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Nov 9, 2017
Adoption· Faith

Saint Catherine of Siena: Inspiring an Adoption Movement that is Brave, Compassionate and Supportive

This post contains affiliate links

 

When my husband and I met with a young woman considering adoption last summer, we asked her if she had thought about a name for her unborn daughter.

She said, “Siena”.

I had never considered that name for a child, but boy – was I impressed.  What a beautiful name and an awesome patron saint a child with that name would have.

That young woman decided to parent, and ended up naming her daughter Chloe.  But that name stuck with me, so on September 2nd, 2016, when our family began another spiritual adoption journey, we chose the name Siena Kathleen for our “spiritual daughter”.  A short time later, we decided to add a brother: George Patrick.

7 months later we brought home twins . . . a boy and a girl.  Our five year old son said, “their names are Siena Kathleen and George Patrick”!

Well, their names are actually Jaina Kathleen and George Kieran – but George was definitely a name that I had never considered before all of this happened!

Little did I know, that it was around this time that an Adoption Service was being formed, and being named after the brave and faithful, Saint Catherine of Siena.

Mary Kate Sparrow and Annie Surine and are the founders of Siena Adoption Services

 

Siena Adoption Services Founders

Siena Adoption Services was founded as a ministry. Founders Mary Kate Sparrow and Annie felt strongly that, for many,

the adoption process has become too expensive, too impersonal and too complicated.

Adoption is such an expensive process.

That thought had crossed my mind many times as well.  That truth led my husband and I to pursue our second and third adoptions without signing on with an adoption agency.  That fact led to the creation of The Rose Garden (an adoption support group sponsored by A Baby’s Breath Crisis Pregnancy Centers).

Adoption is beautiful and is a calling – for both some expectant mothers and hopeful families.  When an expectant mother or couple are considering an adoption plan for their child, most know that a good, safe, loving family does not necessarily mean a wealthy family.  However, the cost of the adoption process almost make it impossible for average couples to pursue parenthood through adoption.

Sparrow found that by volunteering time, Siena adoptions are able to cut down expenses significantly.  She continued, saying:

 

We also feel that, being rooted in faith, we will be able to approach both the adoptive families and birth parents with a greater sense of compassion and support. Through the Church we are all family in the broader sense and by acknowledging our role as a member of the Church family we can make the connections needed to ensure these children have loving homes. After all, we are all adopted sons and daughters ourselves in this family. Ephesians 1:5 says “he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will.”

 

Our ministry is named after St. Catherine of Siena.

She was brave during a dark time.

Her acts of courage and faith are able to inspire us all these years later. They prompt us to put our faith into action.

I first read about Siena Adoptions on the Catholic Herald website.  Shortly after that (and I mean – minutes) a mutual friend of Mary Kate and I – Mary Beth (Camila’s Candles)sent me a message. She said:

I know it has been so long since we talked, but was thinking… next month is Adoption awareness month and wasn’t sure what you had in mind in terms of your blog. A friend of mine started an adoption agency/ministry here in Washington and I just think their mission is so amazing . . .

I totally agree with Mary Beth, their mission is amazing!

Siena Adoption Services exists to make adoption easy and affordable. Siena Adoption Services provide adoptions at a greatly reduced rate.  The mission of Siena Adoptions is to make adoption possible for anyone who feels called.

I never thought Saint Catherine of Siena would be an intercessor for expectant parents considering adoption – or hopeful adoptive families.

But as I research her life, I find (with much help from Catholic.org):

St. Catherine of Siena was a single woman – living in the 1300’s – who made such an impression on people she gained followers and was instrumental in restoring the Papacy to Rome and in brokering peace deals during a time of factional conflict and war between the Italian city states.

Although some married women do choose to make an adoption plan for their unborn babies, many are single women.  Their acts provide a living example that one can choose life over termination – even in time when there is much political conflict.

St. Catherine developed a habit of giving things away and she continually gave away her family’s food and clothing to people in need. She never asked permission to give these things away, and she quietly put up with their criticisms.

How often is a woman who makes an adoption plan criticized in our culture? The woman’s choice to give her baby to an adoptive couple is anything but easy, and most often family does not approve.  It is quite a challenge to put up with the critics, and St. Catherine provides an example of doing just that.

St. Catherine was drawn further into the world as she worked, and eventually she began to travel, calling for reform of the Church and for people to confess and to love God totally.

Despite the fact that she was a woman long before “women’s rights” despite the fact that she had critics, she travels and changed people’s hearts away from worldliness and towards loving God whole heartedly.  Her bravery is an inspiration.

Siena Adoptions needs you to help them!

 

How?

Share this article – you never know who it may help!

Pin this article – yes, you can do that!  Don’t know where to pin it?  Create a new board and title it “Adoption”!

Make a donation to Siena Adoptions!  You can do this directly on their website (Siena Adoption Services)

or you can purchase a candle this month through Camila’s Candles!

As a thank you for spreading awareness about Siena Adoption Services, I’ve teamed up with them and PioPrints for a giveaway! Enter the giveaway by the options below, and you may be the lucky winner!  One person will win a Siena Adoption Services mug and an awesome Saint Catherine of Siena T-shirt from Pio Prints!

 

Enter to win!

Click here to see the mug: Amy on Twitter


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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Alicia @ Sweeping Up Joy says

    November 9, 2017 at 5:21 pm

    I’ve enjoyed following your adoption journey, Amy! Thank you for sharing this ministry.

    I love getting updates from Reece’s Rainbow about children who find their forever families.

    • Amy says

      November 10, 2017 at 9:46 am

      Thank you so much Alicia!! That reminds me to go like Reece’s Rainbow on Facebook and share some posts!

  2. Beth says

    November 13, 2017 at 8:12 am

    We are in the midst of our own adoption process, matched to adopt a baby boy due on January 13. I do not know where this will end, but I can certainly vouch for the power of prayer. I love the posts on how to bless your birthmom too, as well as the thoughts about birthmoms interwoven into this post as well, as we figure out how best to reach out to her and her family.

    • Amy says

      November 13, 2017 at 1:19 pm

      Congratulations Beth! Such an exciting – and emotional time! Thank you for reading my posts! Amen for the power of prayer – the best advice I’ve heard is, don’t stop praying!

  3. Kasy Long says

    November 13, 2017 at 1:39 pm

    This was an amazing post to read! As someone who will most likely adopt in the future, I loved reading your journey. Thank you!

  4. Angie says

    November 13, 2017 at 1:56 pm

    I am adopted myself and I am thinking of adoption but its a long and expensive process so I have to think it through. But I would love to be able to give a child the same loving and safe childhood as I have had! Thanks for sharing your story!

  5. Lindsey says

    November 13, 2017 at 2:27 pm

    Beautiful! It brings me so much joy to hear of ministries working to improve the current process for adoptions.

  6. Emily says

    November 13, 2017 at 7:03 pm

    Amy….you’re not going to believe this. So I’ve only been married a few months, don’t have confirmation yet, but am believing that I will probably be unable to have children of my own. I’ve been struggling this week especially with that fear, and while we are not quite ready yet, plan on adopting down the road if it’s God’s will. Anyway….I was reading your article as I was listening to grad school lectures in the background (not what I should be doing probably, but that’s besides the point). I’m reading St. Catherine of Siena in your post, and then all of a sudden, I hear “St. Catherine of Siena” in my headphones. Turns out we are starting a section on St. Catherine of Siena in class, at the exact same moment as I started reading this article. Talk about God-incidence! Definitely saving this for the future.

    • Amy says

      November 15, 2017 at 8:55 am

      I got the chills reading this! Isn’t amazing how the Lord works! So happy you left this comment – thank you!

  7. Amy says

    November 15, 2017 at 11:22 pm

    Great post!

  8. Jeanine @MommyEntourage says

    November 20, 2017 at 3:16 pm

    Amy, I’ve so enjoyed following your adoption story! It is heartwarming and you have such a warm, beautiful family!

    • Amy says

      November 22, 2017 at 5:55 am

      Thank you Jeanine!

