Ellen Gable's Blog, page 81

Amazing Results With the Holy Rosary

“The holy Rosary is a powerful weapon. Use it with confidence and you’ll be amazed at the results.”

St. Josemaria Escriva

Although I grew up in a Catholic family, I learned how to say the rosary at Catholic school. My father often said the rosary privately, but we never recited it as a family and I rarely said the rosary on my own before the age of 11. One evening, however, my parents were involved in a violent argument. It was my first experience at being “amazed at the results” of the powerful weapon of the holy rosary. The following is another excerpt from my novel, Emily’s Hope. It’s based on actual events and is a true illustration of Our Lady’s powerful intercession.

I listen as my parents are fighting again, fighting over bills they can’t pay. Each time my mom yells, my dad yells louder. Dad starts to throw things, not at Mom, just throwing things. I’m scared. It makes me feel anxious to see the two people I love most in the world screaming at each other. Don’t they love each other, I ask myself. Why won’t they stop yelling?

Dad just said something about moving out. Oh, God, please, I don’t want my dad to move out. Mom says good. Oh, please, Mom, don’t say that. I look at both of them but they don’t seem to see me or the panic in my eyes. They only glare at each other.

Dad goes upstairs. I run after him and watch as he gets a suitcase out and starts putting clothes in it.

God, why won’t you stop him? I pass by my bedroom and notice my rosary sitting on the bedside table. I grab it, sit down on my bed, and begin saying the rosary. As I say each Hail Mary, I plead with Our Lady, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.” Please, Our Lady, don’t let my Dad walk out.

As I’m saying another Hail Mary, Dad walks by my room and doesn’t notice that I’m even there. He stomps down the steps. I can’t hear if he says bye, but I hear the door slam shut.

“Oh, God, please, make him come back.” I continue saying the rosary, each Hail Mary becoming more fervent than the last. I pray until my heart is bursting. Please, God, listen to my prayer.

I begin saying the Hail Holy Queen prayer and suddenly, I hear the door open downstairs. Without finishing, I stand at the top of the stairs and I see that my dad is standing at the doorway. Mom walks over to him. At first, they’re silent.

Then, my dad starts to cry. “I can’t leave you. I can’t leave my family.” He and Mom embrace.

I begin to cry. Thank you, God, and thank you, Our Lady, for bringing my daddy back.

My parents remained married until my father’s death eight years later. He was buried with his rosary in his hands.

Emily’s Hope is available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle. The novel’s website includes reviews, an excerpt, a synopsis and a radio interview.

Copyright 2013 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Like Arrows in the Hand of a Warrior (or How Our Publishing Company Got its Name)

“Children too are a gift from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb a reward

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

are the children born of one’s youth.

Blessed are they whose quivers are full.

They will never be shamed

contending with foes at the gate.

Blessed is the man who has filled his desire from these things…” Psalm 127 3:5

So how many arrows make a full quiver?

The answer is that it depends on the quiver…and the size of the arrows.

Our publishing company’s name is Full Quiver Publishing. Often, people assume that we are part of the “Quiverfull” Movement. At Wikipedia, Quiverfull is described as: “a movement among conservative evangelical Christian couples… it promotes procreation, and sees children as a blessing from God eschewing all forms of birth control, including natural family planning and sterilization. Adherents are known as “quiver full”, “full quiver”, “quiverfull-minded”, or simply “QF” Christians. Some refer to the Quiverfull position as Providentialism…”

An internet search of the words “Full Quiver” shows our website on the first page, along with a majority of websites and blogs devoted to the Quiverfull Movement.

I have great admiration for couples who follow this ideology, especially in this day and age when the majority of married couples are using artificial contraception or becoming sterilized.

However, we are not part of the Quiverfull Movement. Instead, we proudly use and teach Natural Family Planning to plan, space and limit births. When we are teaching NFP, we always encourage generosity and always stress there should be serious need to avoid pregnancy. We agree with the Church’s teachings on the Theology of the Body and are well-versed in the two encyclicals Humanae Vitae and Familiaris Consortio. Our publishing company publishes fiction and non-fiction which promotes the Church’s teachings on sex and marriage.

So why the name?

Years ago, I listened to a talk by Kimberly Hahn, in which she quoted the Scripture passage above and talked about the great gift of children and why generosity was so important. She later stated this concept in her book, Life-Giving Love: Embracing God’s Beautiful Design for Marriage: “We are in a spiritual battle, and our children are our arrows: How many arrows do you want in your quiver when you go into battle?”

This talk made a deep impression on me. So when we were forming our publishing company, after discussing different names, this is one that we felt God calling us to use: “Full Quiver Publishing.” It never dawned on us that we would be confused with the Quiverfull folks and that, occasionally, we would receive an email or a call from someone in the Quiverfull movement.

