I am a writer, artist, and homeschooling mom. Here you will find musings on life, readings, and a relationship with God. To add a RSS feed to this blog, go to http://feeds.feedburner.com/SpiritualWoman
I've been doing the Consecration to St. Joseph and today is Consecration Day! I've enjoyed reading and praying with the book by Fr. Calloway especially during the Year of St. Joseph and I encourage you to pick it up if you haven't already. It is a bit hefty. If it takes you longer than 33 days to get through it, I'm sure St. Joseph won't mind.
I didn't get to post about what I was reading as much as I would have liked, but seeing as it is St. Joseph's feast day, I did want to post about a couple of things I found especially interesting.
One is the relic known as Santo Anello. Apparently this is the wedding ring that St. Joseph gave Mary. The ring is in the Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Perugia, Italy where it is housed in a beautiful reliquary. Married couples as well as those about to be married are invited to touch their wedding rings to the Santo Anello to receive a blessing.
The other thing I found interesting was in the chapter on "Sleeping St. Joseph" which discusses the value of sleep:
"God loves sleep. He made it. . . Being a workaholic is never a good things. . . You are not wasting your time when you rest. Sleep is pleasing to God. God will speak to you and refresh your soul when you sleep."
I know there are seasons of life when getting a full night's sleep isn't possible, but if there isn't a compelling reason to be up in the middle of night, make getting a good night's sleep a priority. God made us to both work and rest.
This post contains an Amazon affiliate link. Purchases made after clicking the Amazon link help support this site. Thank you!
Youth minister Doug Tooke recently gave a talk on “The Perfection
of Imperfection.” In it he discussed how our quest to be perfect can lead to
blame and shame. When we think that holiness means that we must be perfect, it
can lead to self-criticism and despair. He challenged listeners to “be a candid Polaroid in a Photoshopped world.”
Social media increases this emphasis on being perfect. I can’t
even tell you how many times scrolling through Facebook becomes a near occasion
of sin for me. As someone who has always struggled with insecurity (pride) and
envy, it is hard for me to see all the posts of people whose lives seem so much
better and more successful than mine. It is not even a case of my not being
happy for their successes. I am truly happy that my friends are doing well. It
simply triggers my internal voice that points out (loudly and repeatedly) all
the ways my life is not going well, even though I know that, behind the surface,
those posting their highlight reel on Facebook have their own challenges. And
yes, I confess pride and envy every single time I go to confession. I will
probably be struggling with this until the day I die.
As a professional writer and editor, I need to present a
professional persona on social media. That is the case for people in many careers. We need
to show the world that we have it all together so that people will want to work
with us. The modern world has made it so that each of us is a “brand” that
needs to be cultivated and advertised. This emphasis on being a marketable
product takes away some of our humanity. We can’t show our flaws or our
imperfections. We enhance our selfies using filters to make ourselves look
better. We take pictures of carefully curated sections of our homes so it looks
like our living spaces are always clean and neat. We only share our moments of
success so that no one knows about the hard times we might go through.
I’m certainly not telling you that you need to share all
your personal troubles with everyone on social media, but we all need people we
can be real with. In order to have true friendships and quality familial
relationships, we need to be willing to open up and share our vulnerable spots.
We need to admit that we are human and have flaws. We need to acknowledge our
struggles and sins.
In his talk, Tooke talks about being willing to be imperfect
with our children when passing on our faith. It is okay to let your children
see you struggle sometimes. I think that this is especially true with teenagers.
They need to know that even adults don’t have it all together. They need to see
us admit we are wrong and ask for forgiveness. They need to see us pray for
help in our moments of weakness. When our teens come to us with questions that
we don’t have the answer to, we can admit we don’t know and offer to look for
the answers with them. We don’t always have to be right. We can admit that we
are works in progress just as our children are. We can acknowledge that, more
than anything, we need God.
In a world full of airbrushed and filtered perfection, be
willing to be the snapshot, especially with those closest to you. We humans are
beautifully imperfect. It is through our cracks that God’s mercy and grace are
able to shine through.
