Modern catholic mom Joseph is to our Church. Well, it’s been an intense week. But one evening, I walked outside to shut the coop, and something wasn’t right. Mom says the final battle will be for the familyI’m with youit’s time to know who we’re fighting and fight back! This is a war for souls, to rob us of our peace and joy, to distract from God and His promise to love us to the end. Dive in, explore and incorporate the one’s that are life-giving for you and your family. . Her siblings have her to thank for teaching us the most important lessons in life — and what it means to really love somebody. To be a woman is a GIFT, and I just wish every woman would realize just how much of a gift it is. ©Modern Catholic Mom 2019 We regularly have lively discussions on theology and philosophy and current events — and though ultimately the choice for God comes down to an individual choice in each one of our kids — we’ve tried to make it clear why we believe choosing God and choosing to do His will is the most important choice we could Happy Friday Everybody! I’ve been meaning to share this podcast that I recently recorded with Christine Mooney of the Catholic Mama Podcast. Wow, Advent has been like a mini Lent — exactly what the Church says it’s supposed to be — but I don’t really like to suffer and be inconvenienced so it has been a time of s Last week, I posted a simple picture on Instagram with some words of encouragement to all the parents out there trying to parent and potty-train and tackle the plethora of other responsibilities that are a part of being mom and dad to people we adore. I would love to connect with you! E-mail: moira(@)moderncatholicmom(dot)com Facebook: @modcatholicmom Twitter: @modcatholicmom ©Modern Catholic Mom 2019. All those flaws –and there are many — probably set people at ease too. “Beloved, let us love one another; God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him; if anyone says, “I love God” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. Believe it or not, it’s way different than praying as a single person in so many ways — at least, it’s different because you need to learn to be flexible and to go with the punches. Strange – “Uh Oh” was the first phrase of my 3 youngest children –probably because their mom is always saying “Uh Oh! to this mess or “Uh Oh” to that disaster. This year, it happens to be the shortest Advent we can possibly have — with the 4th Sunday of Advent also being Christmas Eve — so it’s more important than ever to be intentional about living out Advent. On that day, it seems, Jesus determined our littlest guy was ready for his first communion! That was an unexpected part of our pilgrimage, but an unexpectedly joy-filled moment for ©Modern Catholic Mom 2022 So often in life, if we don’t take time to understand the “why” we’re going to get a lot wrong about our homes and the choices we make in them. A meal shared in common is a wonderfully powerful thing — beyond our understanding — which is why I believe we need to bring the art of a shared meal back into common practice. To be honest, it can be a bit confusing as to exactly how many days of Christmas there are. Dad called John who answered the phone and told Dad about (the baby) not breathing. Okay, I know what you’re thinking. Today, a young man from Ireland sent a kind little word about a post in my Instagram stories. In the TOB, John Paul II urged us to go back to the beginning. Honestly, I tried to write a post earlier in the week, and I was just too drained to get a coherent thought out of my head — that and the fact that my house is falling apart — which means I can just about manage to get a 7 Quick Takes post out for the week. Van Gogh had his Starry Night and we have ours! Really looking forward to the next time we can fill this space with all the people we love, who are not part of our immediate family — but for now, it will be a party of 8. Hey everybody, it is Natural Family Planning awareness week! I figured an honest look at the challenges of living out NFP is in order, but first a little background on my own NFP journey. How’s your Lent going? I know it’s only been two days — but it feels like it’s going to be a looong Lent. In our first moments on Las Ramblas, many of the kids and I refused to walk down the center of the famous pedestrianized walkway. That awful, horrid place were children and parents are left to live sad, lonely lives — spurned by the families with well-behaved children. One more word of advice is to begin the weekly practice of fasting. As a mom of a biggish family, I thought I would share my #1 tip for making Advent a little bit more prayerful and a little less cray-cray. Honestly, John and I had our questions, too. And, believe me, this quote has everything to do with Lent. Love fuels everything ©Modern Catholic Mom 2021. The sunburns, the bugs, the dangers that hiking through fields and swimming in lakes present — I am not blind to the challenges and dangers of this most favorite time of year. My mom handing a symbolic “rose” to Ronald and Nancy Reagan. Moira November 23, 2018 at 11:33 am Reply You know, sometimes we can allow our fear of “offending” somebody get in the way of saying the very thing that we know will set them free. " Why does that matter? Because it's the only thing that does matter. Actually this song has little to