Litany of Motherhood; Building Community - It Matters More Than Ever; Prayer - the Lifeblood of our Faith
If you’ve never heard of or prayed a litany before, it is a series of short petitions and can help your mind turn towards the Lord in the most beautiful way. I highly recommend the Litany of Trust. It is one of my favorites. I keep it close to me, and pray it as often as I remember.
Not long ago I felt a tug to write a Litany of Motherhood as a gentle reminder to all us Mothers that our work is valued, necessary, and holy. So take a minute and pray, blocking out the lies of the world and breathing in the beautiful Truth of this vocation:
From the belief that I’m unseen
Deliver me, Jesus
From the fear that I’m messing everything up
Deliver me, Jesus
From the worry that I’m not enough
Deliver me, Jesus
From feeling excluded, isolated, or unbelonging
Deliver me, Jesus
From comparing myself to others, online or off
Deliver me, Jesus
From expecting perfection of myself and my children
Deliver me, Jesus
From lacking the courage to radically love those around me with service and sacrifice
Deliver me, Jesus
That you are walking with me through my stress, struggles, and joy
Jesus, I trust in you
That your grace overcomes all my failures and shortcomings
Jesus, I trust in you
That through my vocation my family may see the heart of God
Jesus, I trust in you
That I am content with where and who you have called me to love
Jesus, I trust in you
That all my seen and unseen acts of service are building up your kingdom
Jesus, I trust in you
That your plan for my family is better than my own
Jesus, I trust in you
That you have not forgotten me
Jesus, I trust in you
Building Community - Yes It Matters
Recently the US Surgeon General declared a Loneliness Epidemic in the US. A trend that started before Covid but has been accelerated by it. An Epidemic that has severe physical and mental health consequences and, I’ll add, spiritual ones too.
If you’ve read anything I’ve written in the last couple years you know my family has moved frequently. In fact we’ve moved roughly every 2.5 years for the last 14 we’ve been married. No, we’re not military. Yes, I get asked this question a lot!
In all this time of moving and re-settling I’ve learned the value of having a solid community of friends who I can count on from emergency trips to the hospital to simple meals together, sharing our joys and struggles. Community is essential to our wellbeing, both mentally and physically but also spiritually. It takes work and effort on my part to find people we can rely on, people who want us in their lives and people who bring joy and real friendship.
The effort has been worth it every single time.
The physical health consequences of poor or insufficient connection include a 29% increased risk of heart disease, a 32% increased risk of stroke, and a 50% increased risk of developing dementia for older adults. Additionally, lacking social connection increases risk of premature death by more than 60%.
In the last two cities we’ve lived in, those I’ve spoken to share of communities that were more vibrant before Covid but now it is so much harder to gather people together. People are less willing to leave their homes for anything let alone talking to their neighbors, or going to church. Even getting groceries has become a “contactless” exercise. As physical spaces empty out and we remove the need for human contact to go about our daily lives, online spaces are filling up as a supposed sufficient replacement.
Yes, online spaces have their place in our society and have allowed like-minded people to find each other offering encouragement.
Yet, it has allowed us to believe that we don’t need the people right in front of us, the people God has placed in our lives. That we not only don’t need each other but that we don’t belong to one another as Brothers and Sisters in Christ. We have forgotten how to physically be with one another, how to listen, how to rest, how to play, how to walk through life - together. It’s messy, difficult, and often hard work, but the rewards always outweigh the difficulties.
Today, if we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other - that man, that woman, that child is my brother or my sister. - St. Teresa of Calcutta
As Catholics we must strive to push against the culture. I wrote about this very issue a year ago. We can no longer sit on the sidelines of our churches, and our communities watching, waiting, and not engaging. We cannot become a spectator society only interested only engaging when we personally stand to benefit. We are called to be the Salt of the Earth and the Light of the World and the world really does need what we have to offer.
People are lonely, isolated and despairing. We know we weren’t created to be alone. God said this in Genesis (Gen. 2:18) and it has been the foundations of our very being ever since. We ache for belonging, for true community, for togetherness. But it won’t happen all by itself.
“The initiative of lay Christians is necessary especially when the matter involves discovering or inventing the means for permeating social, political, and economic realities with the demands of Christian doctrine and life. This initiative is a normal element of the life of the Church:
Lay believers are in the front line of Church life; for them the Church is the animating principle of human society.” Catechism of the Catholic Church 899
We can no longer wait for someone else to step in and create this community so many, maybe even ourselves, crave.
It must be us. Right now. This very moment.
