marriage – Catholic Writers Guild

Tag Archive for: marriage

Cath-Lit Live: Becoming Wife by Rachel Bulman

August 16, 2023/0 Comments/in Catholic Writing and Publishing, Family Life, non-fiction/by Amy Cattapan

Cath-Lit Live: Becoming Wife by Rachel Bulman

“Cath-Lit Live!” features brief interviews with Catholic authors who are releasing new books. Hosted by Catholic author and speaker Amy J. Cattapan, “Cath-Lit Live!” gives viewers a glimpse into the latest Catholic books while getting to know a bit about the author as well.

Becoming Wife: Saying Yes to More Than the Dress by Rachel Bulman

Whether you are preparing to be or are already a wife, you likely are immersed in the external reality of marriage. But being wife is so much more: It’s a call to holiness and a vocation of incredible significance. Becoming Wife explores what it means for a woman to fulfill this vocation. Catholic wife, mother, speaker, and author Rachel Bulman shares – like a friend over a cup of coffee – how being a wife is at once a calling and a purpose. The more a wife makes herself a gift to her husband, to her children, and to the world, the more she inevitably becomes the person God created her to be. She becomes more wife, more woman, more Christian. Thus, she fulfills her identity as a daughter of God and cultivates the soil from which her motherhood comes to fruition. By exploring the life of the Blessed Mother and the guidance of great minds in the Church, like Saint John Paul II and Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, this book unwraps the gift of becoming a wife and what it means to make a “total gift” of oneself through matrimony.

About the author: Rachel Bulman is a lover of humanity, especially her husband and six children. A national speaker and author, she also appears with her family in the show Meet the Bulmans, currently airing on the Word on Fire Institute’s YouTube channel. She serves on the advisory board of The GIVEN Institute and frequently gives talks at retreats, conferences, and other gatherings. In her spare time, she enjoys reading a good book, lifting weights, and perfecting her Old Fashioned cocktail recipe.

You can catch “Cath-Lit Live” live on A.J. Cattapan’s author Facebook page. Recorded versions of the show will also be available to watch later on her YouTube channel and Instagram.

To Her Husband, the Only Thing that Mattered was the Arrival of the Priest

November 3, 2020/2 Comments/in Catholic Writing and Publishing/by Larry Peterson

By Larry Peterson

Lee and Shirley Mae had moved from Pittsburgh, PA, to Pinellas Park, FL, back in 1984. Lee, a World War II veteran who served in the South Pacific during the war, had met Shirley Mae at the Greater Pittsburgh Airport years before. Lee, a widower, worked for United Airlines. Shirley, who had never married, was a waitress at the airport restaurant. They fell in love and got married. A few years after Lee retired from United, they headed south, settling on the Florida west coast near St. Petersburg.

They purchased a two-bedroom home in a 55+ community called Mainlands of Tamarac. They immediately joined the local Catholic parish, Sacred Heart Church. It was perfect for the happy couple, and they quickly became involved in church ministry. They both volunteered as ushers, and Lee became an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. They also worked together every year during the annual Fall Festival, coordinating all the food court workers.

It was sometime in January of 2020 that Shirley began feeling “not right.” She was having a bit of trouble breathing, had a slight cough, and was experiencing fatigue. Lee and Shirley knew it was time to see the doctor, and they did. Doctors told her she had lung cancer.

Treatments with oral medications began in February. The pandemic resulted in a change of lifestyle, and Lee and Shirley adapted the best they could. They did not dare venture outside their home, and food and supplies were delivered and placed near the front door. Days turned to months, and Shirley’s health kept slipping downward.

Lee, who is a vibrant 96-year-old, could no longer care for his wife by himself. Sometime in early September, Hospice arrived on the scene. Towards the end of September, a hospital bed was placed in the family room. Shirley was no longer able to sit up or eat by herself. Hospice workers were now coming in several times a day.

Hospice wanted to move Shirley to the hospice center. Lee was horrified at the prospect. He told the nurse in charge, “My wife and I promised each other we would never let any one take either of us to any kind of home. She must stay here with me. Please, please, do that for me?” Hospice, realizing Shirley’s time was not far away, agreed.

Lee and Shirley are devout Catholics who attended Mass every day. They are also neighbors and close friends of mine. I became personally involved in helping them early in summer. Nothing was more important to them than my bringing Jesus in the Eucharist, especially on Sunday.

The end of September and the beginning of October seemed to blend together. About 5 P.M. on October 8, my phone rang. Brenda, a close friend of Lee and Shirley’s, was calling to say that Shirley had passed a few minutes earlier. I had promised Lee that no matter what time of day or night it was, a priest would come to pray over Shirley when she passed. I immediately called the church.

