Just a Catholic Mom

Presentation of the Lord: Feast Day Feb. 2nd  Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of The Presentation of the Lord. This is the day that Saint Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary took the infant Jesus to the temple to consecrate Him to the Lord. I recently learned from the book, Theology of the Body for Beginners , by Christopher West, something even more insightful about Jesus’ presentation at the temple. Besides just fulfilling Jewish law, the presentation was the day that the Lord returned to the temple as the Bridegroom. How amazing is that to think about?!  As Christians, we can draw a connection to Jesus’ dedication to the Lord in our lives by reflecting upon our Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. Most of us were baptized as infants—set apart as children of God—like Jesus was consecrated to the Father as an infant. As teens, we then took a personal ownership of our Baptismal vows by reaffirming them to the Lord and then receiving His gift of being sealed by The Hol...

Saint Angela Merici: Feast Day Jan. 27th  Today we celebrate Saint Angela Merici. After reading about her, as a mother, I find Saint Angela to be extremely inspiring and a good role model. During her life, she founded the first teaching congregation of women in the Church, where she made it her mission to educate women in the faith, so that they could teach their children the faith and be able to build strong faith filled families. Building the Domestic Church of the family was definitely important in Saint Angela’s lifetime, but I believe it is even more important today. The family has always been the building block of society, and as many Saints have verbalized, “when the family goes, so goes society.”  You and your spouse, as a Catholic mom and dad, are the first catechists in your children’s faith.  Today, pray for Saint Angela’s intercession to help your family’s faith life flourish and grow! Celebrating Through Food: Since Saint Angela was from Italy, make grilled c...

Reflect on Scripture and Read Books that Help You Grow Spiritually: When I read today’s scripture verse from my Mary Day by Day daily meditations book, “Everyone who asks, receives; and the one who searches, finds; and to the one who knocks, it shall be opened” (Luke 11:10), I couldn’t help but smile.  Every time I hear or read this passage from scripture, I think back to a wonderful memory and little miracle. It was summertime, I was home from college, and I’d decided to go to daily Mass. I arrived at church a few minutes early and went inside. After I’d been   sitting in the pew for a while, I started to wonder if there was Mass that morning, because no one else was there. It wasn’t long after thinking this, however, that a few women came in and explained to me that they’d been trying to set up for Mass but the keys had accidentally gotten locked in the cabinet where the chalice and other Mass items were kept. I replied that I had a Bobbie-pin we could try to unlock the lock...

Saul Saw the Light—The Conversion of Saint Paul: Feast Day Jan. 25 Today we celebrate Saint Paul’s conversion. How many times have you been like Saint Paul? Have you ever been blinded by things that have prevented you from seeing God in your life? I’m sure it’s safe to say we’ve all been like Saint Paul at different points in our lives, whether we’ve felt better than others—that our way must indeed be the right way—or we’ve just not been able to see what we should really be doing, because we haven’t opened our hearts to fully trust in the Lord’s will. Like Saint Paul was struck blind on his way to Damascus, we too must be open to embracing our blindness so that we can follow the light of the Lord and, like Saint Paul, grow in our faith and regain our sight—an even clearer sight.  I find it interesting that the name “Saul,” in Hebrew, means to ask/question, and the name “Paul” derives from Roman lineage meaning small/humble. I wonder if this might be an inspiration for us to ask que...

Read the Bible: How many times have you read your favorite book? For many of us, we’ve probably read it at least twice, and probably even more times than that. From the age span of 11 to 19, I remember devouring the Harry Potter series. With each new book release, I’d spend hours a day reading about Harry and his friends’ magical adventures, and in between releases, I would go back and re-read previous books again. It took me a while, but when I was in grad school, and contemplating a lot of things, I started wondering—why had I never read the Bible? Sure, every three years the Catholic Church completes its cycle of reading the Bible at Mass and then begins reading it again, but why had I never actually sat down and read the Bible? Why had I never opened the most important book ever written? The greatest love story of all time? So, I got out my Bible my Sunday School teacher gifted me for Christmas in the third grade, and I made a Lenten promise that year that I would read the Bible in...

