Announcing… The Glorious Mysteries!

It’s my birthday! (No, really, it is! I’m turning 30 today!) And so… it’s time to party! With… my new book, The Glorious Mysteries!

Yes! It’s finally done now! This is what the cover looks like:

Isn’t it pretty?!

I cannot tell you how wonderful it is, going from collecting and working with art of the Passion for my Sorrowful Mysteries book to going to the Glorious Mysteries. The Sorrowful Mysteries, in fact, was the toughest book that I made. Looking at image after image of Christ being brutally tortured to death is tough for anyone with half a heart. Yet, then there’s the Resurrection! And with the Resurrection, suddenly there is Hope.

Because it’s one thing to say Christ has destroyed death. But, it’s another thing to delve deeply into the Sorrowful Mysteries, where the enormity of the Passion just hits you in the face… and then to suddenly plunge into the Glorious Mysteries. It frees up your soul! Death has been destroyed! See? There is Christ stepping triumphantly out of the tomb! And in another image, He flies out! And there He is, ascending up to Heaven! And there the disciples are, receiving the Holy Spirit and proclaiming the glory of God! And then there’s Mary entering Heaven and receiving her crown!!!

St. John Paul II once said, “We are an Easter People, and Alleluia is our song!” And everytime we pray the Glorious Mysteries, we sing this song!

I’ve already featured a bunch of artworks that are in my new book, The Glorious Mysteries! For instance, this image of the Resurrection. And this one. And this one. Did I mention this one? How about this one?

…okay, okay… I’ll stop now. (Though, basically, every picture of the Resurrection and Ascension and Pentecost so far is basically in my book!)

But it’s different looking at just the pictures online and seeing how the pictures look in the book. Because I don’t just slap the pictures inside a book and call it done… I’ve designed it to be really pretty and designed more like my wedding album. So, the background of each prayer is black and white with a super enlarged picture of a detail of the painting. And then, on this, the artwork is placed in all its glory, accompanied by the prayer of the Rosary.

Here’s some screenshots of some of the pages so you can see what I mean…  and please note that the white lines are just formatting things that you won’t notice in the actual book!

It starts off with the introductory prayers of the Rosary. Basically, the Sign of the Cross, the Apostles’ Creed, the Our Father, three Hail Marys, and the Glory Be. Still! Each prayer is illustrated with gorgeous artwork featuring Christ triumphing over death. Sometimes, there are pictures of Christ triumphing over death, His foot crushing a serpent. Sometimes there are pictures of Christ leading the just souls out of hell and into Heaven. In either case, the pictures are truly gorgeous.

Here’s a look at the last prayer of the introductory prayers!

After the introductory prayers, the mysteries of the Rosary begin!

Every mystery of the Rosary first starts off with relevant scripture readings to the mystery! Here is the beginning of the third glorious mystery, The Descent of the Holy Spirit! (And yes, I realize that my previews are out of order… everything is in order in the book, promise. 😉 )

Each scripture reading is followed by the prayers prayed in each decade of the Rosary. So, it starts off with the Lord’s Prayer…

Then come the Hail Mary prayers! Every chapter has ten of them.

Here’s an excerpt from the Resurrection chapter…

…and an excerpt from the Assumption chapter!

Finally, every chapter ends with the Glory Be and Fatima prayers. Here is what the last pages of the Coronation of Mary looks like:

And, after the final mystery, the Rosary finally ends with the concluding prayers:

See what I mean? It’s really pretty!

The book is rather large… the pages are 8 inches long and 10 inches tall, so the pictures are big and clear. And it’s basically a gorgeous book to have, especially if looking at religious art helps you focus devoutly on the Rosary! Which, honestly, is what I need and why I made these books in the first place… I reeeeeeally need to be able to look at something and focus on it, otherwise my mind wanders.

Anyway! I’ll be releasing the hardcover on the first anniversary of this website… July 10, 2018!

Right now, it’s available on pre-order on Amazon and Barnes and Noble! So you can reserve yours today. 🙂

Anyway, thank you so much for your patience and your support! I have to admit… juggling a newborn and two toddlers and trying to make this book is… difficult, to be completely honest. This has truly been a labor of love and I wouldn’t have made it without lots of people’s support… most notably from my husband and immediate family, and also my parish family whom I have gotten to know and love in this past year.

But also, if you’ve read this far, I really appreciate your support too. Writing books can be a lonely endeavor, yet I am so grateful that I have people who are willing to stick with me. You are all in my prayers!

So thank you and God bless!