My first name
is Maria and my middle name is Beth, so my Protestant parents
unknowingly gave me the Visitation for a name.
As I was
preparing to come into the Church, I learned to pray the rosary and
discovered the name for the second Joyful mystery. I could write
about this mystery, but I have a friend that wrote a book on
this very mystery and she does a much better job.
Denise Bossert belongs to the Heart of Mary. My
parish's branch of the Legion of Mary. I watched how God blessed her
as this project unfolded. First, she was offered a book deal. Then
they accepted one of her proposals, that of writing a book on The
Visitation. “I don't know how I am going to do this.” Denise
confided to our prayer group “I am writing about the Ein Kerem and
the hills of Judea and I have never been there.” Then God gave her
the opportunity in spades. Denise had submitted her name to
represent Catholic press on a trip to the Holy Land. Denise has a
blog Catholic by Grace and has a column in several Catholic
newspapers. Denise was chosen from hundreds of applicants to
represent the Catholic press in the Holy Land. “I'm going to the
Holy Land and one of the places we are scheduled to visit is Ein
Kerem.” Then God blessed her even further. Pope Francis had
announced his intentions to visit the Holy Land and it coincided with
Denise's trip. The next prayer meeting, Denise said “I will be
representing the Catholic press when Pope Francis visits the Holy
Land. I will be in the press box!” Inspired by her trip to the
hills of Judea and Ein Kerem, Denise produced a beautiful book. Like
Denise herself it encourages you to pray, to contemplate the goodness
of God, and encourages you to grow closer towards Him.
It
is even styled so that you can pray a novena to become a bearer of
Christ to the world. I plan to pray this very novena starting May
22nd
in preparation for May 31st
the feast day of The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. You can order your copy of Denise's book through her blog or by clicking here.
