Theresa Thomas: Everyday Catholic

Ten Things to Do in February-if you are bored or down in the dumps

Are you tired of waiting for spring? Do you have the winter doldrums? This is the PERFECT time to get things done! I am strange, I admit. I actually like this time of year which seems to drag on and on for so many. It just seems like such a good opportunity to get a head start on some planning. The following is a list of ideas if you care to join me. Grab a cup of tea, your imagination and let's go:

1. Design your summer garden. Look through catalogues. Order bulbs and seeds.

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2. Plan your Lenten activities...Ash Wednesday is sneaking up. What devotions are you going to do as a family? What prayers will you say? Will you be making a personal sacrifice? Here are some great ideas from Catholicmom.com.  Catholic Culture also has some suggestions here.

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3. Do you have a graduate this year? Now's not too early to start thinking about the party. This might get you started. What food will you serve? Do you have a present to make or buy? If you don't have a dress but know how to sew, start looking for patterns and some pretty material. If you don't sew, sneak a peek into those spring clothes catalogues. Do you need to shed a couple pounds before you don short sleeves? Then see #9 too.

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4. Clean out your cupboards. Get rid of mismatched or broken plates or cups. The baby sippy that melted in the dishwasher will do more good in your recycling bin than your toddler's hands. Pitch it and reclaim order on your shelves!

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5. If you home school, start browsing catalogues and plan next year's curriculum. Here is a good place to start.

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6. Clean out your closets. Don't forget the old recommendation of dividing things into three boxes: Give Away, Throw Away, and Fix. Anything that doesn't fit into those boxes has a place in your house where it belongs. Put it there!  If you simply can't part with something, but know it belongs in one of the other three boxes put it in an unmarked fourth box in the garage. In 3 months (no peeking) dispose of.

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7. Help your kids clean out their closets. Share your three-box secret with them.

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8. Start a novena. If you don't have an intention in mind, tell your husband it is for HIM. And tell him he doesn't even have to tell you what his intention is. (Then when you sneak off after dinner and before the kitchen is clean 'to pray', he can't stop you--just kidding)

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9. Exercise. Shovel snow. Sled. Borrow an aerobics tape from the library. Jump rope...You will be less likely to feel like hibernating if your blood is not frozen.

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10. Read someone else's blog or start your own. You can't be bored if you are pontificating just a bit. . . . . .

Toothpaste, Boots and a Pain in the Neck

Yesterday,

My 4 year old woke up unable to move her neck. She had slept curled up in her sister's bed, not wanting her own bed because of our recent move. I spent the morning gently rubbing her neck, trying to do a little physical therapy, making a *rice sock* to heat in the microwave after the heating pad wouldn't heat. (brand new, too....my advice: skip heating pads all together and use the rice socks!) By 1:30 p.m. I was a bit worried. She still wouldn't get off the sofa to which I had carried her in the early morning. I called the doctor. Since she had no other symptoms, the doctor recommended a simple alternating of Tylenol and Motrin and to call back if she wasn't better in a day. With thoughts of meningitis dancing in my head (anyone else a born worry-wart like me?) I asked if the light bothered her, or if she had a headache or was dizzy. No, she said. Whew. After the dosages I put her on my lap and tried to engage her in the Creepy Crawlie (read: bug) Geosafari page. Her head slightly turned without a wince. After a few more pages I asked if she wanted to do computer games with me. Her head slightly turned again in amazement, I'm guessing. "Has Mommy lost her mind?" may have run through her four year old head. But I wanted her to sit up and stretch out her neck. So, she sat on my lap for 40 minutes as we visited the pbskids.org website, figuring out who all those characters are. 

During this time, my one, nearly two- year old daughter did not like the attention I was giving the four year old. She tried every trick in the book to distract me from her sister. Pulling out toilet paper. Taking her clothes off and running naked. Four times. Finally, after lunch I lay her down for a nap. She climbed out of her crib, wailing. After the third try she stayed put and ultimately went to sleep. But alas, peace was not to be. Just an hour later my 12 year old retreating upstairs to find a quiet place to do her math (did I mention we were technically homeschooling amidst this morning?) shrieked. I ran upstairs to find her holding her one year old sister, who was covered, no smeared in blue toothpaste, from head to toe. She had climbed out of bed, opened the bathroom door and drawer, applied the toothpaste and rubbed it in everywhere . She was an aqua child. Her legs were completely minty fresh blue/green.

