Mother to Mother: Spiritual and Practical Wisdom from the Cloister to the Home

by Mary Cuff .

The unique ability of women to be mothers is a most precious gift. Whether a woman’s vocation is to be a mother in the context of married life or the spiritual motherhood of religious life, both vocations have Our Lady as their source and inspiration. This similar calling to model the motherhood of the Blessed Mother suggests that lay mothers and religious nuns can benefit from each other’s wisdom and experiences. Mother to Mother introduces moms to contemplative nuns who have offered their insight on the common struggles of motherhood. Through a series of questions and answers, these nuns from various orders take wisdom from their cloisters and offer it to mothers in the domestic Church. This includes advice on finding and utilizing silence, how to increase charity towards other mothers, and how to keep our children (and ourselves) engaged in the Mass, and more. Mother to Mother serves as a meditation upon the vocation of motherhood as both lay and religious mothers strive to be models of the Mother of God.

Genres: Catholic

232 pages, Hardcover

Published August 20, 2024

Reviews

[Haley Dessauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend! As a busy homeschooling mom of three young children with a 4th one on the way (and a small art business on the side to help keep things afloat), I struggle to compare my vocation to that of a religious (especially cloistered) sister. We must live totally different lives. Mine is loud and chaotic, that of a religious is organized and fairly silent. Yet, this book has been so eye opening. While on the outside, we appear to live out our vocations very differently, spiritually our vocations as “mother” (whether spiritual or physical) are very similar. These spiritual mothers have gained so much wisdom from physical mothers, and we physical mothers can do the same by learning from our spiritual ones. I am left in awe at the beauty of this vocation to motherhood, wild though it may seem day-to-day, and feel “seen,” encouraged, and renewed to fulfill this vocation with utmost vigor. God bless all our religious sisters, let us pray for an increase of vocations to religious life, and remember that these vocations start within the home.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was gifted this book for my birthday. As a Catholic homeschooling mom of seven kids, Dr. Cuff's questions and answers really resonated with me. The most impactful chapters were the ones focusing on how to cultivate vocations among your children, and why the domestic church is so critical to children's formation. The prayers that concluded each chapter were especially poignant and related to the chapter's specific content.

[Kate Rooney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very spiritually enriching for me. This is the only book on Catholic Motherhood I’ve read in the last few years that truly gave me things to ponder that I had never considered before.

The only thing I didn’t like was how Cuff posed her questions to the sisters. Some of the questions felt very leading and were almost overly fleshed out. I would have liked to see what places the sisters took certain topics to without quite so much authorial direction.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this very encouraging. I was a little wary since the last new-release TAN book I read, but figured that the nuns’ part at least would be well written and inspiring- but I found myself really looking forward to the introductory sections written by Mary Elizabeth Cuff, and found them in some cases more helpful than the rest!

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the greatest books I’ve read in a very long time! I plan on keeping it nearby in the living room or by my bed to go back for inspiration when I need it. The concept was already incredible and the execution was knocked out of the park!

[Evelyn Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read for all moms. Sections were short and easy to read between laying one baby down and the other one waking up. Recommend.

[Nicole Duke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an absolutely beautiful piece full of wisdom and insight applicable to all mothers- spiritual and physical.

[Silica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I'll find myself coming back to this one a lot.

[Desirée Montealegre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tidbits of wisdom on the vocation of motherhood, from the serene voices of contemplative nuns.