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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.

A loaf of sliced bread

We are part of the miracle

June 22, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

Jesus can—and will—feed the thousands of people in front of him. He doesn’t need the five loaves and two fish to create a feast for that crowd.

A homemade pie that is ready to bake sits on a kitchen counter next to a rolling pie

A Key Ingredient

June 15, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

For years, I have turned to my next-door neighbor Kathy for help.

A father’s gift 

June 12, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Commentary, The Domestic Church

When I think of our Father in heaven, I like to imagine him being a little like my father on Earth – looking at a problem and finding a way to solve it that I can’t see.

Stained glass window depicting a dove and some of the apostles with flames over their heads

Come, Holy Spirit: A Pentecost Reflection

June 8, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

As an adult, though, I lean hard on the Holy Spirit for wisdom, for courage, and for inspiration.

Watermelon cut into a basket and filled with fruit

Sometimes I cook dinner, summer is here, and other miracles (7 Quick Takes)

May 31, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window, Uncategorized

Summer is my favorite time of year, and I am looking forward to being outside more and enjoying longer, slower days. I love everything about summer.

Painting of two women, Mary and Elizabeth, greeting each other in a 17th century painting

When children grow up (and the Feast of the Visitation)

May 30, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

The other day, I watched as my son, who was stuck in a challenging situation, stepped forward to advocate for himself—politely and firmly. He was heard without any apparent criticism, the problem was immediately resolved, and the world continued to turn. It took my breath away. But at 15 and 17, he and his brother […]

Scrambled eggs in the car, Confirmation joy, and Wordle losses (7 Quick Takes)

May 23, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

It’s May, which means every now and then we have a night without baseball or a concert or some other commitment. Mostly, though, it’s a mad dash to the finish. Not to wish time away, but summer can start anytime. It’s my absolute favorite time of year.

A smiling Pope Leo waves to a crowd in St. Peter's Square

A Ticket to Pope Leo’s First Papal Audience

May 21, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

Back in early April, Abigail Benjamin submitted a request for tickets to attend a papal audience in May. Not many people were requesting tickets at the time, as a cardinal handled the papal audiences for an ailing Pope Francis. But Abigail felt she and her husband, Jon, should go. They could never have known that […]

Pope Leo smiles as he speaks into a microphone

The pope is speaking my language

May 16, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

I never thought we would have an American pope, so I had no expectations for how that might different for me, as an American. I had never considered what it would be like to hear a pope talk in English with an American accent.

Gift of grace 

May 12, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Commentary, The Domestic Church

God doesn’t give us grace just at our baptism and confirmation, but over and over in abundance.

Yellow and white cloth hangs over the doors of Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in honor of the papal election

Who is our new pope, Pope Leo XIV?

May 10, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

What a gift this pope could be—and is—to our Church. What a blessing to have a pope who has so much to bring to this time.

Two yellow roses bloom on a rose bush full of green leaves

A Grandmother’s Roses

May 6, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

The rain is just what the rosebush needs.

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