• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • 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

Transfiguration moments for parents

August 6, 2023
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

Those moments come when you least expect it.

You look at your child and you realize how much they’re growing and changing.

They’re taller. Stronger. More mature. More compassionate. More insightful.

They’re motivated in a new way, finding new interests, new passions, a new purpose.

They’re growing physically, intellectually, spiritually.

It takes your breath away.

Parenting is not always easy, but it’s always good. It’s always important. I look at our teens and think of the seeds we’ve planted over the years—some of which have taken root and sprouted, some of which may not sprout for years. Some will never take root. That’s fine. As parents, we need to be comfortable with the fact that these young people are their own individuals. We are here to love and teach and guide, but we are not here to create replicas of ourselves.

As we speed through life, though, there continue to be moments when I look at my children and realize just how much they’ve grown and learned. On the Feast of Transfiguration, I’ve been reflecting on the transfiguration moments in my own life, when I look at our children and see God at work within them. Those are the moments where they seem like they are so much greater than the little ones we held in our arms so many years ago. Those are the moments when they shine.

“Lord, it is good that we are here.“

We know life doesn’t stay the same. We know that people change. We all do. When you’re raising little ones, you find that the questions that come so often at bedtime for toddlers and preschoolers become more complex and more pressing. These days, sometimes I need to come back with better, richer answers. Sometimes I need to do more listening than talking. Sometimes—often even—I fall into bed thinking I could have handled that conversation better.

There is always another transfiguration moment, a time I look at our children and realize how they’re changing. And I’ll hope that we’ve prepared them for all that they’ll face in the future.

“But Jesus came and touched them, saying,
‘Rise, and do not be afraid.'”

Do not be afraid. And so I stand in awe, watching them grow, wishing it could all slow down just a little, worrying that maybe I haven’t taught them enough or enough of the right things or given them all that they need.

And I marvel not just at how they’re growing and changing, but how they’re also transfiguring me.

Image taken from Transfiguration by Raphael

Copyright © 2023 Catholic Review Media

Print Print

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

Primary Sidebar

Rita Buettner

View all posts from this author

| Recent Commentary |

Question Corner: Does reception of the Eucharist replace confession?

A butterfly lands on a flowering bush with purple blossoms

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

Kids need lots of people who love them

Painting of Martha and Mary during their visit with Jesus

A parenting lesson in the Mary and Martha story

Pope Leo XIV champions media literacy

| Recent Local News |

Driver arrested after crashing into entrance of Esperanza Center

Construction underway on new north addition to St. Joseph’s Nursing Home 

Prince of Peace merges with St. Francis de Sales in Harford County

Radio Interview: Youth ministry changing with the times

Quo Vadis attracts biggest crowd ever, promotes camaraderie and faith

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

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

  • Driver arrested after crashing into entrance of Esperanza Center
  • IDF says Gaza Holy Family Parish hit was errant mortar round that veered off course
  • Holy See at the UN urges sustainable development as U.S. pulls out of UNESCO
  • Peace by force is a ‘troubling’ idea, Iran cardinal says
  • U.S. to withdraw, again, from UNESCO over Palestine and UN development goals
  • Judge blocks defunding of some, but not all, Planned Parenthood groups
  • Catholic Church mourns deaths in Bangladesh military plane crash
  • Question Corner: Does reception of the Eucharist replace confession?
  • Home viewing roundup: What’s available to stream and what’s on horizon

Search

Membership

Catholic Media Assocation

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2025 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

en Englishes Spanish
en en