This post was inspired by Doug
Tooke's "The Perfection of Imperfection" Talk in the OSV Talks series, a series of
topics from prominent Catholic leaders to spark discussion, explore new or
re-explore old approaches, and inspire creative thinking, all from the heart of
the Church.
The writers at CatholicTeenBooks.com always
amaze me with the quality of their stories. All of the writers are experienced
novelists in their own right, but when they come together to collaborate on a
short story collection, they truly shine.
Their latest effort Treasures:
Visible and Invisible features eight stories that move through history from
4th century Ireland to a dystopian future. What ties the stories
together? A shamrock-shaped stone that St. Patrick found which helped give him
the idea of explaining the Trinity as a clover. As the stone touches various
lives through the ages, it brings with it a measure of protection and the
ability to work miracles through St. Patrick’s intercession. Each of the
stories can stand on its own, but when taken together, they present a compelling
portrait of the power of prayer and the mystery of God’s ways.
(This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Purchases made after clicking through a link help support this site. Thank you!)
Here is a quick summary of the eight stories:
Treasures:
Visible & Invisible
by Theresa Linden, Susan Peek, Antony Kolenc, Amanda
Lauer Carolyn Astfalk, Leslea Wahl, T.M. Gaouette, and Corinna Turner.
·A teen boy sets out to save a friend from pagan
druids, but maybe he’s the one who needs saving.
·Between a baffling scripture verse and a visit
from Heaven, a young monk is in for the surprise of his life.
·A young girl seeks a mysterious treasure that
holds the key to granting a nun’s dying wish.
·Honora is desperate—then a peculiar clover and a
mysterious young man change everything.
·William's weekend job is a little gift from
heaven, but now his family needs a real miracle.
·When threatened by mobsters, Grace receives help
from a surprising source.
·Alone and afraid, a young girl finds friendship
in a stranger. But could this boy be trouble?
·Kyle was determined to save the precious relic –
but now his whole family is in danger.
And some impressive author bios:
THERESA LINDEN is the author of
award-winning Catholic fiction, including the West Brothers contemporary series
and the Chasing Liberty dystopian trilogy. One of her great joys is to bring
elements of faith to life through a story. She has more than a dozen published
books, three of which won awards from the Catholic Press Association. Her short
stories appear in several anthologies, including Secrets: Visible &
Invisible, and Gifts: Visible & Invisible. Her articles and
interviews can be found on various radio shows and in magazines, including
EWTN’s The Good Fight, The National Catholic Register, Catholic
Digest, Today’s Catholic Teacher, and Catholic Mom. Her books
are featured online on Catholic Teen Books, Catholic Reads, FORMED,
and Virtue Works Media. A wife, homeschooling mom, and Secular
Franciscan, she resides in northeast Ohio with her husband and children. You
can learn more about her at www.TheresaLinden.com.
SUSAN PEEK
is a wife, mother, grandmother, Third Order Franciscan, and bestselling
Catholic novelist. Her passion is writing stories of little-known saints and
heroes. All her young adult novels have been awarded the coveted Catholic
Writers Guild Seal of Approval and are implemented into Catholic school
curricula not only across the nation, but in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand
as well. Saint Magnus the Last Viking and The King's Prey: Saint
Dymphna of Ireland were both Amazon #1 Sellers among Catholic books. The
King's Prey was also voted one of Catholic Reads TOP 10 BEST
CATHOLIC BOOKS OF 2017 and was a Finalist for the 2018 Catholic Arts and
Letters Award. Crusader King was featured as one of the 50 Most Popular
Catholic Homeschooling Books in 2013. Susan lives in northeastern Kansas, where
she can usually be found with her nose in a book, researching obscure saints to
write about. Visit her at www.SusanPeekAuthor.com.
ANTONY
BARONE KOLENC is
the author of The Harwood Mysteries, an exciting historical-fiction
series for youth published by Loyola Press. He is a long-time member of the
Catholic Writers Guild, and his novels all have the Catholic Writers Guild’s
Seal of Approval. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel from the U.S. Air Force
Judge Advocate General’s Corps after 21 years of military service. A law
professor who’s had his works published in numerous journals and magazines,
Kolenc now speaks at legal, writing, and home-education events. He and his
wife, Alisa, are the parents of five children, and have been blessed with three
wonderful grandchildren. To learn more about The Harwood Mysteries and its
author, visit www.antonykolenc.com.