do with this Basically it was the Catholic version of the heresy of the predestination, and it took root in France with devastating results. And you know what else, going to Rome makes you proud to be Catholic — it shows you all the contributions that our Church has made in society, and it was a reminder of the Heavenly City which will one day be We have reached the halfway point in Lent — yay us! Lent has been just what it should be — difficult and beautiful and really, really long. Once upon a time, I traveled around the country giving chastity talks. Fortunately, though, she also taught me that family has to be the priority and that sometimes that means we have to let the world think we’re clinically insane because our family need us to The phrase, “the woman is the heart of the home” may result in very different reactions, depending upon the circles you find yourself in. Catholics are fun, and if you’ve developed some warped sense that we’re supposed to be serious and gloomy all the time — think again! The clerk was a really nice new mom and she started asking me about my kids — and then she started to share how she was still nursing her 9 month old a few times a night — she said it like it was a bad thing to do. We aren’t Puritans — no offense Puritans 🙁 — we like wine and food and dancing and good old-fashioned fun. It is symbolic of God’s plan to work with Mary to overcome evil in the world. “when I should be doing other things”. Okay, this is technically number 8 in my suggestions, but Holy Thursday is the historical founding of the priesthood and A funny thing happens when you are about to drop your daughter off at college for the first time: you begin to evaluate how well you have prepared your child for this moment. I would say this, try to be the one who speaks to them about it before they hear it in a classroom or religious ed program. Hello Everybody! Merry Christmas! I decided to dust off the old blog to wish you all a very beautiful Christmas Season and Happy New Year! I’m still trying to figure out how best to use the time I have been given — is it best to write in this cozy little space on the internet — or to focus on the cyber “public square” that is social media? I’m grateful for all the great Catholic women with blogs – you and several others are a great inspiration to me and I have really grown in my faith and been encouraged by reading. I just wanted to share a podcast I was on recently with Christine of Catholic Mama Podcast, talking about learning to pray as a Mom (or a Dad!). Besides that, totally on the up and up. The long and the short of it is, it did not disappoint. (© Modern Catholic Mom 2019) But I have to be honest, there were good people who questioned why we would attend the World Gathering of Families and the closing Mass with Pope Francis. To be honest, it’s not because I want to write a post. with kids. I’m perfectly confident in the choices I’ve made to try to live out my faith, and I really don’t give a flying flip what random people think of those choices. Make time for Jesus and the many surprising gifts He has for you and your I begin this post on a day that I am wrestling to make sense of the tragic death of a young mother — a faithful Catholic, getting ready to jump into her minivan of little kids and head off to ©Modern Catholic Mom 2019. I ran to the coop to do a head countthree chickens missing. Unlike other movements, we don’t think that the way to progress is by stepping on the weak and vulnerable to get what you want. During Advent, the themes of light and darkness are front and center, and if you take the time to meditate upon those things, you are meant to find yourself changed at the end of the 4 weeks time. For me, it is the fastest way to remove the bitterness in my heart and to respond in the way God is really asking me to Hello Jessica, Great question. The beauty, the joy, the answers to my questions, the “bells and smells”, getting to know the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Mary and the Saints — I love all of it. I wish to provide you and your readers with my telling of what happened that day. Sometimes, what is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, can end up becoming quite stressful — ’tis the The Theology of the Body (TOB), as the Catholic world knows it, rose out of a series of talks, given by one of the greatest Saints of modern times, John Paul II. Perhaps it’s because people tend to confuse guilt with shame, and hence the bad wrap for Catholic guilt — but I’m here to say Catholic guilt can be a good thing — and before you write this post off as cray-cray I’ll learn, because I am a mom of 6 kids, and that’s what mom’s of six kids do: we learn to make it through and trust that God isn’t trying to torture us when things go wrong. I’m sitting down to write a post. It’s not to say that we won’t fall into the same sins again, but we should never accept those sins as part of who we are and ©Modern Catholic Mom 2017. Honestly, sometimes I feel like I need to apologize for knowing so little about what it really meant to be a mother when she first came along. If you haven’t read Last weeks post to understand the background and the differences between the Greek Orthodox Mass and a Roman Catholic Mass, you might want to go back and check that out. Case in point: last summer, we had to treat