I popped her in the tub, and she wailed as no doubt the "minty freshness" felt cool on her body although the water I drew was warm. The tub water quickly looked like the murky deep ocean. I found the tube of toothpaste (brand new) more than half empty, and made a mental note to remind the children to put it high in the cabinet after they used it next.

I didn't have her out of the tub a minute when two other daughters, finished with their schoolwork for the day, asked to go outside in the snow, which had just fallen that morning. They were excited because despite it being January and Indiana here, we had not seen the white stuff in more than a month. Normally that request would be easily accomodated. However, having just moved into this new house, I had NO CLUE where the boots were. I searched amidst boxes for about a half hour. In the garage. In the basement. While in the basement I paused to look at the newly framed walls (did I mention we are finishing the basement?) I wondered if my husband and I had made the right decisions, and thought about the alternatives for the walls that were not yet framed. "MOM!" the girls hollered down the steps, "Did you find the boots?!" The short answer is No.

The phone rang.It was the altar boy coordinator at our new parish. Even though our son had been serving since 2nd grade and was now in 8th, he would have to attend a couple training sessions, and then serve at daily Mass for a year before being allowed to serve on Sunday. While I intellectually understood the coordinator's reasoning and the 'rule' I wondered how my 14 year old son would react.

"Boots!? Mommy? Boots?!" I was snapped back to reality. Sorry, honey, no boots. The snow should stay. We'll try after we talk to Daddy tonight and ask if he knows where they might be.

"Mommy, my neck feels a little better!" yelled the four year old from the kitchen table, where I had set her up with paper and crayons and stickers to make a card for her brother and sister whose birthdays are two days away. I am relieved. I give her a hug. She still moves her head slowly, but if it is meningitis I suspect she would be getting worse not better.

All's well that ends well, Shakespeare has said, and in our case it was true. Peace reigned in the house as evening drew near and with the kids' cooperation we managed to make a simple but favorite dinner for Daddy. Despite a late evening overseeing a science fair project, and folding clothes until past 11 p.m., the world came back into orbit and all was well.

Until this morning. Pajama clad, and descending the stairs the seven year old wondered why the Tooth Fairy hadn't come. She lost a tooth? "Well, since we moved sometimes it might take a few days," I managed, digging through the sofa cushions for some precious metal. "Or maybe she is on a later schedule. We'll check after lunch." It was the best I could do.

Occasionally someone will stop me, at Mass or in the grocery store, and ask how *I* do it all. The fact is, *I* don't. It's a teamwork deal with the ten other people in this family, and of course we lean on God....a lot. But we certainly don't do it all, and don't have it all down. Many days unfold like yesterday, and I don't want anyone I meet to be under the illusion (I'm sure you're not by now)  that *I* have this down, that *I* have this handled, that *I* don't have days that I just want to throw in the towel. On these days I may not find the time for a complete rosary, but I try to bypass the candy kiss and offer that, or recite a Memorare as I'm fishing out a Little People figure from the toilet, or washing the toothpaste fresh toddler in the bathtub.

And now that sweet beautiful toddler (she cleans up very well) is grabbing my hand and saying , "Come on, Mommy. Eat." So I'm off to the kitchen. The sun is streaming through the windows. I've got a mug of hot coffee in my hand. It's going to be a good day. I think. And if it's not, with God's help I'll muddle through the best I can. After yesterday I know I can  handle toothpaste, boots and a pain in the neck. Have a great day!!!

A Move in the Right Direction

I've been off-line for about a week, because we have moved! The phone service was not working for the first four days so the internet could not be set up. While this did put me momentarily into a panic, (scholarship applications are fast approaching for dear son #2) once I accepted the reality, it was ok and actually the least of my problems.

My sweet little Grace who is seven is very home sick.  "I hate this fancy house. I want the old one," she whispered to me the other day. That same night she blurted out as if I hadn't known, "I didn't tell you this before but this kitchen is way too small. I don't like living out in the country. Can we go back home?" And so, there it was, our reality from a kid's perspective (although a bit distorted--the tape measure, which does not lie, puts our new kitchen at twice the size of the old, and "in the country" is a bit relative...the city limits are less than a mile away). My husband asked her what she missed about the old house. She thought for a moment. "I miss knocking on the window to say goodbye to you in the morning. And when you come home at night you used to burst through the door and say, "Daddy's home!" and we would all come rushing to you. This house is too big. You can't burst into the kitchen any more." Ah, what she was missing was familiarity, routine. My husband and I exchanged knowing looks. We knew exactly what to do.

