Tag: Mercy

CatholicMom.com August Post

Published on by Kate1 Comment

I really should have been doing this all along. For almost 2 years now I’ve been a contributor for CatholicMom.com. It’s an amazing website full of encouragement for moms of all ages and stages – parents in general really. Contributors from all over the country – moms, dads, grandparents, single adults, priests, nuns, brothers – all share Gospel reflections, posts about parenthood, sainthood, daily living, theology, even sharing recipes and movie reviews.

I’m going to *try* to remember each month to share here the beginning of my monthly article. Click the link to view the whole thing at catholicmom.com and check out what other articles are there for you to discover.

Enjoy!

Be Glad God is Like Stoplights

I was sitting at a particularly long stop light the other day. My kids were chattering in the back, asking when we would be moving again. I swear it felt like we had been waiting for five minutes, though in reality it couldn’t have been that long. A white truck pulled up next me and within two seconds the light switched to green. One of my kids shouted “That’s not fair! We had to wait longer.”

This got me thinking about the parable Jesus told about the workers in the vineyard. It’s the one where the landowner hires workers at dawn, agreeing to pay them the usual daily wage. Then hires more workers at mid-day, afternoon and evening, agreeing to pay each of them the usual daily wage. At the end of the day, those hired first are outraged that inflation didn’t happen when everyone was paid the same amount.

Continue at CatholicMom.com

Daily Graces. kktaliaferro.wordpress.com

Faces of Mercy {Plus Free Stuff!}

Published on by KateLeave a comment

During this incredible Jubilee of Mercy, especially during the upcoming season of Lent, Pope Francis is encouraging us all to recognize and engage in the corporeal and spiritual works of mercy. As a parent, sometimes we forget that our day is filled with these acts of mercy – we clothe the naked baby that is streaking out the front door, we feed the hungry spouse who worked a late shift, we instruct the ignorant child in the ways of courtesy, morality and self discipline, we comfort the afflicted teenager who is suffering their first break-up, we bury the dead when we say goodbye to our own parents or relatives.

As a mom, though my day may be filled with opportunities of mercy, sometimes I’m less than filled with a merciful spirit and temperament. Recently, through the awesome website catholicmom.com, I found out about an incredible opportunity for moms, and all people really, to help us grow in mercy.

During all of Lent there will be an online conference taking place called Catholic Conference 4 Moms. There are going to be 27 speakers presenting on topics that really spoke to me. Not only do the presentations sound great, they will be available for download whenever is convenient for you all of Lent!. Plus, by registering, you will get a digital swag bag full of online goodies and discounts.

Are you part of a mom’s group? Wouldn’t it be incredible for you ladies to be able to come together and reflect on this important topic of mercy? Or maybe you and some friends have been talking about getting together but can’t quite seem to make your plans work. Why not invite them over to your house (Lysol or Pledge wipes and scented candles work wonders!), everyone bring something to share, and watch a presentation or two? If you think that your parish would be interested, the conference has discussion packets and information about hosting the conference videos on site. These topics and presenters are dynamite and are sure to inspire you however you view them.

Here are just a few of the topics I’m excited about (I’m excited about all of them really, but here are the ones I’m really really excited about)

What the World Needs Now is Spiritual Mothers – Pat Gohn

Mercy Begins in the Womb – Jennassa Terraccino

Mercy Calls Us to Witness: Becoming a Contagious Catholic – Kimberly Hahn

In His Mercy He Has Sent Us Angels – Mike Aquilina

Mercy in Marriage – Karee and Manuel P. Santos, M.D.

Suffering, Forgiveness and Mercy: How God Can turn Evil to Good – Rachel Muha

I could keep going, each presentation looks interesting and relatable for me, how about you?

I’m very excited for this conference in more ways that one. Not only do I plan on participating, I am so happy to share that through this blog, I am officially promoting the conference as an affiliate. It is a win-win-win for everyone.

  • Hopefully, this blog will encourage you, my dear readers, to consider participating in this opportunity. Win!
  • When you (I hope) register, you will receive a $4 discount if you use my promotion code (so instead of paying $14.99 for the conference you will only pay $10.99). Win!
  • When you use my code, I will receive a small financial kickback from the conference as thanks for supporting them and spreading the word about the conference. Win! This money will go directly to my small ministry here on the blog and support my writing ministry. This is an easy way that you can support me at no extra cost to you and both Ben and I appreciate it immensely!

My coupon code:

Graces

For barely the price of a book, and with no shipping costs, you can have access to all of these presentations, a digital swag bag and the spiritual support of moms from around the world – yes, this is going global! As a special bonus, on February 20 the conference will have Jennifer Fulwiler presenting live at 10:30am EST and a Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3pm EST.

The conference will start on February 20 and the presentations will be available all of Lent. I hope that you are feeling inspired and are ready to dive into Lent with these presentations and reflections as your sure and steady guide.

God bless

Divine Mercy Sunday

Published on by KateLeave a comment

I know I should be posting Part II of my Lion King reflections (which by the way, since that first post I’ve heard the soundtrack about 15 times. It’s a miracle that I can sing any other song in my head at this moment). But I would be remiss to let this very special Sunday pass by without a few words of reflection.

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The first Sunday following Easter is a unique Sunday celebrated by the Catholic Church called Divine Mercy Sunday. We are celebrating the incredible love and mercy that flows from Jesus, our savior. At Mass today we even had a large portrait of the image of Divine Mercy. John and Rosie were so intrigued by the change. They kept asking about the colors coming from Jesus. I loved watching them notice the change in our liturgical space. It means that they really are observing and starting to participate in the rituals, which is so incredible as a parent.

On the topic of parenting and mercy, what a huge job parents have. When you really stop to think, from the earliest of days a parent’s actions, words, tones, looks, etc., are all taken in by our children. Lessons of discipline, respect, obedience, trust, and honesty are all so important for the development of both the child and the parent. Mercy, however, may be one of the most important things that a parent can teach. We demonstrate mercy when we are compassionate. We teach mercy when we extend forgiveness. We live mercy when we do not let yesterday’s hurts shadow over today’s triumphs (or struggles, or joys, or hurts).

Pope Francis, our wise pope, has declared that starting in December this year, the Church is going to be celebrating a extraordinary Holy Year (usually these happen every 25 years, the last being in 2000, hence the “extraordinary”) of Mercy. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_letters/documents/papa-francesco_bolla_20150411_misericordiae-vultus.html. This is going to be an incredible year. We all have a chance to make a difference, make a change, for mercy. Pope Francis says “Mercy is the very foundation of the Church’s life…The Church’s very credibility is seen in how she shows merciful and compassionate love.” One of the really cool things about our Church is that it sees families as the foundation, the building blocks of the whole Church. Families are called “domestic churches,” a microcosm of the global Church. If my family is a microcosm of the Church, then my family is called to have mercy at our cornerstone.

I hope to focus on learning about mercy and teaching/modeling mercy for our family. Keep up with Pope Francis if you can, he’s shaking things up all over the world.