  9. Katie says

    November 21, 2017 at 10:06 am

    What an amazing story, and an amazing movement!

    • Amy says

      November 22, 2017 at 5:56 am

      Amen!

  10. Leslie says

    November 24, 2017 at 2:49 pm

    Love this story! I don’t have an adoption story of my own, but adoption has blessed my extended family/ Entered and shared!

  11. Michelle says

    November 24, 2017 at 2:49 pm

    I love seeing all of the beautiful stories of adoption and the ways that people feel inspired to help. Adoption has changed so much over the years and it is extremely sad that finances keep couples from fulfilling their dreams of becoming parents. I am adopted and I am very grateful to both my birth mom and my adoptive parents for their sacrifices and love.

  12. Kimberly says

    November 24, 2017 at 3:08 pm

    Thanks for sharing the beautiful adoption story, and for these awesome products!

  13. Sterling Jaquith says

    November 24, 2017 at 3:26 pm

    St. Catherine of Siena is definitely one of my favorite saints. I did the Endow study on her and it was amazing!!

  14. Bethanie Ryan says

    November 28, 2017 at 5:37 pm

    Thank you for sharing with us about this group! Two of my husband’s aunts have adopted babies with Down Syndrome and I would love to adopt someday myself (last time I asked, my husband wasn’t so sure). I love St. Catherine of Siena and she’s a great patron for just about anything!

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My husband’s birthday was on Monday, and I was so excited to give him this book from Voyage Comics!

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Catholic gifts for women often seem plentiful… but when it comes to men, well … shopping for them can be more of a challenge.

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Friends!!! Please join me in welcoming Katie home! Friends!!! Please join me in welcoming Katie home! Katie fully entered the Catholic Church on Sunday!

Katie was raised by wonderful Christian parents in the New Apostolic Church and I honestly want to really get her to share her conversion story.
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I will say this… 

never hesitate to invite someone to pray the Rosary with you!

Katie embraced the Rosary as a Christian 
and funny story… I remember her holding it once and saying “I’m not converting “ as her Catholic husband walked by us 😂 

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Watching her research and completing dive into the Word with her whole heart has been a beautiful, inspiring sight.

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Love you Katie @craftymom714 !!!!
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How can we love our identity and still be humble? How can we love our identity and still be humble?

Does that sound like a good title for a talk?

I’m working on a “Talk” on Identity (or a blog post if I chicken out 🐓)… and I’m really liking the topic of humility… along with modesty.
My plan was to post this morning and ask for your prayers… but along the way I saw that today is Saint Philip Neri’s feast day.
So, naturally, I googled “Saint Philip Neri humility”.
To my delight, I found this quote:

“Humility is the safeguard of chastity. In the matter of purity, there is no greater danger than not fearing the danger. 

For my part, when I find a man secure of himself and without fear, I give him up for lost. I am less alarmed for one who is tempted and who resists by avoiding the occasions, than for one who is not tempted and is not careful to avoid occasions. When a person puts himself in an occasion, saying, I shall not fall, it is an almost infallible sign that he will fall, and with great injury to his soul.”

I feel like some great message is coming together here, but, I need your prayers.

I mean, I don’t even know if posting about humility on Instagram is like, a total oxymoron?

I’m so thankful to have Scripture and the writing of Saints to help me. I’m also extremely grateful for your prayers.

May we both live as it is written in 1 Peter 5:5 ~
“And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for:
“God opposes the proud
but bestows favor on the humble.”
* if you like that Saint Philip Neri quote, you can see and share it over at @catholicsonline 

Do you have any questions or thoughts on humility?
Let me know in the comments!

Photo taken by @nadiapittmanphoto 📸 

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Do our sons understand what it means to be a “sp Do our sons understand what it means to be a “spiritual warrior “? Do we?

I learned and relearned a ton of things writing Be Yourself: a Journal for Catholic Boys.

