Gift of Self (book) | Mary's Advocates

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The Gift of Self, A Spiritual Companion for Separated and Divorced Faithful to the Sacrament of Marriage.

By Maria Pia Campanella (117 pages)
ISBN-13: 978-0996520409

The Gift of Self is a support to those who remain faithful to marriage because it traces emotions and impact that one experiences after the other spouse withdraws from the marital life. But more importantly, the author offers a path to peace and truth.

Originally published in Italian,Gift of Self was translated into English by Mary’s Advocates and has the imprimatur of Bishop Richard G. Lennon. Preface is by the author’s bishop, His Excellency Salvatore Di Cristina.

Back Cover Text: These pages were written by one hand and many hearts … by separated spouses faithful to the sacrament because they are convinced this total gift of self is not an anachronism imposed by the Church to be accepted with patient resignation, but a path of sanctification lived out in the joyous paradox of the Gospel. This book, besides offering numerous points for reflection on the theme of separation, proposes a true and proper path subdivided into stages for groups of people who, living with the suffering of a spouses’ separation, wish to remain faithful to the sacrament of their marriage. Among the many suggested prayers and meditations, one in particular, the renewal of the “I do,” has captured the attention of many churches both at home and abroad.

Support Network: Find others who use this book and support each other.

Pontifical Council of The Family. 2014

The last stage in the journey for a faithful spouse described the book, “The Gift of Self,” is the Renewal of the “I Do.” It includes a prayer that spouses recite to renew their marriage vows when separated or divorced, intercessory prayers, and a blessing that a priest gives the faithful spouses.

The Pontifical Council of the Family published this Marriage Vows Renewal on their website for separated and divorced on September 30, 2014 … more

USCCB. 2014

In June 2014, the USCCB featured “The Gift of Self” as the book of the month on their Marriage Resource Center. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops launched the National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage in 2005 to call attention to the meaning and value of married life for the Church and for society. The “For Your Marriage” website offers practical help and advice and includes marraige resource center. See book review on USCCB. …

Homiletic and Pastoral Review. 2011

Book Review — Help for separated and divorced spouses — The Gift of Self is a spiritual companion for separated and divorced spouses who are faithful to the sacrament of marriage. The book is by Maria Pia Campanella and has the approval of Salvatore Di Christina, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Palermo, Italy. Campanella is part of the diocesan Commission for Family Pastoral Work and acts as a resource for groups of separated persons who take the path of fidelity to the sacrament.

Archbishop Christina writes in the preface … MORE

Spero News: Review by Fr. Christopher Zugger

June 20, 2010 – This is a surprising little book (119 pages, paperback) by Maria Pia Campanella, who works in the Archdiocese of Palermo in Sicily, Italy. It is written as “a special path of conjugal spirituality” for those who have been abandoned by a spouse through divorce. Bishop Salvatore di Cristina writes in the preface that this book “breathes Easter air” and indeed it does. This reviewer was not sure what to expect: it is not a self-help book for Catholics after a divorce, but really an invitation to enter on a new path… MORE

Catholic News Agency. New Project to Support Divorced Catholics who live their vows

A new support community for divorced or separated Catholics who remain faithful to marriage has launched in the United States, taking inspiration from a similar Italian effort to help people fulfill their vows and live their “I do.”

The Saint Mary of Cana project, sponsored in the U.S. by the non-profit Mary’s Advocates, seeks to work with dioceses in the United States in order to, in project director Bai Macfarlane’s words, “reject the divorce culture’s indoctrination that our marriage is dead or that we have new lives as single people.” … MORE

Zenit. Group Helps Separated Catholics Remain Faithful to Marriage/a>

PALERMO, Sicily, JUNE 8, 2005 – Almost a Vocation Within the Vocation, Says Auxiliary Bishop of Palermo – A separated 62-year-old mother tries to carry out a three-step process for other Catholics who struggle after parting from their spouses. “Reconstruction of the person who lives acutely the suffering of rejection, forgiveness of the spouse, and renewal of the marital ‘yes’ to God,” are the stages of the spiritual journey undertaken by members of a group called Saint Mary of Cana, according to its coordinator, Maria Pia Campanella.… MORE