That night he phoned me from his cell as he approached the driveway. I told the kids he would be there any minute and to watch and wait, and when he burst through the door he said, from the mudroom, "Daddy's home!" and we descended upon him like fish on some tasty bait. Grace budged a smile. It was a move in the right direction.

There are so many good things about the new place. We are closer to the older kids' Catholic high school. There is an active vibrant Catholic home school support group in this new city. Our new home is much bigger than the old so we can actually all sit down at the dinner table and don't have to eat in shifts. Our new parish is just 4 miles down the road, and when we stumbled upon the "bells and whistles" 11:00 Mass with incense, reverant worship, beautiful music and many large families cramming the pews, I knew we had chosen the right place.  And, best of all about our new abode, there is a room over the garage that is currently being converted to a school room--something I've dreamed about for a long time. But it's going to take awhile for everyone to get used to the new routine, the new *feel* of the place. Like my sweet Grace, I'm a creature of habit. I like digging my roots and staying put. 

I took Grace and her sisters to Bed, Bath, and Beyond last night to choose a new comforter for their beds. I hoped that the selection would help give them some control and reassurance and some excitement for their new rooms. And we lugged our outside statue of "Our Lady of Guadalupe" to a visible place in the back. We can see her from the kitchen and almost every window that faces the rear. "See? She is here too. She will watch over us."

We are home, although it might not feel like it at the moment. It is good. We will adapt. We are going through the change together, which will bring us closer, after all. And at the end of the day, no matter where are rooted, the kids know that Daddy will burst through the door and we will be there to greet him heartily. "Daddy is home!" And so are we.

A Radical Pro-Life Move to Consider

  I don't know if this has been on anyone's heart, but I felt compelled to write to you tonight. My sister Mary is a consecrated lay person/missionary who has worked in Siberia, Russia in, among other places, the orphanages. The system for care in Russia, as you can imagine, is nothing like the system in the United States. While our system has its flaws, Russia's is almost primitive. Unwanted children are housed in institutions and labeled as *disabled* simply for showing the effects of isolation and depression--lack of response to one's surroundings, blank faces and sadness. An estimated 600,000 children live "without parental care" in Russia. Many of these children have no problems other than not being loved. Typically these babies are housed in orphanages by overworked Russian women until they are two, then shipped off to larger orphanages.  You can imagine the lack of attachment that occurs in such situations over a prolonged period of time.

Sometimes American parents come to adopt a child, but often the prospective parents are misinformed, are scared off by the deplorable conditions in which they find the children, or they are put off by the child's lack of response to them. Many times there is nothing physically or emotionally *wrong* with these children, they just lack maternal love and care. They are rejected because they have been rejected. Adoptive families reassure that with normal love and attention their children thrive and often make up for deficiencies quickly.

    When my sister first told me stories of these children, I almost didn't believe her. Here we are in the 21st century. Our society drives cars that have video entertainment for the people in the back seat. We think nothing of spending $400 for an entertainment system and fill stadiums (that are the equivalent populations of cities) to watch sports events and have, at our fingertips, any type of food we wish in almost any grocery store nationwide. Even the "poor"  in our country often at minimum have the basic necessities, even luxuries perceived as necessities like TV . Most children who suffer here do not experience complete and total abandonment as the government at least tries to advocate for the children. (not always successful, but tries) There are organizations here dedicated to improving children's lives. In Russia there is none of that.

    I write tonight here to suggest a radical pro-life move, one that generous loving souls that I know (and I'm sure you know some too) have leapt forward in faith to embrace--adoption of one of God's children in need to love as their own. Mary Ann and her husband Jamie adopted two little Russian brothers to bring their family to a full 6 members; Stephanie and Dave added a son to their family of two daughters. Renee and Joe added two daughters....all internationally, and all say that the blessings their children bring to them far outweighs any sacrifices and expense they have had to make for them.....While couples who wish for a healthy white infant in America wait often years for a placement, there are many children ready for international adoption now. They may be babies or older children. All need families, open loving arms that will hold them close and show God's love to them. 

