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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.

The one who loved us first

May 12, 2020
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Commentary, The Domestic Church

God is love. He loved us first – and loves us forever. He knows us best, seeing deep within us to all we are and all we can be. He sees us and loves us fully. He holds us – and the past, present and future – in his hands.

A quarantine discovery, fear of the frost, discovering Your Blue Flame, and more (7 Quick Takes)

May 8, 2020
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, Open Window

Maybe it’s time to start a list of quarantine discoveries.

Remembering Grandma

May 7, 2020
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, Open Window, Uncategorized

When I think of the mother I want to be, I think of many women in my life who have inspired me—and continue to.

I’m dreaming of a quarantined Mother’s Day

May 5, 2020
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, Open Window

As my 10-year-old son and I were chatting about Mother’s Day, we created this song.

A thank you in the sky (and a prayer for our healthcare heroes)

May 2, 2020
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, Open Window

Gov. Larry Hogan had declared Saturday Healthcare Heroes Day, and the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds would be flying over as a thank you to those serving on the front lines in the pandemic.

Sugar-cube spill, home fashion, the gift of ramen, and more (7 Quick Takes)

May 1, 2020
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, Open Window

Some days you’re trying to get something done when you hear a terrible crash in the kitchen. You come running and see that your son just spilled sugar cubes all over the floor.

Get to know St. Louis de Montfort

April 27, 2020
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, Open Window

Do you know much about St. Louis de Montfort?

A farewell to a lamp

April 26, 2020
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, Open Window

As I turned the switch, the lamp started falling over onto my arm. I caught it and realized there were bits and pieces of the base spread all over the floor.

7 poems in 7 styles that may just bring out 7 smiles (7 Quick Takes)

April 25, 2020
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, Open Window

National Poetry Month will be coming to a close soon, so these 7 takes are written in 7 different poetic forms.

Finding hope in the beauty of God’s creation

April 21, 2020
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, Open Window, Uncategorized

God’s fingerprints are everywhere, and this spring I spot gift after gift from our Creator. The greatest gift, of course, is today.

A trumpet and a lesson in trust

April 21, 2020
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, The Domestic Church

The challenge for us might be to trust God, knowing that he wants what’s best for us and that he knows us better than we know ourselves.

I could write a sonnet about everything we did during the octave of Easter (7 Quick Takes)

April 16, 2020
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, Open Window

My niece, Elise, challenged me to write this week’s 7 Quick Takes in sonnet form. April is National Poetry Month, after all. I think she believes—and rightly so—that I turn too often to limericks. And I do love a challenge.

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