Eucharistic Motherhood: Christmas Eve

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Christmas Eve

Yesterday, we watched the new Grinch as a family--popcorn and everything.

Today, we had such a wonderful Christmas Eve. Lots of rest and fun and tons of food--lamb enchiladas with "Christmas"--red as well as green chile--Jake's favorite from New Mexico. That, too, was close to a fail, like the cookies, but any spice and Mexican or New Mexican food is a crowd pleaser around here.

Then, midnight Mass with the community from Villa Sora, our older kids' school. It was supposed to start at 11:30 pm but actually started at midnight, and the energy was high and everyone was downright excited. My favorite part was the Salesian priest processing in with the baby Jesus for the creche. They are mad about creches here in Italy. And so the priests left the Mass, and Ron and I asked each other, "Where'd they go?" and then the came back in with the baby Jesus, I was so tickled. I love these people.
Sebastian slept all the way through, even all the hugging and kissing--the Italian greeting--with our Villa Sora friends after Mass. What a night!

1 comment:

AuntEJanuary 19, 2020 at 9:54 AM
The family ... what can I say except beautiful... and so grown (ing) up. Love you all! AuntE
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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.