a child for Lyme Disease. (Author’s note: At time of writing, the vaccine is limited in availability and being As an aside, maybe it’s a mom thing, or an introvert thing — but I took advantage of this Lift to space out for a few minutes. Mike January 13, 2017 The ©Modern Catholic Mom 2021. The 12 stars are a representation of the Apostles and the Church which is centered around Jesus and Mary. He was so gracious that he didn’t really seem to notice the mess. For some unknown reason, we felt it unsafe and kept Let us not forget the the Catholic Church is not the possession of the Cardinals, Bishops or priests who have done evil or allowed evil to continue — it is Christ’s Church — and we have a duty to stay and do our part to clean up our Father’s House. Perhaps it’s the physical closeness of us having to sit up front with our drivers, or maybe it’s the ©Modern Catholic Mom 2021. Drumroll please. I think it’s my introverted way to try to recharge my batteries after all the social interactions that can become overwhelming for me. It’s an adventure that will likely be full of wonderful memories you will take back with you to your Well, it’s that time of year — chocked full of family gatherings and recitals and work parties galore. Kateri Tekakwitha and St. I know it has been good for me, how about y Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope the past few weeks have been full of time with family and friends. We have a duty to stay actively involved in the voting process and in advocating for reforms. Just getting back to life after a 20 year reunion in Phoenix. Let it be known, this March was founded on Love — love for all people of every race, creed and ability — and that Love is what makes it different from other movements. So, before you jump onto Pinterest, always begin by asking I have a long history with Joan of Arc — one that goes all the way back to my 8th grade confirmation and choosing her for my patron Saint. We turned the tables a bit and I became the interviewer — Christine and I discussed her abortion and how she is Higher Education is quickly becoming a jokechoose wisely, parents! ©Modern Catholic Mom 2021. Dave! Yes, totally law abidingexcept maybe when running I’m, yet again, running late to one of the kids activities. ” One of the things I love about being Catholic is that Christmas is a Season — which means there isn’t as much pressure to get all the Joy of Christmas packed into one day. How about you? One of my resolutions for Lent came on a Friday, a few months back, when my 6 year old turned to me as we shuffled into the “cryroom/confessional/people trying to avoid the shame of everybody knowing they’ve arrived late” section and asked me, “Why are we always late?” ©Modern Catholic Mom 2020. Lover of the Good, the True & the Beautiful. Why is that? If we’re being honest, sometimes it’s b We are Catholic. ” -Mother Teresa- Mother Teresa knew a lot about family and she knew a lot about poverty, and despite all the suffering she witnessed in Calcutta, she believed that the spiritual poverty of the Western World was far worse than the material poverty of Calcutta. Forget what the world thinks and keep your eyes on that little Baby in His Mother’s womb. Hello Everybody! Merry Christmas! I decided to dust off the old blog to wish you all a very beautiful Christmas Season and Happy New Year! I’m still trying to figure out how best to use the time I have been given — is it best to write in this cozy little space on the internet — or to focus on the cyber “public square” that is social media? If you haven’t read Last weeks post to understand the background and the differences between the Greek Orthodox Mass and a Roman Catholic Mass, you might want to go back and check that out. ~Muhammad Ali~ “God doesn’t always give us what we want, but He always gives us what we need. We found ourselves laughing and talking like friends — because we had our faith in common — and we thanked him for his service and watched him walk away. Hopefully, when the hard weeks come, we have matured enough to realize that they have come because God is trying to help us learn something far more important I just love being Catholic. We have days and weeks to celebrate and let the Joy of Christ really sink deep into your hearts. My only question is what is so “dangerous” about my Catholic content? But I didn’t establish my Modern Catholic Mom social media accounts to fight. Of course, we shouldn’t give to others in order to be “happy” — but there’s no denying that one of the “side-effects” of generosity is happiness. 