Here’s what we all need to know about being a “Spiritual Warrior “:

1. Yes, there is a battle between good and evil and we are all in the midst of it. Years ago, in cartoons, it was common to see a devil on one shoulder and an Angel on another. It was CLEAR which voice was good and which was evil. The animation gave us a visual of what we were very familiar with.  Today, we must work a little harder so that all of us are detecting what is good and what is evil.

2. You don’t walk out onto a battlefield unprepared.
You put on your suit of armor and you bring your weapon. You do this FIRST! Faith is our shield, prayer is our greatest weapon. In other words, God has to be number one if we want to truly protect our soul. Knowing God has to be not only a priority, but our first priority.

3. We are not alone, but not everyone is going to grow in virtue. The virtues are our “armor of light” that protect us from the enemy. We would be wise to follow the advice of St. Francis de Sales in this, “Love everyone with a strenuous love based on charity, but form friendships only with those who can share virtuous things with you.”
Want to help your son on the battlefield?
Get him a copy of this journal today!
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I asked him to show me his favorite page and he chose the “mad libs like” activity 😆.

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Tag your friends that are youth ministers, ccd teachers, DRE’s, catechists and Catholic school teachers!

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I believe we need the be excited about our faith… especially when we present it to young people!

Our faith is FASCINATING! It’s EXCITING!
It’s anything BUT boring!

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Prayer of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus O Jesu Prayer of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus

O Jesus, I pray for your faithful and fervent priests;
for your unfaithful and tepid priests;
for your priests laboring at home or abroad in distant mission fields;
for your tempted priests;
for your lonely and desolate priests;
for your young priests;
for your dying priests;
for the souls of your priests in purgatory.

But above all, I recommend to you the priests dearest to me:
the priest who baptized me;
the priests who absolved me from my sins;
the priests at whose Masses I assisted and who gave me your Body and Blood in Holy Communion;
the priests who taught and instructed me;
all the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way (especially …).

O Jesus, keep them all close to your heart,
and bless them abundantly in time and in eternity.
Amen.
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I dare you to comment below 3 to 5 things you are I dare you to comment below 3 to 5 things you are thanking God for today!!!
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I have a super sweet story to share with you! Las I have a super sweet story to share with you!

Last evening my husband and I decided that we were long overdue for praying a Rosary with the family.

We have friends searching for jobs that have asked us to pray and many others intentions.

Our kids were outside playing with a little girl who lives up the road.

I walked outside with a bunch of tangled up Rosaries (see reel I made yesterday) and told my 3 children they had to come in to pray the Rosary.

My daughter, who made this Rosary for me, asked if their friend could pray with us.

I said she was, of course, welcome to pray with us!

All 4 kids came inside and my son volunteered to lead the first decade. Our 9 year old guest led a decade too!

She stumbled a little with the words to the Hail Mary but by the end of her decade, I was so impressed.

Once we were done praying my husband complimented our young guest on how well she did.
It was such a beautiful, unexpected event.
What a great reminder… courtesy of my daughter in Kindergarten… to always invite others to pray with you!
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Some people want to start prayer journaling, but t Some people want to start prayer journaling, but that first page intimidates them.
Here’s a way to start that it totally stress free!
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We haven’t even started yet and there’s an iss We haven’t even started yet and there’s an issue 😂 🪢 
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“I don’t even remember that”~ my Mom. When I “I don’t even remember that”~ my Mom.
When I told my mom how she inspired the title of the Be Yourself Journal, that was her response 😂.
As a tired Mama, I so appreciate this now.
It’s amazing what God’s grace and a mother’s love can do!
My mom felt bad that I felt left out. But, she was also tired and was probably in survival mode with 3 or 4 children at that point.
I get that now.
But God took what my mom didn’t say and placed in my heart the contents of the book I get to the author of!
I am finding so much relief in this realization today.
I often see my shortcomings as a Mother.
I’m tired.
I’m still disorganized like I was before motherhood.
But I do have faith in God and love for my children.
I believe that God knew exactly what He was doing when He chose me to be the mother of my children.
He knows my strengths and weaknesses.
His grace is sufficient… for all mothers.
Praise the Lord!
Happy Mother’s Day!