The church has a phone menu, and if you press #8, you got the emergency line to the priest. I left a message, and I headed over to Lee’s house. Shirley was lying halfway on her side. Her head was bowed down a bit, and her eyes were half-open. She had a simple smile on her face. I was transfixed at how peacefully beautiful she appeared. I called the church again. Then I gathered those willing around Shirley’s bed, and we said a Chaplet of Divine Mercy for her.

Upon finishing the Chaplet, I called the church a third time. As I hung up the phone, it rang. It was Father Kevin, our pastor. He was out in Tampa at a convocation with priests and the bishop. Father Vijay, our other priest, was with him. They were was almost an hour away. The problem was the funeral home van was on the way to pick up Shirley. I was told they could not wait for the priest.

It is interesting how things can work out. Nothing was more important to Lee at that moment than the priest being there to pray over Shirley. Father Kevin said he could leave right away and, if traffic was light, he could make it in 45 minutes. I said, “Okay, father. Thanks.”

Fifteen minutes later, the funeral van pulled up. Father Kevin was at least a half-hour away. One of the hospice nurses came over to me and told me that they had another stop to make and could not wait. It was time to get bold.

I walked over to the van driver and told him the situation. The guy told me he was sorry, but he could not wait for more than fifteen minutes. I told him very nicely that “the only way anyone gets near that woman before the priest does is over my dead body.”

The guy smiled and said, “Okay, okay, I get it. I understand.”

Father Kevin arrived within the 45-minute time frame. We all gathered around, and calmness filled the room as Father prayed over Shirley and blessed her. Lee stood next to him, holding his wife’s lifeless hand, tears coming from his eyes. As Shirley was removed from the house, Lee stopped by the gurney and held her hand one last time. Sobbing softly, he bent down and kissed her goodbye. She was still smiling.

Her funeral is scheduled for October 31, Halloween. Ironically, wearing masks will be appropriate.

Blessed Anna Maria Taigi— a Shining Example for Wives and Moms Everywhere

October 2, 2018/0 Comments/in Catholic Writing and Publishing/by Larry Peterson

Blessed Anna Maria Taigi--- a Shining Example for Wives and Moms Everywhere

Photo Credit: Flickr/Terry Morgan-Blessed Anna Maria Taigi (1769-1837)

This is about an ordinary housewife and mother to seven children. She is proof that an intimate life of the soul with God is just not for the consecrated and those who have taken vows, but is truly for all people who reach out to Him and do their best to follow Him. Her name is Anna Maria Taigi.

She was born on May 29, 1769, in Siena, Italy. Her father was a pharmacist but had lost his position and his money and was forced to take a job elsewhere. He decided to move the family to Rome, where he found a job as a household servant. Anna began attending a school run by the Filippini Sisters and was there from 1774 through 1776.

When Anna completed her education, she found whatever work she could to help her parents. Her primary job became that of a housemaid. She received her Confirmation in the Basilica of St. John Lateran in 1780 and her First Holy Communion in her parish church in 1782.

Anna met a butler from Milan by the name of Domenico Taigi. They were married on January 7, 1789. The couple went on to have seven children. Three of the children died when they were quite young. Little Pietro lived to be two years and one month old, while Luigi died at a year and a half old. Margherita died at birth, and of the four surviving children Camillo lived to be 42 and Alessandro lived to be 35. Maria remained unmarried and Sofia, who had been widowed, was left to raise six children.

Anna quickly discovered that her husband, although a man of high moral standards, had an explosive temper. He was never physically abusive to Anna, but he could be a screaming tyrant at times, and that brought intense pressure to the family and even scared them.

Anna suffered internally from her husband’s temper tantrums, but those anger outbursts also helped her to develop the virtues of patience, humility, and forgiveness. She learned that a smile and silence calmed him down much quicker than confrontation. The fact of the matter was, Domenico Taigi did love his wife deeply, and her constant patience with his behavior eventually saw him become much more tolerant of things that had previously caused him to get hostile.

Anna was somewhat vain and loved jewelry and nice clothing. One day while she and her family were at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Anna was overcome with the need to begin a new life of austerity. She was able to see the state of her soul and what effects her sins had on it. She immediately began a new life of obedience, submission, patience, humility, and self-renunciation.

Anna believed that marriage was one of the greatest missions from Heaven. For the remainder of her married life of 47 years, she calmly interacted with her husband, soothing his temper and providing all things for her family. She was the ideal housewife and always fulfilled her duties as a wife and mother, managing the daily routines of the household. She welcomed the life of humility in giving of herself to all those around her. This was Anna Maria’s vocation of extraordinary holiness in the ordinary world of marriage, family, and motherhood.

Shortly after her experience in St. Peter’s, Anna entered the Secular Trinitarians. She frequently visited hospitals and worked with and helped the incurably ill. It was during this time she began to experience frequent visions of the future. There began to appear to her a golden globe which became as a sun of matchless light, and in this globe all things were revealed to her.

