When I am not enough September 19, 2016By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Commentary, The Domestic Church “We are to become vessels of God’s compassionate love for others,” St. Clare of Assisi said.
My father’s cookies June 22, 2016By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Commentary, The Domestic Church How extraordinary is a father’s love, especially that of God the Father, who has faith that we will continue to try to become the best version of ourselves, that we will fail but we will also achieve, and that one day we will be with him in heaven.
When your child asks about abortion April 4, 2016By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window, Respect Life Dinner is on the stove and I’m setting the table when our second grader walks into the kitchen.He is carrying a postcard he’s pulled out of the pile of mail.“Is this what we were talking about?” he asks, and he points to a picture on the postcard.I glance down and
Remembering Monsignor Valenzano September 6, 2015By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window As my sister’s matron of honor, I had several responsibilities on the altar at her wedding. I had to adjust the bride’s train on her dress, hold the bouquet, adjust the train again, head down the aisle to bring up the gifts, hand back the bouquet, and adjust the train
20 ways to support loved ones as they grieve the loss of a baby June 17, 2014By Rita Buettner Catholic Review Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window When people lose infants during pregnancy or shortly after birth, no one seems to know how to respond to the couple’s grief while also celebrating the baby’s life. Here are a few ideas.
Are they really brothers? November 11, 2013By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window When we adopted our first son, I fielded strangers’ questions about adoption all the time.I assumed that after we adopted our second son, the questions would continue, but I was wrong. When we are out in public, I am so busy keeping my children safe and from damaging their surroundings,
Missing Baby Georgie November 7, 2013By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window For the past few months, ever since my sister and her husband told us they were expecting a baby, my sons have been looking forward to meeting their new cousin.Nothing is more exciting than a new baby, and for our sons, this would be their first cousin living in town,
St. Joseph’s Feast Day: A novena a day keeps the job search at bay March 19, 2013By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window When John and I met, we had jobs that were more than 100 miles—and a two-hour drive—apart. So after we became engaged, we both started job hunting.A friend or family member must have mentioned that St. Joseph was the patron of workers, so I began saying a daily novena to
A Valentine’s Day proposal that was—and wasn’t—a surprise February 14, 2013By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window When I say I knew John was going to propose, I’m not boasting about my great detective work.I mean I knew.We had met with Fr. Lawrence Adamczyk that morning about celebrating our wedding.We had reserved the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen and booked the reception site.And John had made reservations
