Look for your copy of the first issue of the Marian Mantle newsletter to arrive in your mail next week.  The printer is churning out copies as I am writing.  A huge thank you to those who answered my request for stamps.  Due to your generosity, we are able to keep the cost of printing and mailing at a minimum.  Now I ask you to do one more thing—when you finish reading it, if there is someone you know who might benefit from learning about the Marian Mantle Group, please pass it on to them.

               More prayer reports have come in since my last writing.  You can read these wonderful reports of good news in the Letters to the Editor section below.  I always called Pentecost the season of miracles, but I believe this past Christmas season certainly was, too.  When I was sharing this with a MM member last night at a healing mass she  said, “We shouldn’t be surprised.  After all, the Holy Father’s year of the rosary just finished.  Think what we have to look forward to this year when we combine it with the year of the Eucharist!”

               Father Mark Mertes celebrated the mass last night.  Here are some of his comments I thought we all might find helpful for those times we pray and pray and pray and it seems like things aren’t changing and we begin to feel helpless and discouraged.         Father Mark said that everyone needs "connections".  If you want to get the street in front of your house fixed you contact your city councilman.  If you see a problem at your child's school, you contact the principal.  You connect with whoever will be able to help you get the job done.  So we turn to each other, to the saints, and especially to the Lord's mother with our needs.”

               He also reminded us, “God is patient with all of us.” [including our prodigals]  “God doesn’t push, or rush, or force anyone.”  Meanwhile, we join together to pray and to share because, in Father’s words, “A burden shared is half a burden.  A joy shared is twice the joy!”

               So, please continue to share your joys with us, because it increases our faith and our trust that God is in the middle of every situation.  Also, remember this group is willing to share your burden.  Don’t keep yourself isolated.  Send an email and someone from the MM group will pray with you through email or phone 913-526-8977.

Peace,

I had us pray for my cousin Tom, who was diagnosed with Mesothelioma. Now they have determined it is not that, and the cancer he has is treatable. Our prayers were answered as well as it being treatable. One step at a time.
               Also I prayed for my husband and our son to get along better. Our son was home for the holidays and everything went weel. My husband even had a tear when he left, which is quite unusual. Thank you for the prayers and support,   ~Kansas~

Just before Christmas I asked  for prayers for my son and family . I just found out my son has returned to the Church but not his family. His 3 children were baptized. His wife is not Catholic.  He lives in an area that is new and there was no Catholic church nearby until recently. He had gotten involved in a foursquare church for the fellowship. His family is still involved. He just told me that on Dec 26 he went to the newly formed parish in his area. I know God answered. Now I ask for prayer that he has the strength to continue renewing his faith and that he will be able to bring his children into full union with the sacraments and his wife into the Catholic faith. All I have to say is PRAISE GOD !!!!     ~California

We have been praying for my son for three years.  He received his degree from a fine Catholic college but then turned his back on God.  He told us we were crazy to believe.  When I heard you speak and got your rosary novena booklet, I think it was two years ago,  I started the rosary novena.  All of my family has been praying for my son, also.  After Thanksgiving he told his sister in college that he had gone to confession but he did not tell us.  Right before leaving for mass on Christmas he told us he was going and that we shouldn’t try to keep him from going to communion (he knew we would have said something if he got up to go) because he had been to confession.  Afterward, he asked us for the name of another “good” priest to talk to here at home.  We are celebrating his return with great joy.  ~Kansas~

[Note from MaryAnn:  Last update we heard a praise report from New York.  This update we read them from Kansas and California.  Wow! the Lord is working coast to coast with this group.  Let us ask him to continue around the world, to our members in Singapore, Australia, and Canada—and back to those of us praying in the USA.  What did Gabriel say?  “With God, nothing is impossible!”]

Then he told them a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. He said, "There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being. And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, 'Render a just decision for me against my adversary.'  For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, 'While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being,  because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.'" The Lord said, "Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them?”  ~Luke 18:1-7~

SILENT STRENGTH PRESENTATION

     “Silent Strength:  Has Someone You Love Left the Church” talks are scheduled for January 30^th at Cure’ of Ars Church in Leawood, Kansas.

February 12 at St. John LaLande Parish in Blue Springs, MO (this event originally planned for a parents group and is now a parish Lenten event.)

February 20 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Shawnee.  (Two people from that parish have already made plans to form a prayer group to pray for prodigals.  If you are interested, email me an I will put you in touch with them.

March 16^th  at Holy Cross Parish in Overland Park, KS.  (This is an expanded event.  Along with the Silent Strength talk, I will be speaking on the power of the rosary when praying for Prodigals)

Need more information? Please check the schedule on the web site for more information,

http://www.marianmantle.com/schedule.htm

or contact MaryAnn by email maryann@marianmantle.com or phone at 913-526-8977.

     If you would like help in getting this talk scheduled in your parish, please email  maryann@marianmantle.com

PRAYER GROUPS

Please continue to pray for those who are working to form a new Silent Strength prayer group in Shawnee, KS. 

NEWSLETTER

    The newsletter will be mailed later this month.  What action are you taking to bring your prodigal back home?  We welcome your input.  It will help the rest of us in our own prayers.  Please tell us about it.  We also need articles of 200-500 words for the next issue.  Please email editor@marianmantle.com  Meanwhile, please keep praying.  If you would be interested in helping with the newsletter in some way, please let us know by email or phone.  At Marian Mantle we can always use some help somewhere.

Note:

++ If you want to receive a copy of the print newsletter, please email your postal address.

++Some have asked if there is something they can do for Marian Mantle.  If you have a few stamps you can spare, we still could use them to pay the postage for the newsletter.  We will not have a bulk mail permit at this time so each will require a first class stamp.  If you want to send a stamp or two, send them to

Marian Mantle Group

PO Box 434

Gardner, KS  66030

PLEASE SHARE YOUR STORY**

--If you are seeing prayers answered, we want to hear about it.**

--Do you have a question you would like to ask the group to answer?**

**Please email maryann@marianmantle.com or phone 913-526-8977.  If no one

answers, please leave your name and phone number and a good time to return

your call and MaryAnn will call you back as soon possible.