🙁 They were willing to risk failure as long as they could look themselves, their God, and their kids in the eyes when they were asked “What did you do when this horrific thing was happening?” We have so many beautiful traditions in our Catholic faith. ” ~Me and abou Visit the post for more. Interestingly, in loving your kids, you just might have to engage in a battle that There have been some bad moments in our Church lately — and we need to recognize that — but almost imperceptibly in the background, there also seems to be an awakening going on in the h Consider dedicating Holy Thursday to pray for all priests, for future vocations and thanking God for the gift of the priesthood. Today, I shared over on social media my reaction to when I hear a parent saying they don’t want to “impose” their faith on the their kids, and instead will allow them to choose the faith when they’re older. So do the beautiful little things with love, establish those beautiful traditions for your family — but don’t forget to make time for the greatest gift of Christmas: Jesus! Make time for that little Baby, make room for Him in your heart. Stepping out of my comfort zone and sharing the good news with strangers seemed to come more easily then. It is important to recognize and stand against all forms of racism, in whatever form they take. Time to lighten things up a bit, shall we? I thought I’d offer you my tips on visiting D. Well, we’re two days into Lent and so far, so good. Th How is your Advent going? Not gonna lie, it has been an emotionally draining Advent, thus far. Hello, Moira. Okay then. Catechism of Catholic Church 1817 Ultimately, remember that hope, like all the virtues, is strengthened by living in communion with others. I wish I could convince her that her femininity and her unique feminine genius should be cherished and embraced and shared with others. We had questions on whether the message sent to our kids would be in keeping with 2,000 years of Church teaching. But have to admit, we began parenthood always That’s right, folks, here’s my “7 sure-fire ways to keep your kids Catholic”. In fact, our American work ethic might make it difficult to believe that leisure is an important part of our lives. So make this little quote words you try to live by this Advent. Definitely a highlight of our family travels. Writer in my “free time” a. Allow that little Baby to change you. my life changing advice is try to get all your Christmas shopping done before Advent begin sseriously it can completely transform your Advent experience! A series of events this week — which included a friend sharing her concern about imposing modestly guidelines in our home — led to a deep dive into a very important question, “Does the modesty culture cause shame in women?”. You know, contrary to popular opinion, Jesus didn’t come to earth to ruin all of our fun. Tells you a lot about life in our house! This Lent, I decided to do something different. Happy Easter! Family is in town and events are happening, but I had to take the time to invite you to join me and some great ladies from Instagram for a 90 Day Bible Adventure beginning May 1st. You may know this already, but Mother Teresa is being canonized in Rome this September. ©Modern Catholic Mom 2019. Love compels is to speak, and so we must! Come Holy Spirit! “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. One of my very favorite things about being Catholic is the fact that Christmas isn’t just a day — it’s an entire Season — definitely a huge perk, if you ask me. Joseph is recognized as the Universal patron of the Catholic Church? Well, it’s that time of year — young men and women, across the nation, donning cap and gown, processing down an aisle, listening to speech or two and then they are off to begin their ne She taught me so much about being a mom. The only thing I’m sure of in this world is my faith in God and my love of my husband and family. If XY Chromosome carrying males can apply and beat out women for those dollars that should rightly go to women Today is a big day — the Solemnity of St. I was inspired by the words of Cardinal Robert Sarah in his book The Power of Silence: “The devil invites mankind to rebellion and disorderhe sows discord and incites us to pour out our hatred upon each other(but God) teaches us to ©Modern Catholic Mom 2019. For some reason, as I sat down to write a conclusion to the two previous posts on NFP, one of the more unique chastity talks I ever gave came to mind. This city of Rome — and especially the Vatican contained within it — welcomes all men, women, and children into The needs of the world are great indeed, but you are the only mom or dad your kids will ever have — which makes your love for them irreplaceable. “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good”. Apparently, Catholic Guilt is a thing — at least, it’s a thing in a lot of circles and as often as I’ve heard it referred to, it always seem to be in a negative light. If you have read part 1, and are back for more, God bless you 🙂 So yesterday I shared a little about how I got to that place of becoming a little too “judgy” for my own good. You May Also Like Pax Et Bonum, Fr. At the end of the day, being intentional about these choices will lead to a far more peaceful Advent and joy-filled Christmas. And back home I have had moments when a stranger looks at me with my kids –like I’m some sort of hero — and says “I don’t know how you do it with six kids”. ©Modern Catholic Mom 2018. Before I He remarked that we had a lovely home and he could tell that we were Catholic. Oh well — only 6 weeks to go. Do the small things with great love. My parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins never shied away from saying "I love you. ©Modern Catholic Mom 2020. my life changing advice is try to get all your Christmas shopping done before Advent beginsseriously it can completely transform your Advent experience! As a mom of a biggish family, I thought I would share my #1 tip for making Advent a little bit more prayerful and a little less cray-cray. I want to extend a special welcome to all you mom’s coming over