Back to the number: most quivers hold about 12 arrows. My husband and I have lost seven babies through miscarriage and are raising five sons: we thank God for our “full quiver.”

copyright 2013 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Happy Birthday, Angela’s Song!!

It’s hard to believe, but it’s one year since FQ Publishing published AnnMarie Creedon’s novel, Angela’s Song. Angela’s Song has 141 reviews on Amazon, over 100 four and five star reviews!

Synopsis: Angela ‘Jel’ Cooke is a widow and mother of three who stays busy so as not to have to face the fact that her marriage was damaged and her husband, Devin, died before it could be repaired. Her good friends realize that no amount of home made lasagna, volunteering at church or late night games of Yahtzee can heal Angela from past regrets. When she meets Jack, the teacher of a class she is taking, he challenges her to face her demons. What follows is the poignant, yet often hilarious saga of how Angela overcomes her guilt and learns to love herself and others.

Short excerpt:

“Bless me Father, for I have sinned. I kissed Jack Bartolomucci, and then I slapped him.”

“You slapped him?” he asks, incredulous. Then alarm spreads across his face. Father lowers his voice. “He did something to you that warranted slapping?”

“No, he didn’t, really…well, sort of, at least I thought so last night but today I’m not so sure.”

Fr. Sean sighs and rubs his forehead. “I’m confused, Jel.”

“Okay. Everything he did and said led me to believe he was going to ask me out and I really got my hopes up. But then he told me that, although he wanted to ask me out, he couldn’t because I’m not ready.”

“And then you kissed him?” I nod. “And then I slapped him.”

Angela’s Song is available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle.

Happy Birthday, Angela’s Song and congratulations, AnnMarie Creedon!

Sunday Snippets – October 6

Image copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

Please join me and other Catholic bloggers at RAnn’s Place for Sunday Snippets where we share posts from the previous week and answer a weekly question. The question this week: Have you ever tried the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office)? Why or why not, and, if so, is it something you pray regularly? I’ve never tried the Liturgy of the Hours, but after reading Daria Sockey’s new book, it definitely makes me want to do so.

Here are my posts:

Now and at the Hour of Our Death (An excerpt from my first novel)

Rosary Quotes

7 Quick Takes Friday – Volume 91 (A cartoon, FQP news and some beautiful autumn photos!)

Copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

7 Quick Takes Friday – Volume 91

Please join me and other Catholic bloggers at Conversion Diary for 7 Quick Takes Friday.

1. Month of the Holy Rosary

October is the month of the holy rosary. If you don’t already know how to say the rosary; this is a helpful link.

photo copyright Ellen Hrkach

2. Autumn Beauty in Pakenham

Special thanks to my oldest son for capturing autumn beauty here in Pakenham. He also took the photo in my blog’s header.

copyright Josh Hrkach please do not use without permission

3. Don’t You Forget About Me Book Release Coming

Full Quiver’s newest book, Don’t You Forget About Me by Erin McCole Cupp will be released soon! Check out the book’s website for a book trailer, advanced reviews and a synopsis.

4. Another Cool Victorian Photo of Atlantic City

I found another cool early 1900′s photo of the shore. This was was taken in 1904. The Seaside Hotel (which is in my novel, A Subtle Grace) is in the background on the left. I love all these cool bathing suits! Check out the high resolution photo here at Shorpy’s website.

5. More Autumn Color

copyright James Hrkach

6. Reading Shelf

Women of the Bible by Margaret McAllister

Illustrated Book of Mary (Hirten)

7. Down to Earth Cartoon

Cartoon copyright James and Ellen Hrkach/FQP Please do not use without permission

Text copyright 2013 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Favorite Rosary Quotes

October is the month of the Holy Rosary, so I would like to share some of my favorite quotes about the rosary:

“Never will anyone who says his Rosary every day be led astray. This is a statement that I would gladly sign with my blood.” Saint Louis de Montfort

“You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.” Our Lady to Blessed Alan de la Roche

“Give me an army saying the Rosary and I will conquer the world.” Pope Blessed Pius IX

“When the Holy Rosary is said well, it gives Jesus and Mary more glory and is more meritorious than any other prayer.” Saint Louis de Montfort

“One day, through the Rosary and the Scapular, Our Lady will save the world.” Saint Dominic

“If you say the Rosary faithfully unto death, I do assure you that, in spite of the gravity of your sins, ‘you will receive a never-fading crown of glory’ (1 St. Peter 5:4).” Saint Louis de Montfort

“You must know that when you ‘hail’ Mary, she immediately greets you! Don’t think that she is one of those rude women of whom there are so many—on the contrary, she is utterly courteous and pleasant. If you greet her, she will answer you right away and converse with you!” Saint Bernardine of Siena

“Recite your Rosary with faith, with humility, with confidence, and with perseverance.” Saint Louis de Montfort

“The Rosary is the most beautiful and the most rich in graces of all prayers; it is the prayer that touches most the Heart of the Mother of God…and if you wish peace to reign in your homes, recite the family Rosary.”

