Small Steps: It Only Takes a Minute

Small Steps for Catholic Moms

Editor’s note: Today, we continue our weeklong celebration of the publication of Small Steps for Catholic Moms: Your Daily Call to Think, Pray and Act, the newest installment in the CatholicMom.com Books partnership with Ave Maria Press. Today, Barb Szyszkiewicz shares with us that it doesn't take a lot of time to make a true difference in your prayer life. LMH

Whoever invented the phrase “if you’re too busy to pray, you’re too busy” never had to deal with a colicky infant, a tempestuous toddler and a six-year-old who was supposed to be at his soccer game ten minutes ago. Throw in dinner, the laundry and that sticky spill on the kitchen floor, and you might despair of ever getting in some quality prayer time.

Surely, though, you can find a minute. And a minute is just about all you’ll need to take in a daily dose of spiritual encouragement. Small Steps for Catholic Moms is a daily devotional designed to help overwhelmed moms find moments of prayer in their day-to-day routine.

Each day, you’ll find prompts to THINK, PRAY and ACT. Quotes from Scripture or from the saints fill the THINK sections—and there are many opportunities to hear from some of the not-so-famous saints as well as the ones whose names are more well-known. I found myself browsing through the book to check out the quotes, which are wonderful meditation starters.

A short prayer follows each daily quote. Think of these prayers more as prayer starters that will lead you to the next step: action. You’ll find some of these actions quite challenging, but definitely worth it. Most of the actions suggested in this book require little to no advance planning or materials, so you’ll be able to carry them out without feeling overburdened.

It’s been a long time since I had a needy infant or sleep-averse toddler in my house; while my children are older, there is plenty to keep me busy. I often find myself falling into the trap of using rote prayer (on auto-pilot, unfortunately). Small Steps for Catholic Moms has inspired me to make time for more personal prayer.

Authors Danielle Bean and Elizabeth Foss have assigned each month a virtue; joy, simplicity, gentleness and gratitude are among the virtues explored in this book. But don’t think that you must wait until October to explore patience if that’s what speaks to your heart right now. Although this is a page-a-day devotional, you can pick it up anywhere and benefit from these short prayer experiences.

Let Small Steps for Catholic Moms set the tone for your prayer life as you take a minute each day to soak in the wisdom of the saints.

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