When Life Ends Too Soon: A Mother’s Memoir

Life has a way of hiding the journey ahead for fear that if we knew the future, we would find a reason not to get out of bed. I like to think that a ministering angel is sent by God to cover my eyes so that I do not see too far ahead. If I did, I am afraid that I would be paralyzed with panic and fear. I have found that some crosses in this life seem just too heavy to bear. These crosses have left a scar on my shoulder that never fades. That is the way it was with the birth of our miracle baby, Zachary Luke John.

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Detachment and the Single Life, Part 1

“The future is in your hearts and in your hands. God is entrusting to you the task, at once difficult and uplifting, of working with Him in the building of the civilization of love.”

-Saint John Paul II

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The Battlefield of Life

“Let us always keep before our eyes the fact that here on earth we are on a battlefield and that in paradise we shall receive the crown of victory; that this is a testing-ground and the prize will be awarded up above; that we are now in a land of exile while our true homeland is Heaven to which we must continually aspire.”

-St. Padre Pio

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Dry Prayer: The Blessing That Feels Like a Curse

In the spiritual realm, there’s almost nothing worse than dry prayer. You spend your whole prayer time either besieged by distractions or struggling to string together two good thoughts. Who would ever think this disturbing situation could be a sign of greater things to come?

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Motherhood: A Journey to Sanctification

The Mongan family at daughter Kaitlyn’s wedding in June, 2017

I was not a good candidate for motherhood. Had I gone for a “job” interview, I would not have been given the job. If there had been a try out, like for a cheerleader squad, they would not have selected me for the team. I did not have the qualifications, the necessary skills or the “heart” required. I don’t think I even had a desire to apply for the job. However somewhere on my journey God grew within me a “mother’s heart.”

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