Fr. Benedict Groeschel and me on "Sunday Night Prime"

Review of my book in the National Catholic Register

Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle was raising a family 20 years ago when she unexpectedly met Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

Over the next 10 years, not only did the correspondence she began with the saintly nun grow into friendship, but Cooper O’Boyle’s life was changed by her exposure to the foundress of the Missionaries of Charity. She became a writer, speaker, blogger and a lay Missionary of Charity.

Although to claim friendship with Mother Teresa could be seen as boasting, Cooper O’Boyle manages to relate her story in a spirit of humility, keeping the focus on Mother Teresa’s words and wisdom.

In fact, she writes, she initially kept her correspondence with Mother Teresa quiet for fear of succumbing to pride and because she thought people might not understand.

Cooper O’Boyle had her first personal encounter with Mother Teresa while in Washington. A priest suggested that her family visit the terminally ill residents of Gift of Peace House, part of a Missionaries of Charity convent, and while there, they were invited to Mass at the sisters’ chapel.
Cooper O’Boyle was pleased to discover that Mother Teresa was present at the Mass she attended. Not only that, she hugged her 6-year-old daughter and approached her 2-year-old daughter, asking, “Is this the baby who was singing at Mass?”

Cooper O’Boyle decided to send Mother a thank-you note and was amazed to receive a reply a few weeks later. “More than her words, it was the realization that Mother Teresa had taken the time to respond to a suburban mom in America that moved me so deeply,” Cooper O’Boyle recalls in her book. The letter would be the first of 22 over the next decade. Some are reprinted in the book.

Mother Teresa’s letters always seemed to contain just what Cooper O’Boyle needed to hear. On one occasion, when the author was in desperate need of prayer and guidance for a problem she does not disclose, she was able to speak with Mother by phone.

Hearing and receiving counsel regularly from a woman who would be beatified after her death saw Cooper O’Boyle through many difficulties, including two high-risk pregnancies. During one, she was required to rest, which gave her time to begin writing about motherhood. She later shared her manuscripts with Mother Teresa, who read them and urged her to continue writing.

If there is a flaw in the book, it is that we only know Mother Teresa’s side of the friendship from her letters, which often sound as if they could have been written to almost anyone.

But overall, Mother Teresa and Me tells the story of this relationship very nicely, weaving in details from her life and lessons she learned from Mother Teresa. The photos showing Mother with the author’s children complement the text beautifully.

Judy Roberts writes
from Graytown, Ohio.

[While I feel the review is not entirely accurate, I am thankful for the writer's efforts and especially thankful that the National Catholic Register published a review of my book. You may order an autographed copy of my book through my website: www.donnacooperoboyle.com]

My interview on Christopher Closeup on Mother's Day!

My “Christopher Closeup” interview is scheduled to run on Mother’s Day, May 9th at 7:00 am and 7:30 pm Eastern on Sirius-XM’s The Catholic Channel (Sirius Channel 159 / XM Channel 117). It will also run on the Relevant Radio network at 2:30 pm Eastern/1:30 pm Central. A podcast of the interview will be available on The Christophers web site the following day. I just heard that they will try to make the podcast available on Mother's Day for those who don't have Sirius Radio.

In this interview you'll hear about my book Mother Teresa and Me: Ten Years of Friendship, my personal relationship with Mother Teresa and more. I hope you can tune in.

God bless!
Donna-Marie

Interview with Zenit

Mother Teresa Shows Families How to Be Holy


Interview With Author Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle


By Genevieve Pollock

NEW YORK, MARCH 18, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Mother Teresa encouraged working with the poor not only in the slums of India, but primarily in our own families, says the author of a new book about the nun.

Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle is the author of the recently published "Mother Teresa and Me: Ten Years of Friendship."

She spoke with ZENIT about her experiences with Mother Teresa, now recognized as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, and the ways in which the nun taught the Missionaries of Charity, the congregation she founded, and others to love Christ in the poor.

Mother Teresa encouraged O'Boyle, a wife and mother, to live her vocation well and to help other families thrive. Over the years, the author has also written other books with this goal, including "The Heart of Motherhood: Finding Holiness in the Catholic Home," "The Domestic Church: Room By Room," and "Grace Cafe: Serving Up Recipes for Faithful Mothering."

As well, she is a host for Eternal Word Television Network, and will soon be premiering a new series, "Everyday Blessings for Catholic Moms."

O'Boyle has written for several newspapers and magazines, and maintains various personal blogs, including a new saints' Web site for youth.

In this interview with ZENIT, she spoke about the holiness of Mother Teresa, and the ways in which her teachings can be implemented in families today.

