• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Bishop Robert Barron
          • George Weigel
          • Question Corner
          • Effie Caldarola
          • John Garvey
          • Father Ed Dougherty, M.M.
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Suzanna Molino Singleton
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Paul McMullen
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Father T. Austin Murphy Jr.
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
  • Advertising
  • CR Radio
  • Printing
  • Subscribe

67 Ways to Do the Works of Mercy with Your Kids (An author Q&A)

Rita Buettner May 28, 2019
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, Books, Open Window

With very full lives, we can feel there’s no way to fit anything else into the day. So, when I saw that Heidi Indahl had written 67 Ways to Do the Works of Mercy with Your Kids, I was immediately intrigued.Doing the works of mercy—which include feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick, and more—seems a bit daunting when you’re trying to raise a family. Many mornings it seems as if we can just barely find lunchboxes and shoes to get everyone off to school.

But I’ve been reading Heidi’s writing long enough to know that she offers beautiful, simple approaches to daily challenges. This book absolutely achieves that, giving manageable, yet beautiful, ways to incorporate the works of mercy into your lives.

I reached out to Heidi, who lives with her husband and seven children in rural southeastern Minnesota, to ask her about her book, which you can find here.

What inspired you to write this book?

This book was written on the back of a chance meeting that could have only been divinely inspired. I was speaking with the publisher, Jerry Windley-Daoust, at a conference and he shared that he would really like to have a series of books with practical ideas for core practices of family faith formation. He had already written 77 Ways to Pray with Your Kids and was looking to find someone else to work on the Corporal Works of Mercy. One thing led to another, I volunteered, and several years later here it is!

Was it difficult to think of the variety of activities and projects families could take on?

Before becoming a stay-at-home mom, I was an early childhood teacher and program director. Doing service projects with young children was something I valued as a teacher, and I drew heavily on my experiences there. The hardest piece was how to integrate older and younger children in the same family.

I love that you focused on the importance of preparation and reflection as well. Can you give an example of a time when preparation and reflection have helped make a work of mercy particularly meaningful for your family?

As a Lenten group service project several years ago, our homeschool co-op did a Spiritual Bouquet for priests. We spent several weeks praying for our priests, and then we met for a card-making session…

Each family was responsible for delivering a couple of the packages during Holy Week. Doing this during Holy Week allowed us to have some great conversations about the additional work that goes into such special seasons from the Church side. Since we did part of the activity as a family and part as a group, I think it provided a different perspective than we would have had doing it alone.

What would you recommend to parents who have trouble imagining how to fit works of mercy into their busy lives? I loved how you spoke about this in the book.

If someone is really struggling here, I recommend starting close to home. Look for projects that require little to no financial investment and can be done without leaving home. I dedicated an entire section to these sorts of projects. Several activities could even be spread out by a family to allow some flexibility with busy schedules.

What kind of reactions have you received from the book? What would be the most rewarding feedback to receive?

The response has been overwhelmingly positive! This is definitely an area where people would like to be doing more but aren’t sure where to start. I’d absolutely love to start seeing some pictures and hearing stories about family experiences with the various activities in the book.

What do you hope readers will take away from the book?

That this really is doable! It doesn’t have to be fancy and complicated. I truly believe every single family has a small way that they can provide practical, intentional service to others.

Print Print

Primary Sidebar

Rita Buettner

Rita Buettner

Rita Buettner is a wife, working mother and author of the Catholic Review's Open Window blog. She and her husband adopted their two sons from China, and Rita often writes about topics concerning adoption, family and faith.

Rita also writes The Domestic Church, a featured column in the Catholic Review. Her writing has been honored by the Catholic Press Association, the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association and the Associated Church Press.

View all posts from this author

Recent Commentary

Treats for a Sunday, toy trains, and other pandemic fun (7 Quick Takes)

Ruling the heart

Burial in non-Catholic cemetery/ Anxious as death draws near

Doing the impossible

The fish-stick dilemma

Recent Local News

Sister Frances McCabe, CBS, ministered in nursing, dies at 83

Social Ministry honoree brings Latin America experience to migrant issues

One year in: Families, institutions adjust to ongoing pandemic

Our daily bread: Irish tradition enjoyed on more than St. Patrick’s Day

RADIO INTERVIEW: How to pick a Bible translation

Catholic Review Radio

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Living the beatitudes can change the world, pope says in Iraq
  • Hostility, violence are ‘betrayals’ of religion, pope says in Iraq
  • Pope, Iraqi Shiite leader affirm importance of dialogue, respect
  • Remains of Father Emil Kapaun, Korean War military chaplain, identified
  • Treats for a Sunday, toy trains, and other pandemic fun (7 Quick Takes)
  • Ruling the heart
  • Pope: Honor martyrs by remaining faithful, working for a better Iraq
  • Sister Frances McCabe, CBS, ministered in nursing, dies at 83
  • Pope arrives in Iraq, promoting peace, tolerance, equality
  • Bishop Rhoades: Latest COVID-19 vaccine can be used in good conscience

Search

Membership

Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2021 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED