MY QUEEN MY MOTHER – A LIVING NOVENA (H4) by Marge Steinhage Fenelon

Winner of a 2020 Catholic Press Association book award (second place, pilgrimages-Catholic travel).

In My Queen, My Mother: A Living Novena, award-winning author Marge Steinhage Fenelon brings you along on a pilgrimage to nine Marian shrines across the United States. Each day of this spiritual journey helps you encounter God and a deeper relationship with the Blessed Mother.

“My Queen, My Mother, I give myself entirely to you.”

The opening line to the Little Consecration sets the framework of this unique, nine-day pilgrimage, which culminates in a consecration to Mary.

This living novena is similar in style and structure to the pilgrimage Fenelon developed in the bestselling and award-winning Our Lady, Undoer of Knots. The key difference, however, is that the first living novena was framed by Pope Francis’s visit to the Holy Land. For My Queen, My Mother, Fenelon chose sacred destinations that reflect the Catholic heritage of the United States.

The nine Marian sites Fenelon visits are:

• Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche, St. Augustine, Florida;
• National Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, New Orleans, Louisiana;
• St. Mary’s Mission and Museum, Stevensville, Montana;
• Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows, Starkenburg, Missouri;
• Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation, Carey, Ohio;
• The National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, Champion, Wisconsin;
• Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs, Auriesville, New York;
• House of Mary Shrine, Yankton, South Dakota; and
• Our Lady of Peace Shrine, Santa Clara, California.

Even if you can’t make a physical pilgrimage as Fenelon did, you can still make a spiritual one through her extended guided meditation. Each day you’ll learn about a different shrine to Mary: its history, charism, and graces. Fenelon will also guide you to visit a new “place” in your heart, to understand more about yourself and how to open your heart more fully to Mary.

You are not tied to a pilgrimage of nine consecutive days: You can complete the spiritual journey in nine weeks or even nine months. There are reflection questions at the end of each chapter.