here from the Catholic Mom’s Summit! I’ve put together the following resources for all you amazing moms out there trying to educate yourself on a Theology of the Body, your feminine genius, and helping your kids navigate this sex-saturated world we live in. ” ~Charles Dickens~ I just returned from a two week family pilgrimage to Italy, and on the morning of my return, I woke up thinking, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” — though Dickens was actually writing about the French Revolution, his words perfectly encapsulate our family trip– i There was a recent in-depth study on giving, and it found that those who give to others are actually much happier than those who just spend money on themselves. Apparently leaked documents seem to indicate that Roe V. But Rome is also strangely unlike any other big city in the world– it is literally bursting at the seams with all things Catholic — slowly the big city fades and you begin to notice that everywhere you look there is some aspect of our faith represented in living color. Did you know that St. Wade will be overturned in the Supreme Court and the fight will be brought back to the States — which most constitutional scholars agree (whether or not they support abortion) should have been the case, all along. Funny story: I almost didn’t choose her, based solely on her name. Sintra is an Unesco World Heritage Site — and for good reason — when you step off the train to Sintra, you feel as if you’ve stepped into a fairy tale. Honestly, I am not one of those people who gets a thrill when they open their new day planner and begins to Okay, I guess I should say up front, that — spoiler alert — our family is still Roman Catholic, but after having spent a week and a half in Greece and experiencing their different rite of worship, we feel a kinship with them that we hadn’t before felt. 1) I admit, it’s a little bit of a leap to use wine, instead of “any simple pleasure”, but perhaps it’s because the modern day understanding of the word “pleasure” tends to be grouped in with sexual sins or to any good thing enjoyed to excess. So pray for God to lead you — and then beg him to give you the courage and the fortitude to carry through with your resolutions. But maybe you look at your own life and don’t see anything as extraordinary as becoming the Mother of God — true only one woman will ever have that privilege — but think for a moment about the beauty of the feminine soul. Obviously, anybody could get carried away with “me time”, but in general, I think most moms know when they’re taking it too far. After all, I don’t have to prove anything to anybody who doesn’t fit the description of Triune God. I had been up for a third night in a row worried about all the what-if’s of traveling to Greece and trying to solve the mental gymnastics of having to get rapid tests 48 hours before our arrival in Greece when we needed to show the results before boarding the plane and we had a 10 hour layover in Paris — which Mom and Dad December 24, 2021 at 4:25 pm Reply Merry Christmas from home to you and yours, we will be thinking of you and praying for ALLof you at Mass tomorrow! Yes, mom led the way in speaking up and speaking outespecially when it means helping somebody to embrace a life of true freedom and happiness. You may even find your Honestly, in the back of my mind I can envision my mom telling me that a chaotic home is a sign of mental illness — and in some ways, she’s spot on. Mother Teresa, pray for us! ©Modern Catholic Mom 2016. Advent is upon us. In fact, I guess you could say I’m not “feeling it” right now, but I made a co “I often think that the ideal of our perfection that we set up, and often go through torture to achieve, may not be God’s idea of how He wants us to be at all. I am often asked how I manage to homeschool my children, maintain the family business, keep on top of 6 kids and their activities, and do everything else that I have to do on the daily to keep our family life from imploding. Public Service Announcement: I’m about to rant about Catholicism in the 80’s, but let’s be honest, EVERYTHING WAS BAD IN THE 80’S! I do have a point to the rant, and I hop This week, family is in town and we are getting ready for my oldest son’s Confirmation — Come Holy Spirit! As an aside, May is always crazy — why is that? It’s chocked full In a real way, it is a city that belongs to all of us — for what else does the word “catholic” mean, but universal. On the back of the medal, there is an “M” intertwined with the Cross of Christ surrounded by 12 stars. my life changing advice is try to get all your Christmas shopping done before Advent beginsseriously it can completely transform your Advent experience! Well, today has been all about dealing with technical difficulties with this blog, and after three hours I have made zero progress. In a nutshell, we found ourselves with no Roman Catholic masses available on the Island of Santorini, but a very active Greek Orthodox church. Ha, ha Fr. Thomas Aquinas Winter Blues. I Catholics have big “T” Traditions and little “t’ traditions — it’s part of what makes our Catholic culture so rich and amazing. ) Technically, John and I made our first family pilgrimage to Rome when our oldest daughter was still in utero. Understandably, our life with littles quickly transitioned from world travels to beach