Twelve Stripes Deep

“You may not realize it when it happens, but akick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”

— Walt Disney

The lights were dimmed low and the darkness was pierced only by flashing neon lights and cell phones ready to record the show. The atmosphere of a concert was set. The bass danced out of the speakers and vibrated onto my skin. Over one hundred teens approached the stage with their hands raised and knees bouncing along with the beat, ready to be entertained. The adults followed suit behind them. My heart pounded with each passing second as I waited for my name to be called by the headliner on stage. I was about to join him for my very first rap performance. 

I can imagine the look of confusion that I have just painted across your face...

“Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul.”

— Saint Augustine

She is a little clumsy and prefers fruity desserts over chocolate ones, just like her daddy. She makes funny faces and loves to draw, like me. She is tiny and dark-skinned with jet black hair like her birth mother. She is nearly three and a half feet of sweet, smiling, princess-loving perfection and we wouldn’t have her any other way. We also, quite literally, wouldn’t have our daughter any other way than through adoption. 

It’s hard to approach this next topic because I want to do itjustice. It’s one that is so close to my heart that I get emotional when thinking about the pure joy we receive by the mere presence of our adopted daughter. I can no longer fathom a world where I desire anything–even pregnancy–over the opportunity to wake her up every morning...

Explore my newest book: "Holding Space for Joy: A Prayer Companion for Women Struggling with Infertility" published by Our Sunday Visitor.

I am blown away by Kelle's story of motherhood in her childhood family, as a speech therapist, in the convent, and far beyond. Kelle Serio grew up as the oldest of four children and has a ton of cousins. She graduated from LSU with a Masters in Speech Therapy and worked for a total of nine years between DC and Louisiana. After that, she spent four years in the convent of the Nashville Dominicans before discerning that God was calling her to have a relationship with him in a different way.

She nannied for about a year in Louisiana and is currently the Director of Faith Formation and Pastoral Care at Mary Queen of Peace Church, a student at the Institute of Lay Ecclesiastical Ministry at Notre Dame Seminary, and is trained as a coach with Metanoia Catholic. Kelle loves being active and listening to others. She has always wanted 10 kids and at 44 years old has never been married.

Contact her for coaching at [email protected].

Listen to one of my favorite chapters - Spiritual. Freaking. Motherhood. where I hope to completely flip the way you think about this special quality that God gifts all women with. I intentionally titled it this way to get your attention because spiritual motherhood is often thought of as a consolation prize or something unimportant because it isn't as tangible as a child. Enough with that!

The world needs YOUR spiritual motherhood whether you have 15 children or none.

In this episode, you will hear some of the best quotes from Mulieris Dignitatem and some of my rapping!

Explore my new book on infertility:

“Love to be real, it must cost—it must hurt—it must empty us of self.” 

— Saint Theresa of Calcutta

IVF is often limited to an idea, or a promise made to infertile couples of achieving and maintaining a pregnancy. But at what expense? Are these empty promises? Are women and couples fully informed of the processes? Do they fully understand what is *not* happening with ART? Are they aware of their alternatives? If we truly took the time to sit with the discomfort of infertility and the truth of IVF, would we decide that it is really a path that is best?

Maybe you would or maybe you wouldn't, I don't know. My husband and I took the time and fervently decided that it would not be best for us, and I have never looked back because sitting in that discomfort was so hard, but so fruitful. And it continues to be.

This is why I devoted an entire chapter to IVF, and more specifically, the topic of artificial reproductive technologies (ART). I look at this topic from physical, health, practical, financial, and spiritual perspectives.

My new book is now available at the OSV Bookstore and Amazon! Holding Space for Joy: A Prayer Companion for Women Struggling with Infertility

Chapter 6: My New Best Friend

“We are to love God for Himself, because of a twofold reason; nothing is more reasonable, nothing more profitable.” 

— Saint Bernard of Clairvaux 

On top of the infertility I had been dealing with for years, God was still withholding consolation from me after that painful experience on my “worst day ever.” But on the following day as I sat on my living room sofa contemplating life and searching for direction in an abyss of loneliness, God dropped some golden breadcrumbs for me. As I scrolled through my phone, I stumbled upon some quotes by a woman who was about to become my new favorite saint: the one and only Teresa of Avila (Insert heart emoji here).

“In light of heaven, the worst suffering on earth will be seen to be no more serious than one night in an inconvenient hotel.”

“I do not fear Satan half as much as I fear those who do fear him.” (Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila)

“To reach something good it is very useful to have gone astray, and thus acquire experience.” (Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila)

“I don’t know what heavy penance I would not have gladly

 “May God protect me from gloomy saints.”

And my favorite: 

“[Lord,] If this is how you treat your friends, no wonder why you have so many enemies.”

“Trust in God’s Providence, interfering – as it

― Saint Mary Mackillop

"I had certainly been rejected in the past, from the first

We experience rejection from an array of sources and to varying degrees of intensity on a weekly, and sometimes daily, basis. The first acquisitions editor who rejected my book proposal was incredibly kind and very constructive. But I still wanted to go cry in a corner and give up because I decided I wasn’t good enough. Often little lies about who we are and how God created us begin to creep in, sewing doubt and stealing our joy. Hearing lies in and of themselves doesn’t necessarily cause damage––but believing them does.

Learn more at marygbruno.com.

This is an interview with Christina Valenzuela, owner of Pearl & Thistle, a Certified Boston Crosscheck instructor, and author of the new book: "The Language of Your Body: Embracing God's Design for Your Cycle," published by Our Sunday Visitor. This is the first book of its kind and it is pretty spectacular.

Purchase Christina's new book "The Language of Your Body: Embracing God's Design for Your Cycle" here:

God keeps the entire Universe in order, and still finds time to take a personal interest in you and me.

— Mother Angelica

"I never imagined the challenges I’d experience

Let us love, since that is what our hearts were made for.

— Saint Therese of Lisieux

 "He has a little bit of a temper and I can hold a solid grudge. We are sometimes awful at communicating and about stealing bed sheets, drive each other crazy on occasion, and only one of us likes country music (it

Pre-order my next book about infertility here: