Susan Bailey's Mary Queen of Peace Sung Rosary

I wanted to share the following review of Susan Bailey's wonderful Mary Queen of Peace Sung Rosary and Mediation Guide which ran recently on the Catholic Exchange website and was written by our good frined, Cheryl Dickow, Catholic book publisher (Bezalel Books).  If you are looking for a wonderful meditation aid for the season of Lent, I hope you will check out Susan's website at www.SungRosary.com.

I really don’t sing well and as a result, I really don’t sing much. Actually, I don’t sing at all. I’ve heard it said that singing in Mass is like praying twice but I just can’t bring myself to sing above a whisper in Church. I know that my Catholic brothers and sisters should welcome my sad attempts to carry a tune but I just have a difficult time believing they will. It’s not that they aren’t charitable in spirit as much as I am convinced no soul has ever had a voice as off-key as mine. So, singing for me is just not something I do.

That, of course, makes me view singing as a beautiful gift from heaven and turns my appreciation for a recipient of such a gift into true awe.

Susan Bailey — singer, songwriter, performer — is one of those gifted individuals whose talents I so admire. I actually came across Susan’s work quite by accident, if there is such a thing in God’s grand plan. It just so happens that I had been searching the web for a new rosary CD to replace one that I had worn out — yes, it actually wore out — and in the midst of that search I received a phone call from Susan who was, at the time, gathering information about publishing.

It turns out that Susan’s CD is a sung rosary and she has a beautiful book that accompanies it; a mutual friend recommended that Susan contact me regarding the book piece of her package. One thing led to another and while I shared some information with Susan I also found out that she writes music reviews for an online magazine called GrapeVine. As we talked I told Susan that Today’s Catholic Woman would welcome sharing any of her reviews with its readers. One of our goals at TCW is to provide Catholic women with the latest information regarding books, movies, and music that are worth knowing about.

When Susan mentioned that Lisa Hendey — TCW’s own Geek Gal — had just interviewed her for a podcast segment, I knew I had struck gold! After all, anyone who follows Lisa’s painstaking music and book reviews knows that she is a great source of book and music recommendations. I then suggested Susan send me her book and CD so that I could share her work with our CE readers as well and I couldn’t be more delighted to do just that! After listening to Susan’s work, it did not surprise me to find out that Susan has appeared on EWTN "Backstage" and other Catholic programs, as well.

What Susan offers in her combination CD/Book packet is a "must-have" for every Catholic woman today. The rosary is sung in such a way that you actually feel yourself pulled into the melody; even lackluster singers, such as myself, will find themselves easily singing along. This has already become my favorite rosary CD. And if the beautiful music isn’t enough, the booklet that comes with it is a work of art. Beautiful pictures of stained glass windows and magnificent icons, along with meditative writings will surely bless each reader.

The rosary is a gift we have as Catholics and Susan Bailey’s CD/Book set is sure to please Catholic woman interested in making the rosary a more integral part of her own daily walk with Christ.

Susan’s website is www.sungrosary.com and be sure to check out Susan’s contribution to TCW, in which she introduces us to the amazing life of Renee Bondi.

Cheryl Dickow is a Catholic author and speaker. Her company, Bezalel Books, publishes Catholic fiction and non-fiction titles. Cheryl is CE's Associate Editor for "Today's Catholic Woman," the Catholic Exchange woman's channel.