A year ago a lightbulb went off – it became the moment when an unanswered prayer of seven years was finally revealed to me. Do what I love to do everyday and have done for the past seven years – talk about and share my love of the Faith with friends – and expand it to a blog?
Brilliance! Why didn’t I think of this before? The solution seemed so daggone simple.
Clearly I needed a burning bush.
Here we are a year later still having a blast and loving what we do! This past year has been one of the most challenging years of my life; having to juggle this new endeavor with homeschooling, pregnancy, an unexpected move, having a baby four weeks after moving and, oh yeah, my daily challenges of my vocation as wife and mother. It’s been…well, it’s been life. And a lot of it. And ya know what? I wouldn’t trade a single thing. This has been such an amazing experience and I can’t wait to see what this next year brings. I hope more of the same with even more readers to share in this with us. So, to celebrate our one year anniversary today, we are announcing our winners from our giveaway and a few thoughts by some of our contributors.
Being a part of CS has been a very unique experience for me…it’s been like finding 50+ Catholic women friends who are just as passionate as I am about all things Catholic. Instead of being one of a very few IRL, I now have a huge family of very accomplished ‘sisters’ to help shoulder the load. I can’t isolate one thing that I enjoy doing for CS because there are many aspects that I love. 1) the feeling of community – even if our personalities don’t always perfectly mesh 2) being able to express my firmly held opinions and knowing that, not only will I be supported but I will also be challenged to better my perspective and my skills 3) sharing all of this great information – from a wide array of ladies – with the world. Yes, the world! Because, due to the flexibility of today’s social media we can reach an unfathomable number of souls. 4) I love the idea that I’m ‘helping’ something much greater than what my own small efforts could ever produce. 5) I love that I have, once again, found an outlet to channel my creativity…through writing, creating graphics, and praying for a better world to serve Our Lord Jesus Christ and His Church.
~ Birgit
Being a part of CS has meant so much to me. It has been a wonderful coming together of good hearted Catholic women from every walk of life, every background, and all different stages of our Catholic journey who have something to give the world. Something like none other – the sharing of life experiences while also incorporating the teachings and wonderful blessings of our Catholic faith. It has allowed me to grow in my personal faith, while also learning from my fellow sistas. Though many different women, we are all bound by Christ, the truth of our faith, and the respect to hear each others’ experiences. And this is what makes CS special – and what will allow God’s word to further evangilize more souls.
~ Molly G.
Being a part of CS has been very fun! It’s really been a great opportunity to have combined push to get our voices out there and heard. Being a part of this community of faithful Catholic women has really helped open my eyes and my heart to truly understand the faith in a unique way – through both our similarities and differences. Having our faith as that backbone has helped to to more fully appreciate the universal nature of our beautiful Catholic Church.
“As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ.” 1Cor12:12
I love writing for CS because I’m writing with people who I have known for many years. We support each other, help each other out, share post ideas, and we all love Jesus and want to help each other to be better Catholics. That desire to help each other be better Catholics just oozes out of all our posts as we try to do the same for our readers. I love that about my Sistas! They all want to write to glorify God and show their love for Jesus in an attempt to bring that love to others. It makes me live to a higher standard and makes me be a better writer (I hope).
I’ve written for companies, individuals, and the Church hierarchy. But I’ve never experienced the sense of comraderie as I do as a CS contributor. It’s more like a family venture than anything else. You genuinely rejoice when a sister’s post is promoted by other media outlets. There is tremendous respect for the sacrifices contributors make to sustain the blog, so it’s easy to feel charitable when a sister needs help or can’t write due to last minute personal problems. Accomplishments and struggles are shared by the group, not claimed and carried by the individual. It’s been one of the most gratifying projects I’ve ever been privileged to be a part of as a writer and Catholic. I look forward to many more years of sharing the Gospel alongside this group of amazing women!
Being a part of CS has allowed me the opportunity to share the story of infertility with others who may not understand it. But deeper than that, it’s given me the opportunity to share my faith with others and share that I’m more than just an infertile woman, I’m a woman who’s part of a rich faith community. Life can get exceptionally busy and we can get wrapped up in our own worlds and our own lives, but CS allows me to be a part of something bigger than my world and bigger than my life.
I’ve enjoyed getting to know these lovely women in a different way than our usual daily online chats about the Faith. We’ve gone from casual observations and conversations to “how can we incorporate this into a post” mentality. We bring out the best in each other when we are able to put our egos on the shelf and take constructive criticism in the spirit it’s intended and the result is a beautifully written post that is something many of us have helped see through. This blog is proof that while it may have been one person’s idea to start, it’s definitely not my vision – we all want to see souls come to know Christ – and it takes all of us to make that happen.
