How you know me:
I am currently a student-athlete at Illinois State University, and I’m from St. Mary’s Parish in Metamora, IL.I am involved at the St. John Paul II Catholic Newman Center at ISU. I recently returned from a mission trip to inner city Miami, Florida, with a group organized by the Religious Community of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Some of my book selections are inspired by a vigil held during that mission trip on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart and the Feast of the Immaculate Heart.
Why I love reading:
I love reading because reading seems to be the Lord’s window of words He uses to speak to our hearts. His Love can be received and matured in our hearts through reading His divine words written obediently by the hands of his servants. What a beautiful gift! In a particular way, the following books often place me humbly with St. Therese in the School of Love for the Heart of Jesus through the Heart of Mary.
What I’m reading now:
“For you I descended from heaven to earth; for you I allowed myself to be nailed to the cross; for you I let my Sacred Heart be pierced with a lance, thus opening wide the source of mercy for you. Come, then, with trust to draw graces from this fountain. I never reject a contrite heart. Your misery has disappeared in the depths of My mercy” (Diary, 1485).
My favorite book:
While I have many favorite books, The Story of a Soul, which is the autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux, would certainly be one of my favorites. St. Therese performed no extraordinary acts. Rather, she lived a life of humility, confident abandonment, and sacrificial love, walking with her Beloved Spouse each day as a pure flower in God’s garden of love. She offered her life as a victim of holocaust to God’s merciful love, uniting her sufferings joyfully with His to save souls all through His abundant mercy and grace. Her little way of love, living simply yet also in a very profound way, as love in the heart of the Church shows the deep beauty of her simple heart and creates a most beautiful story of a soul.
“Jesus, my Love, I have at last found my vocation; it is love! I have found my place in the Church’s heart, the place You Yourself have given me, my God. Yes, there in the heart of the Mother Church I will be love!”
I also very much enjoy reading the various writings of St. John Paul II and Mother Adela Galindo, foundress of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary as well as True Devotion to Mary: with Preparation for Total Consecration (Tan Classics)
“Love in essence is always seeking to be given away…Freedom of the heart is the capacity to love, to give ourselves unconditionally and totally, without reserve.” (Mother Adela, Foundress, SCTJM)
“Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” St. John Paul II
Note from Nancy: I’ve known Molly since she was a baby, so this is a very important “Meet a Reader.” I’ve seen her grow into a lovely young woman, filled with grace. She hasn’t just been a family friend or a terrific babysitter when my children were younger, but a true friend in Christ.
I also know one of the reasons she chose “The Story of a Soul” for her favorite book–her confirmation saint is St. Therese, and I learned that when my 13-year-old daughter chose both St. Therese as her confirmation saint and Molly as her sponsor.