Marian Catechist Writers Apostolate

Marty Barrack

Marian Catechists are Catholics marked by extraordinary spiritual development and knowledge of their faith. It is my honor and privilege to run the Marian Catechist Writers Apostolate, which provides guidance to Marian Catechists interested in writing for publication.

The first and foremost page to read in this area is Father Hardon's statement emphasizing the need for Marian Catechists to write. After that,

The central features of this site are the instructions on how to write a book, magazine article (including the Tilma), web page, newspaper article, pamphlet, or letter-to-the-editor, and the information sources. So the site tells you how to write it, and where to find most of the information.

The information sources page is particularly important. Pastoral writing (Let me tell you about my wonderful grandfather…) can sometimes be done without authoritative information. But we are Marian Catechists. We teach the divinely revealed truths that Jesus sent across the centuries to us through the Magisterium. When we say, "The Church teaches…," we always quote or cite an authoritative document. In that way, we do not speak, but the Church speaks through us. Lk 10:16 “He who hears you hears me."

All visitors to this site are welcome to read these and, with God's grace, use them in His service. Limited time allows me to provide personal help in this area only to Marian Catechists.

Since Marian Catechists write for love of the Catholic Church, some of their writings are of publishable quality but have not found a publisher. For example, few publishers are currently looking for Catholic poetry. Therefore, with the approval of the authors, I make selections from their writing available here for anyone who wishes to read and enjoy them. The Marian Catechist Writers Apostolate hopes you enjoy these writings by Carole Breslin and Kathryn Mulderink. We also offer MaryAnn Gardner’s abundant online resources for catechists.

For those who might be interested in other contemporary Catholic poets, I would suggest Pope John Paul II, Fr. Jeremy Driscoll, Fr. Gregory Elmer, Nobel Prize winner Gabriela Mistral, Denise Levertov, Les Murray, Ernesto Cardenal, Bruce Dawe, Robert Fitzgerald, Dana Gioia, John Knoepfle, Robert Lietz, Paul Mariani, and Adelia Prado. Christian, but not necessarily Catholic, poets include Wendell Berry, Scott Cairns, Kelly Cherry, Peter Cooley, Peter Davison, Louise Erdrich, Jorie Graham, Andrew Hudgins, Mark Jarman, Jane Kenyon, Sydney Lea, Walter MacDonald, Molly Peacock, Nicholas Samaras, Luci Shaw, William Stafford, and Richard Wilbur.