• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • 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
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Elizabeth Scalia
          • Michael R. Heinlein
          • Effie Caldarola
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Mark Viviano
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
        • CR Radio
        • Protagonistas de Fe
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe

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.

Child points to Murray and Ripken jerseys framed on the wall

Cal Ripken, Carlo Acutis, Pier Georgio Frassati, and Heroes in Our Lives

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

As we marked the anniversary of Cal breaking the streak, lots of those decades-old emotions came back.

A college dorm room with a backpack, desk, part of a bed

Time for college move-in day

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

I don’t want to say I’ve become a college move-in enthusiast, but I love our nieces and nephews, and I love visiting college campuses.

Farewell to a beautiful summer

August 24, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

Summer is coming to a close, and the school year is beginning.

Pope Leo holds the host up in both hands during the consecration

Pope Leo’s Tears at Mass

August 17, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

As Pope Leo XIV lifts the host during the Consecration, you can see his eyes filling up. He swallows, and he seems to be holding back tears.

Wide shot of a sunrise on the beach, with a figure standing toward the left watching the light come into the sky

We’re at the beach. Let’s go see the sunrise

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

The world was full of magic and wonder, and God—God was everywhere. And he was certainly with us on the beach, welcoming us into a new day, inviting us to see it for the gift it is.

Gray cloudy sky above a church and flowering trees

A Small Gift on a Cloudy Day

August 1, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

For a moment, as I reached for the church door, I hesitated. I could go back to the car for an umbrella.

A butterfly lands on a flowering bush with purple blossoms

A Miracle for a Baby in Rhode Island (and for all of us)

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

We have all hoped and prayed for miracles. No wonder we get excited when we hear that the Vatican has confirmed one.

Painting of Martha and Mary during their visit with Jesus

A parenting lesson in the Mary and Martha story

July 20, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window, Uncategorized

Relationships are unique. We connect with each person in a distinctive way, meeting them where they are. We don’t talk to Mary the same way we talk to Martha.

Listen for God this summer

July 15, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Commentary, Feature, The Domestic Church

The Loyola School started with a seed of an idea from Jesuit Father William Watters, who has brought such vision and commitment to Jesuit education for children in Baltimore over the decades.

Sculpture of St. Rita and St. Therese with a cross and holy water font at the center sits on a table

A Gift and a Connection to the Past

July 13, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

Earlier this year, my husband John mentioned that his cousin Terri had something she wanted to give to me. He showed me a photo of a sculpture that included statues of St. Rita of Cascia and St. Therese of Lisieux.

Cupcakes with 2025 graduation toothpicks in them and a bowl of cookies

Our 31-hour Road Trip

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

We drove more than 450 miles, spent more than 10 hours on the road, and did almost everything we wanted to along the way.

2025 Stellar graduates

July 2, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Special to the Catholic Review
Filed Under: Feature, Local News, News, Schools

All across the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Catholic high schools produce graduates who excel in everything from academics to sports and Christian service. The Catholic Review highlights four of them.

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • Page 4
  • Page 5
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 84
  • Go to Next Page »

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

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
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Vatican sees record number of visitors during Jubilee year, officials say
  • Sisters who manage school of kidnapped Nigerian children: ‘Your compassion became a lifeline’
  • The God of second chances
  • Radio Interview: Carrying grace into the new year
  • Venezuela strikes, takeover plans violate international law, says Notre Dame scholar
  • Pope Leo, bishops react to U.S. capture of Maduro with concern for Venezuela
  • Westernport experiences a flood of relief 
  • Today could have been the day
  • Czech archdiocese welcomes pioneering ‘3D church’

Search

Membership

Catholic Media Assocation

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2026 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED