A Catholic Woman's Book of Days

by Amy Welborn

Overview

Finding God Every Day

God is present to us in ways too numerous to count. Unfortunately, we are often so busy that we fail to recognize and respond to this active presence. A Catholic Woman’s Book of Days offers daily meditations that clear a spiritual place—a time in our day when we can set our hearts on God. The meditations are brief, pointed, direct, and personal—and will connect you to God’s word and the Catholic faith.
While a number of successful devotionals for women have been published for the general Christian market, A Catholic Woman's Book of Days is the first resource in the Catholic market featuring daily devotions and prayers for women. Written by Amy Welborn, the devotional entries are pointed and brief, and help Catholic women connect their everyday concerns with God's Word in the context of their Catholic faith. Each entry is introduced by a Scripture verse and followed by a one-sentence prayer. These devotions and prayers are sure to provide Catholic women with a dose of God's grace each day of the year.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780829420579
Publisher:	Loyola Press
Publication date:	08/01/2005
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	408
Sales rank:	544,643
Product dimensions:	4.50(w) x 6.69(h) x 1.06(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 18 Years

About the Author

Amy Welborn is the general editor of Loyola Classics, a series of new editions of the some of the most distinguished Catholic novels of the twentieth century. She is the author of The Words We Pray, Loyola Kids Book of Heroes, Loyola Kids Book of Saints (Loyla Press), De-Coding Da Vinci, and the Prove It! series of apologetics books for youth (Our Sunday Visitor). Amy and her family rside in Fort Wayne, Indiana

Read an Excerpt

Introduction

In the course of a day, a week, or a year, each of us is touched by God in ways too numerous to count and often too profound to explain. If we’re honest we might also admit that, as hopeful as we might be about God’s active presence in our lives, we’re often far too busy to notice it.
January

 

January 1
The previous months had given Mary much to contemplate: her mysterious, God-given preg­nancy; her aged cousin’s maternity; and the birth of her Son attended—marvelously—by angels.
Lord, thank you for the past year of my life. Help me to grow in my awareness of your love in the present moment and not be discouraged by the past.

January 2

Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you.
What is it you have heard from the beginning?
Lord, in this new year, give me the grace to live in response to the simple truth of your love and care for me.

 

January 3

O sing to the Lord a new song,
The baby sits in the middle of his super-duper play saucer, propped upright by a towel around his middle, his feet dangling in the air. His eyes are wide open, and his head just can’t stop moving as his gaze darts from toy to toy.
Lord, I thank you for my life and for the chance to grow that this new year brings.

January 4

When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?”
 

More times than I care to admit, I stride into a room or up the stairs with a great air of purpose and then come to a stop, bewildered. I haven’t a clue as to why I’m there.
 

Lord, help me look at my life today and discern what it is I’m looking for.

 

January 5

Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
 

Want to succeed? That’s easy. Gather up your stunning résumé, your magna cum laude de­gree, your stellar references, and your fabulous good looks.
 

Lord, today I present myself, weakness and strength, wisdom and foolishness. Use me as I am to do your will.
I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you.
At the age of eight, my daughter developed a keen interest in whether the books she read were “true stories.” She was wondering if there might be something about a not-true story that made it less worthy of her time.
Jesus, I open your story, seeking truth.

 

January 7

“For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”
My oldest son once quit a job, which was okay since he hadn’t had a raise in two years. The problem was, he didn’t make sure he had another job before he left the first one.
Jesus, nourish the seed of faith you have planted within me, and strengthen me to step forward in trust.

 

January 8

“For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’”
Ah, the fruit of persistence.
Loving God, I come to you with my every need, no matter how small it seems.

 

January 9

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Most of us have at least one baptism story up our sleeves. We remember babies crying, being startled, or just wondering about the oil and the water, the strange fingers marking them with crosses. It was that last moment that invariably got my children going, by the way.
Jesus, help me grow in the graces I received in my baptism.

 

January 10

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
Who—or what—is in charge of your life?
Loving God, I turn to you alone as my strength and my guide.

 

January 11

When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
For many years, I taught religion in Catholic high schools. As you can imagine, plenty of class time was devoted to moral issues.
Lord Jesus, give me the courage to step forward in faith and follow you.

