There are many things about
my work that bring me joy. But perhaps nothing compares to witnessing from the
front row God’s attention to detail in every aspect of my life.
Take my latest book, for
example. In every stage of the project, from research to writing to finding the
right publisher, two things have been very clear: #1, this is/was my task to
do; and #2, this is God’s project, and all I have to do is do my part.
Have I mentioned that the
publisher for the book was also the first publisher to reject it? Remind me to tell you that story sometime!
And now we are at the phasein the process that I have the least confidence in my ability – publicity,
marketing, promoting.
The bottom line is simple. I
am infinitely more comfortable working at my desk wearing pajamas than I will
ever be standing in front of a group talking, or asking (aka. begging?!) writers
or publications to help me spread the word on social media.
Yet once again, God reminds
me that this is His project, and I am only called to do my part. Not only did I not have to beg
former Oklahoma legislator Rebecca Hamilton to write about my book in her blog,
she offered to do so!
So without further ado…
here is Day 1 entry for “The Shepherd Who Didn’t Run” Blog Tour:
by Rebecca Hamilton
Maria Scaperlanda has
written a wonderful book that is destined to be a sourcebook for one of the
20th Century’s most profound Christian martyrs.
The Shepherd
Who Did Not Run tells the story of Father Stanley Rother, an
Oklahoma farm boy who grew up to be a martyr for Christ in the on-going economic
wars that are raging around the globe to this day. He died on July 28, 1981, at
the hands of what were probably right-wing government assassins in an isolated
mission village in Atitlan, Guatemala.
Before his martyrdom, Fr.
Rother wrote a letter to his bishop explaining why he wanted to stay with his
flock in Guatemala, despite the risks. In that letter, he made the famous
remark, “A shepherd cannot run away.”
He knew the danger he was
facing. In the same year he was murdered, the radio station he had founded was
smashed and its director was tortured and killed. His catechists and
parishioners would disappear and later be found, murdered. He knew that he,
along with other Catholic priests, nuns and missionaries, was on a government
death list.
Mrs. Scaperlanda’s
biography was authorized by Archbishop Paul Coakley, the Archbishop of Oklahoma
City. Fr. Rother’s family and friends shared their memories and experiences
with her, allowing her to draw out the simplicity and the power of this man in
the telling of his story.
The Shepherd Who Did Not
Run is written in the clean prose of a writer who backs off and lets the
story tell itself. Father Rother’s life unfolds in its pages in a way that
inspires and uplifts the reader. It’s easy to see God working in the life of
this man.
Read the rest of Rebecca
Hamilton’s insightful blog post here.
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