AMANDA
LAUER loves
writing books—particularly Young Adult Historic Fiction—that portray the Church
in a positive light and depict God’s children endeavoring to become the best
version of themselves every day. A journalist and proofreader by trade, Amanda
embarked on her novelist career with the award-winning and best-selling Heaven
Intended Civil War series. A World Such as Heaven Intended earned the
2016 YA CALA award. Currently Amanda has several more books in the process of
being published.
In addition
to writing novels, Amanda works in the film industry writing and copy-editing
screenplays. She was awarded Best Writer 2020 (Red Letter Awards) for her work
as a co-writer on the movie The Islands. To learn more about Amanda,
who’s lucky and blessed to be living in a world such as heaven intended, visit
her web site: www.AmandaLauer.com.
CAROLYN
ASTFALK
writes from the sweetest place on Earth, Hershey, Pennsylvania, where she lives
with her husband and four children. In addition to her contemporary Catholic
romances (sometimes referred to as Theology of the Body fiction), including the
young adult coming-of-age story Rightfully Ours, she is a
Catholicmom.com contributor. She is a member of the Catholic Writers Guild and
Pennwriters. When she is not washing dishes, doing laundry, or reading, you can
find her blogging about books, faith, and family life at www.CarolynAstfalk.com.
LESLEA WAHL is the author of the award-winning
Catholic teen mysteries The Perfect Blindside, An Unexpected Role,
Where You Lead, and eXtreme Blindside. The characters in this
short story, Luke, Celia, Austin, and Grandma Grace, appear in her newest
adventurous novel, A Summer to Treasure. Leslea’s journey to become an
author came through a search for value-based fiction for her own children. She
now not only writes for teens but also has become a reviewer of Catholic teen
fiction to help other families discover faith-based books. Leslea lives in
beautiful Colorado with her husband and children. The furry, four-legged
members of her family often make cameo appearances in her novels. Leslea has
always loved mysteries and hopes to encourage teens to grow in their faith through
these fun adventures. For more information about her faith-filled Young Adult
mysteries, please visit www.LesleaWahl.com.
T.
M. GAOUETTE
is the author of the Faith & Kung Fu series for young adults, as
well as The Destiny of Sunshine Ranch and For Eden’s Sake. She
also contributed to the last two Catholic Teen Books anthologies, Secrets:
Visible & Invisible with her short story “Sister Francesca” and Gifts:
Visible & Invisible with “Just Jesus.” Her novels have received the
Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval (except new releases for which the seal
may be in process). Born in Africa, raised in London, England, Gaouette now
lives on a small farm in New England with her husband, where she homeschools
their four children, raises goats, and writes fiction for teens and young
adults. A former contributor for Project Inspired, Gaouette’s desire is
to instill the love of God into the hearts of her readers. You can find out
more at www.TMGaouette.com.
CORINNA TURNER is the author of the I Am Margaret and unSPARKed
series for young adults, as well as stand-alone works such as Elfling and
Mandy Lamb and the Full Moon (for teens) and Someday (for older
teens and adults). She has just released The Boy Who Knew (Carlo Acutis) the
first book in her new Friends in High Places series about friendship
with the saints. All of her novels have received the Catholic Writers Guild
Seal of Approval (except new releases for which the seal may be in process). Liberation
(‘I Am Margaret’ Book 3) was nominated for the Carnegie Medal Award 2016
and Elfling won first prize for “Teen and Young Adult Fiction” in the
Catholic Press Association 2019 Book Awards. Several of her other books have
been placed in the CPA Awards and the Catholic Arts and Letters Award.
Corinna
Turner is a Lay Dominican with an MA in English from Oxford University, and
lives in the UK. She has been writing since she was fourteen and likes strong
protagonists with plenty of integrity. She used to have a Giant African Land
Snail called Peter with a 6½” long shell—which is legal in the UK!—but now
makes do with a cactus and a campervan. You can find out more at www.IAmMargaret.com.
