Just a Catholic Mom

Saint Teresa of Avila: Feast Day October 15th (My rendition of François Gérard’s painting “Teresa of Ávila”  1827) "Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing make you afraid. All things are passing. God alone never changes. Patience gains all things. If you have God, you will want for nothing. God alone suffices.”  It's been a while since I've written a blog post, and as I reflect upon the words of Saint Teresa of Avila's "Serenity Prayer" above, I cannot help but find comfort in them. Living in a time when everything in the world seems to be turned upside down, and logic and truth abandoned, the wisdom of Saint Teresa offers hope, consolation, and peace.  Teresa of Avila lived in a time similar to our own. Born in the 16th century, she witnessed a world that contained globalism, political conflicts, and religious tensions following the Protestant Reformation. Yet during this turmoil, she trusted in God. She lived a life of contemplation, excelled in writing and p...

Saint Junipero Serra: Feast Day July 1st Happy Feast Day, Saint Junipero Serra!  In 2014, when my husband and I were dating, we were blessed with the opportunity to visit the Basilica in Carmel, California that Saint Junipero founded and where he is buried. Below are some photos I took from our 2014 trip as well as the front of the visitor’s brochure that I kept. Seeing one of the missions that Saint Junipero founded, and where Pope Saint John Paul II also visited, was an amazing experience! Gazing upon the heritage of the Catholic faith in the United States, the beautiful architecture, and experiencing the serenity of the basilica's surroundings, was surreal!  It saddens me, however, that Saint Junipero Serra, who was canonized a saint in 2015 by Pope Francis, is sometimes viewed negativity. During his life, Saint Junipero treated the Native peoples in the missions with a care and dignity that others often did not exhibit towards Native peoples at the time. He learned their l...

Saint Rose of Lima: Feast Day August 23 "Apart from the cross, there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven." These beautiful and thought provoking words, spoken by Saint Rose of Lima, challenge us to recognize and embrace the various crosses that we carry during our lives. As we accept and carry our crosses, we come to realize that during these moments of struggle, we are strengthened by Christ's love and filled with the graces we need to persevere and be molded ever closer into the saints we are meant to become. We learn, through the cross, that love contains pain, suffering and sacrifice, and that love— true love— is a complete and unconditional surrender of self for the love of another. It wasn't until I became a mother, however, that I truly began to understand this reality and grow to this point in my faith journey. Through childbirth, I learned the beauty of pain and sacrifice for love of another and that pain is a gift. Bringing the life of a child i...

Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross: Feast Day August 9th Edith Stein, the future Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, was born into a German family and brought up in the Jewish faith. During her adolescence/young adulthood, however, she turned away from her faith and became agnostic. After earning her doctorate degree, Edith Stein was drawn to the Catholic faith and eventually the Discalced Carmelite Order, where she became Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. My daughter and I have been reading C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe , and it occured to me that Saint Teresa Benedicta of the the Cross is somewhat like Susan. When I was a child, I read the entire Chronicles of Narnia series, and after reading the last book, The Last Battle — spoiler alert— I was sad and sorry for Susan, because she had not joined the others in Aslan's country, and that she’d been caught up in the world and worldly things. Yet in The Lion the Witch and the Ward...

Saint John Vianney: Feast Day August 4th  Today we celebrate Saint John Vianney, a French priest known as "The Cure d'Ars." During his life, he listened to confessions for hours a day, and through his dedication to hearing confessions, he reminds us just how important the Sacrament of Reconciliation is not only to the laity, but also to priests. As patron saint of priests, he serves as a reminder that priests should not only always have a dedicated time for Reconciliation available for the faithful, but that they should also be available and willing to hear confessions whenever someone approaches them. I feel like the Sacrament of Reconciliation is unfortunately often overlooked. Yet through Saint John Vianney's love and devotion to this sacrament, we are reminded of the graces waiting for us in Reconciliation, and of Jesus' Divine Mercy for us. If you haven't been to Reconciliation in a while, be inspired by Saint John Vianney to go to confession. The burdens...

Saints Joachim and Anne: Feast Day July 26th Have you ever thought about the fact that Jesus had grandparents? When God the Son took on human flesh, he also paced himself within the dynamics of the human family. Although there is no specific reference in the Bible to the Blessed Virgin Mary’s parents by name, the Church celebrates Jesus' maternal grandparents under the names Saint Joachim and Saint Anne. It took a special father and mother to raise, care for, and help prepare the Blessed Virgin Mary for her future vocation and extraordinary relationship with God the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and her saintly husband, Saint Joseph; and those special parents were no doubt saints themselves. Speaking of Saint Joseph, his parents would also have been grandparents of the Lord. Celebrating Jesus' grandparents today, reminds us that grandparents are the keepers and transmitters of family history and tradition, and are the patriarchs and matriarchs of families, holding generatio...