{"id":3781,"date":"2014-10-14T16:49:05","date_gmt":"2014-10-14T20:49:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/?p=3781"},"modified":"2014-12-28T14:00:05","modified_gmt":"2014-12-28T19:00:05","slug":"where-duty-turns-to-blessing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/2014\/10\/where-duty-turns-to-blessing.html","title":{"rendered":"Where Duty Turns to Blessing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Elizabeth Duffy writes the best thing I\u2019ve read in a long time \u2014 also the thing I most needed to hear, today and every day.<\/p>\n

My friend Karen noted that if the Synod does lead to a change in the Church\u2019s approach to divorced and remarried Catholics, expediting the annulment process and their return to communion, it won\u2019t be Catholic lay people who get a free pass, so much as the pastors who would no longer be entrusted with shepherding that particular journey. \u00a0\u201cAnd while it\u2019s possible to thrive without good parents,\u201d she said, \u201cit\u2019s really, really nice to have good parents.\u201d<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t argue with that.<\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

A couple times lately, this scenario has happened to me: I have wrestled the kids through all their bedtime hygiene maneuvers. We have speed dialed the bedtime prayers. They\u2019ve all been sent up to their prospective beds, and amazingly, are quiet in their rooms. It would seem that they have even turned out the lights. Aaaaand\u2026 Time for me to relax.<\/p>\n

But wait!<\/p>\n

There is a niggling little voice in my head that says, \u201cGo upstairs, lay hands on each of your children, and bless them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEh, I don\u2019t really want to,\u201d I think. \u201cWhat if they want to talk to me, and I don\u2019t get out of there for another half hour? Why mess with a good thing? I\u2019ve already given birth to these people, and I take them to the dentist every six months. And my knees hurt on the stairs. Plus, I\u2019ve got this really inspiring book of spiritual reading to look at that might make me more docile to the Holy Spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fulfilling my duty really is the easy part of being a mother. The difficult part is where duty turns to blessing, where I respond to the call of the Spirit and place a calling on my children. \u201cListen to me, my faithful children, open up your petals like roses planted near running waters.\u201d (Sirach 39:13)<\/p>\n

They may find God someday regardless of me, but it is really, really nice to have good parents.<\/p>\n

(Read the rest here<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Really, go read it. It\u2019s amazing.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elizabeth Duffy writes the best thing I\u2019ve read in a long time \u2014 also the thing I most needed to hear, today and every day. My friend Karen noted that if the Synod does lead to a change in the Church\u2019s approach to divorced and remarried Catholics, expediting the annulment process and their return to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1110,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[74,69,70],"class_list":["post-3781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-patheosi","tag-synod","tag-synod-for-the-family"],"yoast_head":"\nWhere Duty Turns to Blessing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Elizabeth Duffy writes the best thing I've read in a long time -- also the thing I most needed to hear, today and every day. 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