Behind the Covers Series: A New Favorite Catholic Picture Book! – Part 2

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Today we continue our conversation with Randy and Adalee, the authors and illustrators of The Oil and The Asking and the founders of Ave Lamb Books. We were discussing their brand new book The Oil and the Asking and the beauty of the devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus that it promotes. 

How can families grow closer to Our Lord through the Golden Arrow prayer?

Randy: when I first came across the Golden Arrow prayer in the book of the same name by TAN Books it was eye-opening. Here we have Our Lord Jesus appearing to a young nun in France and dictating a prayer of reparation He wanted spread. I love that He  provided a very simple, straightforward prayer that is very much like the Gloria in pocket-size. The prayer itself can be said at any time of day and however many times. Realistically in our household it’s a morning and evening prayer. For bringing kids in the most important aspect is the Holy Face rather than the words. As they get older the actual prayer will mean more but just having His Face to gaze upon and contemplate is the first, necessary part for kids. 

Adalee: And I love that it touches on the Name of God, The Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the Blessed Sacrament!

What is the one thing you would recommend to families to start doing to incorporate the devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus into their prayer life?

Randy: Put images of the Holy Face of Jesus throughout the house. We strive and hope to one day behold His Face in heaven, but our Catholic faith is rich, lively, and present — you needn’t wait until then! You can make Him more present and “top of mind” now! There are many variations on the Image that could be displayed, such as the officially produced engraving of the miraculous Holy Face from 1849 or any number of other depictions from the past. Some of this might fall under personal artistic taste and preference. I think of this especially for the sake of kids. When I was a child I had all sorts of images on my bedroom wall, not one of them Jesus. I realize now as an adult, I turned those various sports figures or musicians into quasi-idols. 

Adalee: Our parish actually has an image of the Holy Face prominently featured, which is a beautiful aid to prayer there. You might speak to your pastor about acquiring one for your parish! 

Why did you choose to highlight the Golden Arrow Prayer? Does it have a significant place in your life?

Randy: When I first heard of the Holy Face devotion from Father Carney at a men’s Advent mission a couple years ago it immediately struck me as a pertinent devotion for our times. The Holy Name of Our Lord is used in vain everywhere in our culture, and the sad fact is that Sunday’s not kept as a day of rest devoted to the Lord by the vast majority of people.

Of course Our Lord is wounded by these grave offenses. In His seemingly typical fashion, He turned not to the mighty or well-placed but rather asked a meek and simple Carmelite nun in Tours, France (Sister Mary of St. Peter) in the mid-19th century to introduce this Golden Arrow prayer as a means of reparation against these grave offenses that were common then and I imagine more common now. This prayer (given from Our Lord Himself) and promise resonated with us as something worth being better known and practiced. Our pastor had recently acquired a beautiful original painting of the Holy Face of Jesus and displays it on the St Joseph altar for all to gaze upon.

It was this image that we used for making the holy cards with the Golden Arrow prayer on the back. The holy cards and image are great for kids and adults alike. Our two-year old daughter will often see His Face and say “Jesus sad,”  which cuts to the heart of the matter. 

We’ve always been drawn to gazing upon Jesus’s Holy Face. To learn, then, that in 1849 in Rome that Veronica’s veil was displayed for three days while the pope was in hiding from revolutionaries and, on the third day, became vibrant and visible for those present struck us as a remarkable sign of Jesus’s continued promise that His enemies would be scattered before His Face. 

What are the future plans for Ave Lamb?

Randy: We shall introduce more books in the very near future, so stay tuned. Since Ave Lamb was not intended as a vanity press, we just signed our first outside-the-family author, Patrick O’Hearn, and we’ve had other Catholic authors reach out to discuss working with us, which warms our hearts — maybe there is a need here. Since we are both completely unqualified for the enterprise the only way it will succeed is by God’s favor. We are doing our little part. If it persists, it’s only through Him. If it fails, most likely we failed to do something critical and it was not ultimately His Will for us. The long discernment that went into it beforehand tells us otherwise, but God is nothing if not a master of surprises. 

Adalee: Amen to all of that! But I do hope He allows us to keep creating stories for a good while.

What triggered the creation of Ave Lamb Books? And what is the story behind the name?

Randy: We talked about doing books together for years now. In fact, over a decade ago we completed a few that are not published that were more for fun than edification. As Adalee continued to keep busy in the Catholic publishing world, and as we have continued to discover the riches of our Catholic faith, we kept having ideas for books come up time and again but no opportunities — she was busy with motherhood and her contracted illustration work, and I was occupied being the daily operations manager at my work.

Last summer, however, my company moved its operations to Texas but I was allowed to begin working remote from Washington. That change combined with her wrapping up the last of her contract obligations opened up the time to do something exciting. A phrase we used to share early in our married life still rings true: “we’re up for all sorts of crazy-wackiness.” 

Adalee: The name came from our desire to combine the new with the old… we wanted to include a Latin word, but one most people could pronounce! And I really wanted to include a Lamb in the logo, but “agnus,” Latin for lamb, is rather hard to say! Ultimately, the Holy Spirit provided a solution with “Ave Lamb.”

What are your hopes for your publishing house and your picture book?

Randy: Our hopes are that we can slowly grow it into a viable operation and the books themselves excite people at a glance. I think back to being a kid and seeing a Golden Book and just knowing already “I’m gonna enjoy this” upon seeing one of their books in the random stacks we had in our house. If we could elicit that same sort of spark in a young mind then I think we’re doing something good. All the works themselves will point to Our Lord Jesus Christ and faith in His Church if not always explicitly.

In fact, we recognize that with many young readers you have to be more crafty and entertain and delight them primarily and let the edification come in subtly. My initial goal for Ave Lamb Books was for them to be a Catholic amalgam of Dr. Seuss and Curious George — the former in his wit and wonder, the latter in the innocent and winsome fun of those leisurely books — the original ones. We hope to be able to share some of the joy of a faith-filled life. 

With the initial book, we wanted to tell a relatable story (certainly for many adults) that would introduce readers to glorious figures like Blessed Leo DuPont and Sister Mary of St. Peter and the devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus in a way that would hopefully motivate them to delve into it further and perhaps take it on as a daily devotion. We wanted to do our little part in spreading this wonderful devotion. 

Adalee: As our motto is “Captivating Catholic Books for Your Family,” we do want to eventually expand from Children’s books to other (older) members of the family. Although we do have a special book planned that might just work for most of the members of your household… stay tuned!

I hope y’all enjoyed this delightful interview with Randy and Adalee as much as I did! Isn’t Ave Lamb Books a wonderful and exciting new project? I absolutely love new picture books, new printing houses and delightful couples working together! Please support Ave Lamb Books as they grow!
Love,
Mattie