Katie Steiner and Allie Johnson — two sisters, two stay-at-home moms — said their vocation has taught them that sacrificial love is beautiful, but challenging. Steiner is a parishioner of St. Jude of the Lake in Mahtomedi and Johnson is deciding on a parish in either Stillwater or Hudson, Wisconsin.
“A lot of motherhood is sacrificing yourself and, in your pregnancy, your body for your child,” Steiner said on the “Practicing Catholic” radio program set to debut at 9 p.m. July 25 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
“The first thing that pops into my mind of sacrificial love is, I think, suffering,” Steiner said. “A lot of times in our culture we are, at least I am, so averse to suffering and we try to avoid suffering at all costs and that’s not what God is calling us to do. He’s calling us to embrace our suffering. And I think with motherhood, especially in pregnancy, there’s a lot of suffering and a lot of giving yourself to those around you and for the good of those around you, including and not limited to your children. And then your husband as well. And God does such a beautiful job of teaching us that through parenting and motherhood.”
Johnson had a similar idea, imagining sacrifice as Jesus on the cross. She explained that in her 20s, she lived in a culture of doing whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. Transitioning into marriage and motherhood, life looked completely different.
“It still is a difficult transition for me to just, in the little decisions and the big decisions, be sacrificing (and) at the same time taking care of myself as well,” Johnson said. “God actually does call us to have boundaries in our family. … That balance is a challenge.”
Steiner said that before getting married and having kids, she had an idea of what that would look like, but she didn’t realize how difficult it would be.
“You only have to worry about yourself and then you add your husband on to it, but he’s a fully capable man, so it’s not like you have to put his shoes on for him or anything but you have to figure out your life together,” Steiner said.
But being a mother is the most beautiful thing God gave her, Steiner said.
“It’s going to be a hard journey, but it’s much easier if you go along with Christ,” she said.
Johnson said the beauty of being a mother is in receiving God’s love.
“As (women), we were created to receive that,” Johnson said. “That’s a big part of who we are.”
To hear the full interview with host Patrick Conley, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which repeats at 1 p.m. July 26 and 2 p.m. July 27.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes an interview with Archbishop Bernard Hebda about the archdiocese’s 175th anniversary. Also, Dave Hrbacek, photographer for the Catholic Spirit, recounts an interview he had with Father Zachary Ochsenbauer and Father Ochsenbauer’s father, Tom Ochsenbauer.
Listen to interviews after they have aired at archspm.org/faith-and-discipleship/practicing-catholic or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.
