January 14, 2008
January 14, 2008
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Blessed Mother Teresa: A Heart for the Poor

In a previous post, I began my review of Come Be My Light, observing that Blessed Mother Teresa had (still does, undoubtedly) many virtues that adoptive and foster parents need to cultivate in their own lives. The first, and most obvious, is a deep-seated desire to serve the poor and powerless (or at least a specific child who needs a family). This desire is not grounded in how cute, or quiet, or grateful the child might be, but in a sense of calling. This was the “call within a call” that Blessed Mother Teresa pursued relentlessly: to bring souls to Jesus, and bring Jesus to […]
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January 13, 2008
January 13, 2008
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Come Be My Light: Thoughts on Spiritual Motherhood

Persistent. Fearless. Noble. These are words frequently associated with Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta and her sisters, the Missionaries of Charity. I had heard (who hasn’t?) that an oppressive spiritual cloud had plagued her during all but the earliest years of religious life. Some (hack journalist with ulterior motives, mainly) were quick to denounce her when these letters first surfaced, claiming they were proof of Mother Teresa’s lack of sanctity. Fortunately, wiser and more discerning heads prevailed, as this lack of consolation is not unprecedented among Catholic mystics. So when I began to pore over Brian Kolodiejchuk’s Come Be My Light: The Private Writings of […]
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January 11, 2008
January 11, 2008
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Story Time!

Come see the Carnival! Catholic Carnival #155 has now been posted here. Thanks to Deo Omnis Gloria for “posting in the wilderness.” The other day Lisa sent me a request from an adoptive mother, who wanted to buy a book to help her tell her adopted child how he entered their family. I found some good pointers for parents at this site, which includes a number of books for children and adults. My personal favorite is Max Lucado’s You Are Special (left, see “Resources”), which is great for all children. To be honest, I haven’t spent much time researching this particular area of adoption for […]
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January 6, 2008
January 6, 2008
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Mighty Mom Monday: Happy Trails…. and Happy Epiphany

As we head resolutely into the New Year, tromping across the days like the Wise Men who traversed the desert in search of the Infant King, I’d like to take a moment to thank Sarah (A.K.A. “Mighty Mom”) for all her hard work this past year, bringing glimpses of humor and revelry to our lives. Unfortunately Sarah will be unable to continue her regular column here in 2009 … So please join me in thanking her for a job well done!  And if you’d like to see what Sunshine and company are up to this week, be sure to head on over to Sarah’s blog. I’m writing this […]
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January 2, 2008
January 2, 2008
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Weekend Ponderings: Keeper of the Grief

From Matthew 2: And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way. Myrrh is a precious ointment used both in funeral  rites in the Roman world as well as priestly anointing […]
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December 21, 2007
December 21, 2007
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Me? Evangelize?

Merry Christmas, dear readers! This week if you have a little extra time in your Christmas stocking, be sure to join Ebeth at A Catholic Mum Climbing the Pillars, where she has posted the Christmas edition of “Catholic Carnival” this week. Thanks, Ebeth! “…there is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know him and to talk to others of our friendship with him”. (CDF, “Doctrinal Note on Some Aspects of Evangelization,” 7). Lately I’ve been thinking about what it means to “evangelize,” something we as Catholics are all called […]
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December 21, 2007
December 21, 2007
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Leap for Joy … with Compassion

The voice of my beloved!Behold, he comes,leaping upon the mountains,bounding over the hills.By beloved is like a gazelle,or a young stag.Behold, there he stands behind our wall,gazing in at the windowslooking through the lattice.My beloved speaks and says to me:Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away;For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone…. (Song of Songs 2:8-12) It seems like a strange reading, given where we are in the liturgical calendar (so close to Christmas). And yet, the Gospel reading gives us a hint (Luke 1:39ff). A young woman, full of life and wonder, hastens toward her dear, infertile […]
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December 17, 2007
December 17, 2007
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Adoptive Family Planning: A Wise Choice

Today on the adoptive parent channel of “Café Mom,” a story was posted about an adoption gone terribly, horribly wrong: A Dutch couple living in Hong Kong, who had adopted a South Korean infant, decided to “return” the little girl (now seven years old) to the orphanage where they had found her. Claiming that the little girl had not adapted well to their culture, they decided to “return” the little girl soon after her mother became pregnant (they had been told she could not conceive). Reading the story, I was reminded that people with limited adoption experience tend to paint both the adoption process and […]
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November 20, 2007
November 20, 2007
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Family We Don’t Get to Pick

If you enjoy this post, check out more quality Catholic reading at the Catholic Carnival #147, hosted this week by our fearless facilitator Jay at “Living Catholicism.com.” The other day I talked with Maureen, whose granddaughter “Janie” – her son’s child – was a ward in another state. Little Janie has two half-siblings (by a different father) who were also in the system, and were about to be adopted by a gay couple. Because the older children were unrelated to her, Maureen wanted to adopt only Janie. Maureen was upset because the agency had recommended to the family court judge that Janie be placed with […]
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