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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.

Neighborly love

April 20, 2021
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Commentary, The Domestic Church

This Easter season, may we experience moments of great joy. And may we also find comfort in the promise of eternal life for ourselves and all those we love.

7 Poetic Highlights from Our Week (7 Quick Takes)

April 17, 2021
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

Today, I’m trying 7 different poetic forms. I hope this is half as entertaining to read as it was to try to write them.

Up with the birds

April 14, 2021
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

There’s something extraordinary about introducing the birds to the first light of the day.

Haiku Highlights from Easter (7 Quick Takes)

April 10, 2021
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

Sharing seven haiku written during the Octave of Easter

An Easter full of hope

April 7, 2021
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

As I set our table for dinner, I thought of all the people who were part of our celebration even though they weren’t physically with us.

A sweet gift, a birthday, Easter foods, and spring snow (7 Quick Limericks)

April 2, 2021
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

If you like limericks, this post is for you.

The finches’ first Easter

April 2, 2021
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

This will be our pet birds’ first Easter with us.

Walking through Holy Week

March 30, 2021
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Easter, Open Window

We don’t need to begin the holiest week of the year at our best. It comes either way. And maybe we’re prepared to receive the risen Jesus in a way we can’t quite see.

My father’s cookies, a leftover bunny, and other discoveries (7 Quick Takes)

March 26, 2021
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

~1~ Can you go to your parents’ house and come home empty-handed? Me neither. I came home with a bag of my father’s homemade cookies, a copy of the newspaper with our wedding announcement in it, a few wedding photos I had forgotten about, and printouts of our online guestbook. I don’t even recall having […]

“Are you sitting down?”

March 24, 2021
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

How we share information matters. That’s why people put so much care into marriage proposals and pregnancy announcements.

Half-birthdays for finches, corned beef, and that time I won an award (7 Quick Takes)

March 20, 2021
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

Our two baby finches celebrated their half-birthdays this week.

Missing out again

March 18, 2021
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

I met the anniversary of the last day of in-person school with eyes wide open—bracing myself for that weight. But I’m realizing that missing out on experiences for the second time might be harder.

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