Pope Saint Pius X

“Even if you are on the brink of damnation, even if you have one foot in hell, even if you have sold your soul to the devil as sorcerers do who practice black magic, and even if you are a heretic as obstinate as a devil, sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and will save your soul, if—and mark well what I say—if you say the Holy Rosary devoutly every day until death for the purpose of knowing the truth and obtaining contrition and pardon for your sins.” Saint Louis de Montfort

“The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families…that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.” Sister Lucia of Fatima

“How beautiful is the family that recites the Rosary every evening.” Pope John Paul II

“The Rosary is a magnificent and universal prayer for the needs of the Church, the nations and the entire world.”

by Pope John XXIII

“The holy Rosary is a powerful weapon. Use it with confidence and you’ll be amazed at the results.”

by St. Josemaria Escriva

“When lovers are together, they spend hours and hours repeating the same thing: I love you! What is missing in the people who think the Rosary monotonous, is Love.” Sr. Lucia of Fatima

Now and at the Hour of Our Death….

October is the month of the Holy Rosary, and I will be sharing rosary-themed articles, true life experiences and excerpts from my books in the coming weeks. This post (which was originally published on my blog in 2010) shows the grace and peace that comes with Mary’s intercession, especially when one is facing death.

“If you say the Rosary faithfully unto death, I do assure you that, in spite of the gravity of your sins, ‘you will receive a never-fading crown of glory’ (1 St. Peter 5:4).”Saint Louis de Montfort

I am blessed to be the mother of five sons ages 14-26. However, my journey to motherhood has not been an easy one. I have lost seven babies through miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy. When my third son was 10 months old, I became pregnant. We were overjoyed until it became apparent that the baby was in my fallopian tube once again. I nearly died from complications of this ectopic pregnancy.

Below is an excerpt from my first novel, Emily’s Hope, and is based on the true story of my near-death experience, written in the third person. Fortunately, I survived and later gave birth to two more sons.

This excerpt illustrates the powerful intercession of Our Lady, especially when death is whispering in one’s ear:

The pain in her abdomen became more excruciating with every passing moment. She sat on the sofa and dialed the number of the high school. It seemed like an eternity for the line to connect. One, two rings. Please, someone pick up, she silently begged. Hearing the secretary’s voice, Emily could barely speak, but she uttered enough to make it clear that she needed her husband. She dropped the phone and tried to take a deep breath. Feeling an overwhelming need to vomit, she rushed to the bathroom just in time to spill the contents of her stomach. She gripped the cold, hard toilet, as if in some way, it would make her pain bearable. Disoriented, she thought of her baby and quickly glanced at his smiling, inquisitive face, oblivious to his mother’s pain.

I’ve got to stay conscious for my baby, she repeated over and over again in her mind. She moved back to the floor next to the sofa, trying to sit upright with her young child next to her, while drifting in and out of consciousness. Keeping a death grip on him, she woke up as the paramedics were prying her hands off her son and placing her on a stretcher. It all seemed like a dream. She overheard the paramedics talking about what a “little thing” she was.

Too weak to make a sound, she wondered where her young son was. She caught a glimpse of her husband holding him at the back doors of the ambulance.

His right arm cradled their son’s little body, while his left hand clasped his small head to his chest as if to shield and protect him from the turmoil that surrounded them both. But her husband’s face. . .his face was so broken and distraught that Emily felt the anguish of a wife and mother abandoning her family. Tears welled up in her eyes and for a moment, Emily forgot her pain.

Then his eyes caught hers and he realized that she was watching him. Everything changed. His chin lifted as if for courage and penetrated her being with a look of tenderness, of confidence and reassurance. Whatever happens, I will be strong for you and for the sons we both love and for God, who has asked so much of you. He seemed to say all of this with his eyes, all of this and more. As his love reached out to her through the shouts of the paramedics and their frantic procedures, the beeping of machines and the overwhelming wail of the siren, its light already flashing, her terror began to fade and her heart surged within her. Now reassured, she allowed herself to fall back to sleep.

Emily’s eyes opened again this time as the paramedics were inserting an intravenous needle in her arm. Although it felt like they were stabbing her with an ice pick, all she could manage was a wince and a quiet moan. It seemed as if every ounce of energy had been sucked from her being. This is what it feels like to die.

