A special thanks to Julie Cragon, author of Bless My Child, for sharing the following letter to our readers.
Dear Catholic Mom Readers,
I am pleased and excited that Bless My Child will be featured for the September Book Club pick. I cannot express how awesome the response to Bless My Child has been from moms, dads, teachers and principals. It humbles me every time a parent comes into the store or sees me at school and shares a special moment they have been given because of a prayer from the book they have shared with a child or prayed for a child. I oftentimes wish I could take some credit but I have to say that I was given each and every word. Because of the wonderful examples of both my mom and dad, I have learned the power of prayer. I believe that if I start each day with prayer that God will give me the strength not just to get through the day but to enjoy even those which are most hectic. My parents taught us that through prayer anything is possible and since I know they'll never read this and I would never want to admit they were right about a! nything, I can freely say that they are right.
I was a very lively child and teen. Number six child of eight, I knew everything about how to get my parents' attention and every other adult in my life. I'm sure my parents wore some skin off their knees in St. Henry Chapel hoping and praying that some day I would "get it". My mom always kept her Bible, prayer book and journal on a table in her room. From their examples of prayer and faith, I have learned the importance of prayer. I have learned that parenting does not come with a manual but God did leave us a book to refer to for strength and He gave us one another. I have learned to pay attention instead of want attention. When I started having children of my own, I have to admit, it was almost a bummer to realize that it's not all about me. It makes me crazy to hear myself say to my children "offer it up" or "pray about it". Time finally let me stop worrying about becoming my parents and start bein! g grateful that my husband and I could be one tenth the parents they have been to me.
Bless My Child is definitely about praying not just for my children but for the teens that work with us at St. Mary's Bookstore and the children young and old who's parent's ask us to pray for them every day. They are prayers that developed through years of requests and encounters. My children are taught by the St. Cecilia Dominican sisters and I constantly tell them that, instead of "it takes a village", it will take the whole convent to raise my children.
With that in mind, may we all join as community and pray for the victims of Katrina. May Mary gather them in Her Mantle and our country join together to give them homes and food and all the many needs that will come from this catastrophe. May all the souls lost rest in peace. The calls have already come all the way to Nashville asking for openings in our Catholic schools for the children for this year. May we open our hearts and our doors to all. God Bless all us moms!
Julie Cragon
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