Spiritual Growth for the Busy Mom

Kate Moreland recommends Good Catholic as an online resource for spiritual growth and encouragement.

It can be very hard for mothers to find time for our spiritual lives. Like the Proverbs 31 woman often referenced as the epitome of biblical feminine accomplishment, we must rise before the rest of the house, manage the food, the children, the household, and often do some kind of working, schooling, or outside activity as well. In between juggling all this, we must focus on our spiritual life, since as we are all well aware, that is the only thing that will matter when we leave this world. Whether or not we had a laundry system or meal planned weekly will not be of importance as we stand before the judgement seat of God. One of my favorite resources for mom-friendly spiritual growth and encouragement in life over the last few years has come from GoodCatholic.com, a subsidiary of The Catholic Company.

Good Catholic produces many series, multi-day spiritual guidance readings and videos about specific topics. They are given in brief snippets that are manageable even in a busy day. Most series range from twenty days to forty days, with some, like the Holy Week series, being very short. Participants can go at their own pace as life allows, although the daily assignment is emailed to the enrolled email account daily. For forgetful people like me, this makes such a difference in the likelihood that I will actually do the reading.

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Each assignment typically consists of a brief video and a few pages to read. The daily video takes less than ten minutes, often less than five, and provides insights from priests who draw from many different backgrounds. Generally, these priests are chosen for their particular aptitude for the series’ topic. The reading segment is not complex to read but contains references and quotes from many spiritual works that I simply have neither the time nor the energy to read myself. Surely I am not the only one who falls asleep after reading two pages of anything at night … Rather, I can read the relevant section and have it explained clearly and succinctly, plus learn why it is relevant to my life. Rarely are they boring; they are very well-written and engaging, targeted specifically for those of us lay souls living in the world and trying to grow spiritually within the chaos of daily life.

The topics offered are one of the aspects of Good Catholic’s spiritual growth series that interest me so much. Sometimes I want help overcoming a particular hurdle, such as trust in God. A couple years ago, I was struggling to trust and not become anxious about the potential pitfalls that could arise in family life. The series called Jesus, I Trust in You, which focuses on the Divine Mercy promises, helped tremendously. Thy Will Be Done is my favorite of them all so far, and I have repeated it at least three times, and found it helpful every time.

Other times, our spiritual lives can feel monotonous and we might need something interesting to perk them up. In one of those moods, I signed up for the Spiritual Warfare series, which is not my normal area of interest but sparked my curiosity in the moment. Sure enough, I learned a lot and found myself growing in appreciation for the practical defenses the Church and Lord provide for us. Another random choice on a boring winter month was the series on Purgatory. That taught me so much that I had never even considered about Purgatory, and now daily prayers for the poor souls hold a secure place in my prayer life. Not because I feel guilted into praying for them, but rather because I understand better what they are enduring and why they need our help.

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There is truly something for everyone, and I cannot recommend this resource enough. While there is some cost involved, it is relatively small and worth every bit. The writers, priests, and others who put these series together clearly spend a significant amount of time and effort to make spiritual guidance and growth available to those, like us moms, who might find it challenging to get personalized spiritual direction on a regular basis. And, in case anyone wonders if this is a paid review, it is not. I am fangirl enough that I wrote it for free. They’re that good, ladies. Skip the fancy brew for a couple days and give your faith life a power-up instead.

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