, Catechism of the Catholic Church

Find more about The How to Book of the Mass here.

Know a new Catholic?

...they might enjoy reading The How to Book of the Mass.

The Power of the Cross by Michael Dubruiel

Good Friday is coming...remember you can download the free e-book The Power of the Cross (pdf file) here at this page.

Amy Welborn interviewed

Here's an interview Kris McGregor of Discerning Hearts did with Amy Welborn about her new book, Wish You Were Here: Travels Through Loss and Hope.

Wish You Were Here by Amy Welborn

Here is the trailer for Wish You Were Here by Amy Welborn

A "new" version of the Way of the Cross

John Paul II’s Biblical Way of the Cross(It is also available in an IPhone App) – a new version of the Way of the Cross (or Stations of the Cross)

And check out this page on Michael Dubruiel’s book The Power of the Cross - available in a free .pdf download here.

About Michael Dubruiel

A page with links to information about and works by Michael Dubruiel.

Michael Dubruiel's website

In 2006 we traveled to Rome. Here's a compilation of both of our posts on that trip. His are quite thoughtful.

Michael Dubruiel's Wordpress Blog

Michael Dubruiel's Amazon page.

A page on his book, The How to Book of the Mass.

A page on his book, The Power of the Cross, including a free .pdf download of the book.

You might be interested in this podcast, with Chris Cash of the Catholic Company.

Michael Dubruiel's Ave Maria Press Author Page

Some tributes to Michael Dubruiel:

Remembering Michael Dubruiel

Jimmy Akin's post

The OSV "Daily Take" blog post - remembering Michael Dubruiel from his many years at Our Sunday Visitor.

Michael Dubruiel's series with KVSS radio in Omaha on "The Power of the Cross."

EWTN's Johnette Benkovic's blog post about Michael Dubruiel

The Power of the Cross by Michael Dubruiel

Here's a link to a page with a free download of Michael Dubruiel's book The Power of the Cross.

It's in .pdf format.

Also on the page is a link to a series of interviews Michael did with Catholic radio station KVSS on the book.

Michael Dubruiel 1958-2009

Michael Dubruiel died on February 3, 2009 after suffering a heart attack while on the treadmill at the Mountain Brook, AL YMCA.

This blog will remain online indefinitely, as will his webpage.

If you would like to assist Michael's family, please consider buying his books.

You may read about Michael's passing at his wife Amy's blog here.

More photos of Michael are here.

The last column he wrote for the diocesan newspaper, the night before he died, is here.

Thank you for your prayers for Michael's soul and for his family.

Autumn in the South

The Corn Maze

Cotton Pick'in Time

"Horse" Rides

Pumpkins Picked from the Patch

For More Current Posts Check Out

Annunciation's here, which is being updated daily. This sight will continue to host some alternate postings, photos, and videos that are easier to post on Blogger.

****

The How to Book of the Mass  by Michael Dubruiel would be a great gift for a newly-confirmed Catholic.

The How-To Book of the Mass is the only book that not only provides the who, what, where, when, and why of themost time-honored tradition of the Catholic Church but also the how.
In this complete guide you get:

• step-by-step guidelines to walk you through the Mass
• the Biblical roots of the various parts of the Mass and the very prayers themselves
• helpful hints and insights from the Tradition of the Church
• aids in overcoming distractions at Mass
• ways to make every Mass a way to grow in your relationship with Jesus

If you want to learn what the Mass means to a truly Catholic life—and share this practice with others—you can’t be without The How-To Book of the Mass. Discover how to:

• Bless yourself
• Make the Sign of the Cross
• Genuflect
• Pray before Mass
• Join in Singing the Opening Hymn
• Be penitential
• Listen to the Scriptures
• Hear a Great Homily Everytime
• Intercede for others
• Be a Good Steward
• Give Thanks to God
• Give the Sign of Peace
• Receive the Eucharist
• Receive a Blessing
• Evangelize Others
• Get something Out of Every Mass You Attend

"Is this not the same movement as the Paschal meal of the risen Jesus with his disciples? Walking with them he explained the Scriptures to them; sitting with them at table 'he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them." 1347, Catechism of the Catholic Church

Find more about The How to Book of the Mass here.

Father Mitch Pacwa's Teaching on Saint Paul

And the Sacraments, here is the complete set of Father Mitch Pacwa's presentations given at the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Birmingham, AL from September 4, 2008-October 9, 2008.

September 4, 2008, on Saint Paul and Baptism.

September 11, 2008 on Saint Paul and Confession.

September 18, 2008 on Saint Paul and Confirmation

September 25, 2008 on Saint Paul and Eucharist

October 2, 2008 on Saint Paul and Holy Orders, Part I

October 2, 2008 on Saint Paul and Holy Orders, Part II

October 9, 2008 on Saint Paul and Marriage

Bishop Baker's Continuing Catechesis on St. Paul

Talladega

Notice the wasp flying next to him...click on the pic for a larger version:

I think he's referencing the Bucs as being number 1:

Winner Todd Bodine:

Dual Posting will Resume Shortly

But until then check out Annunciation here, which is being updated daily.

