Amazing Catechists

Teaching and learning the faith together

Praying with the Psalms

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Praying with the Psalms: 3-Minute Devotions for Lent and Holy Week 2026

by Emily Mae Mentock

Published by Ave Maria Press

As a busy mom, I am always looking for a Lent devotional that will be spiritually enriching but also doable. Last Lent, I committed myself to a morning Holy Hour at home that consisted of scripture reading, a Lent devotional, prayer, and journaling. An early-waking baby (and God’s incredible grace) made it possible to stick to this resolution for most (if not all) 40 days. This year I am trying this again, and I will be using Praying with the Psalms: 3-Minute Devotions for Lent and Holy Week 2026 by Emily Mae Mentock as my Lent devotional.

I love it because it is specifically tailored to 2026, AND it won’t break the bank at only $3.25.

3 Minutes a Day

As the title promises, reading these reflections will take 3 minutes a day. They begin on Ash Wednesday and go through Easter Sunday. All Sundays are included in addition to Lent’s 40 days. Emily has chosen 2 lines from the daily Mass psalms to reflect on. Each reflection is 2 or 3 paragraphs, encourages you to rest in silence with the Lord each day, and then has a couple of reflection questions. These reflections will be great to keep me on track with my Lenten prayers, fasting, and almsgiving.

Pray through the Psalms this Lent

I love that I will be reading and reflecting on the daily Psalms all throughout Lent. This will help me look at the readings more deeply before attending daily Mass, and the devotions are concise enough that I have a high chance of successfully making it through this entire book.

What are your Lent plans? Are you choosing a devotional to help you stay on track? Please let me know in the comments!

Interview with Sonja Corbitt about her book “Just Rest” and much more!

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Oh boy, is this a POWERFUL conversation about the spiritual life with one of my all-time favorites, Sonja Corbitt!

Come with us and see your “desert” times in a whole new way that will prove to you that the Promised Land is closer than ever!

Click the book cover image to join me and Sonja, as we “get real” about our desert times!

 

SONJA CORBITT is the Bible Study Evangelista and creator of the LOVE the Word® Bible study method–and journal, called “the best modernization of lectio” by the Associate Publisher of Thomas Nelson Publishing.

A best-selling author and Telly Award-winning broadcaster, Sonja’s weekly radio and television shows, as well as a variety of other unique approaches to Scripture, create space for busy Christians to hear and experience God though the scriptures.

Through her Bible studies and books, one-on-one consultations, pilgrimages, retreats, television and radio shows, Sonja uses Scripture and a healing charism to lead others to deeper rest and healing.

Find Sonja at BibleStudyEvangelista.com

Get Sonja’s Book!  https://www.avemariapress.com/products/just-rest

The Four Keys to Everlasting Love: COVER REVEAL!

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The thrill-ride of book publishing continues as we hit our next milestone: the cover of our new book, The Four Keys to Everlasting Love: How Your Catholic Marriage Can Bring You Joy for a Lifetime!!! This Catholic marriage help book is already available for pre-order at Amazon.com (what a dream come true).

Our editor called publisher Ave Maria Press’ art department their “secret weapon” because of how great they are at developing attractive cover art, so we were overjoyed to work with them. Like everything else in publishing, coming up with a great cover is a long process. First, they asked us for ideas. We were super-excited about the key motif, so dear hubby Manny sketched this.

DRAFT A

Our publisher ran the idea past some focus groups and decided that the cover also needed to showcase the idea of marriage as a shared journey. So they combined both ideas in this stunning version.

DRAFT B

But, because I’m a lawyer, I have to tinker with everything. My sister-in-law Nancy described quite well the difference between working for most people — who say “great!!!” — and lawyers, who say “great! Now change this, fix that, improve the other thing….” I asked the art department to  make the grass a little greener, because doesn’t everyone want that? And I asked them to make our foreword writer Christopher West‘s name a little bigger, because we are Very, Very Excited that he is supporting our Catholic marriage advice book. (His Facebook page just exceeded 50,000 likes, which is pretty major. Plus, he’s awesome.) So, the art department, gave us this, our final cover!!!

FINAL COVER (HURRAY!!!!)

Don’t you just love it? Please, please, tell all your friends and help spread the word.

In other news, our awesome book editor Heidi Hess Saxton left to become the Editorial Director at Servant Books/Franciscan Media. Our book project is now being shepherded by Ave Maria Press’ current Editorial Director Bob Hamma. We are honored to have worked with two people of such high caliber. And after Heidi left Ave Maria Press, CatholicMom founder Lisa Hendey joined them as editor-at-large. What a small world!

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