REGINA: How does your faith inform your life as a mother?
Christine: The Catholic faith informs everything I think, say and do as a mother. I take seriously the charge of the saints that the eternal welfare of the parents depends on the eternal welfare of the children; in other words, if I fail to bring my children to Heaven through my laxity, then I should fear for my eternal soul.
REGINA: Is this a challenge?
Christine: I'm a single mother, which presents its own challenges. Eleven years into my civil marriage, pregnant with my fourth child, I realized that my marriage was null and void, as I had married in a Protestant service without a dispensation from the bishop. As an uninformed Catholic at the time of my vows, I had no idea of any of this, of course, and it was only some years after my return to the Faith that this was all made clear to me. Immediately on the realization of my circumstances, we lived chastely as brother and sister, and attempted to work through various difficulties before any attempt to convalidate the union. It was an extremely difficult time, but after many months of prayer and effort, along with the counsel and guidance of a faithful FSSP priest, it became clear that convalidation was not a possibility.
REGINA: Wow. And today?
Christine: Although single motherhood is not the ideal and presents challenges daily, Our Lord is faithful, and never abandons His children who turn to Him in their need. One of my favorite phrases is Deus providebit — God provides. Sometimes you have to be taken to the precipice in order to understand and believe that, but it's true — God does provide.
REGINA: How did you come to work for CM?
Christine: I wrote a paper for ChurchMilitant.com analyzing Bp. Robert Barron's "Catholicism" series in Fall of 2013. Michael Voris was happy enough with the research and writing that I received an invitation in April 2014 to come visit the studio. The invitation was rather out of the blue, and I was happily caught off guard by it. I'd been a big supporter of the apostolate for a few years, and knew some of the staff. I arrived to Detroit on June 15, 2014 — I would realize later it was the 10-year anniversary of the death of Michael's mother, Anne, to whom he credits his return to the Faith and the start of his apostolate. A few days later I was hired. It was an auspicious beginning to a wonderful time as part of this apostolate.
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