Tag: faith

March Devotion: St Joseph

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Growing up, my school was under the charge of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. Yes, the Josephites of St Mary MacKillop. These sisters took to their work with the courage and charity of St Joseph, and with the way they chose not to shy away from challenges, just like their patron saint – the very same saint who the Church gives us for the month of March.

I remember being part of one of their anniversary celebrations and specifically delivering the line to a room full of hundreds of sisters and the line was “You are challenged” (and later “You have been challenged”). There was also a little dance and some sparkly costumes, that was kind of fun as a kindergartener.

But I want to focus on that spirit of St Joseph. The courage and love we read about in the Bible. And of course, his willingness to take whatever challenges he faced in his stride.

We don’t have much information on St Joseph, but from what we know, with the way God worked through Mary, St Joseph’s life was not made simpler. He would have had to look after Mary and Jesus, though it was not his own plan. Above and beyond the usual caretaking, Joseph had to flee with his young family and start a life in Egypt. From these stories, we also know that Joseph listened to God and did what God told him to do, when He spoke to him in his dreams through His angels.

It’s funny, he was a simple family man. He didn’t do anything particularly heroic or noteworthy that is recorded for the annals of history. He looked after his family with faithfulness, humility, and love, just as we are called to do, no more and no less.

Because of this, St Joseph is a wonderful saint to ask for intercession in the daily tumult of family life. He shows us that we can face our challenges, big and small, with courage. He is an example of caring for our families with great love – and with very few words, which is something I am still learning to do.

I like to think St Joseph is a bit of a Swiss Army Knife of saints, so to speak, particularly when it comes to my intentions for my family. I call on him when anyone is travelling and requires some prayers for protection (St Joseph, protector of travellers), when my husband or I have a big day of work ahead of us (St Joseph the Worker), and when any one of us is sick (St Joseph, hope of the sick), which unfortunately seems to be happening most weeks, lately. For a saint with a sum total of zero recorded words, he sure can do a lot of praying for us!

Having lived a quiet life with his family, we believe St Joseph passed away peacefully, in the arms of Mary and Jesus. We can only hope for so happy a passing from this life, so he is also patron saint for a happy death.

I can only believe, my grandmother who had a special devotion to St Joseph, often asked for his intercession. With the challenges of raising five children, I imagine this happened more often than not! So, much like I think she would have done, let me put those words down here:

St Joseph, pray for us!

Do you have any particular devotion to St Joseph? Has he come through for you in the past? I would love to hear your stories! Share them in the comments.

Advent: Not Yet Christmas!

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When I was growing up, December 1st (or the weekend after) was the day we would exhume all our Christmas decorations and arrange them joyfully around the home. I loved those days! They were days where I could be creative and make things look pretty, all while listening to Christmas music and spending time with my family!

Today, in the early hours of the second of December, I look around my home. There are some decorations up, some partly done (the tree is up but bare), and some still lying in wait. I know I have much more to do before Christmas comes, but that is okay. I will go to sleep without feeling like today’s job is finished.

In our priest’s homily, he spoke about how expectant parents begin to prepare for the arrival of their child once the arrival date is calculated. Those of you who have had children (and many of you who haven’t) understand that this preparation does not all happen in one day. There is a reason God gives us nine-ish months before the baby is born!

Parents, especially first time parents, take some time to prepare for the arrival of their child. They must figure out what the new sleeping arrangements will be, they must find out the guidelines for infant care, first-timers even need to learn important procedural tips for labour and delivery! And the list goes on.

Advent is a time of preparation. It is okay, and perfectly normal, to take some time to prepare. There must be planning and effort. And that takes time.

Our priest also spoke about Advent as a time to prepare our hearts for Jesus’ arrival at Christmas. I am reminded of that hymn, My Heart is a Stable. Yet instead of the animals, hay, and swaddling bands, perhaps our hearts should be lined with the spiritual virtues we need to grow in. How can we build these virtues and make our hearts fit for Christ’s arrival? Well, just like Lent, Advent is a time of repentance. And just like at Lent, we can use the pillars of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving to ready our hearts to receive Jesus. And just like decorating, we don’t have to do it all in one day! We can take a little time each day to say an extra prayer. We can sacrifice something small here and there just as St Therese of Lisieux invites us to, offering it up to the Lord. We can put aside a little to give away, from time to time, over the course of December, all the way up to Christmas.

Anyway, every time you do a little more decorating, you can use the time to think of Jesus!

