Welcome to Catholic Sistas’ newest series, featuring some of our friends in the Catholic blogging world entitled Fabulously Featured which will run on Wednesdays. I have always wanted to introduce you to some new blogs to follow and support, but seriously lacked the time to put this together before now. In a Facebook group of fellow Catholic women bloggers, I asked ladies to answer some questions for this series, and they were all too excited to participate! I give you their answers in their own words. 🙂
Today we turn our attention to Saints 365, which is authored by Debbie Gaudino. Saints 365 is Debbie’s personal blog, where she hopes to engage and encourage readers {as well as herself} to strive for holiness in the trenches of everyday life. How refreshing! Let’s do this Catholic thing together, by looking at our everyday circumstances and finding holiness there!
Established
2014
Theme
I generally write about applying the truths of the Scriptures, the teachings of the Church and the wisdom of the saints to everyday life.
Inspiration/Motivation
Two years ago I began studying for my Masters in Theology via the Distance Learning program at Franciscan University of Steubenville. I love the classes and all that I am learning and felt the desire to share that with others. Lots of things inspire me to write: a quote from a saint that I stumble upon, a homily that I hear at Mass, a unique fact that I find out about our Catholic faith that I never knew, and my own lived-out experience of being a Catholic wife and Mom.
Favorite Element
I get a tremendous satisfaction from writing and have long kept a journal, so even without readers I think I would still continue to write – for me, writing helps me process my thoughts and feelings about something. As far as the blog goes, I am extremely grateful and humbled when others are touched by something I shared.
Favorite Post
The Angelus: Domestic Church Style and What’s the Big Deal About the Pope Going to Confession? are two of my favorite posts. Ironically, they are two of the fastest written posts I have ever done – and that is one of the reasons they are a fav of mine. Within a month of blogging, I realized that if I couldn’t keep it honest and real, I shouldn’t be writing and these posts are some of may earliest attempts at writing from my the depths of my heart and my own experience.
Balance
Balance is a challenge and I struggle with it in my writing as well as in other areas of my life. I try to keep the guilty feelings at bay by taking frequent check-points with my husband, my spiritual director, and my children as to how I am doing in the balancing act of life. There have definitely been seasons in my life where I have had to back-off of some activities, and other times where I have been able to add things to my plate without issue. Making myself accountable to others I trust in this area has been a huge help to me.
Audience
I guess I write for anyone who is interested in reading – my hope is that whoever reads will walk away enriched by the experience. I don’t have a “target audience” per se, and my subscribers include men and women across a variety of ages and stages of life.
Catch Phrase/Tagline
“Striving for the heights of holiness the trenches of everyday life.” This is my blog’s tagline and it pretty much summarizes my life’s philosophy – I want to be a saint and I know the only road to sanctity is in the trenches of my life – as mundane and messy as those trenches often are.
Advice
The greatest advice I would give to a new Catholic blogger comes from the Episcopal motto of one of my very favorite (hopefully soon to be saints) Blessed John Henry Newman: Cor ad Cor Loquitur – which means “heart speaks to heart”. If you share from your heart – it will speak to the hearts of those who read your blog. This heart to heart sharing is what really changes lives, builds community and provides encouragement and inspiration in a world that so desperately needs it. Above all else – Catholic blogs should give glory to God – and the ultimate litmus test of hitting “publish” on a post should be just that – did I glorify God through this writing.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?
Have a question or comment for our featured blogger? Please leave them in the comments below!
Would you {or someone you know} like to be fabulously featured?
Send an email to Martina@CatholicSistas.com and reference the Fabulously Featured series and we’ll get the ball rolling to get you or your friend featured!