travels — and somewhere This is the time of year when everybody around me seems to be setting goals and filling in their day planners. I love the poetry and symbolism that fills our Catholic faith, and Advent is in many ways one of the more poetic times of the liturgical year. C. This concept of a God who only came to save some would obviously distort the idea of a (Summa Theologiae III. That may be something quite dif Did you know it is National Marriage Week? Well, neither did I 😂 — until a good friend of mine reminded me — so in honor of that, I thought I’d share two reflections I shared over on Instagram on the Sacrament of MarriageI hope they bless you and remind you how beautiful this call to marriage truly is! “Quality time is found in the midst of quantity time” ~Deacon Randolph~ When thinking back on our trip to Florence, there is one memory that brings home the truth about quality time: it’s often found in the more ordinary moments and it can happen anywhere, at anytime, and it is the glue that holds family together. Technically, St Bernard wasn’t a dog — but technically a St. I took one look at this picture and thought, “Mary, you get it! You get all the exhaustion, the giving of yourself, the pouring yourself out. Time for another disclaimer: This song does not necessarily reflect the views of the Catholic Church, Modern Catholic Mom, or anybody who didn’t grow up in the early 90’s. Honestly, I’ve had a very positive experience with modesty culture, but I know that is not the case for everybody, and I took her It’s the most wonderful time of the year — or is it? I really, really love Christmas — and if you’re anything like me, you have really fond memories of Christmas trees, twinkling lights, and the building anticipation of wonderful things to come — To be truly Catholic is to know the value of feasting and fasting. 74. Look for moments to just have fun and laugh with your family, putting the to-do lists far away. Maybe you are a reading this and are saddened by the fact that you don’t know any fathers, like the fathers of which I speak? If so, first of all, let me say that I am so sorry that you didn’t have that experience of a good father in your own life! You deserved so much more than that! It is one great big, beautiful, catholic city and I feel so grateful that we had a chance to experience this place together as a family. If you like it, please share it! Pinterest; Twitter; despair sadness St. Love being Catholic. On that day, we each seemed to receive a special grace, unique to our individual temperaments and personalities. I decided it was time to start working on loving my enemies: both past and present. To be fair, we can not ignore the challenges of summer. Number one word of advice is dedicate the first half hour or so of your day to Jesus. Yay for us! :( Did you get yo ©Modern Catholic Mom 2020. The truth be known, Voltaire was actually rather anti-religion in his sentiment, but I’m guessing that Okay, we’ve all been there — we’ve all been in the cry room. And maybe every once in a while, take that opportunity to connect with friends from far off places. “I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly” John 10:10. Sign Up For E-mail Notifications (We Won’t Spam You. a. I may have told you that I started saying the rosary every day 3 years ago with a special devotion to the Wedding Feast at Cana that my children would be able to go to a good Catholic school. You get it!” For the first time in my life, I saw the humanity of Mary breaking through. ©Modern Catholic Mom 2016. So There was one man in particular, who shall remain nameless — well known in the Catholic Youtube world — who claimed Church teaching makes it clear that it is sinful for a women who is married (with or without children) to 42K Followers, 403 Following, 1,436 Posts - Modern Catholic Mom (@moderncatholicmom) on Instagram: "Moira. ) I am often asked how I manage to homeschool my children, maintain the family business, keep on top of 6 kids and their activities, and do everything else that I have to do on the daily to keep our family life from imploding. Don’t forget to pre-order my book, Forcing Your Kids to Be Catholic in 7 Easy Steps, I’ll never forget the moment that I first was asked that question, “Don’t you know what causes that!?” It was at the Chelsea Flower Show in London — and it stands out in my mind because it was one of those rare trips without our kids in tow. This quote by Voltaire seems to be thrown around quite a bit as of late. Obviously, it’s a worthwhile place to visit — for so many reasons — but it is also a very child ©Modern Catholic Mom 2016. Bernard of Clairveaux! 