Recognizing God in Small Moments Recognizing God in the everyday moments are an art. Whether we are young, somewhere in the middle or old. Life has its slow times and the busy times. I think having eyes to see “His hand” in all we do is something that take patience! Think for a moment about […]
I stood by helplessly and watched as a text message received by one of my older children instantly transformed a situation that showed much promise into a state of uncertainty. My child was visibly disappointed and frustrated. All I could do was give a reassuring hug and offer some words of consolation. Throughout my work […]
In nine years, I’ve never gone into my Catholic Mom’s Bible Study / Book Club and said, “We need to read this book today,” but I did that with the latest book by Kate Wicker. If you are always perfectly fulfilled in your role as a mother and you have a group of well-behaved children […]
Shortly after I got married, a good priest gave me some sage advice: look at all your daily frustrations as a source of holiness. Later that day, my husband did something that irritated me, so I said to him through clenched teeth: “You are making me so holy right now.” Of course, this made us […]
Mary’s Way: The Power of Entrusting Your Child to God by Judy Landrieu Klein is the latest offering in the CatholicMom.com book collection. In the Introduction, Klein states that “it is among a mother’s most important labors to pray diligently for her children.” She also offers two life lessons that she has learned from motherhood: […]
The most terrifying aspect of living out Catholic sexuality is that it requires us to unflinchingly kill an entire world of potentials. In this world of dreamers, it can be very difficult to commit oneself to a given way of life simply because it entails giving up all other ways of life. It can be […]
When I was child, I thought of mercy as something that was granted only to a person who really needed it, such as a big sinner, or when I did something really bad. I never thought about how mercy can be a part of everyday life. If we are open to the expansive nature of […]
In the Foreward to Divine Mercy for Moms: Sharing the Lessons of St. Faustina, Fr. Michael Gaitley, MIC refers to St. Faustina’s “Prayer of Transformation from Within.” In that Prayer, “St. Faustina asks to be transformed into a living reflection of God’s mercy, specifically praying that her eyes, ears, tongue, hands, feet, and heart be […]
Mothers are by far the most beautiful creatures in the world. There is nothing more beautiful than a mother. There has never been a beauty pageant winner more beautiful than a pregnant woman. A pregnant woman glows with the grace of God. She is one with God. Her love has borne fruit with the life […]
Every once in a while, I come across a story that stops me in my tracks. Like the Italian high court’s decision to overturn a pedophile’s conviction because his 11-year-old victim says she’s “in love.” Or the Australian judge who pointed out that easy access to abortion and contraception may lead to the legal sanction of incest, as it […]
Just in time for Mother’s Day comes a genuinely fun and funny film about the crazy adventure that is parenting, specifically motherhood (with a serving of fatherhood on the side). If you’ve seen the snappy trailer, the movie does deliver on its promise, and there’s lots more LOLs where that came from. But…. Dear Southern […]
Celebrate Mother’s Day a Different Way (Originally published in CL 5/7/13 With Mother’s Day approaching, like any modern day mom, I am looking forward to celebrating the day. I must admit, I love breakfast in bed, I love receiving the gifts, the flowers, the homemade cards. I particularly enjoy enjoying relishing in the graces of […]
There have been certain times in my life when I felt uncomfortable about my relationship with Mary. And by Mary I mean the mother of God. I felt that I was supposed to be close with her, as a Catholic, but I just wasn’t sure what that was supposed to look like. When my sister became pregnant […]
At midday on Sunday the Pope appeared at the window of his study to recite the Angelus with the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square and, before the Marian prayer, he commented on today’s Gospel reading in which Jesus tells a parable on the need to pray, always and incessantly. “The protagonist is a widow […]
“Hey Patti, I’m getting serious about praying for my family. I’m going to do a 40-day fast and daily rosary, do you want to join me?” My friend Shellie Rusch asked me this recently. She has six kids and we have a spiritual sisterhood in many ways. As a wife and mother of ten, I […]
You can never anticipate the feelings you will go through following a pregnancy loss. Nothing in life prepares you for it and no one ever thinks it will happen to them. Of all the emotions I went through after each of my three losses, the one that kept surprising me over and over again was […]
My husband married a woman who had the ability to laugh things off, to be spontaneous, to work hard and get ‘er done. And then I got pregnant, had a baby, got pregnant, had a baby, and so on five times in a row. My five kids are aged 5, 4, 3, and 1 year […]
The hugely successful Small Steps for Catholic Moms: Your Daily Call to Think, Pray, and Act by Danielle Bean and Elizabeth Foss was originally published in 2010, but fell victim to a publisher closure and went out of print. Ave Maria Press has re-released this popular book as part of the CatholicMom.com series of books. […]
Because I’m known for blogging about the mishaps and joys inherent in raising a large family, it may surprise some of you to know that I have no siblings myself. I am an only child. I know, right? We onlies are a rare breed to begin with, but onlies who go on to have a slew of kids? […]
For most women when the buzzing alarm goes off in the morning, it isn’t because farm chores await completion and the baking of a hearty breakfast beckons. That’s someone else’s story. Instead, most likely, eyes peel open in order to face the daily grind—coffee, a commute, and a cubical. These days, there is more and […]
I never met a mom who thought she had enough help. So here’s a few ideas to make your days a little easier. Some ideas come from me, and some from other moms, but they’re all offered from someone who’s been there, done that, and wants to pass on what she’s learned. 1. Ask for […]
The Guardian U.K. recently published an article entitled Should we care that smart women aren’t having kids? The piece was based on the work of Satoshi Kanazawa, a London School of Economics psychologist who conducted research on the link between intelligence and maternal urges and wrote the book The Intelligence Paradox based on his findings. […]
The Lullaby of Tears When Jesus was a little child As evening’s shadows lay, The Holy Virgin held Him close For tired was He from play. And Heaven sent in shining white The angels to their King Who kissed His precious baby hands Then knelt to pray and sing. The flowers bloomed to hear their […]
After experiencing my own unplanned pregnancy, and now working at a crisis pregnancy resource center, everything that I ever thought about being pro-life has completely changed. I realized that before I got some perspective, I actually wasn’t very pro-life at all. Yes, I believed that abortion was wrong, so in that sense I was pro-life, […]
