Yesterday was the 100th Anniversary of Mother Angelica’s birth and so for this Sacred Heart Friday I thought I’d share this “Mother Angelica Live” classic TV episode (taken from the EWTN YouTube Channel.)
Enjoy! I did! After her Scripture reading she picks up a black-covered book that she says contains writings from some saints as well as stuff Jesus told these saints in private revelations. “Oh! I wish I had that book!” I think. Then as she’s holding it and flipping through it I notice it looks familiar. Black, hardcover, four words on the cover – two on the first line, two on the second….. waitaminute, that looks familiar! Could it be? So I pause the video, go off to my little prayer corner and pick up a black, hardcover book with four words on the cover. I go back and resume the video and carefully watch Mother holding it and when she manages to hold it up long enough to reveal the cover I hit pause and look. IT’S THE SAME BOOK I HAVE!!!!! I DO HAVE IT! WHEEEEEE!!!!!!!
Oh, it’s the “Sacred Heart Prayer Book,” (and she mentions it by name at 34:20. I could have just waited.) and it was published by the Sacred Heart Publishers, out of San Bruno, California in 1980. It was compiled and edited by a Brother James, SDB (Salesians of Don Bosco) of Saints Peter and Paul Church, in San Francisco, California. I did an Internet search, the publisher is apparently no more, the address given in the book looks on Apple Maps and Google Earth to be a small office building, which indicates it may have been self-published? It does not look like it was professionally produced by an established publisher. It is sturdy and the binding is excellent and all that, but there’s no artwork or anything else common to traditionally made books. That church exists, and is well-known, and has been featured in numerous films. I bought my copy of it maybe 20+ years ago at a used book shop near Utica, New York.
Oh hey! Right at the end she said she had 100s of copies of it and gave them away to anyone whom wanted them. I wonder if mine originally came from someone who received it from her? (Yes, I’m writing this post while the episode is running; I also downloaded it to watch offline whenever I want.)
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