My Story

Hello, my name is Penni Warner. My husband and I have been married for 26 years, and we have four children. Both of us were raised in the Southern Baptist denomination, and converted to the Catholic Faith in the year 2000.

Back in 2012 I began to develop a strong devotion to the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and began singing and praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet every morning. My love for Christ continued to grow, and through the Divine Mercy Chaplet Christ began showing me in a more profound way how He sacrificed Himself for me so that I may have eternal life.

One day I was singing the Divine Mercy Chaplet and my heart ached because I could not express how thankful I was to Jesus, and how much I loved Him. So, I asked Him to tell me what more I could do to express how much I loved Him. At that moment, Jesus appeared to my left. He was crouching, bloody and bruised, as He was on the day of His Passion. He looked up at me, and with just His eyes, which were clear blue as if you were looking into the bottom of the ocean, He communicated to me His unending love. Then the Holy Spirit inspired me to write these words...

I love you, oh my God, I love you.
I love you, oh my Jesus, I love you.
I love you, Holy Spirit, I love you.
My love for you flows like a river, I praise you my Holy Savior.
I love you, my heart cries out, I will glorify your name!
I reach out, I touch your face, I worship you in this beautiful place.
Oh, most holy one, you saved my soul, let me love you, you make me whole.

Then the Holy Spirit instructed me to make a chaplet with these words, which would be called The Love Chaplet. Christ loved us sacrificially, and He died to show us His unconditional love and mercy. The Holy Spirit shared with me that there are many struggles to come, and that He is asking us to show that same sacrificial love for Him as He did for us, even to the point of death. He showed me that there is a battle for souls and that the youth will be on the front lines in that battle.

Shortly after I wrote the words of the prayer down, the Holy Spirit provided a melody and instructed me to send the prayer to a specific gentleman, and to ask him to write a song with the lyrics of the prayer. He did, and sent it back to me. When I listened to it I was amazed because he had written the music exactly like the Holy Spirit had given it to me in my head. It was then that I realized that this Love Chaplet was a special way to spread the message of Christ's sacrificial love for us, and how it would be a tool to help us show our sacrificial love for him in return.

After praying the Love Chaplet myself for 5 years, I began to see the fruits of it in my life, and in the lives of others. I believed that the Holy Spirit wanted me to begin to share the Love Chaplet more widely with others. In August of 2017 I met a beautiful lady named Annie Karto . Annie is a Catholic singer/speaker who has spread the message of the Divine Mercy for over 25 years. She introduced me to Barry Hartglass, who has produced numerous albums for well-known Catholic singers, such as Annie Karto and Donna Cori Gibson. My husband and I decided that it was time to record the Love Chaplet.

But before we went ahead with what we felt God wanted us to do, I wanted the permission of our bishop, Bishop James Johnston of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. I didn't want to do anything like this without the permission of my shepherd. After getting in contact with the bishop's office, I was sent to talk to a spiritual director, who is a wise, elderly, retired priest by the name of Father Richard Quinn. We met together a couple of times, and at the end of my last meeting Father Quinn said to me, "You tell Bishop Johnston that Father Quinn sees nothing wrong with this chaplet."

After this I was able to meet with Bishop Johnston myself. I gave him a chaplet, and shared with him the story of how it come about. Several months later I received an email from the bishop's administrative assistant who wrote, "Bishop Johnston asked that I let you know that he does not see anything wrong with your Chaplet and that you may share it with others if you wish."

So with my bishop's permission to share it with others, I recorded the Love Chaplet with vocalists Annie Karto, Donna Cori Gibson, Jennifer Grace, and Maya Harmony (you can listen to the song here). Since then, we have started a ministry called Grace & Mercy Ministries to share the Love Chaplet, and to minister through word and song. I am so excited about what God has done, and is going to do, in our lives. I hope you find peace and inspiration in praying the Love Chaplet as I do.