When You Feel Like You’re Failing – Remember Peter
June 29, 2025 at 8:43 a.m.
Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul
There’s a certain kind of guilt that comes with motherhood when you’re trying to raise your kids in the Catholic faith. Sometimes it sneaks up on you when you forget your child’s baptismal day, or when you don’t leave oranges and gold coins in little shoes for St. Nicholas Day. Other times, it hits you during Mass – like when your preschooler yells, “Can we get donuts now?!” right in the middle of the homily.
I want my kids to love Jesus. I want them to grow up with a deep faith and to know how LOVED they are by the Creator of the universe. But some days, I can’t even get through a 10-minute prayer time without someone asking for a snack or a trip to the bathroom. I feel like I’m failing.
But then I remember Peter.
Before I got married, I lived with religious sisters in Bolivia while volunteering and discerning religious life. I truly believed I might be called to be a sister – serving God in community, in silence, in a life of prayer. But God called me to something different. He called me to build a domestic church – not one made of stone and stained glass, but of sticky hands, sippy cups, and bedtime prayers. And I said yes.
Even though I know this vocation is from God, I often feel like I’m falling short. I forget to pray with my kids. I lose my temper, a lot. I struggle to get them to pay attention at Mass – or to pay attention myself. I wonder if I’m really giving God the home He asked me to build.
And again… I remember Peter. Peter, who dropped his nets – the only life he knew – to follow Jesus. Peter, who walked on water… until he didn’t. Who spoke before thinking, promised more than he could deliver, and denied the One he loved most.
And still, Jesus chose him. Not just to be a disciple, but to be the rock. In this weekend’s Gospel, we hear Jesus say: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church.” Jesus didn’t choose Peter because he was perfect. He chose him because despite his flaws, he believed. Because he kept showing up.
Peter gives me hope. Because I’m not a perfect mom – but I keep showing up.
If you’re feeling like you’re failing – at parenting, at faith, at life – remember Peter. God isn’t looking for perfection. He’s looking for hearts that love Him and keep coming back.
The Church wasn’t built on Peter’s perfection. It was built on his YES. And so is my domestic church.
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Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul
There’s a certain kind of guilt that comes with motherhood when you’re trying to raise your kids in the Catholic faith. Sometimes it sneaks up on you when you forget your child’s baptismal day, or when you don’t leave oranges and gold coins in little shoes for St. Nicholas Day. Other times, it hits you during Mass – like when your preschooler yells, “Can we get donuts now?!” right in the middle of the homily.
I want my kids to love Jesus. I want them to grow up with a deep faith and to know how LOVED they are by the Creator of the universe. But some days, I can’t even get through a 10-minute prayer time without someone asking for a snack or a trip to the bathroom. I feel like I’m failing.
But then I remember Peter.
Before I got married, I lived with religious sisters in Bolivia while volunteering and discerning religious life. I truly believed I might be called to be a sister – serving God in community, in silence, in a life of prayer. But God called me to something different. He called me to build a domestic church – not one made of stone and stained glass, but of sticky hands, sippy cups, and bedtime prayers. And I said yes.
Even though I know this vocation is from God, I often feel like I’m falling short. I forget to pray with my kids. I lose my temper, a lot. I struggle to get them to pay attention at Mass – or to pay attention myself. I wonder if I’m really giving God the home He asked me to build.
And again… I remember Peter. Peter, who dropped his nets – the only life he knew – to follow Jesus. Peter, who walked on water… until he didn’t. Who spoke before thinking, promised more than he could deliver, and denied the One he loved most.
And still, Jesus chose him. Not just to be a disciple, but to be the rock. In this weekend’s Gospel, we hear Jesus say: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church.” Jesus didn’t choose Peter because he was perfect. He chose him because despite his flaws, he believed. Because he kept showing up.
Peter gives me hope. Because I’m not a perfect mom – but I keep showing up.
If you’re feeling like you’re failing – at parenting, at faith, at life – remember Peter. God isn’t looking for perfection. He’s looking for hearts that love Him and keep coming back.
The Church wasn’t built on Peter’s perfection. It was built on his YES. And so is my domestic church.