ZENIT: In one point in your book, you talk about Mother Teresa's unshakeable faith coupled with a feisty attitude; in another part you mention that she was called extraordinarily ordinary. Yet you also say that you have no doubt about Mother Teresa's eventual canonization. What makes you so certain? How does the normality of your relationship affect your belief that she is a saint?

O'Boyle: My relationship with Mother Teresa was certainly normal but I feel that it was extraordinary as well because I never had a doubt that I was visiting and corresponding with a living saint.

I saw great holiness in everything about Mother Teresa -- in her speech, her posture, her demeanor, the "glow' about her that radiated Christ's love, peace, and joy.

I knew that she truly lived the Gospel of Matthew: "Whatever you do to the least of these that are in my family, you do to me."

She lived her life, her every moment to satiate the thirst of Christ for souls... Continued here

Circle Press is offering discounts on two of my books for Lent!

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Mother Teresa and Me or Grace Cafe
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TWO MOTHERS IN LOVE WITH THEIR LORD

Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle will never forget the first time she laid eyes on Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Hunched over, frail, shorter than one of Donna's own children, the aging servant of the poorest of the poor cut an unassuming figure awaiting the start of Mass with her Missionary of Charity sisters. They would speak briefly after the liturgy (Mother Teresa wanted to meet the mother of such reverent, grace-filled children) and then spend the next ten years intermittently sharing hopes, dreams, and prayers through the mail and in face-to-face conversations. With Mother Teresa and Me, Donna-Marie invites you to step inside her deeply personal experiences with one of the greatest souls of modern times. Take her up on the offer and don't be surprised if you, too, find your heart blessed and your soul inspired by the diminutive nun who left an enormous impression on Donna-Marie... and on the whole world.

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MOTHER TERESA AND ME
Ten Years of Friendship
Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle
192 pages
$14.95


THIS LENT, COOK UP A MOTHERLY MASTERPIECE...
Ever wish you had a cookbook for life as a Catholic wife and mother... a step-by-step guide for various "domestic church" situations? Consider your prayers answered. The recipe theme may be lighthearted, but there's real nourishment to be had here too. Inspiriting entrees - practical ways Catholic women can live out their familial vocations - are seasoned with simple suggestions for answering Christ's universal call to holiness.


A special section of lovely poems and prayers end the book on a note of warmth that will lift hearts beyond the kitchen and up toward heaven.

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GRACE CAFE
Serving Up Recipe for Faithful Mothering
Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle
236 pages
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Boston Pilot article today about my recent conference

[Photo caption: A sell-out crowd of nearly 2,000 pack the Cathedral of the Holy Cross for the 2010 Boston Catholic Women’s Conference. The day-long event featured adoration, confession and inspirational Catholic speakers. Pilot photo/ George Martell, The Catholic Foundation]

SOUTH END -- A sellout crowd of women, estimated at about 2,000, from parishes across the Archdiocese of Boston gathered for spiritual renewal and solidarity at the 5th annual Boston Catholic Women’s Conference at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross Feb. 27.

“It’s nice to see 2,000 women who are on the same page -- from all different nations and all different nationalities,” said Claire Nicholson, a parishioner of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Sudbury who has attended all but one of the conferences to date. “It’s a great day.”

Annamarie Monks, a parishioner at St. Mary Parish in Mansfield, attended her first conference this year.

“It was very uplifting,” she said. “I felt a lot of joy.”

Monks recalled her father who recently passed away. She said he was a staunch Catholic whose faith inspired him to be active in the 1960s civil rights movement.

“I feel like I was honoring him too by being here today,” she said.

The all-day event included four speakers, confession, adoration, praise and worship music, a chance to meet with exhibitors in the adjacent Cathedral High School gymnasium, and Mass with Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley.

Saturday’s first speaker was Leah Darrow, a former participant in the television show “America’s Next Top Model,” who spoke of her Catholic upbringing, modeling career, and return to Christ.

Darrow was followed by Patti Mansfield, a Catholic author who has also participated in Catholic Charismatic Renewal, who spoke about the role of Mary in the lives of today’s Catholic women.

After lunch, noted Catholic author Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle spoke to participants about how they can share their faith with others, using the example of Mother Teresa.

The speakers’ portion of the program was rounded out by Sister Olga Yaqob, an archdiocesan hermit and chaplain at Boston University, who spoke of her journey from Iraq to becoming a nun in the United States.

Saturday’s program concluded with a 4:00 p.m. Mass.

“The conference provides an opportunity for women all over the archdiocese to come together in a community of women and be nurtured in their faith and grow closer to God and one another,” said Jennifer Schiller, a member of the conference’s leadership team and master of ceremonies for each of its five years of existence.

This year’s theme was taken from Phillipians 4:13; “I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me.”

