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KauaiCatholic
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I am feeling the need for inspiration from saints who were also wives and mothers. (I realized this when my reading about Thomas Merton kept getting sidetracked with thoughts of "well sure, a Trappist monastery." and then "hey, that sounds really nice about now ...") 
I'm hoping someone can suggest favorite biographies of those blessed women who were familiar with life in the mommy trenches (forgive me, but that's how it feels today  ) but I don't have a lot of time and/or money to spend in Amazon hoping to hit the right one by accident.
I tried searching past threads for this, but maybe I'm not wording it right. so forgive me if I'm asking again. thanks in advance for any suggestions!
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 Viviane
Grateful mama of Jonah Augustine ('01), Sophia Marie ('05) and Luke Dominic ('10)
We can do no great things; only small things with great love. -- Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
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Angie Mc
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St. Gianna Molla  .
Love,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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Adriatica
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I love St. Margaret Clitherow. She was a bit of a troublemaker.
St. Margaret Clitherow
Pearl of York book
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Mary
Proud mother of DD (9) and DS (5)
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aussieannie
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I HIGHLY recommend Leonie Martin: A Difficult Life ~ Leonie was truly a difficult child by TODAYS standards, expelled from school on three occasions, unruly, serious learning difficulties, disobedient etc. I was actually surprised, I thought a 'difficult' Martin girl was a saint by our standards! 
But what makes these book truly inspirational is how Blessed Zelie, her sister who was a nun and Leonie's sisters prayed, sacrificed and really WORKED through her problems and triumphed marvelously!!
It really is the book to read IMO, I recommend it to all mothers.
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guitarnan
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Zelie Martin
Elizabeth Ann Seton (talk about trenches!)
Not a saint or blessed (yet), but founder of the order of nuns who taught me for 12 years: Cornelia Connelly (married...founded an order...survived many obstacles...an amazing tale!...please pray for her beatification.)
St. Elizabeth of Hungary (another troublemaker, with such happy results!)
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aussieannie
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That's an Amazon link I gave for the Leonie Martin book..but they have reviews and one of them (out of three) is mine..you can read what I have to say there too.
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Under Her Starry Mantle
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MaryM
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I had thought we had a thread, Mimi, but can't find it either. I think some saints and resources have come up in various threads through the years, but there must not be one dedicated to this topic.
It would be neat to compile a list of the saints who fit this category and then also recommend books for each.
This is a book that has been recommended to me by several people but it is oop and I haven't gotten one. - Mothers of the Saints by Wendy Leifeld
It might not be exactly what you are looking for since it covers both saints who were mothers AND women who raised saints but aren't saints themselves. But to me I think that speaks to our vocation - striving to be holy women trying to raise holy children. You've renewed my interest in finally trying to get a copy of this book.
Though I don't have specific biographies to recommend I would add to our list of saints/blessed who were mothers:
-St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
-Bl. Zelie Martin
-St. Ann
-St.Monica
-St. Rita of Casia
-St. Helena
-St. Ludmilla
-St. Jeanne de Chantal
-St. Margaret of Scottland
-St. Elizabeth
-Bl. Ann Maria Taigi
-Ven. Margaret Bosco
-St. Elizabeth of Portugal
-St. Bridget of Sweden
Though many are queens or princesses and their mommy trenches wouldn't look very similar to our ours, would they?
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Mary M. in Denver
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MaryM
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I left my unfinished post for a bit and see that Anne and Nancy jumped in with some form my list as well.
I was just recently reading about Cornelia Connelly - that is a really interesting story - really unusual situation with her husband, don't you think?
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Mary M. in Denver
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Sarah
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I have found it hard not to find a saint that was a mother of many children who did not become a nun or start an order. It seems most mother saints had very few children or ended up leaving their motherly vocation for the convent. I long for the mother saint with more than 2 kids who was just a mother. I long for the writings similar to what St Therese of Lisesux and others have written about their lives in an order but for mothers. Maybe its out there, but I haven't found it. I may have overlooked a saint out there also.
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guitarnan
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Mary, Cornelia Connelly's story is an amazing testament to trust in God. (Sarah, she did found an order, but found her vocation because her husband decided he was called to the priesthood...and then he changed his mind. It's really an incredible tale.)
