|
R e v i e w
|
This Rock
Volume 15, Number 10
 December 2004 
|
|
|
Mother Tales
It would be logical to assume that this latest installment in Ascension’s Amazing Grace anthology series would have made for a more appropriate release in May, being an ideal Mother’s Day gift. That the book is initially made available in September of this year, though, is not wholly inappropriate. September is the month in which Catholics traditionally observe the birthday of our Lord’s Mother, and the Blessed Virgin is represented in other feast days throughout the month. It is the frequent mention of Mary by the many contributors to this book that sets Amazing Grace apart from its Chicken Soup and Chocolate for the Soul counterparts. Amazing Grace for Mothers, like other books in this series, is a welcome inspirational that, while strong in its Catholicity, provides inspiration to readers of any Christian sect.
While mothers are the focus of this Amazing Grace volume, not all contributors are mothers. Indeed, many are husbands, sons, daughters, and people writing about mothers who are more spiritually, if not biologically, theirs. Browsing through the first section of the book will yield a familiar sermon, one perhaps heard during a Mother’s Day Mass, by Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty called "The Mother." Though his words do not immediately lead off Amazing Grace for Mothers, his brief treatise sets the tone for the rest of the volume. "The most important person on earth is a mother," Mindszenty wrote. "Mothers are closer to God the Creator than any other creature." The other one hundred tales in this book stand testament to this.
Amazing Grace for Mothers is divided into sections suited to a mother’s best attributes—her strength, her love, her wisdom, her prayers, her blessings, her epiphanies, and her humor. It is a book that does not necessarily need to be read front to back; as with any Christian devotional, the reader may skip to a particular anecdote suited to one’s mood.
Being an expectant mother as of this writing, I find some comfort in this, as some stories in this volume were difficult to read. "The Strength to Trust Again" by Madonna Silvernagel, who lost two daughters in their infancy, is especially heart-rending and still prompts worry and "what ifs," and yet Silvernagel’s determination to move forward in faith with the knowledge that her children are at peace makes the spirit soar. "My Angel, Brianne" retells the tragic loss of a teenage daughter and the strength her mother found in Brianne’s memory and through those willing to keep it alive.
Angilee Wallis’s "The Most Beautiful Word," the story of a steadfast, years-long vigil by a comatose son’s side, beautifully illustrates a mother’s devotion. LaChita Calloway’s "A Modern Day Monica" relates a mother’s prayerful determination to see her child return to a straight and sober path. "Total Sacrifice" by Joe Cunningham dramatizes the ultimate sacrifice a mother can give to her child: that of the child’s life at the risk of her own death. In this case, the mother was St. Gianna Beretta Molla, whose refusal to terminate a pregnancy in order to preserve her own life exemplifies the willing nature of a mother.
Not every story in Amazing Grace ends on a sad note, though there are no guarantees that the stories of maternal miracles and light-hearted anecdotes will not inspire a few tears. Christine Trollinger’s "Please Hold Him for Me" begins with every mother’s nightmare—a late-night phone call about a child in an accident—and ends with an answered prayer: a divine healing that baffled family and physicians. Brian J. Gail reintroduces us to St. Gianna in "Miracles Can Happen," where he attributes the saint’s intercession to the successful delivery of his grandchild following medical complications. Theresa Thomas’s "Ten Minutes" touches upon a mother’s aggravation and acquiescence and its part in preventing a tragedy.
The fifth chapter, A Mother’s Lighter Side, provides the necessary balance of humor against the heartfelt contributions. Supported strongly by contributions from co-editor Patti Armstrong and contributor Debbie Farmer, the reader will find here observations any mother can relate to, from one woman’s vision of a realistic "Mommy" Barbie doll to simple truths uttered from the mouths of babes. One anonymously authored selection, "Baby Gauge," evokes the spirit of Internet chain humor letters that have stuffed many a virtual mailbox ("First Child: You practice your breathing religiously; Second Child: You don’t bother practicing because you remember last time—breathing didn’t do a thing; Third Child: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.")
Amazing Grace for Mothers showcases through such humor and warmth the many facets of a mother. It is a book for any mother of faith, suitable for any time of year. As Cardinal Mindszenty observed that a mother is capable of building a "dwelling place for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby’s body," so this book makes for a perfect tribute.
—Kathryn Lively
Amazing Grace for Mothers: 101 Stories of Faith, Hope, Inspiration, and Humor
By Emily Cavins and Patti Armstrong, with Jeff Cavins and Matthew Pinto
Ascension Press
360 pages
$12.99
ISBN: 1932645268
|