Schiller said that the theme was appropriate this year because of the challenging economic and cultural times that mark today’s society. She said St. Paul wrote those words while in a Roman prison.

The article in the Catholic Pilot newspaper is continued here.

Cathoic TV covering my talk at the Boston Catholic Women's Conference

Catholic TV will cover my talk at the Boston Catholic Women's Conference coming up this Saturday in Boston. You can check out the details here.

Boston Women's Conference

You can see a short You Tube clip to the upcoming Boston Women's and Men Conferences here. I hope I might see you there!

"Mother Teresa and Me" interview with Al Kresta

You can see the the recent interview with Al Kresta and me here.

Watch live video from Kresta In The Afternoon's channel on Justin.tv

"All in this book is a MUST read:" Review of "Mother Teresa and Me"

"Donna-Marie is up there as one of my favorite Catholic authors..I have all but 1 (or 2) of her books..She is a superb author..So when I saw that her new book "Mother Teresa and Me" was on the list for review, I didn't hesitate to pick it..

I enjoyed the endorsements & the Foreword by Teresa Tomeo, but I couldn't wait to start reading the book itself..From the moment I started reading the book, I was filled by a warmth that you get when your sitting or chatting with an old friend..Ms. Cooper O'Boyle's way of describing her friendship with Blessed Mother Teresa is so sincere, loving & respectful in every way possible..

I love the typed letters at the beginning of each chapter from Blessed Teresa..How she took the time to convey her wisdom to Ms. Cooper O'Boyle..It's like a loving mother offering advice to her own child..And the pictures of Blessed Teresa with Ms. Cooper O'Boyle's children to me represented a loving grandmother, who gushes over her grandchildren..

As I got further into the book, the warmth & love continued on in my heart..It was like Blessed Mother Teresa was speaking directly to me..This was no ordinary woman..She was extraordinary..

The personal stories that Ms. Cooper O'Boyle wrote in this book are inspiring also..Especially the story of her & her daughter being in a car accident & the forgiveness of the teenage driver..That was amazing..All of the stories in this book are incredible..You will absolutely be in awe..

There were two things that I really liked in this book..The "Take Time" saying & personal reflection that Ms. Cooper O'Boyle gives is a reminder to all of us to take time in our lives to think, pray, laugh, play, love & be loved, give, read, be friendly, work & do charity..Ms. Cooper O'Boyle goes into detail on these in Ch. 13 called "Take Time"..And the Express Novena..Blessed Mother Teresa called saying "The Memorare" nine times in a row an Express Novena..And there is an example in the book of how it worked for her..

All in all this book is a MUST read..I learned a lot about Blessed Mother Teresa, & how Ms. Cooper O'Boyle had the most interesting & blessed friendship with her..Ms. Cooper O'Boyle also talks about the late Fr. John Hardon..

I take away from this book life lessons..Like how to see Jesus in every person..To love the poor, and to be a light in the world..I also am thinking of joining the lay Missionary of Charity movement..You too will also be transformed by this wonderful book..I highly recommend it..

This review was written as part of the Catholic book Reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Mother Teresa and Me."
__________________________
Thank you very much, Carmela for your kind words in your beautiful review. May God bless you and your family in great abundance and may dear Mother Teresa watch over you!

Visit Carmela at her blog here.

Al Kresta And Me Speaking About "Mother Teresa and Me"

I hope you can join Al Kresta and me tomorrow (Tuesday) at 5:30 PM to 6:00 PM Eastern time. We will be chatting LIVE on Ave Maria Radio aired through EWTN and all of its affiliates and through Sirius Radio. We will be chatting about my book: Mother Teresa and Me: Ten years of Friendship and of course, my friendship with Blessed Mother Teresa. I am honored to be Al's guest again. He has a great inspirational show every afternoon called "Kresta in the Afternoon" where he "talks about things that matter most." I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to Al's show and also being a guest on Al's show both in person LIVE at events I have attended around the country and over the phone LIVE as well.

The latest news on the "blogfront" is the new webcam on Al's blog. You can watch the webcam during our interview! You can join us by tuning into Kresta In The Afternoon.blogspot.com

See you tomorrow!

God bless and hugs,

Donna-Marie

Lessons from Mother Teresa

Lessons from Mother Teresa
Taking One’s Faith ‘Out in the Streets’
By Alice Tessier

In this season of extending one’s hand in an expression of good will and sharing
with those we hold most dear, a New Milford author brings the message that this
is, at heart, what we have to offer anyone and what the impoverished of life’s circumstances, or of spirit, most need. Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle, in her new book, “Mother Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle in her new book, “Mother Teresa and Me: Ten Years of Friendship,” shares lessons of personal action as well as spiritual growth she learned from a stellar guide, the Roman Catholic nun who forced the world to recognize its neglect of the poor and to do something about it. Mother Teresa, who was born in Macedonia of Albanian descent and entered the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish religious order that had missions in India, became a catalyst for change through the immediacy of her ministrations to the most
wretched populations in the slums of Calcutta and then beyond. The results the
author cites in her book are staggering: “…this humble but feisty and persistent
woman established 610 foundations in 123 countries on every continent with nearly
4,000 sisters by the time of her death (in 1997, at age 87].

