This episode is a treasure for any mother. 
Guest Dr. Mary Wallace has been a full-time working mom since her first child was born. Her inspiring story gives encouragement and grace to every mom who struggles to say “yes” to God’s plan for her life, whether you work as a stay-at-home mother, or work part-time or full-time outside of your home.
Mary is a blogger, writer, speaker and mother of five who works full-time as a college administrator. Her personal blog is The Working Catholic Mom. She also writes regularly for CatholicMom.com, The Interior Life Institute, and The Integrated Catholic Life. Mary is currently polishing up the manuscript of her first book, which will be entitled, “The Working Catholic Mom.”
In this episode, Mary shares practical advice and wisdom from nearly 20 years of being a working mother. We start off with Mary’s background and personal history coming into her own as a working mom–including her husband Steve’s near-death illness, which led to her becoming the main wage-earner for her family–and her pursuit of her masters and doctorate in order to advance her career and provide for her family.
I love this episode because of how practical Mary’s advice is. We quickly get into the nuts and bolts of Mary’s growth in the spiritual life over the years, her beautifully intentional home life, and how she and her husband have made important decisions for their family of seven.
Mary shares:
- How she has prayed through her own hopes and fears as a working mom over the years
- How she is intentional about catechizing her children through the liturgical year;
- How she makes educational decisions for her family;
- How working moms have to be intentional about creating family culture through special traditions;
- How to fight for work-life balance;
- How her spiritual director’s instruction to cultivate gratitude made all the difference in her spiritual life
- Why authentic femininity and feminine leadership in the workplace is important
Links from this episode
The Working Catholic Mom (Mary’s blog)
“If I Could Choose,” by Fr. Basil Burns
Reading, Writing and ‘Rithmetic: Education Decisions for the Children
The Leadership Strengths of the Feminine Heart in the Workplace
John 21:18 – Mary mentioned this Scripture verse as speaking to her about spiritual maturity, as far as accepting that God’s plan for her was not where she would choose to go (the workplace).
Unity of Life in Professional Work (St. Josemaria Escriva)
I absolutely loved this podcast. I wish Mary Wallace were my boss at work! 🙂 So understanding, with such great advice. I will be listening to it again!!!
So glad you liked this one! It’s one of my personal favorites.:) Mary is a LOVELY person. I was so pleased with how this conversation with her turned out, because it was incredibly encouraging and inspiring for a mom in just about any working situation. Mary has had a book in the works for a while, and I think she’s shopping around for publishers right now! I think she’ll have some fantastic, fresh things to say about working Catholic motherhood in there.:)
This was a very consoling conversation. We never really know beforehand what God’s true will is for our lives. The pictures in our imaginations are not necessarily what God wants to give us for our futures. He asks that we walk in the dark so we will come to rely on Him. It’s our holiness He wants, not our “perfect” plans for the way we think things ought to be. Mary’s examples were very inspiring. Thank you.