The Mom Weekly Volume 125: December 30, 2025
You can read this, or any other previous Mom Weeklies, by going to the home page here.
Notes:
One of my children—who shall remain nameless—mentioned that I read more books in 2025 than she has, which surprised me since she is quite well-read, and that is a big part of her career! There are two factors that contribute to this. One factor is hers: she does not “count” books that she reads for classes. One is mine: I include books that I do not finish.
I disagree with her that not counting books just because they are used in class is counter-productive, not the least of which counting them increases your total number! Also, I do like knowing books that I have read or read part of, so I can look back later if something sounds familiar to me. That happened when I saw that The Other Bennet Sister, a recent novel about Mary Bennet, the “dowdy” sister in Pride & Prejudice, is being made into a television show. (
I could look up and see that I had read The Other Bennet Sister in 2022.
Perhaps the more controversial question is, can I count books that I do not finish as among my books read for any particular year? I say a firm “yes” under the following conditions: not just that I read the first page and immediately send it back to the library. I give a book a good shot, read several chapters and perhaps more, and then for whatever reason realize it’s not worth my while to finish it.
I consider that a book “read,” but imagine that others would have a different opinion! If I don’t count those, my total number of books would go down by a decent percentage. The other type of book I count is picture books or children’s books, and people may take exception with that (But on this, they are wrong.)
What do you think? No matter what, I hope that you are reading books!
Remember how much I love you,
Mom
Believe What You Read, Teach What You Believe; Live What You Teach
A few weeks ago, Dad & I attended the Mass for the ordination to the diaconate to someone we’ve known since he was a baby. That was quite an experience! He will be ordained a priest in May, but this liturgy was very very moving,
There was one other young man being ordained, and so they repeated several of the vows and parts of the actual ordination portion of the Mass. One part was the “Presentation of the Book of the Gospels.” This took place just after the Litany of the Saints and the actual ordination. The young men each approached the Bishop, who gave each a “Book of the Gospels.” We were seated in the back, so I’m not sure exactly what that it, but I imagined it to be one of the big lectionaries that are held up before the Gospel reading at Mass. And what the Bishop said, and repeated twice, struck me so much that I brought out my phone to write it down. Here it is:
“Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and live what you teach.”
Believe what you read. Teach what you believe. Live what you teach.
Isn’t that a good maxim to ponder in the new year? I almost want to make it my Lenten expression to meditate on. (Lent 2026 begins February 18). Let’s unpack it a little bit.
“Believe what you read.” Are we reading (and viewing) trustworthy, noble words and images? A goal to read Scripture—especially the Gospels—could be a way to learn more about Jesus and his life, death, and resurrection, and deepen our belief in Him.
“Teach what you believe.” If we have our faith, we should be willing to teach it. For a priest, it means being able to teach people, I imagine chiefly through homilies, about the love of God and the Gospel message. For the rest of us, it could mean teaching, but also being able to speak about our faith without reservation. I think that’s a pretty difficult task, but being willing to learn more about our faith by reading not only Scripture, but the Catechism, writings of the Saints, and other spiritual books.
“Live what you believe.” This is really the most important part—living our lives in line with what we believe. And it’s obviously the most difficult, and we can fail at it from time to time. But we know that as we keep practicing our faith, as well as the precepts of the Church,
Also, we can work to practice the corporal works of mercy and spiritual works of mercy.
All this is possible only through prayer—a relationship!
Interesting/Notable
Everyone is Invited to Jane Austen’s Birthday Party —NY Times gift link
There is a video of English country dancing from the 2025 JASNA meeting in Baltimore that begins the article. Two of my dear friends from my Jane Austen book group are in it! I was actually at that dance, but fortunately not in the video. Can I just say how much fun English country dancing is?
The article is also a solid read. One of my favorite parts was the description in the byline of the author: “For this story, Sarah Lyall traveled to Bath, England, and Baltimore; saw two exhibits and two plays; re-read six novels; purchased a handbag made to look like a copy of “Pride and Prejudice”; and tried on a Regency bonnet.” To show her bona-fides, I suppose! Works for me.
Action Item: Time to Update Your Net Worth (Mom’s Occasional Money Advice)
Wow, that seemed like net worth update time rolled around again pretty quickly!
We are almost at the end of Quarter 4, which means it is time to update your net worth. I am just going to direct you to one of my many previous calls to begin this helpful process. Let me know if you need any help with it.