Category: Motherhood

  • Book Review: New Mom’s Prayer Bible

    New Mom’s Prayer Bible: Encouragement for Your First Year Together Zondervan Press If you have a Protestant friend or family member who is expecting or recently given birth, The “New Mom’s Prayer Bible” would make a lovely gift. It can be so hard to focus on one’s spiritual life during those sleep-deprived emotionally exhausting days […]

  • There is More than One Way to Be a Good Mom

    The word vocation means a “call.” In Catholic circles, it refers to a call from God. Many women receive a call from God to motherhood. It is a noble call, a challenging call, a call that will frequently bring a woman to her personal limits and to her knees in prayer. Yet, it has immense […]

  • The Importance of Parents as Teachers

    I was recently reading the September 2010 issue of “Living” magazine. Not surprisingly, inside of it was an ad featuring Martha Stewart. What was surprising was the subject matter. Martha was not touting the latest home beautification item or her paint or furniture line. Rather, the headline read “Behind every famous person is a fabulous […]

  • Book Review: “St. Gianna Beretta Molla: A Modern Day Hero of Divine Love”

    St. Gianna Beretta Molla: A Modern Day Hero of Divine Love by Thomas J. McKenna San Diego: Catholic Action for Faith and Family, 2008 At the canonization of St. Gianna Beretta Molla, Pope John Paul II stated “The extreme sacrifice she sealed with her life testifies that only those who have the courage to give […]

  • Love and Beauty

    A doctor was helping a woman give birth to her fifth child. Her four previous births had been at home, but this had been a difficult pregnancy, so he suggested that she give birth in a hospital this time around. Thankfully, the birth went well. As the doctor cleaned up the baby, he couldn’t help […]

  • Changing the World One Small Step at a Time

    “Sharing the Tradition, Shaping the Future” is a 2001 publication put out by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Designed to be used by small faith-sharing groups over the course of seven weeks, the introduction states that the group “can explore how these basic [Catholic social] teachings affect our individual lives. With the Holy […]

  • Accepting Imperfection

    “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) Perfection. Every woman I know strives for it and comes up woefully short, myself included. We want to be perfect wives and mothers, to be successful in our work, have clean homes, pray as much as we should, be good friends, exercise and […]

  • Conscience 101

    I think that one of the hardest things about being a Mom is the realization that I am no longer only responsible for my own soul. I am also accountable for my children’s souls as well. I have to teach them right from wrong and how to make good decisions. I need to teach them […]

  • Book Review: The Handbook for Catholic Moms

    The Handbook for Catholic Moms: Nurturing Your Heart, Mind, Body, and Soul by Lisa M. Hendey Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 2010 Reading The Handbook for Catholic Moms: Nurturing Your Heart, Mind, Body, and Soul is like having a warm and inviting conversation with a group of your closest Mom friends. Lisa Hendey, founder […]

  • Sundays Exist for Moms, too!

    This month long period of Ordinary Time between the Christmas season and the start of Lent offers a good opportunity to reflect on the meaning and importance of Sunday. The keeping holy of Sunday is both a continuation and a new fulfillment of the Jewish law to “keep holy the Sabbath.” The Sabbath is on […]