This is for the faithful mom that attends mass every Sunday but feels guilty the time she must stay home with a sick baby.

Mass looked different for me this laetare Sunday. My littlest daughter had just gone down for a nap. She has been having a hard time getting over three sicknesses back to back and just finished her antibiotics. She was so tired and needed me…

I wanted so bad to go to mass that Saturday evening all together as a family, but I knew Jesus wanted me right here…holding my baby while she slept and felt better. My husband went with our oldest daughter and they both had a lovely Saturday mass together…

As I sat there holding my baby in my church dress, it did put me in a state of feeling “left out” I will admit it. But what I did next brought me closer to God…

I opened my Bible and read the entire Gospel of Mark while my husband and oldest daughter were at mass. I highlighted in my new Bible and felt so much meaning, life, and purpose in that hour and a half. I felt God’s love…

I knew in that moment that God knew my heart. He knew I wanted to be there. On a side note, I had even missed saying hello to my favorite priest and hearing my daughter light up when she noticed him wear the color pink! What I was doing at home was also important…

Instead of feeling guilty for staying home with a sick or tired child, understand that the care you are giving is holy work and must be done… A mom can still keep holy the sabbath at home if she is caring for a sick child and cannot attend mass…

To the faithful moms, you are doing holy work and God sees it. He sees your heart. He sees you there every Sunday with your children, even if it is pacing back and forth in a hallway. He sees you even on the days you want to be there but cannot…love is patient, love is kind.