Posts Tagged ‘love’
“One Cannot Become Holy All at Once…”: Brother Lawrence’s Guide for a Recovering Perfectionist
And while there is nothing wrong with wanting to avoid sin and seek spiritual perfection, if not motivated more by the love of God than by personal pride, we can vitally miss the point. “The Practice of the Presence of God,” by Brother Lawrence—a 17th-century Discalced Carmelite who offered spiritual direction to others through his counsel and writings—emphasizes the importance of serving God in trust and love rather than cowering before him in fear and inadequacy.
Read MoreHumility & Wonder—the doorway to experiencing poetry
When we encounter a poem that is challenging, we practice bearing the tension of not understanding and approach it with humility and wonder.
Read MoreHome: A Reflection on Seeking Amid Family and Motherhood
Listening to my husband read aloud “Two Old Men” to me and our children was one of my sweetest memories of 2022. And this introduction to Tolstoy led me to read Anna Karenina, my favorite book of 2023. This story of two old men, with all its beautiful lessons about pilgrimage, true worship, hospitality, and corporal works of mercy, seemed to me a story about motherhood and being a stay-at-home mom.
Read MoreTo Be Charis in a World of Victims
Charis’s lack of a crisis of faith and her lack of acceptance of victimhood as her identity struck me. In a world where victimhood seems to be a surefire way to gain social status, what a refreshing and inspiring tale!
Read MoreLaying Stones for the Cathedral: The Sacrificial Love of the Missionary and the Mother
Each time I pick up a new novel, I am struck by how difficult it can be to acclimate myself to the unaccustomed literary landscape. Familiarizing oneself with new characters, settings, and themes can be challenging. Additionally, writing styles can be jarringly different from one author to the next, and the dissimilarities can leave us feeling dizzy, confused, or disoriented. As I trudged along through the sleepy and slow-moving opening chapters of Willa Cather’s Death Comes for the Archbishop, I felt disengaged and subsequently unmotivated by this selection—so foreign to my literary sensibilities and typical longings for witty banter and intriguing plotlines. Yet, as the novel serenely unfolded, I realized that this series of quiet, almost picturesque vignettes was a disarming invitation to examine the unforeseen depth of a simple yet moving, all-encompassing surrender to the Divine Will.
Read More“Not Counting the Cost”: Reflections on The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
One of the most cherished aspects of the Well-Read Mom is how it continually introduces me to new books. Not only have these works increased my own understanding, but they have also provided me with invaluable wisdom to bequeath to my children. What a joy it is to discover an ever-growing treasure trove of literary works that will serve my daughters (and sons!) as they navigate young adulthood, discern vocations, consider marriage, and examine a host of other weighty life questions!
Read MoreMarilla Cuthbert and the Journey of Unconventional Motherhood
What does it mean to live out the generative capacity that all women are called to when you have borne no children? All women possess the calling to be fruitful, but each of us must ask what that means for us in particular. Some of us will continue working out the answer to this question for our entire lives, whether because of singleness, infertility, or a commitment to the religious life. A darling, fuzzy-headed toddler sleeps peacefully in the next room as I write this. Still, it took over a decade of marriage and a beautiful yet heartbreaking adoption journey for me to become a mother.
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