Musings From a Catholic Bookstore

Wonderful Book for Children for May

Ian — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:34:39 +0000

Several years ago a local author approached us and asked if we would carry her new books for children. The book was colorful and came with a packet of "wheat berries" for the child to grow. We thought the concept and the story were great and decided to carry The Parable of Willy Wheat and the Mother Mary books as well.

All of these books make great gifts for children all the way through grade school and middle school especially as First Communion gifts.

We'll let Kathy tell you more about how this series came about and what you can expect from it...

The Origins of Willy Wheat

The conception of The Parable of Willy Wheat actually happened years ago when I was grinding wheat to make bread for my family. I told a friend that inside each wheat berry there is a hidden "life" (wheat germ) and that it lies dormant within the berry until the outer shell is softened, cracks and dies. Then the "life" inside begins to grow and the wheat berry is transformed into a wheat plant. It is the same with us. We have the hidden Life of Jesus within us and need to change and grow to be One with Him.

Well, my friend told me to put this in writing. So when I went to my typewriter (pre-computer days) the story of Willy Wheat emerged. I was totally surprised as I wrote it… anxious to see what would happen next! It was truly inspired by God.

I began to write pages and pages of analogies that pertained to our Catholic Faith. The main theme was that like Willy Wheat we have a hidden life within us - the Life of God! You can't see Him, but He is there. Our goal is to allow the Life of Jesus to grow in us, just as Willy needed to allow the life to grow in him.

By sprouting the wheat berries in the Mother Mary books, the reader is able to SEE that there is a hidden life inside the berry and that as it's outer shell cracks and "dies" it begins to change and grow into a tiny sprout which will continue to grow into a wheat plant. This helps one to visualize the fact that Jesus lives IN them (even though they can't see Him) and that it is necessary to "die to self" so the Life of Jesus can grow and transform them into His Image and Likeness!

Mother Mary- God's Quick & Easy Way to Divine Holiness, for young teens and adults shows more deeply that is Mary's role as our Mother to HELP us change and grow to be like Jesus by being our Advocate, Mediatrix and Co-Redemptrix. This concept is often very difficult to understand. But by making simple comparisons to The Parable of Willy Wheat, these deep mysteries are simplified and even visualized through the use of colorful illustrations.

For example, Willy needed to crack his shell (die to his outer self) for the life inside him to grow. The quickest and easiest way was in the heart of mother earth. The rain water went THROUGHthe soil to soften Willy's outer shell to make it easy for the wheat germ to sprout and grow. In like manner God's Graces are given to us THROUGH the Heart of our Mother Mary (Mediatrix) to make it easier for us to "die to self" so the Life of Jesus will grow in us!

First Communion Stories is pleased to announce its annual First Holy Communion Story contest once again!

From May 1- May 21, go to www.firstcommunionstories.com and submit your unique story about your First Holy Communion. Be sure to create an account and then send it in!
Your story can be as long or short as you would like. Here are a few, simple rules:
- Be truthful
- Talk about good things -- this isn’t a place to rant about the lousy liturgy, etc
- Enter tags for your city, year and church name so other people can browse stories from the same area.
- For privacy reasons, please do not include last names in your story.
From May 22-May 29, you will have a chance to vote on your favorite First Holy Communion story.
Winners will be announced on May 31.

Our lucky winner will receive a $100 gift card to our store, Aquinas and More Catholic Good s!

We will also be giving away two $25 gift certifcates for runners-up.

Articles About Mary (It is her month, after all)

We're Hiring! Do You Have a Talent for Writing?

Ian — Mon, 07 May 2012 03:43:14 +0000

Aquinas and More is hiring a contract copy writer to write articles and descriptions for our websites. Read the full description and compensation information.

Oddity in the Revised Mass Translation

Ian — Thu, 03 May 2012 23:57:55 +0000

My dad is working on a project involving the antiphons for the Mass and noticed a rather odd translation change. For the 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time the introit used to read:

Lord, be true to your covenant, forget not the life of your poor ones for ever. Rise up, O God, and defend your cause; do not ignore the shouts of your enemies.

Now it reads:

Look to your covenant, O Lord, and forget not the life of your poor ones for ever. Arise, O God, and defend your cause, and forget not the cries of those who seek you.

The referenced Bible verses are Psalm 74: 20, 19, 22, 23

Now, I'm not Fr. Z, but it seems that the meaning of this antiphon has been completely changed. Further, if you look at the actual Bible passages referenced, unless those seeking God are His enemies, the new version is completely different from what's actually in the Bible as well. Thoughts?

Chen's Plight Makes Catholic Manufacturers' Excuses Ring Hollow

Ian — Thu, 03 May 2012 18:43:00 +0000

Chen Guangcheng - pro-life Chinese activist

Since Aquinas and More opened we have had a policy that we don't buy or sell any products from China. We have posted many times over the years explaining why.

Some of our vendors have tried to convince us that this policy isn't really wise and have offered many excuses why their stuff is "okay" to purchase including:

We inspect the factories and the workers are treated well
Our products may convert the factory workers
Costs are too high everywhere else in the world to produce these products so it's better that we do it here to save a dime, a quarter, a dollar, ten dollars, etc. so people can still afford to buy them

The problem with all of this is that China is evil. The administration has a national policy of forcefully killing babies. They imprison Christians including priests and bishops without cause. Every cent we give them just makes the government stronger.

The current case of Chen Guangcheng is a prime example of how evil regimes operate, especially when supposedly good ones take the side of evil.

Chen is a Chinese lawyer who has spent years documenting the forced abortion policy in China and for his efforts has been subject to imprisonment and beatings and has spent years under house arrest. Recently some of his friends broke him out of his house in his hometown and after hiding him in various places, took him to the US embassy in Beijing hoping that the US would fight for his safety.

Unfortunately, our current administration is far more concerned about our current economic relationship with China and is supportive of the very policies that Chen has been fighting so they weren't thrilled with him showing up. A Chinese official allegedly threatened to BEAT HIS WIFE if he didn't leave the embassy. There was a also a report that if Chen didn't leave the embassy the Chinese government would send his wife to Chen's home village where they "would be unable to help her". The Chen's have both been beaten by Chinese officials at their home in the past. The US government basically evicted him from the embassy once the Chinese government promised not to imprison him and instead send him and his family to a "safe" place in China.

More information can be found here and here.

Patron Saint Medal Sale Ends Tonight

Ian — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 21:36:25 +0000

St. Francis Tau Cross Medal

Patron saint medals make great gifts for Confirmation and graduation. Our 15% off sale on over 5000 medals ends tonight!