Winter 2015

Our days are filled with–and sometimes ruled by—the “Yes” we give to others.  In her new book, The Grace of Yes: Eight Virtues for Generous Living, author Lisa Hendey explores how our lives could change if we were as generous with our “Yes” to God.  How would our lives look if we open-heartedly followed God’s will instead of our own, if we silenced ourselves long enough to listen to what God has planned for us and then answered with a hearty “Yes”?

The eight virtues Hendey considers are the grace of belief, generativity (and yes, she explains what that means), creativity, integrity, humility, vulnerability, no (sometimes “no” is the right response), and rebirth.  Hendey writes with such honesty and vulnerability as she uses examples of the effect of God’s grace in her own life experiences and those of her family and friends that readers of all ages and walks of life are bound to find the book to be extremely approachable and relatable—as well as highly readable.

Each chapter ends with questions “To Ponder” how each grace has worked—or needs to work—in our own lives, as well as a prayer to remind us that these graces are not something that we “do” on our own, but are gifts from God.  And all we need to do is to say, “Yes!”

If you’re unfamiliar with Lisa Hendey, you might want to check out her website, CatholicMom.com.  Lisa began the site in the early days of new media and has continued to develop this wonderful resource that has become one of the most popular Catholic websites on the Internet.  She has authored a series of Catholic Mom books: The Handbook for Catholic Moms, The Book of Saints for Catholic Moms, and Small Steps for Catholic Moms.  Also, A Catholic Mother’s Companion to Pregnancy, The Catholic Baby Name Book, and Imitating Mary: Ten Marian Virtues for the Modern Mom.  Lisa has her own website at LisaHendey.com, is a popular speaker, mother of two—although an empty nester—and frequent guest on numerous Catholic podcasts and television programs.

The Grace of Yes is available for purchase or special order through St. Patrick Book & Gift from now until March 31.  Begin the New Year by committing your heart to saying 'Yes" to God and then to open your eyes to see the changes that it will make in your relationship to your family, your friends, and most especially to the God who loves each of us more than we can know.