Woman of faith: Mom of six keeps prayer at center of family life

By Claudia I. Provencio, The Catholic Sun
August 2, 2007

Margy McGuire-Parks doesn’t make headlines. In fact, she scrunches up her face like a sheepish child at the mere thought of being in the spotlight.

While she doesn’t seek attention, her six children, ages 19 to 31, believe she deserves it because she has succeeded in one of the most difficult jobs of all — motherhood.

“She raised us all alone a big chunk of the time,” said daughter Laura Parks. “My friend in college always used to say it was just amazing the way my mother made each of us feel like an only child.”

McGuire-Parks said she never expected to be a divorcee — she’d been involved in Marriage Encounter and supported couples in Engaged Encounter weekends.

But she quickly regrouped out of necessity, found friends to help her mentor her children and the former stay-at-home mom got to work. She took a job at a coffee shop before she found a home at SRP, where she has worked for the last 16 years.

She knew she couldn’t do it all and sought out groups to help her children work through their emotions. She enrolled her children in Rainbows International and Young People’s Beginning Experience, programs designed to help children cope with the loss of a parent through death or divorce.

“I didn’t want it to dominate our lives,” said McGuire-Parks, who started groups at St. Theresa Parish so that other families could begin the healing process too. “There were some bad moments there but it took time.”

Her son, John Parks, one of two sons enrolled in seminary for the Diocese of Phoenix, considers the ways in which his mother kept the family together heroic.

“We were poor growing up but I never knew that until I got older,” said the 25-year-old, who attends St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana. “I went to Brophy and I never thought less of myself because my mom exuded that who we were was more important than what we had.

“We wouldn’t have money for food but we’d still be going to Catholic school,” he added. “That’s just the way it was.”

The Parks children say they knew that no matter what trials they faced, their mother sacrificed so they could receive the benefits of a parochial education.

Faith played a large part in the Parks’ upbringing. The siblings attended Mass and pro-life rallies together and they always gave up something for Lent as a family. Many of the Parks children also went through the Life Teen program at St. Theresa.

“The thing I remember most growing up that was so stable was we always prayed together and ate dinner together,” said John, who traveled the state as a pro-life speaker prior to joining the seminary.

“After we were done saying grace, each person went around and shared their intentions,” he added. “My mom, without fail, would offer all of us to God.”

Passing on the faith

McGuire-Parks, among the founders of Crisis Nursery, says her faith was instilled by her own Catholic upbringing and she was especially influenced by her grandmother who attended daily Mass and always had a kind word for others.

“What she demonstrated to me was action,” said McGuire-Parks, who attended the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minn. “She was just doing things for people. I know it sounds like small, simple things, but it just had an impression on me.”

It’s the little things that McGuire-Parks’ children say she was best at, like recognizing when one of her children needed one-on-one time and sneaking out with them for a cup of coffee, a movie or Mass at Mount Claret.

“I think so often we misunderstand God’s love. We think if we’re in a sinful state, God loves us less, but that’s not the case,” said son Tom Parks, a seminarian at Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio.

“I think my mom has mirrored God’s love in that total acceptance and support of us wherever we were at in life,” added the 27-year-old, who was on staff at André House, an organization that ministers to Arizona’s homeless and working poor, prior to joining the seminary.

“The love was constant no matter what we did,” he added. “She loved and accepted us, even if we were screwing up.”

While she’s proud to have two seminarians in the family, McGuire-Parks is quick to point out that she is proud of all of her children. Daughter Christina is a realtor; son Matthew works as a process control specialist in the concrete industry; daughter Laura works at a religious supplies store in Scottsdale; sons Tom and John are seminarians and daughter Cindy attends the University of Dallas.

While there were gripes and days they didn’t always get along, “probably the best gift she gave us is each other,” said son Matthew Parks, 30. “I can’t imagine being from a small family.”

McGuire-Parks says now her kids are all out of the house she has more time to devote to things she’s passionate about.

She enjoys attending daily Mass, meeting with her Cursillo group, a group of ladies who she sees every Saturday and volunteering at André House on Tuesday nights. She hones her public speaking skills as a member of Toastmasters.

Four years ago, she also went back to school and earned a degree in business management from Western International University.

But most of all, she enjoys hanging out with her children.

“They have a fierce prayer life, all of my kids,” she said. “They are just thriving right now and that is really neat to see. It’s a blessing.”

John Parks attributes this to the stability his mother, who he describes as a laid back person with a great sense of humor, provided at home.

“My mom used to always say she tried to give her kids ‘roots and wings,’” he said. “Roots in the love she would exude to us and in letting us know we had a stable place to come home to and wings in that we were free to be who we wanted to be.”