Two Catholic mothers have teamed up to fulfil their shared desire to support Australian Catholic mums by launching a new digital initiative promoting the dignity and beauty of motherhood.
Litany of the Home, a mission developed by friends Beck Hanrahan and Steph Philippou, seeks to provide Catholic mothers with relevant, Australian-based content; support to help build a life of prayer and virtue; and resources to raise children in the life of the Church.
The website features content supplied by Catholic mothers from around Australia, including personal reflections, testimonies of faith and liturgical living inspiration.
Launched online in April, Litany of the Home has been several years in the making as Beck and Steph explored ways of creating a platform for mothers to celebrate and share their experiences, skills and knowledge.
“Hundreds of hours have gone into this project,” Beck says. “We’ve done all of it through prayer, and we have tried to be led by the Holy Spirit in our decisions. The more we went down this road, the more we really felt there was a need.
“We hope to provide content that is useful and uplifting, and inclusive for all Catholic mothers, wherever they are in their motherhood and faith journey, whether they are working outside of the home or not, married or single – it doesn’t matter. All mothers need encouragement and all mothers are called to holiness.”
For 28-year-old Beck, becoming a mother three years ago made her realise the importance of other mums sharing their insights into motherhood.
“I’ve been a mum for a very short time, and I can see that the learning will never stop,” she says. “I am blessed to know many wise and holy Catholic mothers that I can learn from. You can get quite an echo chamber in social media, there’s a lot of voices and opinions, but not necessarily Catholic voices.”
The aesthetics of Litany of the Home’s digital presence – its website, Facebook and Instagram pages – was something Beck and Steph paid particular attention to, in recognition that “beauty speaks to women”.
“Motherhood is hard and there is suffering, it’s a sacrifice, but it is also beautiful and we are to find joy in the vocation,” Steph says. “We wanted to reflect that beauty in the style of the website.”
The many hours spent in conversation, prayer and decision-making reflect the pair’s goal of making Litany of the Home a sustainable, continuous mission, particularly in the midst of their own busy lives.
“We didn’t want this to be something that was just done on a whim that would fizzle out very quickly,” Steph says. “We want this work to be manageable for us. That’s why a lot of prayer and preparation went into it. We consecrated it to Our Lady and it’s purely led by the Holy Spirit.”
As part of their initial planning, Beck and Steph surveyed Catholic mothers in Australia on what content they were seeking and the topics they were interested in most.
“Two things stood out – one was that a lot of them felt isolated and another was the desire for some kind of practical support,” Steph says. “That’s really hard to address through a website, but I think there’s a need there that the Church could meet at a parish level.
“It might require parishioners to find out who’s really struggling with morning sickness so that a meal could be dropped in to them. Or if there’s going to be Bible studies at the parish, having some parishioners run a little creche so the mothers can bring their kids along.”
Society’s emphasis on prosperity, position and social status has obscured and diminished the value of motherhood, Steph says, something which Litany of the Home seeks to rectify by helping mothers reclaim and restore the dignity and beauty of motherhood.
“Speaking more to who we are as women – our ‘feminine genius’ as St John Paul II called it – is better than discourse on whether we’re a hustling mum, got a side business, are a career mum, or getting it all done at home perfectly,” she says.
“There is a subconscious emphasis on that and I think that’s why a lot of mothers do struggle today, because they’re wrapping up their worth in what they do and not who they are, created by God as women.”
Recognising that mothers have varying experiences based on factors like their age, location and faith background, Beck and Steph say Litany of the Home attempts to showcase a wide range of perspectives.
“We come from different seasons of motherhood,” Steph explains. “I’m in the middle of my parenting journey and Beck is in the early stages, so we both bring those different perspectives.”
A mother of eight, Steph says she has a “heart for evangelisation” and a strong desire to help others know the joy of living in Christ – traits she says led her to take up Beck’s invitation to join forces in setting up Litany of the Home.
“We do it because we enjoy it and believe in it,” Beck says.
“It’s already very challenging, but there’s a love and joy and an excitement… in spreading an uplifting and hopeful message.”
It’s a mission that Beck and Steph are hoping will appeal to other Catholics mothers, who they’re inviting to contribute their skills and to share their experiences and unique insights.
“This work is a collaboration with other mothers,” Steph says. “At the moment our team extends to two editors, but we’re calling on mothers all across Australia to write and share their wisdom on all sorts of topics.
“Something I write is going to touch someone, but it’s not going to touch everybody… and that’s why we want to unearth the treasure that we have here in Australia – the wisdom of different mothers that have something valuable to share.”
As Litany of the Home grows and develops, Beck says the mission remains ultimately dependent upon God’s plans for it.
“We’ve got big dreams and hopes of other things that we could accomplish,” she says. “We’d love to have a big team if the Lord wills it, to be able to do things that are relevant and helpful for Catholic mums.
“We’re asking people to pray for this mission and to support us in whatever way they can. If you’re a Catholic mum, you don’t need any kind of qualification other than your experience and your faith.”
This article first appeared in the August 2024 edition of The Bridge, the newsletter of the National Centre for Evangelisation. Reproduced with permission.
