Merry Mary-Marthas: Chats with Catholic women exemplifying the feminine genius in the world and in the home.
Meet Olivia Spears,
wife, mother, and blog manager for BlessedIsShe.net
Olivia Spears lives in Kentucky, where sweet tea and bourbon flow like milk and honey. She holds degrees in Theology and Catechetics from the Franciscan University of Steubenville and works from home while enjoying her children and husband. She curates relevant and inspiring content for Catholic women as Blog Manager. She is the narrator of Set a Fire, And Hay Became Holy, and All She Had as well as a contributing author for Rise Up.
Tell us a little bit about yourself – your family, hobbies, experiences, education, etc., basically anything you’d like to share.
I am a wife to my high school best friend turned college sweetheart, and the mother of four children. We live in my hometown in Kentucky. Home is our central hub, and it’s the place I get to make for my family, the place we educate our children, and the place I work part-time in ministry. I graduated with degrees in Theology and Catechetics from the Franciscan University of Steubenville and have worked in catechesis and evangelization in some capacity ever since.
What is your apostolate? How do you bring truth, beauty and goodness to the world? How did your ministry/apostolate begin?
My work with Blessed is She began at its beginning. When the Lord put this vision on Jenna’s heart, I was one of the humbled women she reached out to about writing devotions based on the daily readings. It’s been a joy to be a part of ever since. For the last 5 years, I have managed the Blog arm of the Blessed is She ministry and it has been a great delight! I work with a team of incredible women from all backgrounds and walks of life to curate and create content that seeks to help women develop a Catholic worldview. We write about everything from the deep to the practical to the seemingly silly. We hope to help Catholic women see everything in their lives through the lens of the Faith.
What have you struggled with and how have you managed to balance the interior life of Mary, with the exterior life of Martha? Tell us about your practice of prayer and any special devotions you have, and how this supports/enhances your apostolate.
I’ve learned through experience that the only fruit worth bearing is of the Lord, and that means that I must be in regular and devoted communion with Him. Ultimately, He wants my heart, not my productivity. Through seasons of consolation and desolation, then, my call is to come to Him. This life of prayer requires patience, perseverance, fidelity, and a responsiveness to grace; and if I want more of Him to show forth in my life, then my life must be His.
Practically, this means I must be ruthless about my priorities. He has made my calling clear and, as long as I keep first things first, He blesses and expands my time. This requires constant adjustment and evaluation, for life is always changing! But He has proven faithful to me in my feeble efforts.
Finally, reliance upon Him is the only way, even when I’m tempted to think otherwise!
Where can we learn more about you and your apostolate and new projects?
blessedisshe.net/blog