Teach the Sacraments and Let God’s Light Shine: As Catholics, we are so blessed to have seven sacraments available to us during our lifetimes! Although some of the sacraments can only be experienced once in a person’s life (e.g. Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Matrimony or Holy Orders), the sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and Reconciliation can be received regularly, and the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick whenever there is a need.  So what exactly is a sacrament? In simplified terms, a sacrament is an opportunity to receive grace from God. As defined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, grace is favor, the free undeserved help God gives us. Through the sacraments, we have amazing opportunities to experience God's gift of grace and allow Him to work through our lives! When you look at the sacraments, they can be divided into three parts: (1) Sacraments of Initiation into the Church—Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, (2) Sacraments of Healing—Reconciliation and Anointing of t...

Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of the Unborn: January 22nd  Never Forsaken—Always Wanted I knew you in your mother’s womb, Before the world knew you Your heart was beating, I smiled Each little hair upon your head I counted  Each tiny finger and each toe Oh, the life you would have! Who you would grow to be Your thoughts, your words, Your soul... If only they loved and wanted you as much as me Such a gift you are and will always be Before the world knew you  I knew you  And I always will You were always wanted, child I have always wanted you  As we gaze from Heaven, sadly upon the world,  I press you to my Sacred Heart and whisper,  Whisper how much I love you How the world, in its brokenness, said they didn’t want you, didn’t see you as a gift, didn’t see the love you are, I whisper  You are my child, I always loved you, always wanted you and always will  You smile  I press you to my heart and bring you home  I’ve always ch...

Baptism of the Lord: The Last Day of Christmas  “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11) Today we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. Since Jesus is God and, therefore, sinless and perfect, he didn’t need to be baptized, but by being baptized, he gave us a sacrament for adoption into his family—a means to become children of God. What makes the Sacrament of Baptism important? (1) Baptism claims us as children of God, forgiving us of our sins, (“I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”), it is the first sacrament of initiation into the Church and Her mission, and through Baptism, God gifts us with grace. What exactly is grace? The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines it as: “Grace is favor, the free undeserved help that God gives us to respond to His call to become children of ...

Saint John Neumann: Feast Day Jan. 5th Saint John Neumann, the first American Bishop to be canonized and Patron Saint of Catholic Education, has a special place in my heart. My late grandfather’s name was John Neumann, and when my brother was confirmed, he selected our grandfather to be his sponsor and chose Saint John Neumann as his patron. I like to reflect on the reality that as our grandfather, John Neumann, stood beside him as his sponsor, Saint John Neumann prayed in Heaven for my brother at his Confirmation. Aside from this neat family name connection with a Saint, as a former teacher I also find Saint John Neumann to be inspiring, since he helped increase the number of Catholic schools while he was Bishop of Philadelphia and brought numerous religious sisters into the schools to teach. Faith instruction of children and young people was definitely important to Saint John Neumann. If you are interested in reading more about Saint John Neumann, check out this article from Francis...

Study the Saints: As I write this post, four days into the New Year, I’m called to reflect upon what New Year’s Resolution I can make that will be the most beneficial for my family and myself. A word that’s inspiring and that comes to mind is “Saints.” Celebrating the Saints on their feast days is wonderful and has been a blessing to my family. My children have learned about various holy men, women, and children from all places of the world and times in history, and they have been able to try foods from various cultures. I love how the Catholic Church is universal! Matthew Kelly wrote a book entitled Rediscover the Saints that I read last year, and I believe it has been part of a catalyst that has taken me to the next level of learning about the Saints. Celebrating saintly feast days is wonderful, but taking the time to read the actual writings of the Saints can be an even bigger game changer and blessing in your life and the lives of your family members. To date, I’ve only read the D...