Eucharistic Motherhood: O Antiphones

Friday, December 20, 2013

O Antiphones

We are celebrating an early Christmas with Mom and Dad--a blast of a trip! The cutest thing that happened on our first day was Mom announcing that, although she is not Catholic, she has put together her first Advent wreath, and has just learned what the "O antiphones" are. It sounded like "anti-phones," as in being "against" (as in "anti-") iPhones or something. Super cute. She was talking about the antiphons, or prayers, that are said in the week approaching Christmas.
Truly, it is impressive that she would have ever heard of the Advent antiphons! They are beautiful exclamations of joyful expectation of the birth of Christ. She added to the delight by giving them a bit of a new name! "The O Antiphones." I love it!

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About Me

Born in Texas, raised in NYC, I earned my Ph.D. in philosophy and married a gorgeous theology student who rides a motorcycle and looks like James Dean. We now have six kids, are based in Irving near the University of Dallas where my husband teaches theology and where I sometimes teach philosophy. We currently live in the Castelli Romani, just outside of Rome, Italy. In addition to teaching some semesters and raising our 6 wonderful children, I am studying theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. Passionate about the vocation of motherhood, I founded a Catholic mother's ministry, Mighty Is Her Call. Our retreats and blog can be explored here: https://mightyishercall.com.

My book, Motherhood: An Extraordinary Vocation was released August 2021.

What's Special about Motherhood?

Motherhood is patterned on the life of Christ, particularly the Eucharist, in a way that no other vocation is. Some mothers shed blood for their children in childbirth--just as Christ shed his blood for us, a gift we celebrate in the Eucharist. Some mothers nourish children with their own bodies--just as Christ nourishes us with his body in the Eucharist. Mothers give themselves up in countless ways for their children--just as Christ gave himself up for us: "This is my body, given up for you." Every aspect of our day, from feeding our children, to cleaning up their messes, to disciplining them, to listening attentively to them, to hugging them, to laughing with them, to cherishing them, reflects the ways Christ gives himself to us. Motherhood is a role fashioned in the image of Christ, more so than perhaps any other vocation. It is singularly close to and reflective of the Heart of Christ.