Several years ago a local author approached us and asked if we would carry her new books for children. The book was colorful and came with a packet of "wheat berries" for the child to grow. We thought the concept and the story were great and decided to carry The Parable of Willy Wheat and the Mother Mary books as well.

All of these books make great gifts for children all the way through grade school and middle school especially as First Communion gifts.

We'll let Kathy tell you more about how this series came about and what you can expect from it...

The Origins of Willy Wheat

The conception of The Parable of Willy Wheat actually happened years ago when I was grinding wheat to make bread for my family. I told a friend that inside each wheat berry there is a hidden "life" (wheat germ) and that it lies dormant within the berry until the outer shell is softened, cracks and dies. Then the "life" inside begins to grow and the wheat berry is transformed into a wheat plant. It is the same with us. We have the hidden Life of Jesus within us and need to change and grow to be One with Him.

Well, my friend told me to put this in writing. So when I went to my typewriter (pre-computer days) the story of Willy Wheat emerged. I was totally surprised as I wrote it… anxious to see what would happen next! It was truly inspired by God.

I began to write pages and pages of analogies that pertained to our Catholic Faith. The main theme was that like Willy Wheat we have a hidden life within us - the Life of God! You can't see Him, but He is there. Our goal is to allow the Life of Jesus to grow in us, just as Willy needed to allow the life to grow in him.

By sprouting the wheat berries in the Mother Mary books, the reader is able to SEE that there is a hidden life inside the berry and that as it's outer shell cracks and "dies" it begins to change and grow into a tiny sprout which will continue to grow into a wheat plant. This helps one to visualize the fact that Jesus lives IN them (even though they can't see Him) and that it is necessary to "die to self" so the Life of Jesus can grow and transform them into His Image and Likeness!

Mother Mary- God's Quick & Easy Way to Divine Holiness, for young teens and adults shows more deeply that is Mary's role as our Mother to HELP us change and grow to be like Jesus by being our Advocate, Mediatrix and Co-Redemptrix. This concept is often very difficult to understand. But by making simple comparisons to The Parable of Willy Wheat, these deep mysteries are simplified and even visualized through the use of colorful illustrations.

For example, Willy needed to crack his shell (die to his outer self) for the life inside him to grow. The quickest and easiest way was in the heart of mother earth. The rain water went THROUGHthe soil to soften Willy's outer shell to make it easy for the wheat germ to sprout and grow. In like manner God's Graces are given to us THROUGH the Heart of our Mother Mary (Mediatrix) to make it easier for us to "die to self" so the Life of Jesus will grow in us!