Discussing Divine Mercy with Ralph Martin and More!

I hope that you have had a very blessed Divine Mercy Sunday yesterday. No doubt, it was an unusual one since we are in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. Nevertheless, Jesus’ promises are very real and His Mercy is available to all.

The Marian’s at the National Shrine of Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusettes put on a tremendous presentation yesterday on Divine Mercy Sunday. It aired through EWTN television. You can see the Mass here on Youtube.

When speaking to His Apostle and Secretary of Divine Mercy, St. Faustina, Jesus has always emphasized that His Mercy is especially for the most hardened sinners. Let us never hesitate to turn to God and ask for His Mercy. He is waiting.

Last September, I had the privilege of meeting up with Ralph Martin, S.T.D. in the television studio in Michigan to film two shows for his series, “The Choices We Face.”

Ralph Martin is the President of “Renewal Ministries” and Director of Graduate Theology Programs in the New Evangelization at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in the Archdiocese of Detroit. I have known about Ralph for many years and finally met him a few years ago at a Catholic Leadership Conference where we both spoke. Ralph is known worldwide as a sincere and talented dynamic speaker and evangelizer. I thoroughly enjoyed our time together and feel very blessed to have been on his shows.

Before, during, and after the filming, we enjoyed fascinating conversations about Divine Mercy, St. Faustina, and my book 52 Weeks with Saint Faustina: A Year of Grace and Mercy.

Ralph also surprised me by adding another book and additional Saintly friends into the mix. You’ll see that on our shows.

I want to let you know that the first show will air tomorrow (April 21, 2020) on EWTN television. After giving you the schedule, I’ll also let you know another way in which to watch.

UPDATED to say that I heard from someone that the show aired on Boston Catholic TV today (Monday). Perhaps, it is now available in their archives.

Here’s the Schedule for EWTN

FIRST WEEK OF AIRING:
The first show will air on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 at 5:00 PM ET. It will air again on Friday, April 24, 2020 at 6:30 AM ET. 

The second show will air on Tuesday, April 28, 2020 at 5:00 PM and will re-air on Friday, May 1, 2020 at 6:30 AM ET.

THE SECOND WEEK OF AIRING:
The first show will air on Tuesday, October 20, 2020 at 5:00 PM ET. It will air again on Friday, October 23, 2020 at 6:30 AM ET.

The second show will air on Tuesday, October 27, 2020 at 5:00 PM and will re-air on Friday, October 30, 2020 at 6:30 AM ET.

The Diary Is Not in Chronological Order

Many don’t realize that the Diary of St. Faustina is not in chronological order. It is a treasure trove of amazing wisdom on God’s Divine Mercy and contains direct teachings from Jesus Himself! However, since the order of writings is not chronological, sometimes people get a bit confused when reading it. I encourage everyone to stick with it! It will definitely help your spiritual life and growth in holiness.

As well, I want you to know that I have written 52 Weeks with Saint Faustina in a chronological order. I go through St. Faustina’s entire life and put it all into 52 topics that are relevant to the spiritual life. I researched heavily and relied only upon strictly approved sources. I wove pertinent messages from the Diary all throughout my book. The book is appropriate for the laity and religious alike.

You don’t need to start the book in January. You can start at any time of the year and read at your own pace, read straight through, or pause weekly and ponder the week’s teaching for a period of a week before moving to the next teaching.

I really believe that St. Faustina helped me to write the book! I had her relic with me all throughout the writing and asked for her intercession all throughout. I think readers might find the Preface and the Afterword interesting, for I disclosed personal sentiments and experiences.

I Feel Honored

I am humbled and blessed by the Foreword by Fr. Chris Alar, MIC.

He wrote:

Can I make a bet with you? I bet that if you take up this book and spend 52 weeks with St. Faustina, these weekly meditations will change your life. Why am I so confident about that? Because Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle, a great Marian Helper, popular author, and EWTN show host, has created about as faithful and as thorough a presentation on the spirituality and the writings of St. Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938), the Secretary and Apostle of Divine Mercy, as I’ve ever read. It’s a deep dive into the life and writings of one of the greatest mystics in the history of the Church, a religious sister who was given to us by God specifically for the times we are living in today.After all, St. Faustina died just before World War II; not in the Middle Ages; not in the time of the apostles; nothing like that. She’s a modern saint whose teachings are timeless, and who has helped bring about more miracles than most other saints. How? She shared the Divine Mercy message and devotion with the world.I’ve been preaching and practicing the Divine Mercy message and devotion for more than a decade now, especially since I joined the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. I’ve met people whose lives have been transformed by their encounter with St. Faustina in her work the Diary of Saint Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul, and with the Divine Mercy message and devotion. I’ve heard stories of miracles such as people being healed of incurable illnesses. I’ve been told about stubborn lapsed Catholics and resistant non-Christians finding their way to church, coming to the regular practice of the Sacraments, and changing their lives forever. I’ve seen how powerful it is to preach the Divine Mercy, touching hearts that all the fire and brimstone in the world could not change.So again, I challenge you to spend a year — 52 weeks — with St. Faustina. And I make this promise: If you spend time every week for the next 52 weeks doing the reading, meditating on what you learn, praying the weekly prayer, and performing the weekly works of mercy, your life will be touched by grace in ways you can’t even imagine right now.Saint Faustina changes lives. The Divine Mercy message and devotion that she was given by Jesus, a reminder and a prophetic restatement of the classical Gospel teaching on the mercy of God, changes lives.And when you’ve completed spending your year with St. Faustina, I hope you do two things. First, I hope you plan to make another 52 weeks with St. Faustina again someday. Second, I hope that you share this book with someone who you think would find it a blessing. After all, Jesus said to St. Faustina, “Souls who spread the honor of My mercy I shield through their entire life as a tender mother her infant, and at the hour of death I will not be a Judge for them, but the Merciful Savior” (Diary, 1075). Donna-Marie has certainly earned that promise from Jesus, the Divine Mercy, by writing this book. You can, too, by sharing what you read with your family, friends, and neighbors.Come spend 52 weeks with St. Faustina. Let your life, your mind, and your heart be renewed. Come meet St. Faustina, and let her lead you to a deeper relationship with Jesus, the Divine Mercy; Mary, the Mother of Mercy; and the whole Communion of Saints. May Jesus, the Divine Mercy, bless you, and may Mary, the Mother of Mercy, always keep you safely under her mantle.

–Fr. Chris Alar, MIC, “Fr. Joseph, MIC,” Director, Association of Marian Helpers, October 5, 2018, Feast of St. Faustina

In addition

I feel very honored that Ralph Martin told me on the show that 52 Weeks with Saint Faustina benefited his own life and that he felt my book was “…the best presentation in a clear, orderly way, of her spiritual teaching” that he knew of…

Ralph had also stated:

“I’m not usually keen about reading one of the 30 days or 52 weeks kind of books as I don’t usually find them going into depth enough to decently treat the saint they are focusing on. But it was different with Donna-Marie’s book. As I began to skim through it in preparation for doing a Television interview with her I realized that this book was different and I wanted to read it from cover to cover. This is the best integration of the main events of St. Faustina’s life and the best presentation in a clear, orderly way, of her spiritual teaching that I know of. I am very grateful for this book and highly recommend it.” 

You can go to the Renewal Ministries website to see the shows there as well or click on the image below!

I hope that you can tune into the shows. As well, please share this post with your friends and loved ones. We all need God’s Divine Mercy. We also need to learn more about it.

Hopefully and prayerfully, Ralph’s and my visits on “The Choices We Face” will help. Jesus, I trust in YOU!

God bless you!

Donna-Marie