May 22, 2008
May 22, 2008
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Calling all Extraordinary Moms… That’s You!

The simple truth is that every child thinks Mom is extraordinary. Whether that child comes to us the conventional way, or through adoption, or foster care, or some other way. Your presence is what teaches that child about love, about goodness, about kindness, about truth. You ARE those things to your child … and to all the children in whose lives you invest. Pope John Paul II used to talk about the “feminine genius,” and frequently quoted the Council Fathers of Vatican II who contended that “Women imbued with the Spirit of the Gospel can do so much to aid humanity in not falling.” By […]
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May 7, 2008
May 7, 2008
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Called to be God’s “Skin”

This story appeared on Kate Wicker’s blog recently, about a little girl who longed for a mom. It broke my heart to read about this little girl, so vulnerable and lonely. So many people, crushing in all around her … and yet, she did not have a mother’s love to warm her heart. My friends, one does not have to go to India to experience this kind of heartache. There are children right here — very likely, right in your own backyard — who need a mother’s love. Jesus promised that whoever ministers to “the least of these,” in fact is ministering to Him. The […]
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May 7, 2008
May 7, 2008
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Have you ever considered foster-adoption?

Today I came across this report from the Dave Thomas Foundation, which promotes foster adoption of the more than 114,000 children in the U.S. who are currently available for adoption. Highlights of the report include: * Nearly half (45%) of Americans believe that children who are wards of the state are in the system due to delinquency … When in reality the vast majority are in the system out of no fault of their own, having been abused, abandoned, or neglected. * Nearly half (46 percent) of all Americans mistakenly believe that foster care adoption is expensive, when in reality adopting from foster care without […]
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May 2, 2008
May 2, 2008
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Jim and Kerri Caviezel adopt two Chinese children

Catholic Carnival #170 is now up and running at “Book Reviews and More.” Thanks for hosting this week, Steven! This is my favorite part of a story about Jim and Kerri Caviezel’s adoption plans, which ran on CNE … Caviezel recalled that he was “completely terrified” at the possibility of adopting a child with a disability, but deep within his soul, he knew that God wanted him to do it. He compared the fear he felt at the prospect of adopting a child to other “fearful” times in his life. Caviezel explained that in some of the “most important decisions” in his life, he has […]
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April 28, 2008
April 28, 2008
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Remembering Aunt Rosemary … and a little boy

Today I was waiting for Sarah’s kindergarten class to emerge from the school building at pickup, and noticed that Kristi, the Pizza Mom (who collects order forms and money for the weekly pizza lunch) was trying to alphabetize a stack of forms nearly as long as my arm. “Can I give you a hint?” I asked her. I told her how we used to communicate with my Aunt Rosemary, who had contracted Lou Gherig’s disease at 35. We broke the alphabet into four parts, and had her spell out words by blinking her eyes when we reached the right letter: Adolph (A-H), Girl (G-L), Manner […]
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April 10, 2008
April 10, 2008
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Have you ever considered foster-adoption?

Today at “Sunflower Days” I found this post, which describes the harrowing story of an extremely courageous mother who decided to expand her family through foster-adoption. Christopher and Sarah came to us through foster-adoption, but (unlike this family) they were our first and our last placement. It also took three years from the time they entered our home until the adoption was finalized. It doesn’t always work out that neatly for everyone, as Sharon’s post demonstrates. Although foster-adoption is not as financially risky as some other types of adoption, it can be infinitely more emotionally taxing, as this post will show. Still, I share this […]
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February 1, 2008
February 1, 2008
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When Love Gets Expensive

After taking a bit of a break, I’m ready to jump back into the series about Mother Teresa, as revealed in the book Come, Be My Light. As I’ve said — most recently in the last post in this series — I believe Blessed Teresa should be (if she isn’t already) the patroness of adoptive and foster mothers. Today I’d like to share with you another way this dear saint of Calcutta lived a life that is a model for adoptive and foster parents everywhere. Reason #3: She continued to love, even when it cost her dearly. It would have been very easy, after receiving […]
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January 23, 2008
January 23, 2008
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Blessed Mother Teresa: Waiting Room

“Put your hand in Jesus’ hand, and walk alone with Him. Walk ahead, because if you look back you will go back.”Parting words of her mother to 18-year-old Gonxha Bojaxjiu(the future Mother Teresa) In Come Be My Light, we follow Blessed Mother Teresa as she begins God’s work among the most impoverished and powerless in the slums of Calcutta. Despite her urgent, repeated requests, years pass before Mother Teresa receives the necessary permissions – first from her spiritual advisor, then from her bishop, then from Rome, then (finally) her own superior. Even after the permission was granted, delays and misunderstandings (even within the Loreto community) […]
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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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