 

January 12

That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons.
I’ve been hacking and coughing for a couple of weeks now, and my husband is after me to go to the doctor. “Oh no,” I say. “I’ll be fine.”
Loving Jesus, I give you my pain and hurt, trusting in your healing touch.

 

January 13

They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff.
Growing up, I heard a lot about Jesus in Catholic school. We talked about his teachings on love and forgiveness. We made collages about the Beatitudes and sang songs about peace. We learned a lot of good, very true things.
Jesus, open my eyes and heart to all that you are.

 

January 14

Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near.
The world today is full of seekers.
Loving God, when I seek, turn my steps toward Christ.

 

January 15

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”
With computers these days, you can’t put the newest software into an old machine, or else the whole thing just shuts down.
Lord, give me the courage to let go of old, destructive parts of my life.

 

January 16

“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much.”
I remember when my daughter told her first lie.
Loving God, be with me as I discern your will, in matters large and small.

 

January 17

St. Anthony

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
Back in the third century, a man went out into the Egyptian desert to fight. His armor? Nothing but prayer.
Lord God, strengthen me today, so that I may stand firm in your truth and love.

 

January 18

We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands.
I glanced through the big window that faced the backyard, looking for my daughter in the twilight. It didn’t take long to find her. Katie lay flat on her back on top of a blanket of snow, motionless but for her hands, which she was moving slowly in front of her face, entranced it seemed, by the contrast of the white flakes falling lightly on her maroon gloves.
Heavenly Father, I open my heart to your presence.

 

January 19

Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
I adore the Internet. As a confirmed library rat, the reality of having so much information literally at my fingertips makes me almost giddy at times.
Lord, in the silence, I listen to your voice.

 

January 20

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.
Love may drive out fear, but some of us have to take John’s challenge from the other direction first. We have to stop being afraid in order to make room for love.
Lord, I put my fears aside today and open my heart to you in trust.

 

January 21

And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
I once asked the mother of a couple of students of mine who seemed particularly well adjusted what her secret was.
Jesus, help me love others as you do—as brothers and sisters dear to your heart.

 

January 22

Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands.
We have an ultrasound image of one of our sons, taken when he was about five months in the womb. His face can be seen very clearly, and it’s exactly the same face that pops out of bed now, three years later, demanding pancakes and “shar-shage”for breakfast.
Creator God, thank you for the gift of life.

 

January 23

He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! A sower went out to sow.”
Here is where Jesus’ preaching begins—with parables. And this parable of seeds and soil is the first one he tells.
Lord, dispel my fear of being truly open to your word.

 

January 24

Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
A long while back, I was at a particularly unhappy place in my life. I was at Mass, presenting all  this before God, feeling as if I was living in a cave with a closed-off entrance and no exit.
Loving Father, I rest in your understanding presence.

 

January 25

Conversion of St. Paul

Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
Not yet knocked from a horse, I’ve been converted nonetheless.
Lord, thank you for the moments of conversion in my life.

 

January 26

Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood.
This story never fails to startle me at some level. Jesus has just driven out unclean spirits from a man who lived among the tombs in his torment. Jesus drove the spirits into pigs, which have run off a cliff. The townspeople hear of it and arrive to find the formerly possessed man in his right mind, quietly sitting.
Jesus, open my heart to the fullness of life.

 

January 27

You know no God but me,
A little loyalty can go a long way, I’ve discovered.
Loving Father, I give you what hurts, knowing you will comfort me.

 

January 28

St. Thomas Aquinas

Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given me;
I grew up a faculty brat, on various college cam-
Seat of wisdom, bring light to my heart.

 

January 29

As it is, there are many members, yet one body.
One Sunday, my teenaged son sat along with the rest of us in the pew, waiting for the collection basket to come our way.
Lord, teach me to value the gifts of all those who work to build your kingdom.

 

January 30

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal.”
A few years ago, we went to Graceland and, among other things, saw Elvis Presley’s grave, a heavily decorated monument marking the spot.
Lord, help me discern where my treasure and my heart lie.

 

January 31

He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.”
One of my teenaged sons was observing his baby brother, who was fussing, as babies some­times do.
Jesus, I give you my struggles and my tensions. Help me rest in you.

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "A Catholic Woman's Book of Days"
by .
Copyright © 2005 Amy Welborn.
Excerpted by permission of Loyola Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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