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Becoming Well-Read: Entering into the Great Conversation Written by Molly Aranda What does it mean to be a “Well-Read Mom?” When I was first introduced to Well-Read Mom in 2017, I was intimidated by the name. As a latecomer to reading for leisure, I felt that I didn’t qualify as “well-read.” Plato? Nope. Milton? Didn’t…
Rediscovering the Feminine Genius Written by Jody C. Benson About three years ago, while studying Edith Stein, a friend expressed her skepticism about the concept of the “feminine genius.” She asked us very directly, “Do you really think there is a feminine genius?” She has a true God-given gift of leading others to see from…
In June 2025, my dad, a 56-year-old healthy father of eight kids, was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. At the time, I was six months pregnant with our fourth child. My husband had lost his job, gotten a new job, and started a business all within two weeks of my dad’s diagnosis. I was feeling lost and very alone.
On the First Sunday of Lent, one of our parish’s deacons gave the homily. He spoke about how, when his family first moved to Kansas City one summer, he was struck by the beauty of the trees. He had moved from the desert and wasn’t accustomed to so much green. Now, of course, the trees aren’t green. He likened the bleak, bare winter landscape to the Lenten season. We repent and let go, just as the trees let go of their leaves, he said, trusting that come Easter, come spring, we can glory in the Resurrection. Clearly, there is something going on here. It makes sense to me that trees are meaningful to Christians.
We want to have thoughtful homes; we need to have thoughtful homes. Every human being has needs—fundamental and yet specific to the individual. Our culture is fast losing the practices and routines that for generations fostered this necessary human contact. So what can we do?
A Reflection on In This House of Brede by Megan Keyser How delighted I was to see Rumer Godden’s inspiring Catholic novel, In This House of Brede, among the reading selections in this “Year of the Sister.” This was my second reading of the novel, and I was struck, even more profoundly this subsequent time, with…
What are the Criteria for a Well-Read Mom Book Selection Life is busy! For many women, mothers, in particular, personal reading is often viewed as a luxury that gets sacrificed to the busyness of daily life. So when we do make time to read, we want to be sure that we are participating in something good…
THE JOY IN THE HEART OF THE MOTHER OF A RELIGIOUS SISTER by Ana Braga-Henebry Ana is originally from Rio, Brazil, and has a M.A. in Humanities/Aesthetic Studies. She teaches Latin in parochial schools. Ana and her husband Geoffrey, a scientist and professor, raised seven children. Their sixth child is a Norbertine sister in CA.…
January 14, 2021Year of the Sister As part of the annual New York Encounter cultural event several years ago, Well-Read Mom arranged a reading of selected letters from C. S. Lewis’s book, The Screwtape Letters. This book is made up of a series of fictional advice letters from a senior demon to his young nephew, who has…
January 7, 2021Year of the Sister How many times have I made my list of resolutions with some gusto on New Year’s day, only to forget what they were by the end of the month? Good intentions are not enough. They need to transition into a plan. Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan,…