Sarah, I've read some of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton's writings and letters; you might find inspiration there. She kept her daughters with her as she began her work in Emmitsburg, MD, and worked hard to be a good mother to all of her children throughout her life. I know what you mean, though - it would be nice to read about more women who found it possible to strive for holiness in the way we're trying to do. (I realize that most mothers don't have time to write journals, care for families AND become saints...but... )
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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JennGM
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I've done this several times, thinking there was a thread here, but it was actually pre-4Real at the CCM list. Erin had asked for saint ideas for her daughter's confirmation saint, having the same requirements as Sarah.
So, I'm going to reproduce somewhat I wrote over there, so I won't go crazy looking again!
First of all, there's a new book:
Married Saints and Blesseds: Through the Centuries by Ferdinand Holbock, published by Ignatius Press. I haven't seen it, but it looks promising.
I have Married Saints by John F. Fink, which has these saints:
::St. Thomas More
::St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
::St. Monica
::St. Louis
::St. Frances of Rome
::St. Elizabeth of Hungary
::St. Elizabeth of Portugal
::St. Stephen of Hungary
::St. Henry
::St. Margaret of Scotland
::St. Edward the Confessor
::St. Bridget of Sweden (today's feast!)
::St. Isidore and St. Maria de la Cabeza (These are my favorites, although not much is written about them.)
::Sts. Perpetua and Felicity
::St. Peter
::Sts. Joachim and Ann
::Sts. Zachary and Elizabeth
::Mary and St. Joseph
A favorite collection of mine, although OOP, readily available copies, Treasury of Women Saints: Stories of Over 200 Women, Including Mothers, Prophets, and Interior Women of the Spirit by Ronda De Sola Chervin, Servant Publications, 1991.
Ms Chervin breaks down the list into Young Saints, Motherly Saints, Martyrs, Prophetic Saints, Interior Women of the Spirit and Sinners Turned Saints.
For saints that fill criteria:
::St. Anne, mother of Mary, grandmother of Jesus
::St. Elizabeth, mother of St. John the Baptist
::St. Monica, mother of St. Augustine
::St. Nonna, husband also a saint, Gregory Nazianzen the Elder, also mother of St. Gregory Nazianzen, doctor of the Church, and two other children who were saints, Gorgonia and Caesarius.
::St. Gorgonia, daughter of Nonna.
::St. Matilda, married to Henry, King of Germany, 5 children. After her husband died, she "renounced the world" but still lived in court, living simply and eating sparingly...she did live with nuns for a while, but didn't become a religious.
::St. Adelaide, princess of Burgundy, two marriages, second was wife of Otto of Germany. Five children. Founded monasteries, but did not become a religious!
::Blessed Ida of Boulogne
::Blessed John of Aza, mother of St. Dominic
::St. Elizabeth of Hungary, did not become a religious, but only a 3rd order Franciscan, a tertiary. So still living in the world as a secular Franciscan.
::Blessed Zedislava Berka
::St. Elizabeth of Portugal, also 3rd order Franciscan
::Blessed Jacoba, same story, 3rd order. Very close to St. Francis and was asked by St. Francis to come into the friary at his deathbed.
::Blessed Castora Gabrielli, 3rd order Franciscan
::St. Hedwig of Poland
Under Prophetic Saints:
::St. Helena
::St. Pulcheria
::St. Margaret of Scotland
::Blessed Anna Maria Taigi
::Blessed Paola Gambera-Costa
I might have missed a few...but this should keep her busy! And I would recommend this book as a help for any female who need patronal inspiration!
My mother is a 3rd order Franciscan, has been for years, so I included many of these saints. Some biographies, especially if written for younger children, say the women became religious, so this is a good opportunity to explain the difference!
Patron Saints Index should have almost all of these to look up the details. It also has some categories: Saints Who Were..., including
Saints Who Were Married
Saints Who Were Mothers
Patron Saints of Family Matters
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Jennifer G. Miller
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JennGM
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I'm also going to add some thoughts that came to me a while ago. For a long time I used to think "She became a religious, what does she know?" But really, these women didn't become martyrs or religious overnight. They WERE in the trenches, fighting the daily martyrdom, offering up the daily passive and active mortifications of dirty diapers, potty training, household duties, vocation as a wife and mother.
Like us, these women were a work in progress. They didn't become religious automatically, nor did they become martyrs just by a snap decision. It was their dedication to their daily work, all those daily little struggles, uniting all to Christ that moved them to reach the point of religious life.
