Sanctifying Daily Duty

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Let’s talk a bit about sanctifying daily duty and tips for how we can fulfill our duties as catholic moms.

When Our Lady appeared at Fatima, she stressed the importance of prayer and reparation for sin. And the necessity of fulling our daily duties.

In a world filled with many distractions and a bit of chaos, I think it is really important that we earnestly fulfill these requests of Our Blessed Mother.

So, how do we sanctify our daily duty?

light gray couch with a white throw blanket and open bible on top.

Before we talk about sanctifying our daily duty, I want to give a little overview and timeline on Our Lady’s message at Fatima.

Between May – October of 1917, Our Blessed Mother appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal. She came with a message from Heaven that men must amend their lives.

She stressed the importance of prayer and sacrifice. And the fulfillment of our daily duties as Catholics.

The key messages of Our Lady of Fatima

amendment of life, striving to conquer and avoid sin
prayer, especially the daily Rosary
sacrifice — especially the sacrifice of daily duty
reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
purity and modesty of dress

Prayer and sacrifice are the two means to save the world. As for the Holy Rosary, Father, in these last times in which we are living, the Blessed Virgin has given a new efficacy to the praying of the Holy Rosary. This in such a way that there is no problem that cannot be resolved by praying the Rosary, no matter how difficult it is – be it temporal or above all spiritual – in the spiritual life of each of us or the lives of our families, be they our families in the world or Religious Communities, or even in the lives of peoples and nations.
“I repeat, there is no problem, as difficult as it may be, that we cannot resolve at this time by praying the Holy Rosary. With the Holy Rosary we will save ourselves, sanctify ourselves, console Our Lord and obtain the salvation of many souls.
“Then, there is devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, our Most Holy Mother, holding her as the seat of mercy, goodness and pardon and the sure door to enter Heaven.”
Sister Lucia of Fatima to Father Fuentes

Read a summary on the Message of Fatima here.

statue of Our Lady of Fatima with an archway of flowers surrounding it.

Sanctifying our daily duty

What are our daily duties?

Our Lord appeared to Sr Lucia and communicated the importance of penance and fulfillment of daily duty.

“The sacrifice of each soul consists in the fulfillment of its own duty and the observance of My law. That is the penance which I now ask and desire.”

And: “More than all else, accept and bear with resignation the sufferings that God may send you.”

As Catholics, we know that our daily duty is to obey God’s laws, to live a good Christian life, and avoid wordliness.

And each of us has a duty to fulfill based off of our state in life. So for us wives & mothers, our obligations are towards our husbands and children.

We fulfill our obligations well when we make the sacrifices with a good intention and for the love of God.

To live the Christian life is to live by Christ, to see all things through Him by the light of His grace, to love through His adorable Heart, to pray through His own divine prayer, to work through Him and for Him in order to bring the whole world back to Him, to suffer with Him, and to make up what is wanting to His redemptive Passion.
“But if we are not to remain in the domain of pure theory and speculation, we must actualize all these in a deep interior life that is permeated by a lively faith and a generous love.
“This is not the work of a single day; it requires sustained effort and constant and ever-renewed generosity in the face of our inevitable tendency to backslide.
“We must do with Him and in Him everything that God expects of us, accomplishing our humble duties of each day generously, lovingly, and with a view to our final goal.”
In Him is Life by Father Ernest Mura

crucifix hanging on the wall with blessed palms behind it.

Sanctity properly consists only in conformity to God’s will, expressed in a constant and exact fulfillment of the duties of our state in life.
Pope Benedict XV

Basic duties of a Catholic mother

We know that as Catholic mothers, some days are harder than others and prayer time is very limited. We can’t spend hours of the day kneeling in church or in a quiet corner of the home.

The duties to our husband, children, and household will always take precedence.

But what we can do is try our best to keep in union with God throughout the day with short aspirational prayers. A simple “Jesus, I love you” while snuggling a sick toddler or “My God it is all for love of Thee” while cleaning the toilets will help us to keep this Divine Union.

Another very important duty of a Catholic Mom is ensuring that the children are instructed in the faith properly. This will also mean that we teach them their daily duties and basic daily prayers.

🤍Basic Daily Prayers for Catholics

Some essential daily prayers include:

morning offering and night prayers
daily rosary
Angelus
prayers before and after meals
spiritual reading — this can be a hard habit to start, so begin small. Make time for 5-10 minutes each day. It is so worth it for growth in the faith and spiritual life.

I have this printable of the basic Catholic daily prayers now available which is an easy way to instruct those who need to learn the basics.

We are also using the Our Holy Faith series from St Augustine Academy Press for the catechism lessons in our homeschool. And it is excellent, highly recommend!

Another recommendation, is to have a few minutes of quiet time in the morning to spend in meditation and reflection before the busyness of the day begins.

My children are early risers…we live on a cattle ranch. So, I have to get up extra early to get this quiet time in. But if I don’t make the time, my whole day just feels “off”.

I really love Divine Intimacy and read through it every single day as part of my morning meditations.

If you don’t have time for this quiet morning time, do it in the evening!

Of course, these are just some things that have helped me in my vocation. Be sure to discuss this with your priest/spiritual director.

It takes uncommon virtue to fulfill with exactitude, that is, without carelessness, negligence, or indolence … but with attention, piety, and spiritual fervor, the whole combination of ordinary duties which make up our daily life!
Pope pius XI