Ministry leads mothers to friendships

By Michelle Sullivan, The Catholic Sun
November 16, 2006

AVONDALE —The Valley’s population explosion has left many newcomers longing for more intimate relationships.

Patty Schoenen, who moved to Arizona from Montana three years ago, knows this isolation well.

“You feel alone among 1,000 other people,” the grandmother said.

That’s why Schoenen signed on for Ministry of Mothers Sharing, or MOMS. She joined other mothers in the ministry for an event at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish Nov. 5.

“The most beautiful part of our group has been networking, friendships, connections, spiritual growth, and supporting each other,” said Lynelle Poram, a regular participant in MOMS who attended the event.

Sr. Paula Hagen, OSB, MOMS founder, spoke to the group about friendships. She emphasized the characteristics and grace of Christ-centered relationships.

The mothers had been meeting for seven weeks before the retreat celebration. The day ended with the group affirming each mother’s gifts with a personal note.

Jacqueline Danigella, one of the participants, said their journal book for the seven-week program included psychological and Scriptural reflections.

This combination “helps you plug it in and connect it to real life,” she said.

MOMS, which Sr. Paula started at St. Timothy Parish in Mesa in the 1980s, has become a national movement.

It is now in 3,000 parishes throughout America, including many in the Diocese of Phoenix. It is open to mothers and grandmothers of all ages.

The ministry is based on the U.S. bishops’ document “Called and Gifted,” said Sr. Paula, a Benedictine nun from St. Paul’s Monastery in St. Paul, Minn.

“When listening to mothers, I heard the need to develop their spirituality and share that with their children,” she said of founding the group.  She was “able to create a ministry based on situations they need to face.”

Now her primary ministry is MOMS programs in parishes throughout the country.

Tricia Hoyt, who co-wrote the manual for MOMS with Sr. Paula,  said that MOMS builds a “model of authentic hospitality in a community.”

“It gives mothers unconditional acceptance and the opportunity to know we are accepted regardless of our faults,” she said.

“The rewards of raising a child are not immediately evident,” Hoyt said. The ministry welcomes mothers who have not yet become involved in their parishes.

Hoyt said it can be a “door through which to feel integrated into a parish.”

Although MOMS is “profoundly Catholic,” Hoyt said it is also open to non-Catholics.

Maggie Loringer, a grandmother, feels that she has a purpose within the group.

“It’s in Scripture that older women are supposed to pass on the traditions,” she said.

“Once you have given of your hands, you continue doing it until the day you die,” Schoenen said.

For more information, contact Mary Carrillo at marycarrillo75@hotmail.com.