Eucharistic Motherhood: Perfect Circumstances

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Perfect Circumstances

God's purpose is not to perfect our circumstances.
His purpose is to perfect our souls. Sometimes our imperfect circumstances--ones that weigh heavily, ones that sting, ones that dig deep--are loving given by God to make us saints. We are perfected only through lots and lots of grace, and it is never our own merit. But the Sermon on the Mount makes it abundantly clear that God wants our perfection! And that comes at the price of a life that suits us, a life that goes the way we want.
As soon as life detours and becomes not at all what we imagined, it is so wise to think: "Oh! I get it! God is trying to re-shape my heart in some way! What is He trying to build up in me?"

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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.