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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.

Stained glass image showing the Eucharist

That First Communion Joy

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

Our twin nephews made their First Communion this weekend, and I was so excited for them.

A red and gold cake in the shape of a coiled snake

Lunar New Year: This Year Takes the Snake (Cake)

February 3, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window, Uncategorized

The timing of the holiday is always just what I need—a festival that arrives in between the gap of the rejoicing of Christmas and the warmth and light of springtime. Here we are in the in-between times, celebrating with food and loved ones and fun.

A shopping cart full of groceries

Cherish the Time

January 25, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

“But I remember those wonderful days with my boys in the house,” she said. “Cherish that time.”

A whole cheese pizza on a pan

Ask for What You Need

January 19, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

Whatever is on your heart today, whether it seems insurmountable or insignificant, whether it’s for you or for someone you love, you can bring it to Jesus — directly or through his mother.

Brownie on a plate with whipped cream a fork

Best By Today

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

This weekend we started going through our pantry. The plan was to find the items we weren’t eating and donate them to the food pantry at church. What we discovered is that we have plenty of soy sauce, Greek dressing, and granola. We also have an astonishing amount of expired food. Some packages expired not […]

A statue of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton at the Seton Shrine

5 Reasons to Love St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

January 3, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

As a child growing up in Baltimore, I remember learning about Mother Seton. We were especially proud of this new saint, who had a connection to our hometown. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton was not only the first American-born saint, but she had spent so much of her life in Maryland. Sometimes on a warm summer […]

Image of a 2025 calendar

New Year, Sorta New Goal

January 3, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

Now 2025 begins. I’m always a little sad to close the book on the past year, but I love the idea of a new beginning. What will this new year bring? What will we bring to this new year?

Gold pants

January 1, 2025
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Commentary, The Domestic Church

As we begin a new year and turn the page on the calendar, we may be wondering what lies ahead. We aren’t likely to discover – or need – a pair of gold pants, but maybe we will need something unusual for the journey before us. Whatever that might be, we can trust that God will prepare us – or has already.

Wrapped gifts sit under a Christmas tree

A Tale of Two Gifts

December 27, 2024
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Christmas, Commentary, Open Window

The true gift of Christmas is always the same—love come down from heaven to earth, love that changes everything, the Son of God made man, come to show us how to live and how to love.

Two sticks of butter sit on a kitchen counter

Living with Hope (and Butter on the Counter)

December 26, 2024
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

I love making cookies, especially at Christmastime. But I can’t always find the time to bake. Sometimes in the morning as I look ahead at the day, I think maybe, just maybe, I’ll have time to make cookies today. So, I pull some butter out of the fridge and leave it to soften on the […]

vintage postcard image of Santa Claus in his sleigh pulled by two reindeer

Up on the Housetop

December 18, 2024
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Advent, Blog, Commentary, Open Window

I must have been about 5 or 6 that Christmas Eve. My grandmother was spending the night so she could wake up with all of us on Christmas morning. To make sure that Grandma had a bed, my oldest sister Maureen and I slept on the third floor of our Rodgers Forge townhouse. We were […]

Tiny wooden nativity shows the Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, and an Infant Jesus

Spending Advent with St. Joseph

December 14, 2024
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Advent, Blog, Commentary, Open Window

As a woman and mother, I sometimes feel like I should feel close to Mary during Advent. And I do. But I often find myself looking more to St. Joseph. In so many ways, his story is similar to our stories. He’s thrust into a situation he couldn’t have anticipated. He considers backing out and […]

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