Book Reviews and More: Our Life, Our Sweetness, and Our Hope! - Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle

Our Life, Our Sweetness, and Our Hope!

Jubilee Pilgrims of Hope with Mary

Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle

Marian Press

ISBN 9781596146327

eISBN 9781596146426

ASIN B0DWNJ5QLN

Our Life, Our Sweetness, and Our Hope! - Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle - Jubilee Pilgrims of Hope with Mary

I have been familiar with the name Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle for a while and a few of her books have been on my wish list for a while now. But this is only the second I have got around to reading. I picked it up to read in 2025 for the Jubilee of Hope, It is one of a number of volumes I picked up for the Jubilee Year but it is very different than many of the others. We will get to that shortly.

The description of this volume states:

“Hope is truly a lifesaver! Whether we have struggled through a world-wide pandemic, are dealing with seemingly hopeless diagnoses, losses, family troubles, or whatever else that might have caused us to become tempted to give up on hope, we should realize that God is certainly the foundation of our every hope. He will forever be. We need to continue to hope in His loving promises. He will never leave us! And He gifted us with the most eminent gift ever -- His own Mother! This book presents many reasons for hope in our world today through the lens of Our Mother Mary and some of her apparitions around the world. Join Our Blessed Mother, "Our Life, Our Sweetness, and Our Hope" on an inspiring journey to coincide with the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope.”

About the author we are informed:

“Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle is a TV host, an international speaker, a pilgrimage and retreat leader, and an award-winning and best-selling author and journalist. Her more than 30 books on faith and family include A Catholic Woman's Book of Prayers; Bringing Lent Home with Mother Teresa; and Feeding Your Family's Soul: Dinner Table Spirituality. Donna-Marie's work has been featured in several Catholic magazines, national newspapers, and online media platforms. Perhaps most importantly, Donna-Marie is a Catholic wife, mother, and grandmother. Visit www.donnacooperoboyle.com and www.feedingyourfamilyssoul.com to contact her and learn more about her work.”

The chapters in this volume are:

Practical Details

The Hope of Mary’s Fiat: “Behold, I am the Handmaid of the Lord”

The Hope of Mary’s Visit: “My Soul Proclaims the Greatness of the Lord”

The Hope of Mary’s Instruction: “Do Whatever He Tells You”

Hope Does Not Die: Mary’s Sword of Sorrow and the Foot of the Cross

Hope Displayed on Cactus Cloth: Our Lady of Guadalupe

The Hope of the Miraculous Medal: “Graces Will Be Shed Upon All”

The Hope of Lourdes: “I am the Immaculate Conception”

The Hope of Kibeho: “Mother of the Word”

The Hope of the Human Race: “Mary, Mother of Mercy”

Hope and Healing: The “Virgin of the Smile”

The Hope from Poland: Our Lady of Częstochowa

Hope to the Weary Heart: Our Lady of Knock

Hope from Champion: “I Am the Queen of Heaven”

Hope, Suffering, and Joy: Learning to Walk with Mary

Hope and Penance: Our Lady of Fátima’s Message

Afterword: My Pilgrimage of Hope

Online Resources

Appendix of Prayers

The prayers in the appendix are:

Hail Holy Queen

Memorare

Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Saint Louis de Montfort’s Consecration to Mary Prayer

Solemn Act of Consecration

The Holy Rosary

Prayers of the Rosary

Mysteries of the Rosary

The Divine Mercy Chaplet

Prayers of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy as a Novena

A Prayer For Divine Mercy

Star of Hope

Saint Faustina’s Consecration to the Blessed Mother

Christifideles Laici Prayer

Come, Holy Spirit

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Litany of the Holy Spirit

Litany of Loreto

Star of the Sea

Mary, my Mother

Mother Teresa’s Prayer to Mary

Prayer to Our Lady of Fátima

Our Lady of Fátima’s First Saturday Devotion

The Fátima Prayer

The Pardon Prayer

The Angel of Peace Prayer

The Eucharistic Prayer

The Sacrifice Prayer

Prayer to Our Lady of the Smile

Saint Thérèse’s Prayer to The Holy Face of Jesus

Saint Thérèse’s Canticle to The Holy Face

Saint Thérèse’s Holy Face Prayer For Sinners

Prayer to Our Lady of Kibeho

Prayer to Our Lady of Knock

Novena to Our Lady of Knock

Novena Prayer to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

An Act of Consecration to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

Prayer to Our Mother of Mercy

Saint John Paul II’s Prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe

Novena Prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes

Prayer to Our Lady of Champion

Saint Louis Marie de Montfort’s Prayer to Mary

Prayer to Our Lady of Częstochowa

Saint Brigid’s Blessing of the House

Prayer to St. Brigid

Prayer to St. Brigid for Protection

I highlighted a number of passages while reading this volume, some of them are:

“You can read about the traumas and terrible hardships in my life in my memoir The Kiss of Jesus. But this book is all about hope.”

“Our heart will be brimming, even overflowing, with hope! We will become crusaders of hope! All the while, we will be a radiant example of hope in a world in desperate need of hope.”

“Along my crooked path in life, I have learned to offer my misery to Jesus—to strive to give everything to Him! To trust Him with all of my heart—not only when things are peachy keen, but especially during the times when I have no idea about what might be or actually is lurking around the corner—and so far, it’s looking pretty terrible. At those times, I prayerfully hung on to hope! With God’s grace, I hoped against all hope.”

“Truth be told, we are all wayfarers on a mysterious pilgrimage through life, hoping to one day arrive at our Eternal Reward, the bliss of Heaven.”

