WASHINGTON, D.C., May 4, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - World renowned chastity speaker and pro-life convert Dawn Eden has just released a new book about how to find healing for sexual wounds with the help of Catholic saints. LifeSiteNews caught Dawn at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. on the weekend as she promoted My Peace I Give You: Healing Sexual Wounds with the Help of the Saints (Ave Maria Press, 2012).
See LifeSiteNews video interview
“It’s a message for people like myself who suffered childhood trauma, particularly those who, like myself, suffered sexual abuse in childhood,” said Dawn to LifeSiteNews.
“I want to show them that the evils that were committed against them were not their fault, that God never positively wills evil — God only permits it because through it he can bring a greater good. And the greater good that God brings through the evils that were committed against us is that through our wounds God enables us to draw closer to the wounded Christ.”
Dawn Eden, former rock-musician journalist and former editor at the New York Daily News, became famous for her outspoken defenses of chastity and purity after a dramatic conversion to Catholicism catapulted her from a life of rebellion and “having sex with whomever I pleased”.
As part of her own path to healing, Dawn had examined the lives of some of the saints who themselves were sexually abused or who suffered self-inflicted sexual wounds in an effort to pin down what aided them most along the difficult road to healing and holiness. What she discovered helped her in her own healing process to such an extent, that she decided it was good enough to share with others. That’s when the idea for a book entered her head.
“The healing that they’ve received, and that I’ve experienced through the Church, [is what] I seek to share in this book,” she said.
Readers may be surprised to discover the sexual trauma experienced by high caliber saints such as Thomas Aquinas.
Dawn related to LifeSiteNews the story of Saint Thomas Aquinas, whose family imprisoned him after he announced his desire to become a Dominican friar. They finally resorted to weakening Thomas’ resolve by sending a beautiful prostitute to seduce the young man in his cell, strategizing that if he broke his vow of chastity, he might abandon his desire for religious life. Upon seeing the women, Thomas brandished a burning log from the fireplace and drove the women from his cell.
“[In my book] I talk about how Thomas responded to that, and how the prayer that he offered up to God in the wake of the terrible trauma is a model for our own prayer”, Dawn said.
Other saints mentioned in the book include Saint Ignatius of Loyola, who Dawn says, through his Suscipe prayer offered his very memory to God thereby showing a way to “purification of memory”.
“…the memories of traumatic events, whether present to us or not, remain part of,” Dawn wrote in her book. “That is why there is something very beautiful about St. Ignatius offering his memory to God. The saint acknowledges there are things he cannot change … and at the same time displays the bold hope that his Maker will accept him as he is now.”
Readers will discover in Dawn’s book secrets to emotional and psychological healing from saints such as Josephine Bakhita, Gemma Galgani, Sebastian, Maria Goretti, Therese of Lisieux, and Bernard of Clairvaux.
Alice von Hildebrand praised My Peace I Give You as a “powerful and poignant voice formulating in words the unspoken cry of the heart from those who have been shamefully abused and violated. Dawn Eden — a victim herself — shows readers that there is healing not in repression or misplaced self-blame, but in hiding in the wounds of Christ.”
The book has received an imprimatur (an official declaration from the Catholic Church allowing the book to be printed) from the Archbishop of Washington, D.C., Donald Cardinal Wuerl.
Dawn’s first book, The Thrill of the Chaste: Finding Fulfillment While Keeping Your Clothes On, published in 2006, presents single people with a compelling argument that chastity is more “hope-filled” and “vibrant” than sex outside of marriage.
Dawn Eden is hoping to tour throughout the country and beyond, volunteering to speak about healing sexual wounds with the help of the saints.
To contact Dawn for a speaking engagement:
[email protected]
Dawn’s blog
The Dawn Patrol
See related LSN coverage:
* Dawn Eden – Driven to Pro-Life and Faith by Rebellion – LifeSiteNews Interview
* US Chastity Speaker Meets “Toughest Crowd” at Ontario Catholic High School
* Christopher West and Company Vs. ‘Custody of the Eyes’