Share this post and remind others that it’s totally okay to not be perfect.
Keep loving!
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Did you know Our Lady of Fatima taught the three y Did you know Our Lady of Fatima taught the three young children a couple of prayers?

The Blessed Mother taught the children to offer all their personal sacrifices to God by praying:
O My Jesus, I offer this for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Another prayer Our Lady taught the children was:

O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy.

I love how Our Blessed Mother encourages to us to start a prayer by addressing the Lord with these words:
“O my Jesus…”
One of my favorite prayers was taught to the Fatima children by an angel.
This is that prayer:

My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee! I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee.

Today, May 13th, is the feast of Our Lady of Fatima.
Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!

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Sometimes, when I go to Mass, the homily isn’t e Sometimes, when I go to Mass, the homily isn’t exactly stellar…

But bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes, when I attend Mass, the other people in the pews don’t participate in the prayers or sing the hymns…

But bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit and the instrumentality of the priest. The whole Christ is truly present.

Sometimes, when I’m at Mass my own mind wanders and I’m distracted by children who can’t sit still…

But bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

An incredible miracle happens at every Catholic Mass… 

The whole Christ is truly present -- body, blood, soul, and divinity -- under the appearances of bread and wine, the glorified Christ who rose from the dead. This is what the Church means when she speaks of the "Real Presence" of Christ in the Eucharist.

The Eucharist is the body of Jesus Christ, which was given up for me and you.

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There is not one person out there that understands There is not one person out there that understands ALL THE THINGS. This is another reason why it is so important to network with others.
We can help one another. All for the sake of His Kingdom.
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Long before “influencer” was a common term or Long before “influencer” was a common term or familiar word in our vocabulary, our actions and example made a difference in the lives of others.

Sometimes… perhaps more often than not, our choices impact the decisions of other people without us even realizing it.

When I was a teen, I ran cross country and track.

To my surprise, I was … not terrible at it.

I realized, through this sport, that God had not completely skipped me when giving out talents.

But, I questioned God.
Why give anyone the talent to run long distance?

How on earth could that talent be helpful to anyone?

I was young and the truth is… wisdom does come with age.
There was a ton of personal fruit that came to me from running.
But to my surprise… my example to continue running, even though I often thought it was a “stupid talent” didn’t just impact me.

For years I kept running because my Catholic education taught me that if God gave me a talent, it was my job to use that talent.

So even though I 💯 % thought it was the dumbest talent ever… I kept using it.

Years later my brother shared how my example led to him giving running as a sport a try.

He’s much more talented than me.

And I am still in shock that my actions grabbed his attention.

I strongly believe young people need to hear stories like this.
Blind faith and trust in God is not a waste of time.

I wrote more about this in Be Yourself: a Journal for Catholic Boys.
My brother, who really is a GOOD SPORT, allowed me to take his picture with the book that shares a part of this big story.
It was all in God’s plan.
Thank you Brian for sharing that story!!!

If you teach children or teens to trust God, even when they don’t quite understand why… comment and share below!
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Stop scrolling… we need to talk. Yes… you! Do Stop scrolling… we need to talk.
Yes… you!

Do you have a Bible?
Who gave it to you?
What year was that?

I realized very recently that the only reason why my husband and I have a Bible is because his Aunt, who happens to be a nun, gave us one as a wedding gift.

I had a Bible before I got married.
I had it because I went to a Catholic high school and it was a required book for our religion classes.

So as I was thinking about this … I started to wonder…
How many Catholics don’t have Bibles???

I ask you to consider giving a loved one a Bible the next time you’re thinking about giving a gift.
There’s a rumor going around that Catholics don’t read the Bible very much…
Let’s make sure that’s not true.
This Bible is the one used by @fathermikeschmitz for The Bible in a Year podcast.

I was given a copy in exchange for promotion. I don’t think there has ever been anything easier to promote!

On a side note… my very good non-Catholic friend is becoming Catholic this month and this Bible and that podcast have a lot to do with that.

So friends… go spend some time with Jesus. Read your Bible and give someone you love a Bible too.

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