Then she imagined her little boys’ faces, and suddenly the possibility of dying weighed heavy on her heart. Please, God, I can’t die, she silently prayed. I don’t want my little boys growing up without a mother. All at once, a feeling of warmth surrounded her, then she felt at peace. There was no bitterness, only acceptance, a calm that was huge enough to quiet an ocean. She silently recited a Hail Mary. . . .now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Those last words took on powerful meaning with the possibility that this could be her hour. She knew that whatever happened would be God’s will, and she would submit to that, whatever it was.

Drifting into unconsciousness, the last thing she heard was “We’re losing her….”

PS: The “baby” in this excerpt is now 21…

Copyright 2013 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Sunday Snippets – September 29

Image copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

Please join me and other Catholic bloggers at RAnn’s Place for Sunday Snippets, where we share our posts from the previous week and answer a common question. This week’s question: Share a family sacramental memory–the cute thing the kid said, the cake at the party, you in your wedding dress, the family gathered around the baby–anything is fair game as long as it at least sort of involved a sacrament.

I have two favorites: Most recently, when I embarked on a Sacramental Pilgrimage for the Year of Faith…and second, when we traveled to Toronto as a family for World Youth Day 2002 and attended the huge outdoor Mass with John Paul II. I do have photos somewhere, although not digitally. When JP II arrived in a helicopter, my then six-year-old son was so excited that he later drew a picture of the “Pope” arriving (helicopter and all) and asked me to send it to the Pope. A few months later, we were delighted to receive a lovely note back that the Holy Father had read his letter, enjoyed the picture and sent his blessings to our family.

And now for my only actual post this week. My blogging time has been limited as I’ve been focusing on three other projects:

7 Quick Takes Friday – Volume 90

Copyright 2013 Ellen Gable Hrkach

7 Quick Takes Friday – Volume 90

Please join me and other Catholic bloggers at Jen’s Conversion Diary for 7 Quick Takes Friday.

1. A Subtle Grace Progress/Interesting 1907 Photo

I’ve been working diligently implementing edits on my upcoming novel, A Subtle Grace, and I think I’m nearly done. In doing research, I discovered several cool photos from the early 1900′s with so much clarity and detail, I felt like I was there. Below is one of the photos of the Seaside (House) Hotel in Atlantic City (three characters visit this hotel during my novel). To see a super high resolution version, click here.

photo courtesy Shorpy

2. Atlantic City (late 19th Century) Pamphlet

Also in my ongoing research, I found this cool Atlantic City pamphlet from the 1880′s. Fascinating stuff (I love history!) Luxurious rooms at hotels at the time were between four and five dollars. Research for the 21st century author is as easy as sitting at the computer!

3. Don’t You Forget About Me Release Date Coming Soon!

FQ Publishing’s upcoming novel, Don’t You Forget About Me, will be released on November 1st. Check out the novel’s website to see the book trailer, read a synopsis and peruse advanced reviews. Erin McCole Cupp, author, will be doing a blog tour beginning a week or so before and well into November. I’ll be interviewing Erin on November 1st and doing a giveaway of a free print edition and free Kindle edition. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks!

4. Immense Bird Sighting

Not sure I’ve ever seen this before and I don’t think I captured it very well in the photo. As I waited for my son to finish work, I happened to notice an enormous group of birds (perhaps sparrows? Not sure) flying in unison. I’ve seen birds flying together before, but not this many. I probably should have taken a video, but this photo will have to suffice (the darkish area in the middle are the birds…)

copyright Ellen Hrkach

5. Skinny Popcorn

I’ve discovered this wonderful and diet conscious snack. Costco carried it for a short time on a trial basis up here in Canada (and it evidently flew off the shelves), but it’s widely available in the USA and available on Amazon.com. It is the best popcorn I’ve ever tasted and I don’t have to feel guilty eating it because it’s only about 40 calories a bowlful. Here’s the Skinny Popcorn website.

6. Reading Shelf

I’m currently reading two unpublished manuscripts for the CWG Seal of Approval and, while I can’t say the titles, I can say I thoroughly enjoyed the first one and I am equally entertained with the second (reviews will follow, along with the names of the books!)

7. Another One Cartoon

Cartoon copyright James and Ellen Hrkach, Full Quiver Publishing Please do not use without permission

Copyright 2013 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Sunday Snippets – September 21

Image copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

Please join me and other Catholic bloggers at RAnn’s Place as we share posts from the previous week.

This week’s question: “Tell us what you like best about your parish.” One of the things I like best about our parish is that it’s small and intimate.

7 Quick Takes Friday (An inspiring commercial, a new cartoon and a few other tidbits)

Treason by Dena Hunt – Book Review (comment for a chance to win a free copy!!)