Behold Your Mother

Join Annie and Hailey as they meditate on the profound spiritual significance of the events of Holy Week, especially through the lens of motherhood. Discover how Christ's Passion parallels the struggles and joys of maternal life, offering deep hope and purpose—even and especially in labor. Reflect on the beauty and gift of femininity made clearer in the light of the Blessed Mother, and see the place of women in the plan of creation as God sees.

Key Topics:

• Holy Week and how to enter into its mysteries amid daily chaos
• The analogy of childbirth as a symbol of suffering and salvation, as expressed through Scripture
• Mary’s presence at the foot of the Cross and her role as model for mothers enduring suffering
• The connection between the Annunciation and the foot of the Cross, highlighting God's plan in creation and salvation history
• Practical ways to observe Holy Week in family life
• The significance of Holy Saturday as a day of silent reflection and victory over darkness
• How suffering in motherhood reflects Christ’s redemptive love and teaches children to suffer with purpose

Resources & Links:

• Catechism of the Catholic Church - 964: https://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/index.htm
• Fulton Sheen’s reflections on the Passion: http://catholicsaints.mobi/ebooks/book-articles/seven-last-words-by-venerable-fulton-sheen.htm
• Scripture References: Luke 1:26-38, John 19:25-27, Matthew 26:26-29

Connect with the Hosts:

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Mighty Is Her Call - Contact Us
• Mighty Is Her Call - Prayer Requests

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction: Holy Week and motherhood amid life's obstacles

00:42 - Mary’s journey from Annunciation to the Passion - living in two sacred spaces

03:16 - Jesus’ analogy of labor pains and suffering during the Last Supper

04:42 - The promise of joy emerging through suffering, as shared by Christ

05:07 - Motherhood as Christ-like suffering leading to new life

10:30 - Entering into Mary’s scene at the foot of the cross: prayer and reflection

14:04 - Eucharistic nature of motherhood

17:01 - Venerable Fulton Sheen and the “second Annunciation”

20:44 - Our spiritual inheritance: Mary as Mother to all believers

23:50 - Recognizing the divine esteem for femininity and motherhood in salvation history

24:28 - Holy Week traditions to help families observe and honor the sacred days

31:24 - The hope and victory in Christ’s passion and resurrection—lessons for mothers and children

33:12 - Offering your heart to Christ amid life’s mess and trusting in His love

Thank you for listening! Stay tuned for our Holy Week episodes and more reflections on giving God your fiat in the mess.

The conversation revolves around the theme of surrender in motherhood, particularly in the context of the Feast of the Annunciation. It explores the challenges, joys, and call to surrender in the journey of motherhood, drawing parallels with Mary's fiat at the Annunciation. The discussion reflects on the interruptions, doubts, and fears experienced in motherhood, and the invitation to surrender to God's plan. The conversation explores the journey of motherhood as a profound experience of surrender and fiat, highlighting the mystery and grace of this role. It delves into the Annunciation moments, the journey of surrender and fiat, and the acceptance of God's will in the context of motherhood.

Takeaways

• Surrender in motherhood
• The Annunciation and the theme of surrender Motherhood as a journey of surrender
• The mystery and grace of motherhood

Chapters

• 00:00 The Feast of the Annunciation
• 17:41 The Annunciation and Surrender
• 23:49 Becoming a Mother on My Wedding Day
• 30:54 The Post-Annunciation Journey
• 41:29 The Acceptance of God's Will

Annie and Kathryn are excited to introduce you to Kelsey Gillespy in this season two finale of the Mighty Is Her Call Podcast. Kesley is a mother, athlete and writer. We will discuss her journey of motherhood, particularly how Kelsey found the balance between self-gift and self-care and the ways the Lord revealed more about his love, and love of his Mother, through her journey of motherhood.

Check out Kelsey's First Book In the Trenches

Kelsey's New Book, Life With Mary is available here and here.

Learn more about Kelsey and what she's up to on her website: https://kelseygillespy.com/

Mighty Is Her Call is a Catholic mothers' ministry that encourages women who have embraced the call to openness to life by proclaiming the radically Christ-like nature of motherhood. Visit our website to learn more about our in-person and audio retreats as well as our blog, all created to fortify and encourage you in your daily call to holiness.

https://mightyishercall.com/

Support Mighty Is Her Call

Partner with us as we proclaim the radically Christ-like nature of motherhood and encourage women to continue raising up saints and find peace and joy on the road to holiness.

https://mightyishercall.com/support-our-ministry

As we head into Holy Week we want to spend some time reflecting on the Triduum and ways to observe these holy days as a family, particularly in light of the vocation of motherhood. We know the season of motherhood you are in makes all the difference in how you observe these days. We also want to remind you that as you embrace the self-gift of motherhood, you are placed in a unique position to enter into Christ's suffering and total abandonment of his will to the Father.

