Author: Emily Capps

Emily Capps is a passionately Catholic creative writer, blogger, songwriter, and photographer. She received her BA in Writing and minor in Sacred Music from Franciscan University of Steubenville. Inspired by God's call to St. Francis to "Rebuild my Church," she uses writing to share the Catholic Faith and the fullness of truth and abundant graces that Christ offers us through His Church.
Where Are All the Married Saints?: A Woman’s Perspective on Discernment

Where Are All the Married Saints?: A Woman’s Perspective on Discernment

Emily Capps
Originally published on Beloved Dreamer by Emily Capps

Growing up in a Catholic home-school family, I often read stories about the saints—stories of great men and women dedicating their lives to God in extraordinary ways. They would leave behind all their possessions to the poor, fast for long periods of time, practice acts of self-denial, and spend hours each day in meditation and prayer. They chose to consecrate themselves as perpetual virgins for the Lord, and truly answered the call to leave behind everything to follow Him.

I too wanted to be a saint. And I recognized that this extreme asceticism was not everyone’s calling, and that some of the saints were even advised by their superiors to stop certain extreme practices. I knew that there was more than one way to sainthood, that each of us is called to a different vocation. But at the same time, as I grew older and started discerning my own vocation, I started to wonder: Where were all the stories about married saints? Was marriage not an equally holy vocation?

Read more →