     Happily married infertile couples naturally look towards adoption to share their love and lives with little people. Many families that have been blessed with biological children also look into this option.

    Just for the record, couples that qualify are those that have been married at least one year. Mothers must be no more than 45 years older than any child placed. One, sometimes two trips to Russia are required to pick up the child. More information can be found at these agencies sites.

http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/russia_adoption.php

http://www.frua.org/considering/things_consider.shtml

http://www.frankadopt.org/cgi-bin/index/13

http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/russia_adoption.php

http://www.wacap.org/Adoption-Domestic-International.asp

About the state of adoption in Russia

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Won't you please consider this radical pro-life move?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------  Mother Teresa at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. 1994  http://catholicgirl.faithweb.com/mother_teresa.htm

"Whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?" John 3:17 Jesus said, "Whatever you have done to the least of these my brothers, you have done unto me." Matt. 25:40 Ps. The photo at the beginning of this post is Mary with Russian children and a very relaxed Polish priest, Fr. Lucasz.

Thoughts from Just One Sunday Ago

As I carried my crying one-year-old out of Mass this morning and into the back vestibule just after the first reading, I realized that I have been doing this same routine for almost nineteen years. Nineteen years! Why don’t I have this down yet? Aren’t I supposed to get the hang of how to get children to behave in Mass? Shouldn’t I have learned by now?

            As I stepped in back I saw the *regulars* back there--a fussy boy who felt just fine once Mom released him to walk around, and a cute young couple who I think gave up on getting their nearly two year old to sit quietly as I noticed that they chose the back bench at the beginning of Mass.

            But today I was particularly frustrated. My husband had been out of town all week, so I was already running on “mommy low”. My oldest helpers were down too--my oldest son was gone at college. The next oldest was ushering. 3^rd son was serving. Yes, I was short on assistance, for sure. I saw, from the back, my girls who were usually angels, seemed unusually fidgety. Of course our family was also scheduled to bring up the gifts so I was doing some mental gymnastics to figure out how that could be accomplished when I wasn’t even in the main part of the church. 

            I held my breath and returned to my seat (having given my one year old the pacifier I promised myself we were finished with). One daughter insisted she needed a tissue, although there was no evidence that it was necessary. Another was talking to her sister, whose “SH! WE’RE IN MASS!” was much louder and more distracting than the actual talking was. I shot them both a dirty look, and then felt guilty doing that right in front of Jesus.

            Wonder of wonders we managed to take up the gifts without the baby saying nary a “boo”. (Maybe the fact she noticed she was being watched by a church full of strangers had something to do with it). I ended up in the back vestibule again, right at Consecration (of course), and baby daughter had the nerve to actually switch her wailing to a loud “bye bye!” with a happy wave as we exited once again.

            

Then, it hit me:

This may be old hat to me, but it is ‘new’ hat to this particular child.

I may have been here a thousand times before (I guess it just seems like a thousand. In reality it’s only nine) but the wiggly daughter in my arms has not. My four year old has never been four before. My seven year old is just trying out seven. My goodness, no wonder we are not perfect. We’re always in the *new* stage!

So for all of them it is learning. Again, and again. They master one and they turn two. Two becomes old hat and then there’s three, and so on. And this practice for each one of my children, is also practice for me…practice in patience. Practice in love. I’m forming them, yes, but they are equally forming me. God knew what He was doing when He gave us one another.

Then, a second thought hit me: They’re trying. I’m trying. We’re all trying. That’s all God asks. As Mother Teresa once said, “God does not ask for us to be successful. Just faithful.”  Here I am, Lord.

I’m trying.

Ordinary Time

Well, ladies, Advent is just around the corner. Before we enter that season of waiting, just one more idea for "ordinary time". If you haven't already heard or seen Marie Bellet you are missing a real treasure. Check out her music video, made especially for moms like us!

MEET A CATHOLIC MOM

We are Catholic Moms striving to be the best--we come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Some of us home school. Some of us carefully select a school and entrust our children’s minds and souls to teachers of our choice. Some of us call the city our home, nestled in an apartment, high above the ground. Others of us live on a farm, far from other “civilization”, living much the way our ancestor-sisters did. Still others (myself included) call suburbia home--in a middle sized house in a middle sized life.

