I am a writer, a single woman, and I’m Catholic. With my recent return to the church, I have a renewed fervor for the faith. And that is the purpose of my writing, to share what I have learned and experienced through my life and studies. I’m not a saint nor an expert in theology, but I do have a strong faith in God. I’m still processing this faith life; it has its challenges at times, but for me there is no alternative. In showing thanksgiving to God for all He has done for me, I want to inform others and encourage them. Jesus who saved me can also save them.
I want to show others it’s okay to reach out to God and to show your trust in Him. Even though I only recently returned to the church, my love for God never left me. And the more I have called out to God to get through the tough times, the more I have proclaimed Him, even online. The bigger the struggles the more I have called out to Him. I’m not perfect but I am sincere. I don’t pretend with my faith. My struggles have been as real as my love for Jesus.
My Catholic writing mission hasn’t been intentional. I began writing over 10 years ago on a variety of secular topics to earn an income. Yet, because my faith has always been a part of me and something I shared, it came out in my writing as well. And the more battles I have gone through during my writing life, the more it became about God and His importance. That’s how I battled my many battles. I turned to God and the Catholic Church. And so here I am today, a Catholic writer.
As a single woman, I have often felt vulnerable in this wild worldly world. I’ve been through spiritual battles, and real world battles. In God, I find protection. I am my own bodyguard; I pray daily, reach out to Jesus, the saints, and practice the Catholic faith. God did not give me a spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7). I’m not superstitious; nor a religious fanatic. I am a child of God (John 1:12).
I also know this about God, “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
I first discovered St. Hildegard of Bingen through a non-Catholic a few years ago. So much about her talents resonated with me. I, too, like natural health and alternative remedies, healthy foods, nature, writing, and topics of women’s roles and their challenges. I’m not a musician though, nor am I a nun. I’m continuing to learn more about her through further study. She was a well-respected and revered Catholic abbess during the medieval times. And she is a Doctor of the Church. Even these days though, it can sometimes be challenging to achieve respect as a woman. By sharing about St. Hildegard, I will give insights to women today. In highlighting St. Hildegard and her wisdom, my goal is to reflect on her strengths. She was a woman who through her vocation as a Catholic abbess acquired great regard. She achieved what many women in this modern day are still striving to achieve, respect.
I pray to St. Hildegard to guide me as I share my faith and her wisdom, and that of other Catholic saints.
God, I pray for good discernment and humility in what I write. Please protect me from opposing forces when I write and after publication. Keep me under your care always. Watch over me and I will do my best to follow your guidance. Jesus, I don’t want to do it without you. Amen.
From the DECREE ON THE APOSTOLATE OF THE LAITY APOSTOLICAM ACTUOSITATEM, 13:
“The apostolate in the social milieu, that is, the effort to infuse a Christian spirit into the mentality, customs, laws, and structures of the community in which one lives, is so much the duty and responsibility of the laity that it can never be performed properly by others.”