What are your decorating traditions? What memories do you have from decorating as a child? What are your tips for preparing your heart Let me know in the comments

Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!

Saint of the Month: Saint Pope John Paul II

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Feast Day: October 22
Patron Saint of: youth, families, and World Youth Day

Much like last month’s Saint of the Month, our October Saint of the Month was something of a global superstar in the 80s and 90s. In fact, the two of them were less than rarely associated with one another. He was the pope of my youth and holds a special place in my heart for starting World Youth Day which was a key milestone in my own faith journey.

I have chosen him as our patron saint for the month not only because he is a patron saint of families, but also for his encouraging words to mothers in his Letter to Women:

Thank you, women who are mothers! You have sheltered human beings within yourselves in a unique experience of joy and travail. This experience makes you become God’s own smile upon the newborn child, the one who guides your child’s first steps, who helps it to grow, and who is the anchor as the child makes its way along the journey of life.

The saint’s words highlight the unique role that mothers hold. First, he acknowledges our first duty as mother: to grow our children within our own bodies, providing all they need until they are (with hope) ready to leave the safety of the womb, just as God provides all we need throughout our lives. As we raise our children, we radiate joy and delight in our child, offering them a dim reflection of God’s joy and delight in them as His children. We nurture and teach our children as they grow, as God nurtures and teaches us. Mothers remain a touchstone for children in their life journey, a source of wisdom and advice, or perhaps just someone who will listen, someone who is there, just as God is ever-present for all of us.

As I type this reflection, I am struck with the thought that as mothers, it is perfectly natural to show some version of God’s maternal love our role as mothers. It follows that we should be aware of this and intentionally work on how we can bring these facets of God’s love to our children and/or spiritual children.

Each of us, male or female, is called to bring God to others, in everything we do. We so often refer to God with the masculine pronouns, but there are both masculine and feminine qualities in God. It is important to remember that outside of the person of Jesus Christ, God is neither male nor female. St Pope John Paul II’s quote really brings to mind the maternal aspects of God’s love for us. His quote compels me to consider how I am bringing these qualities to my children and others around me.

This is not to say that these qualities cannot be embodied by men, nor that we as women should neglect to also show masculine aspects of God’s love. But mothers, and spiritual mothers have a special ability to reflect God’s maternal love. Therefore, we have a responsibility to do it and to do it well.

What are some maternal qualities you see in God? Which of these do you think you’re particularly adept at sharing with others? How do you do this? Any tips for how others might be better able to bring out the particular qualities you shine? Share your thoughts in the comments and let’s help each other become better mothers to all the people around us!

Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!

October devotion: The Holy Rosary

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This month is devoted to the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The rosary is widely recognised to be a Catholic prayer, and the beads themselves are a well known Catholic symbol. However, this powerful prayer can be prayed by anyone wishing to reflect on the life and kingship of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The rosary that we pray today came about in the 1400s, and it was in development for many hundreds of years before that, from monks praying the psalms in sets of 50 on their prayer beads in the 4th Century. Many believe that St Dominic was given the rosary in a very similar form to the rosary we pray today by an apparition of the Blessed Virgin in 1208.

The modern Rosary offers four sets of mysteries: Joyful, Sorrowful, Luminous, and Glorious. These mysteries lead the person praying to meditate on the life and person of Christ – even mysteries which seem like they are more about Mary at first glance, such as the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in reality point to Christ’s kingship and power! I find the rosary to be a rich way to meditate on the life of our Lord and the Gospel of our Salvation. I know it helps me to grow in holiness and I highly recommend it!

The Rosary is a very versatile prayer and can be prayed in many different ways. Today I’d like to share with you some of my favourite resources for praying the rosary.

To start, I really like Bishop Barron’s rosary series available on Spotify and other streaming services. I find his reflections to be deep and the music to be very fitting. These pray-along tracks inspire different thoughts in me pretty much every time I use them for my prayer. I often go back to these because they are so well-made. They are a little longer than a standard rosary, each being about half an hour long (you can normally get through a rosary in about 15 minutes), but if you can set aside the time, it is well worth it.

If you find the music to be distracting, or if you are more visual, Ineffabilis deus has a couple of rosary playlists on YouTube. These videos set sacred art to the mysteries, and there is one set with music and one without. Sacred art can inspire interesting reflections, and these are no exception! We are lucky enough to have the Joyful and Glorious mysteries painted on the ceiling of our church, and when our prayer group meets on Wednesdays, I love pointing out each mystery to my child as it is announced! Sacred art really is a wonderful way to teach our children about God!