The feature “Meet a Catholic Mom” will introduce you to a few moms from all over--ordinary yet extraordinary in their own unique ways. I hope in doing this feature we will all feel the connection of the “Communion of Saints” here on earth--and remind ourselves that we are never too far from another faithful Catholic woman.

As I am spending some time working on the Amazing Grace for Homeschoolers book with Ascension Press, my teenaged daughter Caroline will be helping compile this feature. She has been interested in doing a blog for a long time. This is her opportunity to help me with mine and try it out before she launches something just her own. I will guide her selection and look over each feature. This will give us both the opportunities to pursue what we need/like to do.

If you know of a Catholic mom you’d like to see featured (we are all interesting, ladies, don’t tell me you’re not!!) , click on my *About* in the upper right hand corner and send me a suggestion!

God bless!

Ten Tips for a Happy Marriage

1. Pray together. “It takes three to make love,” states Fulton Sheen, one of the best known Catholic apologists, “What binds lover and beloved together on earth is an ideal outside both. As it is impossible to have rain without the clouds, so it is impossible to understand love without God.” Attend Mass and receive Holy Communion together. Go to Confession. In the sacraments, graces are received.

2. Give 100%. Marriage is not a 50/50 proposition, reminds Fr. James Seculoff, pastor of

St. John’s

Parish,

South Bend

. It requires 100% effort on both sides.  Don’t keep track of what your spouse is giving, just give your all. Make his favorite dinner. Help her fold the laundry. Clean out the other’s car as a surprise some Saturday morning.  Mother Teresa advises “Love until it hurts.” Give yourself totally and you will find true happiness.

3. Follow the Church’s teachings and reject artificial birth control. According to the Couple to Couple League, Natural Family Planning (NFP) is 99% effective when practiced properly. The divorce rates for couples who follow NFP are extremely low, and couples report that marital satisfaction increases when NFP is followed.  God’s laws are meant to bring us to personal fulfillment. Their seeming restrictions actually bring freedom and happiness. .

4. Read the writings of the Church regarding marriage and the family. Casti Cannubi (On Christian Marriage), Humanae Vitae (On the Regulation of Human Births), and Familiaris Consortio (The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World) are all available at most Catholic book stores or online. They are beautiful documents which can help couples grow in love for one another.

5. Make up any disagreements before the day is over. Do not mention the ‘D’ word (divorce), even in jest, says Fr. Seculoff.

6. Listen to one another. This includes giving your spouse your undivided attention. Show your attentiveness with your body language. Sitting up straight, leaning forward and making eye contact all say, non-verbally “What you are saying is important to me.” Restate your spouse’s thoughts when he is done to indicate that you understand or to clarify, and let your spouse finish his thoughts before you respond. Empathize.

7. Trust and be trustworthy.

8. Look out together. True love does not simply look inward, but reaches outward towards others. When couples raise children they give of themselves and work for a common goal. Some married couples choose to continue reaching out to others after their children are grown through volunteer or charity work. Many childless couples do the same.

9. Laugh and have fun together. God wants his children to be happy in pure things. “Gladness of the heart is the very life of man, cheerfulness prolongs his days.” (Sirach 30:22)

10. Take care of yourselves. Remember your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. A wife’s body is not going to look the way it did before she had children. Nevertheless, she should care for it by eating right and exercising. This is in keeping with the dignity of the human person. Likewise, a husband should not ‘let himself go’ either. He should treat his and his wife’s body with respect. In the same vein, beware of excesses. Caring for the body does not mean being obsessed with form or exercising to the point of neglecting one’s daily duties, as St. Francis DeSales reminds his readers in his classic book Introduction to the Devout Life.

Recognize that there is tribulation in life. Not every moment of marriage is going to be divine. Love is a choice, and one that must be made over and over

New Eve Project

According to its organizers, The New Eve Project is an "edgy", intriguing series of talks , aimed toward young women, with John Paul II's authentic teachings at the core. These talks will be presented in Fort Wayne, IN and South Bend, IN, beginning in October. Organizers want to encourage all young women to attend, even those who might not normally come to such a talk. The lectures will be smart, true and interesting, just like the presenters and presumably the audience.

