#fulfillment

Can Catholic Moms Work Outside the Home? (Or, How Tim Gordon Made Me Spill Parmesan All Over A Pan o

Stacey Sumereau

Aug 26, 2019
8 min

Can Catholic Moms Work Outside the Home? (Or, How Tim Gordon Made Me Spill Parmesan All Over A Pan o

This past week I watched the Matt Fradd Show featuring Tim Gordon (half of “TNT,” the pair who has broken much of the behind-the-scenes news on the crisis in the Church.) In case you didn’t catch it or the brouhaha on Twitter that followed, Tim alleged that he has indisputable Magesterial proof in his upcoming book that Catholic wives should not work or earn a wage outside the home. He didn’t say why, but he briefly referenced Casti Connubii and Rerum Novarum. Tim made some p

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Your Vocation Won't Make You Happy. Here's Why.

Stacey Sumereau

Jun 4, 2019
3 min

Your Vocation Won't Make You Happy. Here's Why.

Do you feel stressed out and anxious that you'll "miss" your vocation? Do you get upset with God when you try to do everything right but still don't receive a definitive answer about what he wants you to do? Are you concerned that you will make the wrong life choices? Have no fear. Read on.... Let's start by examining the definition of vocation. What is a vocation? A vocation is a calling from God. It is a path that you choose, with God’s help, as your vehicle to Heaven. It i

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Discerning Your Social Media Use: How Much and What For?

Stacey Sumereau

Mar 25, 2019
5 min

Discerning Your Social Media Use: How Much and What For?

The Catechism doesn’t say anything about how to know when you’ve been spending too much time on Insta or when you need to walk away from Pinterest. Like many other areas of life, social media is morally neutral; however, you, being a smart cookie, are mindful that this doesn’t let you off the hook to stare at your screen for hours. Social media can be a wonderful tool or a menace to our spiritual lives. What we feed our eyes, and for how long, changes us. I don’t have all the

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Stacey Sumereau

Feb 26, 2019
4 min

You Don't Have a Soulmate

There is no custom-designed soulmate for you. There; I said it. As I am already aware from having this debate on social media, some people will want to come after me with pitchforks. I’m okay with that. Just hear me out first, and wait for me to make a will so John and the kids get my stuff. If you’re called to marriage, you choose your “the one.” Practically speaking, Adam and Eve had to be “the one” for each other. I have heard of instances where people received a definite

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8 Simple Strategies For Finding Community That Anyone Can Do

Stacey Sumereau

Feb 9, 2019
6 min

8 Simple Strategies For Finding Community That Anyone Can Do

Friends are super important. We don’t discern anything in a vacuum, and the Bible is full of God speaking through the wise counsel of family and friends help arrive at decisions. The single life can be lonely as we wait for our spouses. For those of us who have found our vocations, we need support. Tim Gordon often says, “you’re the average of the five people closest to you.” Make sure those are the kind of people you want to be like- God-centered, helpful, balanced, physical

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Always Discern in Light of the 4 Last Things

Stacey Sumereau

Jan 15, 2019
3 min

Always Discern in Light of the 4 Last Things

When discerning a decision rightly, we must shift our focus from "what do I want?" to asking "God, what do you want?" I have dedicated many blog posts to finding and knowing your vocation and other life choices in this world. But there's another layer beneath all of this that I haven't focused on much: the world beyond this life. As Stephen Covey says, "begin with the end in mind." Death, Judgement, Heaven , Hell I'm singing a sassy gospel rendition of "Swing low, sweet chari

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The 10-minute Exercise for Busy Millennials to Discern How to Spend Free Time

Stacey Sumereau

Jan 1, 2019
3 min

The 10-minute Exercise for Busy Millennials to Discern How to Spend Free Time

Does this sound like you? You've never done just one thing your whole life. You are a complex machine constantly needing to be kept in balance. You have a lot of needs- physical, emotional, spiritual, psychological, social. You also have duties in life- job, family, and close relationships- and must be sure to prioritize those. You want to have a strong spiritual life and nurture your relationship with the Lord. In your hard-earned free time you have so many options of things

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Stacey Sumereau

Dec 25, 2018
3 min

You Are Loved, No Matter What.

I watched the sun rise through the plane window, pervading the horizon with its orange glow. Below, toy houses and cars and roads and trees and boats and all manner of human constructs busied themselves getting themselves where they needed to go. As we dipped below the clouds I stared, fascinated, at the humdrum of lights and activity. It was so easy to look down and forget that in every house and car and building, hungry human hearts were beating and longing and crying out f

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4 Common Myths About Vocation and Discernment

Stacey Sumereau

Dec 4, 2018
4 min

4 Common Myths About Vocation and Discernment

I talk about discernment and vocation a lot. It’s kind of become my thing since I appeared on The Sisterhood: Becoming Nuns. Because the show aired worldwide and occupied a year of my life, I have had conversations with many, many people about discernment and vocation and heard some all-too-common misconceptions. Despite being a cradle Catholic, I believed these four common myths myself for a while! Today I’m busting them officially. Tell your friends ;) 1. Marriage is the “e

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Stacey Sumereau

Nov 5, 2018
4 min

Reasons to NOT Discern Religious Life

Here's an exhaustive list. You should not discern religious life if you are: Married Already a priest, nun or monk, or A consecrated single person That’s it, in my book. Those are the only reasons not to discern religious life. I’m writing this because I remember the plethora of “reasons” I invented to not discern. I remember my intense desire to run away from the question “Is God actually calling me?” I remember how painful it was to convince myself to get up the guts and se

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How to Follow Your Call When You're Self-Critical

Stacey Sumereau

Oct 23, 2018
5 min

How to Follow Your Call When You're Self-Critical

This post is for anyone who feels a call to some self-starter initiative, whether it be a creative passion or an entrepreneurial venture. As someone in the arts and who has dabbled in entrepreneurism for many years, I am all too familiar with the infinity of little hours that can be frittered away doing anything but that calling. Fortunately, you don't have to stay stuck. Read on! Getting out the door with two kids is always a struggle. As I rifled through my drawer looking f

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Stacey Sumereau

Jul 26, 2018
5 min

In Praise of Being an Unplanned Mess (Because That's Where God Is!)

Do you feel pressure to always know what your next life project is, when in reality you feel adrift and messy? Do you fear making a decision in case it’s the wrong one? Do you struggle to take action and don’t have a definite north star or plan of action to guide you? This post is for you. When I was discerning religious life, I was always afraid of making the wrong choice. Somehow it seemed that whichever path I chose, it would be intractable. If I went to the convent that w

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