And speaking of our local church prayer group, remember to check out your own local church! There is probably a prayer group there, or you could join with members of the Legion of Mary for their prayers. Praying the rosary with other people and aloud is powerful (and is also helpful if you’re still learning how to do it!).

Of course, you can always pray the rosary without all the bells and whistles. If you don’t know where to begin, those Pray the Rosary booklets are usually available in pretty much any piety store (if not with all the other leaflets at the back of the church!). There is also this guide from Hallow that I think is very helpful. 

Do you pray the rosary? What are some of your experiences with this prayer? What is your favourite rosary story? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!

October Requests

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Wow, September is coming to a close which means it’s time to prepare for October. Already?! I can’t believe how quickly this month has gone by! 

Personally, looking back on this month and reflecting on what to change in the coming weeks, I realise that I am having a hard time balancing paid work, this passion project, and my work as a mother, as you can probably tell by the tardiness in posting this monthly prayer request post, the missing post this week (oops), and my missing Joys posts (though I have had many joys!). So, I would appreciate if you would pray for the Lord to guide me as I navigate that.

It also occurs to me that I need to learn how tolead my life as a wife and mother with more grace. I have wonderful examples all around me, but I know that in my own life, I need more patience (didn’t I write a post about that last year? Yes, I think I did…) and gentleness. Come Holy Spirit!

I know with the arrival of fall weather, changes in temperature as well as generally being a little cooler, sicknesses abound – we have certainly already had to push through our own health issues. So, please pray for my family’s health!

This month, as you pray for me and for anyone else in the Mom Things Through Christ community, I also ask you to keep the Holy Father’s intentions in your prayers. This month, we join Pope Francis in praying for a shared mission:

We pray that the Church continue to sustain in all ways a Synodal lifestyle, as a sign of co-responsibility, promoting the participation, the communion and the mission shared among priests, religious and lay people.

That’s more requests than I usually post. I’m leaning on my prayer warriors, but feel free to lean right back! How has the month been for you? Has the return to school impacted much on your daily life? Are there new crosses for you to bear? Anything coming up that we can pray for? Feel free to let me know how I can pray for you this month in the comment section!

Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!

Reflections on Parenting: hiatus, rainchecks, Plan Bs, and The Byrds

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Hiatus, rainchecks and Plan Bs

It has been a long while since I have written up a blog post. I thought I had this blog thing all figured out. I had a spreadsheet going for content ideas, I chose days where I would dedicate naptime to writing and I created images on other days. I had a system. I had a system and it was working. Until… it wasn’t.

Without warning, my child switched up the schedule and would no longer nap in such a way that I could continue to write and create images for this blog. And then illness struck, and as a result of that, family drama ensued. Once that died down, our own plans needed more of my time and energy. Suddenly, my well-oiled machine had come to a screeching halt with no sign of starting up again anytime soon.

I’m sure many of you have had plans that were interrupted by motherhood. And I’m sure motherhood continues to upend your life, in big and small ways. We have all been there. Whether it means having to put things on hold, cancel something (or some things), or shift gears or even change tack completely with little to no notice, we see it all too often as mothers.

The Byrds (and the Bible)

Throughout all the disruptions that have arisen, I hear a folky refrain in my mind…

To everything, turn, turn, turn
There is a reason, turn, turn, turn…

This catchy song by The Byrds has lyrics heavily based on a passage in the Bible. In it, we hear that there is a time for everything. This season, just like each season that came before and every single season yet to come, needs what it needs, and then it will pass.


For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

(Eccles 3:1-8)

So today, my reflection on parenting is a word of encouragement for anyone who is going through one of these seasons of tumult and change. Our families often give us good reasons to change our plans. It happens – it can happen a lot! And that is so yawn-inducingly normal and perfectly okay.

Sometimes you might have to put things on hold to focus on what is most important or most pressing (personally, I put this blog on hold to focus on the needs of my family). Sometimes you may need to ask for help. And sometimes you will need to rest.

Remember, this will pass, and a new season will take its place. You will get through this. Breathe. Rinse and repeat.

Friends, my blogging frequency is going to be a lot lower for a time and probably even quite erratic. How long that will be the case remains to be seen. But I do know that this is a season. I know things will change again. And I know I will keep writing, despite what changes might come (and I also have some older drafts to polish and post at some point, but that’s a blog post for another day).

What’s the most recent or most memorable story you have of suddenly changing your plans? How did you manage it? What are your tips (practical and/or spiritual) for managing the changing seasons of life?

Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!