Happy Feast Day for Our Lady of Fatima! We know God is into the details and I do not think there is any coincidence that today’s feast day falls on the day before Mother’s Day this year. Ya’ll we are in the trenches right now and mothers are being called to fight the battles. The tricky part is what that really means.
Right now to be a Christian you are under fire. It may be straight out persecution, but also may be in the less obvious ways. Understanding how to prioritize, noise from the world that calls you to love all people and also stand up for truth, cultural confusion, and my personal favorites the “shoulds” (all the things one should be doing).
Honestly, we all are so overwhelmed with commentary I wondered what I could add or needed to add to this conversation. Especially as someone who has sought extra help from my priest, family, and Catholic therapist while struggling extra right now. However today’s feast with the quote from Sister Lucia “Final confrontation between the Lord and Satan will be over Family and Marriage,” has reminded me that being in the trenches means it is hard and that the battle is part of my vocational calling.
So what is that I want to contribute to this conversation: 2 truths that have found me and helped.
1: Our responsibility in the battle is our vocation. The whole world now fits in the palm of our hand via our phones. We now know the magnitude of what is happening across the globe…. And the need to be consumed by it feels necessary. I myself have wondered if tuning out, is choosing to step away from reality. Am I just not strong enough? Don’t I need to know the magnitude of what I defend with my choices, actions, affiliations? Struggling with this I have been given a very simple explanation by my Catholic therapist and parish priest: does XYZ make me a better mom? Does it make me meet the demands of my responsibilities with a more faithful response? When I have mastered those items…. I can move on to issues outside my door.
2: Now that we know our area of focus, do we structure our life to be the best version we can for our vocation? In business I really like using the concept of “setting up for success” and yet in my most important role- I seem to forget about it. Slowing down, choosing to pivot from my perceived “right way”, choosing better over perfect – those things are not my go to. My go to perspectives: faster, more, “I can fix it”, don’t stop, and be perfect. The idea that if I don’t do 1 and 2 to the best of my ability, we will never add up to 3. And yet life has taught me you can do your best and stuff still happens. There are many ways to approach the idea of setting ourselves up for success, but sometimes it is important to start at the most foundational: our resources. Are you hydrated, fueled, rested, and with mental clarity to live out your vocation? My honest answer to these all resulted in: no and I have learned that none of the excuses have come up strong enough to excuse my depleted lifestyle making it ok to be a less than mom. This is hard and can sound a lot like seeking perfection… but I am being reminded my word of 2023 again: humility. If I can be humble enough to recognize the need for change and bring it to God – even the act of working towards improvement helps me walk stronger toward my vocation.
So the battle is on, so know your role and then how to show up for it.
And one final thought: your life may not always be able to reflect your vocation in the traditional or clear way. Got to your parish priest and request help. I have been blown away by several different priests help to understand my vocation of wife and mother, in a life that has ended up positioning these things unexpectedly. My desire: live out the traditional Catholic marriage and parenthood…. My life is married and alone… parenting solo. But the church has answers for these and they might not be what you think. Get the guidance and take the help. We are in a battle and left to our own unique set of circumstances, we could be drowning in unnecessary confusion.
As we prepare for Mother’s Day, feel confident in the challenge of the life – we are in battle. And be grateful for our Blessed Mother who seeks to guide us for our best path to sainthood.
Thank you so much for reading and remember to make it a great day!
Jackie
Have A Little Faith in We 