The globe stayed with her the rest of her life. In it, she saw into people’s souls and could predict the future. She became a teacher, prophet, and theologian. She could see the whole world as one piece, as if it were flat like the façade of a building. She became acquainted with Cardinals and even knew Monsignor Giovanni Mastai who would become Pope Pius IX. Pope Leo XII held her in high regard. The Blessed Mother gave a prayer to Anna that she wanted recited. Pope Pius VII granted an indulgence of 100 days to anyone who recited it once a month, under the usual conditions of a plenary indulgence.

Blessed Anna Maria Taigi is the patroness of housewives, mothers and families. She is also the patroness of victims of verbal and spousal abuse. She was beatified by Pope Benedict XV on May 30, 1920.

Blessed Anna Maria Taigi, please pray for us.

Copyright Larry Peterson 2018

Alzheimer’s Keeps Reminding Me Why I Love being Catholic

March 7, 2017/5 Comments/in Catholic Theme, Faith, Family Life/by Larry Peterson

I have written about my wife, Marty’s, Alzheimer’s Disease several times. This is another. It was unplanned and spontaneous, triggered by the unique world she and I have come to share together.

I was trying to write something but I was stuck in “neutral.” No pencil scratching, no pen sliding, no keyboard clicking. Then Marty came in and stood there just looking at me and not saying anything. I smiled at her and said, “What’s going on?”

She shakes her head and says, “I really do not feel like going to work tomorrow.” (She has not worked in almost ten years.)

I nonchalantly reply, “Okay, then don’t.”

“Larry, please don’t start with me. You know I have bills to pay.”

“Well then, I’ll call in for you. I’ll tell them you are not feeling good.”

She quickly throws a curve at me. I back away, surprised at the sudden diversion. Raising her voice, she says, “We had better get a few things straight. I have standards and I am not going to be living in sin. I cannot be living here if we are not married.”

I did not know what that had to do with her ‘job” but I mentally bobbed and weaved and circled around. Quickly I said, “We are married.”

She was stunned. She stared at me and I stared back. A moment passed and she said, “We are?”

“Yes, Marty, we have been married for ten years.”

“I suppose you know this for a fact? How can you be sure?”

“We have the papers to prove it.”

I quickly said an emergency “Hail Mary” asking for help. God knew I was in over my head and immediately sent one of His special people. Maybe it was St. Therese or St. Joseph or maybe St. Martha. I really did not care who it was but just like that I had a “thought.” (These folks do not fool around when sent on a mission.)

I had her sit down on the sofa and wait for me. I headed back to my “office” (some may call it a man-cave) and began rifling through the file cabinet in the corner. The top drawer is stuffed with all sorts of “important” papers and I knew that somewhere amongst the mass of disorganized stuff was our marriage license. I started scratching away, peeling papers apart.

I did not keep track of the time but when I looked at the mess of papers I had strewn about it must have been fifteen minutes. Then I hit pay dirt. I found our marriage license. I was sure this would prove to her once and for all that we were, in fact, married.

I hurried back to the sofa and to the woman who immediately asked if I had just gotten home. “Yes,” I shouted. “And look what I have.”

The Pinellas County Marriage License was too confusing for her to understand. The print was small and even though our names were legible and the paper was emblazoned with the words, “Marriage Record,” it did not convince her. I realized she needed “Catholic” proof. That was why she had used the words “living in sin.” Now we come to why I wrote this in the first place.

I slowly headed back to the file cabinet to put the marriage license away. But I had not noticed when pulling the marriage license out that behind it was the 8 X 11 marriage certificate that the church had given us. It was behind the license the whole time. I could not believe it.

It was not a legal document but it was a BEAUTIFUL CATHOLIC document. It had our names on it. On the left side was a Cross with connected wedding bands connected to it. The church’s name was there and it was signed by the deacon and the pastor. It was also perfect for framing.

I had an 11 x 14 frame that was unused. Ten minutes later I brought it out to her. I had her sit next to me on the sofa. “Are you ready?” I asked.

“For what?”

I held this framed certificate up in front of her. She stared and stared at it and then she looked at me and began to cry. She put her head on my shoulder and cried some more. We have used the Hail Mary and the Rosary to help us over some rough Alzheimer’s moments. This time the purely Catholic marriage document was the answer to the prayer. It now hangs in the Florida room and she can see it every day anytime she needs to. Damn—I love being Catholic.

Tag Archive for: marriage

Cath-Lit Live: Becoming Wife by Rachel Bulman

Cath-Lit Live: Becoming Wife by Rachel Bulman

Becoming Wife: Saying Yes to More Than the Dress by Rachel Bulman

To Her Husband, the Only Thing that Mattered was the Arrival of the Priest

Blessed Anna Maria Taigi— a Shining Example for Wives and Moms Everywhere

Alzheimer’s Keeps Reminding Me Why I Love being Catholic

Stay in the Know

Join Our Newsletter

Pray with Us