These talks will be held at the University of St. Francis
2701 Spring Street

Fort Wayne

, IN and are FREE:

November 9th, 7 - 8 pm :
Amy McInerny
"Abortion and Women: Rhetoric vs. Reality"
Doermer Room 156 A and B

December 7th, 7 - 8 pm:
Lisa Marino
"Sex in the City of God"
Doermer Room 156 A and B

These talks will be held at the University of Notre Dame at 7 p.m. in room 102 of DeBartolo Hall and are also FREE:

October 25, 2006

Amy McInerny

"Abortion and Women: Rhetoric vs. Reality"

November 16, 2006

Lisa Marino

"Sex in the City of God"

I'm sorry that I don't have a bio on Amy, but here's one on Lisa, who also happens to be my awesome sister!!

Lisa is the Director of RCIA at St. Matthew Cathedral in South Bend, IN, and has been involved in parish catechesis for fifteen years. She regularly speaks to various groups, including seminarians, on the Theology of the Body and other Catholic topics. In 1998 Lisa founded the New Evangelization Team, which specializes in outreach apologetics. Lisa graduated with highest honors from Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, with a degree in Philosophy. She is a devoted wife to Nick and loving mother to their three young blessings.

PRAY and L.O.V.E. T.H.E.M.!

How can you be the ‘perfect wife and mother’? You…….can’t.

Perfection is impossible, so you can relax. The good news is that you can do a decent job, with God’s help. Here’s how:

First, PRAY

Frequent the sacraments. Pray the rosary as a family. Pray alone. Attend

Mass.

Choose a saint as your patron and educate yourself about him or her. Then storm heaven for assistance. The saints will pull you through!

Second, when it comes to your husband and children, remember to LOVE THEM:

L.   Little things mean a lot. Listening. Hugs. A back rub for your husband or children. A tablecloth and flowers on the table for Sunday dinner. Homemade dessert once in while. St. Margaret of

Scotland

(who introduced tapestries and tablecloths to her cold, dreary castle when she married into royalty, and taught manners to her adopted people) had to civilize a nation. You only have to civilize a family. Who else will teach manners and refinement to your children but you? Who else will  model politeness, courtesy, kindness, generosity?

O.    Organize! Sit down and have a heart-to-heart talk with your husband. Decide together a weekly schedule, a *flow* of life. Make up Saturday and daily chore  lists. Organize your dinner menus. Buy a master calendar and schedule those important things, including Confession as well as sports schedules. Some moms like to use a large notebook binder and separate into categories: Meals, Chores, Schedules, etc. Find your family’s flow and start implementing little by little.

V.   Visualize. Close your eyes and imagine yourself as you want to be. See yourself in a clean peaceful home, surrounded by those you love. What distractions can you eliminate? What steps do you need to take today?

E.   Expect the best! Failure is not an option. “People become generally what you expect of them” is an old but true adage. Expect the best of your family and yourself. Also Exercise! Moms need to be physically fit to meet the demands of their families. Nobody’s advising running off to aerobics every night, but taking care of your body is as important as taking care of your soul.

T.   Turn off the TV. Some families even pitch it but you don’t have to be that drastic. Just control the time you spend with this electronic device. Besides the possibility of it introducing less savory aspects of modern culture right into your family room, it robs families of time together.

H.  Have time for yourself. Carve a little time for prayer, some spiritual reading (start with a favorite saint), some time to regroup. Some moms like to take a walk early in the morning before their husbands leave for work or walk with their husbands in  the evening.

E.  Enjoy….your children. Read with them. Ask them their thoughts. What are their favorite foods? Their hopes for the future? …..your husband. God gave him to be your helpmate, your soul mate. What was it that first attracted you to him ? Make time for each other. I was at a wedding once when the priest said in his homily, “If you truly knew what a gift your spouse was to you, you would die of  happiness.” Appreciate him.  Scrape together enough money for a babysitter regularly or swap services with another penny-pinching couple. Build that relationship.

M.  Mary our Mother. None of us are the perfect mothers that Our Blessed Mother was, but we can follow her example and put our cares in her hands and she will help us. When we don’t know what to do in a sorrow or situation she will help us. By meditating on her life through the rosary we can live our lives like she did.

Adapted from a talk to Women IN God's Service (W.I.N.G.S), St. Vincent De Paul Parish, Fort Wayne, Indiana 9-06