The world, our neighbors, our friends, our church - so many are desperately crying out for each other. We cannot be the ones to hide our light under a bushel and go on pretending everything can remain the same.
No one else is going to do this work for Christ’s church, of building the Kingdom, of gathering lost souls, of feeding the hungry, and caring for the poor. Of being together in the beautiful messiness of life.
It’s you. It’s me.
You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men. - Mt. 5:13
Ways I’ve built Community:
If we are going to be counter-cultural it must start with us in our homes, churches, and communities - these are all things I’ve done at one time or another. Yes it’s uncomfortable, exhausting and can be awkward at times (I’m really selling it aren’t I?) but never have I walked away regretting one interaction in an effort to build community and the friendships forged have been truly life-giving.
Invite a family over for dinner
Ask that acquaintance at Mass to get together for coffee
Start a moms or women group
Start or attend a book club
Volunteer at a VBS or other church ministry
Bring food to families in need - meal trains, food pantries, brown bag ministries, meals on wheels
Volunteer at a pregnancy center or other pro-life organization
Start or attend a neighborhood block-party (remember those?)
Prayer - The Lifeblood of our Faith
In a recent poll on my Instagram page I asked my readers how they felt about their prayer life. Several folks were vulnerable and answered the poll, which was lovely to see! Out of all who responded 36% said they found prayer hard and 45% struggled with prayer on some level. Only 9% said they felt confident in prayer.
My poll is hardly scientific, but it’s confirmed something I’ve suspected and experienced myself. Prayer is challenging, overwhelming even, and yet it is the lifeblood of our faith. It is what sustains us through our days, helps conform our hearts and minds to Christ, reminds us we are living and breathing in the Body of Christ and that the Church is so much more than what we could ever imagine here on earth and in heaven.
Prayer can also have us bashing our heads against a wall, wondering if we are even doing it right or if God even hears us after the 110th time of praying the same prayer. In a world filled with instant gratification, we can be tempted to approach prayer like some sort of slot machine - put in a request and maybe something will come out. Or maybe not and if not, maybe it isn’t really worth doing again.
The word “Pray” has changed over the centuries too, which can add to the confusion. Putting on my language arts hat for a minute, “Pray” is a transitive verb that means “Entreat; Implore” an example being “Pray tell me.” It can also be an intransitive verb, “to address God” such as “Let us pray.”
Catholics still use it as a transitive verb (when we pray to the saints) as well as intransitive (pray to God), which causes confusion among our non-Catholic brethren who tend to use it as only an intransitive verb. So if you ever get asked, now you know!
“You don’t know how to pray? Put yourself in the presence of God, and as soon as you have said ‘Lord, I don’t know how to pray!’ you can be sure you’ve already begun.”
- St. Josemaria Escriva
When we pray, we are choosing to be vulnerable. To open ourselves up fully, and be seen for everything we are, in the deepest recesses of our hearts. When we approach prayer more as a conversation and less as what we can get out of it, something beautiful begins to happen - our walls fall down. We invite in this radical Love on fire for our soul. Pouring itself out in Grace and Truth. Washing over us with Peace and Consolation.
Prayer has very little to do with “right” or “wrong” but more to do with our heart, our mind, and our soul being laid before the Lord and bidding Him come. Every single time we choose to pray, whether it is for a minute or an hour, we are choosing God and He wastes nothing.
You can never walk away from prayer unchanged, unheard, and unloved.
I want to invite you to try and add in even 5 minutes of prayer into your day with no expectations of answers, or noticeable change. Just 5 minutes of inviting God into your life as it is that very moment, with you as you are that very moment.
3 Ways I Pray:
Evening prayer has been such a big part of my life - From a simple 5 minutes of saying “Lord I’m here” and then just listening, to nights when I pray for a hour, evening prayer has served as the bedrock of my prayer life. Evening is my preference but if you’re a morning person, that may be the time for you. Whatever the time is, let it be the foundation you fall back on when you feel spiritually dry, or over-busy, the time that will always be guarded as your “prayer time”.
Turning on instrumental music and inviting God into that moment with me. Some of the most powerful moments of prayer for me have include moving music. Beauty has a way of stirring this desire and wonder for the Lord in ways we didn’t know existed within us. While listening, I’ll simply shower the Lord, with words of thanksgiving and praise “Thank you Lord for your faithfulness” “I love you Lord” “You are truly good, and beautiful” and then sitting in the silence and whispers of Love and Truth that sometimes come.
