Why I wrote these books:

"The Saving Power of Suffering": As a parish priest for years, I often encounter parishioners and others who are in grave need of help in their strife. They don't know how to think about their issues, what steps to take to heal from their wounds, how to understand a God who allows such suffering... However, the Catholic Church is filled with writings and teachings that explain how suffering is something of great value if we accept it as our cross and offer it to the Father through the sufferings of Christ, then these sufferings become the very source of our holiness. Because I am incapable of giving so much information in the few minutes a parishioner opens-up to me , I wanted a resource to give them. I wanted to be able to offer them something that starts at the beginning and helps shape their perspective. I wanted to be able to give them something that also helps give practical steps to take to begin using their sufferings for the sake of growth, healing and spiritual advancement.

"Praying with our Sorrowful Mother": This was written as an extension to a chapter I wrote in "The Saving Power of Suffering". I rewrote that chapter with more content and a little different perspective to aid those who desire to grow in this wonderful devotion. It is such a treasure. I have always gravitated to our Lady. She is so important to me and for my spiritual well-being. Any efficacy I have as a priest is certainly due to her. I read through a very well-written book about this devotion. Since I had begun, I used her seven sorrows as the material for my mental prayer. I basically meditated on nothing else for over a year or much longer. I also began noticing others gravitate toward this devotion as if the Holy Spirit was moving the Church in this direction. Therefore, it seemed to be a perfect time to open up the sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary for others. Although many others do this far better than I, my meditations aided my efforts and provided for a very natural outpouring of the words of this book. All glory to God and hyper-veneration to the Blessed Virgin, my much loved mother. 

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