🥳. This statement might seem obvious to some — and slightly offensive to others. Promise. Step two is working for a more just society around us. Zero! As I’ve been unable to connect to an actual human being, it looks like I might not be able to solve my problems. Just goes to show you, God can use anything to reach out to people. Joseph — which is basically one of our biggest feast days of the year. Leisure is an important thing. “Try to put in the hearts of your children a love for home to long to be with their families. I could go on and on, but I won’t — I As a mom of a biggish family, I thought I would share my #1 tip for making Advent a little bit more prayerful and a little less cray-cray. I would love to know what exactly is considered “dangerous” about my Catholic content for the Facebook and Instagram community — but I’m also pretty sure I won’t ever get that answer. It was a quote from John Paul II: Shout out, David, if you’re reading this! I have to tell you, Speaking of irony, I like to call this my “ironic homeschool mom outfit” — ironic because one of the cliches for an NFP-practicing, homeschooling-mom of 6 kids is that we all wear denim jumpers. It is strengthened by reaching out to others and lightening their load, in laughing with other and encouraging them. Wine seems like a good solution to the problem when trying to If you do ever get serious about looking into the Catholic Church, be forewarned that not all RCIA programs (the process of inquiry and learning about the faith) are equal. Gone will be the days of only women — those carrying the XX chromosome — being eligible for Title IX funding for women’s sports. It’s such a big day, that all of our Lenten fasts are dispensed of in order to truly celebrate the gift that St. Some women find the title offensive and belittling — while others are totally on board with it, and can’t figure out what all the fuss is about. There are some basics, though, that will lead us to discovering the purpose of our lives. This last year and a half has been very interesting, to say the least. " We are about three weeks away from Mother Teresa’s canonization! I love this woman so much, and I really can’t wait! Over the next few Fridays, I am going to post a few simple quotes o Before I was married, I was traveling the country sharing the good news about sex and faith and the Catholic Church. especially those 8 beautiful kids! I have never experienced joy or pain like I do when dealing with the day in and day out of my children, and I will never regret a moment or struggle because in the end they are my jewelsmy gifts from God! Thanks for taking the time to comment! As for my trying to wake-up 30 minutes before my kidsI’ve given up on that one! Honestly, I used to get really frustrated when I woke myself up early and then I would hear the pitter-patter of feet before my prayer time ended. It is to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Ask around a bit, look for an amazing priest who can give you good counsel and know it’s okay to pass your local Catholic Church for a more robust, faithful to Church 42K Followers, 403 Following, 1,436 Posts - Modern Catholic Mom (@moderncatholicmom) on Instagram: "Moira. Bernard is a dog (though, technically St. I had expected it to be fun, but I didn’t expect it to be so blessed. In just 7 easy steps, you too can keep your kids Catholic. Especially now – especially with all the arguments over politics and religion and viruses, and whatever else is trending on Twitter (Lord Beautiful yet again! To Jesus through Mary. And then I saw the feathersand I realized that some #%*&@ just ate my chickens! I see a strange trend going around social media as of late — one in which a relatively young person posts a picture of their covid vaccine completion certificate — with strange virtue-signaling tagline attached — something along the lines of, “I’m doing this for love of my neighbor”. Well, it’s been an intense week, so I thought I’d lighten it up a bit with that time we went to Sintra, Portugal. k. This is especially true for our drivers on all of our family trips. Though, to be honest, if you look at history, what we’ve experienced the past 18 months is not really all that unique an Happy Feast of All Saints from St. So this one will totally vary based on your own experience and kids’ exposure. The Big “T” traditions are unchanging, but the little “t” traditions are entirely up to and you they could fill every day of Advent and the Christmas Season with amazingly rich traditions. Visit the post for more. By Moira 0 Comments. “Everybody has a plan, until they get punched in the face”. Bernards aren’t light brown) — but I think this costume qualifies for our All Saint’s party celebration, wouldn’t you agree?😂. It was such a beautiful day, and one we won’t soon forget. Taking breaks with your family is also invaluable. Hello Sarah, I’ve read a statistic that almost 1 in 4 women sitting in the pews had an abortion at some point in their life — which really brings home the reality that ministering to women and helping them find healing should be a huge priority in our Church! During our recent trip to Italy, there were many times we’d be walking down a cobblestone street and be greeted by an Italian exclaiming, “Complimenti!” when they saw our six kids. Spend time with Him There is something about confession — something completely transformative — and yet so often we find ourselves going through the motions of a confession without really resolving to try to change moving forward from that moment of grace and forgiveness. Yes, that is our baby pop-up tent, food and water for a week, blankets, baby backpack, ginormous stroller — and we didn’t really need any of it. Granted, it’s one of those “um, yeah, we all knew she’s a Saint” kind of canonizations, but it’s still a really important moment in the Church. ©Modern Catholic Mom. I know them well. If you haven’t read part 1, start here. Don’t mind the creepy guy in the background. trbfi lzqj ggehn tgj ovqbs aqrfuod ustepg vfr hrgo ydrya