Holy Thursday Traditions - Blog Post

The Mighty Is Her Call Rosary Guide (used in the closing prayer)

Divine Intimacy, Fr Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen

"He exhausts the resources of His love, and offers Himself to man, not only as Redeemer, who will die for him on the Cross, but also as the food which will nourish him. He will feed man with his own Flesh and Blood; moreover death might claim Him in a few hours, but the Eucharist will perpetuate His real, living presence until the end of time." (Divine Intimacy, 392)

"Good Friday," continues Fr. Gabriel, "is the day more than any other that invites us to enter into the thicket of the trials and pains of the Son of God and not only with the abstract consideration of the mind, but also with the practical disposition of the will to accept suffering voluntarily, in order to unite and assimilate ourselves to the Crucified." (Divine Intimacy, 395)

"Seeing with the eyes of Christ, I can give to others much more than their outward necessities; I can give them the look of love which they crave." Pope Benedict XVI, God Is Love: Deus Caritas Est

Annie and Kathryn are thrilled to introduce you to mother and author, Catherine Pakaluk on today's podcast. We know you will be inspired by Catherine's story of "instant motherhood," becoming a mom to six (grieving) children on her wedding day. She is now mother to 13 beautiful children, an Economics professor at Catholic University of America, and the author of the very important work: Hannah's Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth. In this longer-than-usual episode, you will hear Catherine's unique story as we dive into her fascinating work. You will get a glimpse into the discoveries of her groundbreaking research, asking the question: "In a world where more and more women are choosing not to have any children, why do some women choose to have many?" You will be blessed by this book and this conversation; you don't want to miss it!

Buy Catherine's Book: Hannah's Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth https://a.co/d/0gl8kYBb

Mighty Is Her Call is a Catholic mothers' ministry that encourages women who have embraced the call to openness to life by proclaiming the radically Christ-like nature of motherhood. Visit our website to learn more about our in-person and audio retreats as well as our blog, all created to fortify and encourage you in your daily call to holiness.

https://mightyishercall.com/

Support Mighty Is Her Call

Partner with us as we proclaim the radically Christ-like nature of motherhood and encourage women to continue raising up saints and find peace and joy on the road to holiness.

https://mightyishercall.com/support-our-ministry

In this episode, Jolly and Annie wrap up season one by discussing how to find joy in connecting with the sacred, Christ-like calling of motherhood. They also recap the reasons we started the podcast and four themes of impact we have experienced and witnessed. Together they explore how sharing in our conversations can be catalysts to increasing understanding and faith in the Mighty One, a God who calls us to himself and then imparts a particular calling to be champions of change through our motherhood. Finally, we touch on some powerful things God is doing in and through the ministry and why walking this high adventure together is a truly amazing gift.

Blog Post Reference - https://mightyishercall.com/what-if-our-conversations-are-catalysts-2/

Luke 1:49

Welcome to our first ever MIHC Podcast! Today we will be introducing ourselves and talking about who we are as a ministry, why a podcast, and why we believe motherhood is a sacred, Christ-like calling that needs to be elevated in our culture.

Mighty Is Her Call is a Catholic mothers ministry that encourages women who have embraced the call to openness to life by proclaiming the radically Christ-like nature of motherhood. Visit our website to learn more about our in-person and audio retreats as well as our blog, all created to fortify and encourage you in your daily call to holiness.https://mightyishercall.com/

Support Mighty Is Her Call

Partner with us as we proclaim the radically Christ-like nature of motherhood and encourage women to continue raising up saints and find peace and joy on the road to holiness. https://mightyishercall.com/support-our-ministry/

Today, Annie and Kathryn welcome author, mother, and podcaster, Kimberly Cook. Kimberly grew up formed by the culture and the feminist narrative and did not see motherhood as a worthy life-calling. Now the mother of a large family, she tells us the beautiful story of how God changed her perspective and how her experience of motherhood led her to write Motherhood Redeemed. We discuss this beautiful work, which reminds us that the true nature of womanhood is maternal and inseparable from self-gift. We know you will love this episode!

Learn more about Kimberly on her website: https://kimberlycook.me/

Kimberly's Book: Motherhood Redeemed

Podcast Episode with Alice Von Hildebrand

Check out Kimberly's book for middle-aged children: The Adventures of Lily Creek

Mighty Is Her Call is a Catholic mothers' ministry that encourages women who have embraced the call to openness to life by proclaiming the radically Christ-like nature of motherhood. Visit our website to learn more about our in-person and audio retreats as well as our blog, all created to fortify and encourage you in your daily call to holiness.

https://mightyishercall.com/

Support Mighty Is Her Call

Partner with us as we proclaim the radically Christ-like nature of motherhood and encourage women to continue raising up saints and find peace and joy on the road to holiness.

https://mightyishercall.com/support-our-ministry