It was the little things, one by one, that added up to reach that point. So now I can read these saints' lives and see myself. My end vocation might not be the same, but their example of embracing their motherly and wifely vocation at the time is what I can use as example for my life.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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CrunchyMom
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I also like this book Married Saints and Blesseds.
I think, too, it is sometimes hard to get past the cultural differences and know exactly how to apply.
I mean, its great and all that Blessed Charles loved the Eucharist and spent so much time in adoration, but he was the Emperor of Austria and had an adoration chapel IN HIS HOUSE/OFFICE BUILDING.
Its also really inspiring to read of how Mr. and Mrs. Martin went to daily mass, but THEY went while their kids were presumably left at home with the servants. The servants. They were not dragging their little ones with them.
I don't mean it to discount what they did! I just mean, it is hard to know exactly what such holiness would look like in a 20th century American home. It is hard for me to sometime get beyond romanticizing their circumstances to recognize their choices in the context of real life.
Helen just mentioned on the Hidden Treasure thread that she says her prayers for consecration while on the exercise bike. This sounds wholly unromantic. But really, the choices of actual saints were just as prosaic to them, and the challenge for me is to realize that sainthood won't look exciting, for lack of a better word.
Also, the lives of the saints are SO varied, even if there were modern examples of mothers, it would look very different to us and our own life to not seem all that applicable, kwim?
I think that my greatest inspiration in the pursuit to holiness as a plain mom is Saint Francis de Sales. I find his writings to be easily applicable and the parallels to modern life readily seen. Introduction to the Devout Life is my favorite, but I also find the collection of letters Thy Will Be Done a treasure as well. He speaks to all sorts of "real life" situations that it is a bit easier to see what a saintly life might look like even if one doesn't start an order or become a martyr.
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Lindsay
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Maddie
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I have been enjoying the writings of Venerable Conchita of Mexico. She was a wife and mother of nine, never became a religious but was the inspirations for several. She wrote almost as much as Thomas Aquinas in her lifetime but her children never saw her doing it she was so attentive to her duties as mother. In fact, when Rome was investigating her life they proclaimed to the children, "Your mother was a saint and a mystic!" They replied, "Saint or mystic, we do not know, but she was the greatest mother!" She had one daughter who became a religious and a son who became a priest.
Amazon has several of her books, I have been reading her a lot lately. She is not a saint yet, but I have been calling upon her aid and I am enjoying learning about her life.
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JennGM
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But we have such a life with conveniences, even with servants, their life was similar to ours. I think we tend to just dismiss and say "oh, they don't know what we go through." But there was no A/C, labor saving devices, lots of layers of clothing, lots of restrictions.
And while they might have had help (some of them) raising their children, I still think that there was daily hardships similar to ours. Dying to self everyday, learning to be recollected, being in the Presence of God in the mundane things.
I find so much practical advice in the writings of St. Josemaria Escriva and "In Conversation with God". Also, Scepter used to print Scepter Booklets, but many of them are available online for free. "Bright and Cheerful Homes" is quite fitting for us today.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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CrunchyMom
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Right, Jenn, sorry if I wasn't clear! I meant that sometimes that is my initial reaction, but when I think about it, I am romanticizing their choices because their life was different from my own, when really, it was just as mundane. And, I have opportunities that they didn't have, its just my life can't look like theirs, and that's okay.
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Lindsay
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[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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JennGM
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joann10
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Today is St. Bridget of Sweden's feast day. She is my Amy's patron saint. A mother of 8 and then widowed, she went on to establish her own religious order.
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Sarah
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Wow! What a great and encouraging thread. It seems like we search for that one tidbit of information that validates what we do and tells us we are on the path to sainthood. But you ladies are so right, the basic principles are the same. We must die to self, keep the faith, etc. Thanks for all the info.
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KauaiCatholic
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yes, thank you everybody! my Amazon basket is overflowing! and my heart lightened and encouraged by all these holy women (sainted and 4Real )
ironic aside: I was so excited to read all these responses I fired up the computer first thing this morning, then left to tend to a diaper issue while the programs started up. when I came back, my DH was camped on, checking whatever stocks/sports/important manly things he does (and which takes him ... well, a while to do). thankfully, what would have been a  became a ... God has such a sense of timing to keep me humble.
thank you again, everybody. what a blessing you all are. 
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Viviane
Grateful mama of Jonah Augustine ('01), Sophia Marie ('05) and Luke Dominic ('10)
We can do no great things; only small things with great love. -- Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: sainted mothers? motherly saints?