Check out Michael Dubruiel's books on Amazon

The How to Book of the Mass  by Michael Dubruiel would be a great gift for a newly-confirmed Catholic.

The How-To Book of the Mass is the only book that not only provides the who, what, where, when, and why of themost time-honored tradition of the Catholic Church but also the how.
In this complete guide you get:

• step-by-step guidelines to walk you through the Mass
• the Biblical roots of the various parts of the Mass and the very prayers themselves
• helpful hints and insights from the Tradition of the Church
• aids in overcoming distractions at Mass
• ways to make every Mass a way to grow in your relationship with Jesus

If you want to learn what the Mass means to a truly Catholic life—and share this practice with others—you can’t be without The How-To Book of the Mass. Discover how to:

• Bless yourself
• Make the Sign of the Cross
• Genuflect
• Pray before Mass
• Join in Singing the Opening Hymn
• Be penitential
• Listen to the Scriptures
• Hear a Great Homily Everytime
• Intercede for others
• Be a Good Steward
• Give Thanks to God
• Give the Sign of Peace
• Receive the Eucharist
• Receive a Blessing
• Evangelize Others
• Get something Out of Every Mass You Attend

"Is this not the same movement as the Paschal meal of the risen Jesus with his disciples? Walking with them he explained the Scriptures to them; sitting with them at table 'he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them." 1347, Catechism of the Catholic Church

Find more about The How to Book of the Mass here.

My Two Favorite Columnists

One writes about life, the other about sports.

Anyone who knows me will understand why I readily related to Craig Wilson's piece in USA Today--in fact I bet I've already made two or three errors in this sentence. What most readers don't know, is that many writers (most) can't (and don't care) punctuate a sentence. Read some of Thomas Merton's unedited journals for a great example. Behind every great author, there is an even better editor (or in some cases a couple--someone who edited the substance, and another who edited for grammar and spelling). So it is with great joy that I present Craig Wilson's piece:

Today is National Punctuation Day, a day set aside to reflect on the fact a semicolon is not a medical problem. At least that's what NPD founder Jeff Rubin, a former newspaperman, wants to impart.
I hesitate to write about punctuation since it has never been my strong suit. Commas especially. Or is it commas, especially?
I have long held the belief that I must have been sick the day commas were taught. Where to put them. When to use them. When not to use them. Do you put one before the conjunction in a simple series of three or more items? (The answer is yes. I just looked it up on Rubin's website, nationalpunctuationday.com)
Because of my comma condition, I have driven more than a few editors crazy, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
"Weren't you ever taught about commas?" one editor barked at me early in my newspaper career.
"No," I answered. "I was sick that day."
"Obviously," he said.
And so he would insert commas where commas belonged, and we went to press. After that, I would put commas most everywhere. Like, after, every, word. Just for good measure.
Then another editor would bark at me.
"Was there a sale on commas somewhere?" she would ask.
"I guess there was," I would reply.
And then she would go back, remove most of them, and we went to press. I would then go back to never putting a comma in any sentence no matter how long laborious lovely or lively.
Correct punctuation, like good conversation, has become a lost art. That's why Rubin began NPD a few years ago.
E-mail has not helped any, mainly because it's often communication through sentence fragments. Dashes and ellipses galore. Maybe that's why I use lots of exclamation points in my e-mail. It's not that my sentence fragments are exciting. I'm just trying to make them so. Like this!
My journalism professor, who loathed exclamation points, is rolling in his grave, and if he's not there yet, I'm sure an e-mail from me could send him there.
His rule: Never use an exclamation point unless the sentence is about the end of the world, and the end of the world is tomorrow. Example: The end is near!
F. Scott Fitzgerald understood the exclamation point. He said, "An exclamation mark is like laughing at your own jokes."
I'll try to remember that. I'll also try to remember the rule about semicolons. I've used them on occasion, but once an editor removed one from a story. He called it pretentious. He said a period worked just as well.
He was right, of course. We hate nothing more (please insert exclamation point).

The other great columnist of our era, writes for the Orlando Sentinel now, but started out writing for the Gainesville Sun, then later for the Florida Times Union (the Jacksonville daily).Mike Bianchi loves college football and the passion that fans have for the game. He writes in his blog Open Mike:

Once when I was a columnist in Gainesville, I picked the Gators to lose a big game against Tennessee. The following week, I received an aromatic letter in the mail. One disgruntled reader, upset with my prediction, literally used my column as toilet paper, stuck it in an envelope and mailed it to me with this message: "I have to put up with your $#!#! Now you have to put up with mine!"

He always finds a way to bring humor and insight to his writing. Take this quip about the Florida-Tennessee match-up that took place last Saturday (that Florida won 30-6). From the Orlando Sentinel:

Maybe it's appropriate that there's a checkerboard pattern in Tennessee's end zone. Fulmer is indeed playing checkers. The problem is Meyer is playing chess.