By Kelly Wahlquist
And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” ~ Luke 1:26-38
It’s fun to look back and see how many times random dots seem to connect as if perfectly choreographed. Sometimes it is a relationship that begins at just the right moment. Sometimes, two or three events beautifully complement one another. And, sometimes (actually, many times, for WINE), it is a date on the calendar that offers confirmation that our laboring in the vineyard is on the right course.
Ironically, though not to God, WINE milestone dates almost always align with a date special to Mary. This coincidence should not be a surprise to us, as WINE takes its inspiration from the Blessed Mother’s final words to us in Sacred Scripture, “Do whatever He tells you.” But, alas, we still find ourselves in awe when it happens.
In February 2014, WINE applied to become a non-profit, and then we prayed and waited to hear back from Uncle Sam for what seemed like an eternity. Ah, but God does have impeccable timing! On December 12, 2014, WINE: Women In the New Evangelization officially became the non-profit ministry. Confirmation! Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patroness of the New Evangelization, gave us a wink to let us know we were on the right path. This Sunday, WINE will celebrate our seventh anniversary!
It’s always great to share a date with Mary, and our latest endeavor (creating and publishing the children’s book The Mother of Jesus is Wonderfully Real) was riddled with them—an initial conversation on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, a manuscript due date of the Immaculate Conception (which got changed to the Feast of Mary, Mother of God), a launch of the book on the Feast of the Annunciation (which due to a pandemic got switched to the Presentation of Mary.) We unveiled the book on the Feast of the Assumption at “A Tale of Two Vineyards.” But in a weird twist of events, the book didn’t arrive on the Presentation of Mary, but rather on the day another beautiful soul was presented to our world—the birthday of the author, Fr. Paul Murray, O.P. And, Mary winked.
If you haven’t had the chance to see this absolutely gorgeous book, which springs forth from a true story (and a lot of intervention from the Blessed Mother), take a moment right to get to know that the Mother of Jesus is Wonderfully Real.
Prayer:
Immaculate Mary… Pray for us!
Call to Action:
Take a minute to learn more about this exquisite new book from WINE ministry that guides young people (and the young at heart) to embrace the beautiful reality that Mary, the Mother of Jesus is as Wonderfully Real as “apple pie and pink flamingos!”
Order today! “Wonderfully Real” makes a perfect Christmas Gift for the little ones in your life!
© 2021 WINE — All Rights Reserved
I ordered the book, it arrived yesterday, and I couldn’t put it down. Honestly, it is simply stunning. The illustrations are as beautiful as the message. This is a treasure!
Thank you Pam!
Love this Kelly! What a joy to work with you in the vineyard!
The book is a labor of love – and we are so happy to offer it to all of you!