“She also established the Missionaries of Charity brothers, fathers, coworkers,
coworkers of the sick and suffering, and the lay Missionaries of Charity,” Ms.
Cooper O’Boyle stated, noting that she herself is a lay member. “One woman’s ‘yes’ was the catalyst for change,” the author said. “She made a profound impact in the world, but she said of herself, ‘I’m just a stubby little pencil in His [God’s] hand.” Although the suburban mother, who is dedicated to living her faith through her everyday life, has not traveled the world to minister to the needs of the impoverished, she said she understands the greater lesson to be learned from the example of Blessed Mother Teresa, who has been beatified by the Catholic Church. “Calcutta is all over the world for those who are willing to see it,” she said in an interview last week. “We are to love people in our midst—our homes, workplaces, communities—the need is there.” Ms. Cooper O’Boyle strives to help those within her reach—which is now a broad reach indeed—through her books, columns, blog and other writings; speaking engagements at retreats and other venues; and her television appearances, on the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN). And even more directly, welcoming personal exchanges. The author, in her new book, tells of how...(Continued here.)

(The online and print version of this article had a mistake about my website address, stating that it was www.dmcooperoboyle.com when it is really www.donnacooperoboyle.com . I mention this so that people doing a search or using the wrong address will be redirected here and then eventually find my website.)

Mother Teresa and the Poor in Our Midst

"What struck me the most about Mother Teresa when I saw her for the first time was her diminutive size. There stood the world renowned peacemaker, lover of the world’s poor and a Nobel Peace Prize recipient — a giant — but in the body of someone not much taller than my young daughter!

I first caught sight of Blessed Teresa in the flesh a little more than twenty years ago in the Missionary of Charity convent chapel as she came in for daily Mass. I had been visiting..." (Continued at Catholic Exchange today)

Radio in the morning: join us!

Join me tomorrow (Friday) on Sacred Heart Radio with Brian Patrick. I'll be chatting with him at 8:50 AM Eastern time. You can tune in here. Just click on the "listen online" button at the top of the page.

We'll be talking about my new book: Mother Teresa and Me: Ten Years of Friendship.

Talk to you soon!

God bless!

Donna-Marie

You can win my new book!

Go on over to Faith & Family Live to see how you can win a copy of my newest book: Mother Teresa and Me: Ten Years of Friendship by clicking here.

Also, very soon the podcast will be posted of Lisa Hendey interviewing me today about the book. Stay tuned or keep checking the Faith & Family website (link above) for the podcast.

I hope you win a book! Go over and take a look to see how you can win. It's very easy but the deadline is fast approaching.

Autographed copies of my new book are still available from my website: www.donnacooperoboyle.com and I will be including a Miraculous medal blessed by Pope Benedict while I was in Rome recently while supplies last. I am doing my very best to fill all orders and get them right out so you may have them in time for Christmas, God willing!

God bless and hugs!

Donna-Marie

Here it is!

Are you ready?

Here's the new front cover image of my Mother Teresa book due to be released shortly.

Radio interviews about my Mother Teresa book: Mother Teresa and Me: Ten Years of Friendship

If you have a little time to listen in, here are two interviews about my Mother Teresa book coming out in November...

Here's a link to my interview on a "Morning Air" segment in which I spoke all about my new Mother Teresa book coming out very soon! Just click here to listen!

In case you didn't get a chance to tune in to my recent segment with my dear friend, Teresa Tomeo on our "Mom's Corner" segment, you can listen right now. Just grab a drink, pull up a chair and click here! Teresa and I were chatting about my friendship with Blessed Mother Teresa and my new book about her.

Among Women Podcast about "Mother Teresa and Me"

If you'd care to listen to the "Among Women" podcast by the very talented and gracious, Pat Gohn, please click here. Pat recently interviewed me about my friendship with Blessed Mother Teresa and about my new book about to be released: Mother Teresa and Me: Ten Years of Friendship. You'll also hear Mother Teresa's beutiful inspiring voice!

Visit Pat at her blog here.

Mother Teresa and Me

Check out an article about my friendship with Mother Teresa by clicking here.

Book contest!

I'm having a book contest. Check it out here.