“We are blessed because our Catholic Church sees a great need for hope and has set aside the year 2025 as a special Jubilee Year of Hope, a holy year of grace and pilgrimage!”

“Mary is our true Mother. How profoundly blessed we are that her Divine Son, despite His unspeakable suffering, made sure that we are not left orphans—that we have a Mother who will usher us to Heaven with our cooperation.”

“To some people, God can seem scary. But a loving Mother is much less scary—even exceedingly welcoming. Remember, Mary knows our needs better than we know ourselves. We see this clearly in the account of the Wedding at Cana.”

“This book will present many reasons for hope in our world today through the lens of the Queen of Heaven and Earth. Our Mother Mary has many titles and has visited our world through many apparitions.”

“Through intriguing true stories, Marian apparitions, and meaningful prayers, I pray that the reader will be encouraged and guided by Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, as well as many saintly Pilgrims of Hope.”

“The “Act” and “Pray” sections are simply suggestions for you based on the reflection. The Holy Spirit might guide you to other actions or prayers as well. The “Savor” section is all your own. Don’t be afraid to write your personal prayers, thoughts, or resolutions in the spaces provided.”

“Remember also to call on Mary often as you read through this book. She distributes graces and helps to perfect your prayers. She will surely help you.”

“Mary teaches us to serve. In pondering that beautiful visit between Mary and Elizabeth, we can learn something more. Even though Mary is the Mother of God and the Queen of Heaven and earth, she always comported herself and acted in deep humility during her life on earth. She consistently sought to be of generous service to others.”

“As you make more time for Mary in your life, allow her to mother you! You can do this daily as you meditate for just 15 minutes while praying the holy Rosary. Get into the habit of beginning your day with prayers to Mary, and you will surely be getting your day off on the right foot! Finally, ask Mary to give to you a greater awareness of God’s grace in your life and ask her to intercede for you that God will grant many graces.”

“Let’s never hesitate in turning to our Mother in Heaven. She understands our lives and desires to help us. Getting close to her surely gives us the hope we need in this complicated and arduous journey through life.”

“Pope Benedict XVI pointed out that the Blessed Mother began the encounter with Bernadette with the Sign of the Cross. He said the Cross “tells us that there is a love in this world that is stronger than death, stronger than our weaknesses and sins. The power of love is stronger than the evil which threatens us.” He continued, “It is this mystery of the universality of God’s love for men that Mary came to reveal here, in Lourdes.””

“Mary is our hope, and she lovingly delivers great hope to our hearts. She also brings warnings, as well as the means to overcome difficulties and calamities. Our Heavenly Mother soothes our weary hearts. Our Lady of Knock brought great peace and hope to the beyond exhausted, persecuted, and pummeled Irish faithful. Mary answered their prayers in the most magnificent way. Let’s now delve into this great, loving apparition and the history behind it.”

“Take time to ponder it all. Close your eyes and put yourself in the scene of the apparition and pray to Mother Mary. Ask her for everything you need to get to Heaven and bring others with you! Pray to emulate her virtues—especially humility.”

“Joy should be woven into our spiritual journeys. It seems very appropriate as we near the end of our book, reflecting upon our Mother Mary as a beautiful Pilgrim of Hope for us, that we should also discuss the gift of joy and how it ties in as an essential part of our journey.”

“Let’s stay close to Mary, who always leads us to her Son Jesus! Turn your gaze to Mary. Pray to her often. Be attentive to her calls to your heart. Let’s stay longer with her.”

“Well, as we near the ending of this Pilgrimage of Hope with Mary, I would like to share that I think life is like a winding, and at times precarious and unpredictable, narrow road. Our pilgrimage towards Heaven is not without many unexpected twists and turns, blinding and turbulent weather, and major malfunctions in our mode of transportation.”

I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. I mentioned it was a different volume. This one used Mary and Marian apparitions as lampposts of hope on our journey. A journey through this year of Hope but also through our life long journey of hope.

Each chapter contains:

A Tittle

A Quite

A Reflection

ACT (Prompts for living out the lesson)

Prayer

Savor (something to journal)

It took me a while to work through this volume. I would read a chapter then move on to something else. Then return to it again and again. I needed time to process, and time to integrate what I was learning. Donna-Marie shares many personal stories and personal encounters, these were deeply moving and inspiring.

In my own life I have turned to Mary time and time again; at the worst of times and the best of times. And this volume reinforced that love and devotion. I greatly appreciated shrines that were included and some that were omitted. The stories of divine encounters and experiences in this book will encourage us no matter how hard our road may seem.

The book is really well written it is very engaging. Anyone would benefit from reading this volume. It would be great for teens, young adults, and adults of all ages. We can all benefit from learning more about hope, and the hope inspired by Our Mother and learning to live it. A wonderful read great for all Catholics, weather you pick it up during the Year of Hope or even years later it will have a listing impact!

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan!

Click here for reviews of all books related to the Jubilee of Hope in 2025.

Jubilee of Hope 2025 Book List:

Hope An Anchor for the Soul 30 Daily Devotions - Amy Welborn

Pocket Book of Hope: Words of Inspiration - Living with Christ

Stations of Hope: Praying the Stations of the Cross for Today - Father David M. Knight

Faith is a Journey, Meditations for Pilgrims and Wayfarers - Pope Francis

A Light in the Night Meditations on Hope - Pope Francis

Jesus and the Jubilee - John Bergsma

Our Life, Our Sweetness, and Our Hope! - Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle

Hope Always Our Anchor in Life’s Storms - Kris Frank

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