St. Gemma Galgani lived a little over a century ago in Italy and is one of a select group of saints who experienced the wounds of Christ on her body. In addition to the stigmata, she faced numerous physical and personal struggles throughout her life. She had a number of illnesses, including severe headaches, spinal… Read More
Blog
Approaching Lent As A Special Needs Mom
Every year at this time I see lots of articles on blogs and Catholic sites with titles like “25 Things You Can Give Up for Lent” or “Creative Things to Do for Lent” and around the same time some of my friends will declare (on social media, naturally) that they are fasting from social media… Read More
The Unseen Power of Thinking Differently
When Nathan was first introduced to basic addition facts, Mr. Andi opted to do some visual practice with him one day. He held up one finger on each hand and asked Nathan how many fingers he was holding up, first on one hand (“One”), then the other (“One”). Then he moved his hands together so… Read More
With Our Sons in the Temple
Today is Candlemas, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, which celebrates how Jesus was presented to God in the Temple in Jerusalem, forty days after his birth. What a joyous occasion that must have been for Mary! The presentation was a ritual of the Mosaic law and a precursor to the Sacrament of… Read More
If You’re A Special Needs Mom, You March For Life Every Day
My son was still a baby when the news broke that prenatal blood tests to detect Down syndrome were hitting the market (and yes, I do mean “the market” because these tests are big moneymakers for the companies who produce them). At the time, I expressed concern that the tests would lead to the abortion… Read More
Have a Special Child? Mary Can Relate
I’ve been doing this “special needs parenting” thing for almost two decades. Nineteen years ago last week, Sarah Kate was born prematurely, spent almost two months in the NICU, and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Nathan, now eleven, was born with Down syndrome. I have never known what it’s like to parent a typical child…. Read More