Body of Christ
Tess Linn and her husband, Steve, live in Elm Grove with their three children. They attend St. Mary’s Visitation Parish and love it!
Linn enjoys sharing meals and playing board games with friends. She also loves taking walks, playing guitar and piano, listening to music or podcasts, baking, watching movies, or scrolling Pinterest for fun house ideas.
A meaningful faith practice is reading and reflecting on the daily readings, especially the Gospel.
Why do you love being Catholic?
The Catholic faith has been something that calls me back to my most fundamental identity as a beloved daughter of God. I’ve received so much love from the Father, and every instance when I feel his hand in my life, I am reminded of his love and of his good plan for me. These reminders come most in the sacraments. The joy, mercy and grace that follow the sacraments are testimony of God’s everlasting love.
I also love being Catholic because I haven’t found anything that smells better than the holy chrism oil.
Tell us about your family of origin.
I’m number five of eight kids in my family. I have five beautiful sisters and two brothers (I guess they are also beautiful). My parents both grew up in the Milwaukee area, and after my dad’s residency, they landed in Green Bay. We were a rowdy bunch, and our house was usually noisy with everyone singing different songs all at once, but when we got to sing together, some real beauty happened. Our family made up the youth choir at our church and singing together is something we still love to do as a family.
My siblings have become my best friends and my greatest protection in all of life’s struggles and hardships. I’m very blessed that those struggles have been few, but my family has been an anchor for me and have made me receptive to healing in my life.
St. John Paul II’s idea that the family is the “school of reconciliation” where we first learn
forgiveness is something I have found true within my own family. It’s something Steve and I have carried into the lives of our children as well. Life has become about repair, teaching each other how to love and asking for forgiveness when we fall short. My family is such a gift, and I hope my kids feel as close to their siblings as I do with mine.
What is bringing you joy right now?
I’ve been finding a lot of joy in playing music again. I took piano lessons as a kid and have been relearning some old pieces that I loved. More recently, I’ve been learning some songs on the guitar too.
What are you reading?
I’ve been reading “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt and am slowly making my way through “The Life of Christ” by Fulton Sheen. I joined a Well-Read Mom group last year and plan to pick up again this fall with some Jane Austen.
How does your faith inform how you live/how you parent?
The goal of life is to know, love and serve God in this life and to be happy with him in the next. When I keep it in mind, this goal shapes every moment of the day by constantly prodding, “What would God have me do?”
Living this out within in the family means asking for the daily grace to grow closer to Jesus, to be a faithful spouse, to be a loving parent and to serve God in the little moments of the day. Some moments it is clear God is refining my virtues, and maybe more often exposing my vices, by allowing opportunity to grow in love even when family life feels hard or tiring. On the other hand, keeping heaven in mind also reveals the heavenly moments hidden within the ordinary. As the toddler tantrum subsides, I experience repair with my daughter. In teaching gentleness after my toddler slaps me, I receive the purity in my son’s kisses and hugs. As I’m sitting in the stillness of the early morning, I experience deep peace in holding my baby, knowing she rests fully secure in my arms. My faith makes the hard moments meaningful and makes the good moments even more joyful.
What is a challenge for Catholic families with young children right now? How are you handling that?
I think a newer challenge in parenting is keeping children connected with reality. Maybe this is the ideas of Jonathan Haidt speaking, but it seems all too easy for kids (and adults) to live in the virtual world and lose sight of the tangible lives in front of them. As they get older, they may be bombarded with opinions and views of the world that are not of God, so maintaining a heavenly perspective seems all the more pressing.
