Our Lady of Charity: How a Cuban Devotion to Mary Helped Me Grow in Faith and Love - Softcover

Johnson, Maria Morera

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1594719012 ISBN 13: 9781594719011

Publisher: Ave Maria Press, 2019

Synopsis

Maria Morera Johnson grew up knowing the virgencita—the Virgin Mary—and had a special love for Our Lady of Charity, the patroness of Cuba.

Even after Johnson moved to the United States, Our Lady of Charity continued to influence her life. In her new book, the bestselling and award-winning author shares her childhood recollections of the devotion to the patroness of her native country and stories of how Mary helped her deepen her faith and led her to Jesus. Johnson also invites you to know Mary in a new way and to allow devotion to the Blessed Mother to help you open your heart to others and to grow in faith and love.

The origin of the devotion to Our Lady of Charity in Cuba comes from a seventeenth-century story of three men who were tossed about at sea during a violent storm. They prayed to Mary for her protection and the storm suddenly disappeared. They found a statue of the Blessed Mother holding Jesus and a gold cross floating in the water. The statue included the inscription: “I am the Virgin of Charity.” The statue was completely dry as it floated in the water.

Our Lady of Charity is not a Church-approved apparition; nevertheless, several popes—including St. John Paul II and Pope Francis, who celebrated Mass at her shrine during his visit to Cuba in 2015—have supported devotion to Mary under this title.

Johnson, author of the bestselling My Badass Book of Saints, traces the history of Our Lady of Charity in Cuba and how the devotion was spread by emigrants as they left their country behind. Johnson weaves the story of the devotion with Cuba’s history, memories of her homeland, and tales of her journey back to Cuba for the first time since her childhood during Pope Francis’s 2015 Apostolic Visit.

Throughout Our Lady of Charity, Johnson shares her devotion to Mary and passion for her Catholic faith. This evocative spiritual memoir is part history and part memory, part modern-day travelogue and part meditation on the role faith, family, and devotion have on how we live and love.

About this title

From the Author

Maria Morera Johnson is the author of the award-winning books Super Girls and Halos and My Badass Book of Saints. She also contributed to The Catholic Mom’s Prayer Companion, Word by Word: Slowing Down with the Hail Mary, and Gaze Upon Jesus. A CatholicMom.com blogger and educator, Johnson retired in 2016 from her positions as a composition and literature professor and the director of English learning support at Georgia Piedmont Technical College.

Johnson has spoken at a number of events, retreats, and conferences, including the National Council of Catholic Women, Austin Women’s Conference, and the Catholic Press Association. She also has been featured on CatholicTV and Busted Halo and in Catholic Digest and St. Anthony Messenger.

Johnson is a native of Cuba. She and her husband, John, have three grown children and live in the Mobile, Alabama, area.

Review

“¡Excelente! In this brilliant primer on Our Lady of Charity of el Cobre, Maria Morera Johnson skillfully captures a Marian devotion that unites all Cubans around the globe—their love for a familiar Mother who leads all to Jesus. Weaving memoir, history, and facts, Johnson’s personal and often humorous anecdotes are insightfully sincere and disarmingly tender. Johnson may be my fellow exile, fellow immigrant, fellow cubana, fellow pilgrim, and thanks to our common name, a tocaya to boot! But nothing connects us more as sisters than our profound affection for our Cachita, our virgencita—Nuestra Señora de la Caridad, patron of Cuba, the island of our birth.” --María Ruiz Scaperlanda, Catholic author, blogger, and journalist

“Maria Morera Johnson’s deep cultural and familial devotion as a Cuban American to Our Lady of Charity, la virgencita, instantly draws the reader in and makes the reader feel like part of the family—the Holy Family! This book is a must-read for anyone wishing to understand the deep relationship many cultures have with Our Lady and for those longing to know her as their own Mother.” --Noelle Garcia, Catholic speaker and recording artist

“A gifted storyteller, Maria Morera Johnson takes the reader on a life-transforming adventure through the history of a country torn apart, sharing the traditions and a powerful devotion that sustained and nurtured an oppressed people. In the midst of seeming chaos, an intense devotion to Our Lady of Charity shines forth as a beacon of hope. Johnson’s deep love of Mary, her passion for sharing her devotion to Our Lady of El Cobre, and her undying love of her Catholic faith embrace and welcome the reader, making one feel like a beloved member of a beautiful Catholic-Cuban family. In a time when love has been relegated to just one of many emotions, Johnson brings this virtue to the forefront—its rightful place.” --Kelly M. Wahlquist, Founder of WINE: Women In the New Evangelization

“Fueled by compelling historical and cultural context, Our Lady of Charity delivers a profound message of faith and consolation. Join Maria Morera Johnson as she invites you to better know Jesus Christ through Mary, a constant source of deliverance and love. This book is the perfect life preserver for the storms that challenge your daily journey!” --Lisa M. Hendey, Founder of CatholicMom.com

Edition details

• Publisher: Ave Maria Press
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1594719012
• ISBN 13: 9781594719011
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 128