Asking for God’s assistance in the mundane and big things. From my car not starting to what I’m going to write on here next, I try to turn to the Lord in all things. It’s as simple as “God I don’t know what to do, help me”. It doesn’t mean my problems magically vanish, and when I first started doing this, I was met with silence for months. But over time, more times than I care to count I found that not the situation but my thinking changes, my heart posture shifts and my soul settles. I can more readily offer up struggles and true challenges for the Glory of God. I can see more clearly the Holy Spirit move, and find myself more attuned to His words. In these moments when we choose to rely on God instead of ourselves, Grace abounds and overflows.
“You can set up an altar to God in your minds by means of prayer. And so it is fitting to prayer at your trade, on a journey, standing at a counter or sitting at your handicraft” - St. John Chrysostom
Before moving on, I’d love to hear from you. Would you find it helpful for me to share my gluten and dairy free menu options I’ve been putting together with some meals from my old menu list. If you check out this newsletter you will see I had briefly started sharing a sample weekly menu before my health issues surfaced. A sample week? Or maybe what a full day of food looks like? Let me know in the comments.
Books on My Nightstand
Reading is still slow going as I dive more deeply into autoimmune diets, anti-inflammation meals, and in general ways to support my body in healing. Still, I’m enjoying the following:
The Temperament God Gave You by Art and Laraine Bennett - I’m about 1/3 of the way through this book. I stopped briefly to do the temperament assessment that is at the back of the book to determine my primary and secondary temperaments. For me, at least, this book seems pretty spot on and I was easily able to see my personal tendencies and how they fit within a specific temperament. I am Melancholic-Sanguine. It’s been interesting to read about, especially the chapters on spouses and children.
Romans: Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture by Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Dr. Scott Hahn go through Acts on the Hallow app during Easter. It was very enlightening and I wanted to continue with Romans, so I grabbed this book. I’m only 2 chapters in and already finding great insight that both affirms and deepens my faith. If you’re looking to diver deeper and explore the bedrock of your Catholic faith this is a great book to read.
As the quote at the beginning of this book states “The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord. All the preaching of the Church should be nourished and governed by Sacred Scripture. For in the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven meets His children with great love and speaks with them; and the power and goodness in the word of God is so great that it stands as the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her sons and daughters, the good of the soul, a pure and perennial fountain of spiritual life.” Dei Verbum 21
Little Mustard Seeds
Each newsletter I like to share a few favorite things that have blessed me as a mom, homemaker, and woman. The links in this newsletter are unaffiliated unless I say it’s an affiliate link.
Story of the World - we are a homeschooling family and part of our supplemental history curriculum is this book series. It follows the history cycles we go through every 3 years and we’re currently wrapping up medieval history. Very few books have my kids begging for me to read them more the way this series has done. The stories are engaging for both the parent and child while also informative, and span the globe, so we learn about many different cultures during the same time period. While it is written by a protestant, the book does seem to treat Catholicism fairly, even if the author does get some things wrong about Catholic teaching, for example about how we view the pope. Still, this is easy to correct in actually teaching your children, and I always believe it is good to know how others view Catholics to better explain our faith. If you love history and are looking for a fun way to share with your children, you should consider adding this to your bookshelf!
Rose Hip Oil - In an effort to lower the toxic load in my house, for myself and my family, I’ve been switching over to more natural products. One is the Rose Hip Oil. I’ve been using this for about a month now and my skin loves it. In the short time I’ve been using this product, I’ve noticed my skin feels softer and looks more dewy, and with the all the nutrients packed in I can see why! I’ve been using this brand by F.A.E. It is definitely my all time new favorite!
Thrive Market - **affiliate link** Being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease brings with it a whole host of new information. One area I’ve been told to focus on is inflammation, specifically controlling it with diet. The problem is I don’t have time to run to 10 different stores for items, plus comparing prices, and while we’ve discovered Costco, which carries a decent amount of gluten free items, I am also Dairy free. Thrive market has been a huge help. There I can locate exactly what products I’m looking for in personal care to reduce toxic load (such as that rose hip oil), and food to help control inflammation while nourishing my body. It saves me time and the price matching really does save me on the mental calculations (I did compare at first to see if they were legit). You also earn money back on certain purchases and can do auto-ship each month for items you need regularly. I don’t use it for everything but for specialty items its been amazing!
Catholic Gift Catalogue - with gifts ranging from men, women, teens, children, to newlyweds and religious this gift catalogue put together by Amy Brooks with Catholics Online has a robust selection of items that will suite just about anyone in your life and features Catholic small businesses. With more and more corporations choosing political virtue signaling I know I’ve been trying to find more ways to shop small and support businesses with the same values my family holds. This is a simple way to achieve this goal and support other Catholic families.
Great post!