Catholic Sistas has been instrumental in my faith journey these days. It has enabled me to share my experiences and love for the Church. I now feel like a vital part of the great macrocosm that is the Catholic Church by living and writing and evangelizing in a way I never thought possible. I have found camaraderie with my sisters in Christ and a validation of my faith. I have felt loved and respected and blessed to be part of such an important endeavor.
One of my favorite things about CS is not only the wonderful group of writers I am blessed to know, but also the hundreds of readers who have left encouraging, inspiring, and affirming comments. It fills me with hope to know that there are so many more Catholics out there living out their Faith passionately and who love the Church as much as we do. It’s a true testament to the Mystical Body of Christ and the beauty of the universality of the Catholic Faith!
Writing for CS has helped me to continuously re-examine myself and my faith life. It has also allowed me to share things that I would normally only tell my husband, some of the worse things that have ever happened to me. By sharing these
I have been able to also heal and pray that anyone who has also been a victim or affected by a similar situation and can’t see the “light at the end of the tunnel” that there is one and that Christ is that light. It’s been truly an honor to be part of this group of women whom I’ve cried and laughed with and learned so much about myself and our beautiful Catholic Faith from. Thank You Lord for this call.
I feel so blessed to be a writer for CS. Through this website I have not only gained friendships but a deeper love for Christ and our beautiful Catholic faith. I learn something new each and every day from the incredible women (and men) who write for our website. I have been able to share parts of my faith journey in a way that no other website would have allowed. I have shared my earthly family with you as well as our heavenly children. I have found comfort, strength, and peace in being able to share this part of our lives here at CS.
I love being Catholic and love knowing that I can come to Catholic Sistas and be spiritually and emotionally fed. My faith encompasses every aspect of my life and I am so thankful that I am able to share that faith with so many others who are searching for the Truth as I am. Thank you for all your support, love and kindness. Thank you for reading what I have to say. Thank you for being willing to learn from me but also for teaching me as well.
The first year of Catholic Sistas has truly been a blessing to me, my family, and friends. Even though I am only an occasional poster on CS, I have enjoyed writing for the blog immensely along with reading all the other amazing articles being posted daily by my fellow sistas. I am grateful and proud to be writing next to such wonderful, honest, and faithful Catholic women who have inspired me to climb greater mountains of my own faith journey. Every day I learn something new from this blog and these women. I have never had a greater fellowship and felt so much at home. The first year has been extremely successful and I have no doubt that each year will only get better and better from here on out. I have shared many of the great posts being delivered daily on CS with family and friends who have greatly appreciated the messages and have made differences in their lives. Everything done here could only be done because of hard work, trust, faith fellowship and a bond only sistas can attain. God Bless Martina our founder; God Bless every sista who contributes to make it such a success. May God watch over and guide Catholic Sistas; I believe it will lead many into greater understanding and love of our great Catholic Church.
Being a contributor for Catholic Sistas has been challenging, humbling, and inspiring. The past year has been a great opportunity for personal growth in knowledge of the faith, holiness, writing ability, willingness to share my thoughts and experiences candidly with others, and ability to handle criticism of those thoughts and experiences. I am honored to contribute alongside very committed Catholic women and excellent writers. And I am awed at the way that God has used this blog to educate and to touch the hearts of countless individuals. We have the Holy Spirit to thank for any truths we have shared, any charity we have shared them with, and any positive impact we have made in anyone else’s lives. He certainly seems to have been busy at work with this blog!
Catholic Sistas is appropriately named, as the lovely ladies who bare their souls to impart truth, wisdom, and love are indeed fully Catholic and beautifully united as sisters in the one true Church. It has been a privilege to contribute occasionally and to read what my other “Sistas” share everyday. Happy First Anniversary, CS!
Catholic Sistas is a blessing for all women, and in only a year’s time has become an established media outlet for solid Catholic teaching and inspiring honesty. Looking forward to the journey of the next year!
I don’t know why I replied immediately and enthusiastically with a “Yes” when asked if I would contribute to the blog. I have never been an Evangelist, or so I thought. I have discovered that just living my faith and sharing life stories and experiences all through the lens of living out my faith is, in deed, Evangelizing. It has been a wonderful experience to discover so many others, both contributors and readers, who share my love of God as expressed through living out our Catholic faith.
It has been such a blessing to participate as a contributor and “behind the scenes” web tech for Catholic Sistas. These women are amazing souls doing amazing things and I am honored to be a part of it. Happy first Anniversary Sistas!
Amidst the white noise of liberalism in the media, it is refeshing to find a group of Catholic women truly living and loving their faith. It’s a privilege to write for a blog that celebrates, uplifts and defends the traditional role of women and the Truth of the Church instead of tearing them down. Viva CS!
The winners of the main giveaway are:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The winners of the wine giveaway are: a Rafflecopter giveaway
