The 54-Day Rosary Novena

 

The 54-Day Rosary Novena has long been one of my favorite novenas. I was introduced to my mother and first prayed it in college. I have prayed it many times since then. For those who aren’t familiar with it, you pray the Rosary along with a few accompanying prayers for a special intention for 27 days of petition and 27 days of thanksgiving. I’ve always used the classic little blue book, first published in 1926, to guide me in this prayer. The one in the photograph is my third or fourth copy. As you can see, it has been well-loved.

Our Sunday Visitor has recently published a new version of The 54-Day Rosary Novena, compiled by CatholicMom.com editor Barb Szyszkiewicz. She shares the history of this novena, which dates back to 1884, when the Blessed Mother appeared to Fortuna Agrelli, who encouraged her to pray the 54-day Rosary novena for her physical healing. When she was miraculously cured, devotion to the novena spread.

Szyszkiewicz also emphasizes that the miracle we are praying for might not happen in the way that we hope, despite our many prayers. “Jesus let us know that God will give us what is good for us—but that might not always be what we expect or at the time we expect it.” I can vouch for this. There have been times I have received amazing answers to my intentions that I have prayed the Rosary novena for. Other times, God has been painfully silent. Still, I keep praying.

This book provides prayers to say before each mystery of the Rosary for both the novenas of petition and thanksgiving. Some are the same as my old version of the book; others have been updated. I appreciate that this version has the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary, which my older version does not. It also features lovely illustrations of classic artwork to go with the mysteries. For those new to praying the Rosary or who might need a refresher, there is a How to Pray the Rosary section in the back, along with all the needed prayers.

The 54-Day Rosary Novena is a beautiful book that I am sure I will get much use out of. If you have a special intention to pray for, I highly recommend this novena. 

 

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Creativity in the Age of AI

 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) seems to be everywhere these days. Like the advent of the internet before it, it is revolutionizing how we live, learn, and work. Unlike previous tools, however, it has the capability to create. Yes, anything it makes is based on what it has “learned” from other texts or images, but it can combine them in new ways and bring forth an innovative text or image.

Every day on Facebook, I get ads telling me how I can make easy money using AI to write books. Instead of using freelance writers, many companies are now using AI to create the texts that they need. AI is also being used to create videos, graphic designs, music, images for projects, and to code computer programs. As a creative person, it can be disheartening.

What is the point of creating if a machine can do it just as well (or at least good enough for people’s consumption) and more quickly? What does it mean if no one values my creative work enough to pay for it? These are questions with no easy answers, and I know I am not the only one wrestling with them.

However, creativity is written into our human DNA. We are made in the image and likeness of God, who is the ultimate Creator.  Whether we think of ourselves as creative or not, we create every day. Every act we do and every word we say is an act of creation, either working to build up the kingdom of God or tear it down. God invites each of us to cooperate with and continue the process of creation that He began. We are called to use the gifts He has given us for good.

In his Letter to Artists, St. John Paul II wrote, “Not all are called to be artists in the specific sense of the term. Yet as Genesis has it, all men and women are entrusted with the task of crafting their own life: in a certain sense, they are to make of it a work of art, a masterpiece.” No AI tool can take that God-given gift and responsibility away from us. How we use our creative gifts may look different, but the need to create is still there.

 

A while back, I wrote The Work of Our Hands: The Universal Gift of Creativity, a thirty-one-day devotional on the importance of creativity to human life and the many shapes creative gifts can take. In it, I wrote, “There are over seven billion people in this world. It is easy to feel insignificant in the face of that knowledge. Yet, each one of us has a part to play in God’s magnificent symphony of life. We each have a note that only we can hit. Our creativity and contribution are needed to make the world complete. The right use of our creativity is one of our gifts back to God.” Even in the age of AI, that still holds true.

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The Patron Saint Quilt Coloring Book: Featuring 22 Holy Women 

Many years ago, when my daughter was young, I had made a patron saint quilt for her, creating quilt blocks in honor of several female saints. I shared those quilt patterns on https://patronsaintquilts.blogspot.com for anyone who might want to use them, shared the finished product, and then moved on to other projects.

 

The Original Patron Saint Quilt

A couple of months ago, I saw an ad on Facebook encouraging people to use AI to make coloring books to make easy money. A lot about that ad made me sigh, but I was intrigued about the idea of making a coloring book. I thought about these old patron saint quilt patterns. Could I make a coloring book out of them (without using AI) so that people could learn about these saints and appreciate the symbols used to represent them, even if they weren’t quilters? It turned out I could!

I had fun putting this coloring book together, which combines my love of saints and quilting. I hope both children and adults will enjoy coloring these unique quilt designs in honor of the Blessed Mother, St. Anne, St. Barbara, St. Bernadette, St. Brigid, St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Clare, St. Elizabeth, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Faustina, St. Gianna, St. Kateri, St. Margaret Mary, St. Maria Goretti, St. Mary Magdalene, St. Monica, St. Rita, St. Rose, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and St. Zélie. Each two-page spread includes a short biography of the saint in addition to the quilt designs.

I’m sharing a PDF download of the coloring sheets for the Blessed Mother for free: http://bit.ly/3UWRUdn

 

 

The physical coloring book is available for $9.99 on Amazon. A digital download may be purchased for $5 through Teachers Pay Teachers. For those who purchase the coloring book in either form, I give permission to reproduce the pages for home or classroom use.