Praying with Pope John Paul II

This is a brand-new book called "Santo Subito," which in Italian means "Immediate Saint." It's a book with unedited testimonies about Pope John Paul II's prayer life from those who knew him best.

"He spoke with God. You would take one look at him and you knew that he was a person who talked frequently with God.”

I love Pope John Paul II for so many reasons, but one of them is the simple fact that he radiated joy and love. I used to tell my Mom that you could always tell when someone had a truly amazing relationship with Christ because they were peaceful, joyful, confident, compassionate and generous people. There's a "glow." Pope John Paul II had that glow.

So what does this have to do with practicing chastity? A personal relationship with Christ is the foundation of your life. I can't say it any better: "Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination,will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love; stay in love,and it will decide everything." ~ Fr. Pedro Arrupe S.J.

An amazing prayer life is the key to living passionately. Until that key unlocked my life, I only practiced chastity because I knew that sex before marriage was sinful and I wanted my husband to have that special gift. While that is certainly not wrong, it's not the whole story. I found that when I started praying intensely my desire switched from wanting not just to please my husband, but to love Christ. Now, I practice chastity for both of them - I know that Christ is, and always will be, the King of my Heart, and that living a life of chastity is ultimately about loving God. Sex inside of marriage mirrors Christ's own self-giving, free, faithful, and fruitful love - and I'm committed to keeping sex inside of marriage because I want to love as He does. Prayer changed my life; I would pick up this book and let it change yours.

New Book!

This is Jason Evert's latest book! It's called Purity 365: Daily Reflections on True Love. This new book contains daily inspirational quotes to help you lead a clean life....it's a short read, but Jason Evert gets right to the point. It's a great book to help you stay committed to leading a chaste life. I love short books like this - it's really easy just to take a minute of every day to help you stay strong in your commitment.

Good News about Sex and Marriage

Christopher West's book entitled The Good News about Sex and Marriage is an interesting and helpful read to better understanding the Church's teaching on sexual morality. West takes the most controversial and most asked questions about sexual morality and answers them; often in light of John Paul II's Theology of the Body. West combines his gifts of knowledge, wisdom and wit to help explain the Church's deep teachings on sex and marriage.

Project Everlasting

Last month, my Catholic Women's Book Club read Project Everlasting: Two Bachelors Discover the Secrets of America's Greatest Marriages . It was fascinating to read of the travels of two bachelors who scoured the country looking for couples who had been married for at least forty years. They shared anecdotes of several of the couples who offered their advice about what made their marriages last.

The meaning of love as a four letter word spelled G-I-V-E, the importance of respect, what commitment looks like in sickness and in health were all discussed and given life through the words and experiences of real life couples. There are lots of good books about Catholic marriage, but this book, which wasn't conspicuously religious, presented meaningful marraige advice through the witness of others.



I have been recommending Project Everlasting to everyone since I completed. It's short, easy to read and worth the time.