Introducing Colleen Jurkiewicz Dorman — Writer of (Practicing) Catholic

LPi is pleased to present a new writer for our weekly reflection, (Practicing) Catholic, available in WeCreate — Colleen Jurkiewicz Dorman. Dorman is an experienced writer in the Catholic community and beyond and has been contributing to LPi for years in many different ways! To introduce her to you here, we interviewed her about her life, writing practice, and faith. Here’s what she had to say!

Q. Where are you from and what is the name of your home parish? Tell us a little something about you.

A. I have lived in the greater Milwaukee area all my life. My family and I attend St. Eugene in Fox Point, the same parish where I was baptized, received my First Holy Communion, and was married. My children have all been baptized there as well — except for my son, who had a hospital baptism. St. Eugene is a really special place to me because of the history that my family has there. Growing up, we worshipped alongside my grandparents, aunt, and cousins at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass each week, and that really impacted me. That’s why we have stayed there, because of my extended family. I want the same experience for my children. I want them to witness, every week, the people they love putting their faith first.

Q. Where do you draw your inspiration from for these reflections?

A. I’m extremely humbled to be writing these reflections, and I often find it a little daunting — who am I to be opining on the word of God? So, I always start with prayer. I offer all of the words I am going to write, and every action I am going to take, to the Blessed Mother and ask her to lay it at the feet of Jesus and pray that it will be a pleasing offering to him. I hope and pray that my inspiration is from the Holy Spirit but, anyone who reads the blog knows that so much of my perspective is shaped by my marriage and motherhood. That’s my particular path of discipleship — especially right now, when my children are young and require a great deal of physical care and attention. God is most present to me, speaking to me and teaching me, in the domestic life I share with the husband and children he has blessed me with. 

Q. Do you have a favorite Bible story that you have enjoyed writing about and why?

A. Any of Christ’s miracles — they’re just so rich with symbolism, and there are so many different ways into each story. 

Q. What is a fun fact about you?

A. Writing fiction used to be my biggest passion, and I always dream about being able to do that again. Maybe when the kids grow up…

Q. What has been an unexpected blessing that has come from your work on (Practicing) Catholic?

A. To sit down and reflect on the Sunday Mass readings, one after the other in a short span of time, has given me a profound appreciation for how the Liturgy of the Word is put together and how it flows so beautifully throughout the liturgical year. The readings are so complementary in so many surprising ways. They illuminate each other, and each week really builds on the message or theme of the last week. That’s something that never struck me quite this deeply before.

Q. Why do you think (Practicing) Catholic is important?

A. Whenever I write, whether I’m writing one of these reflections or working on another project, my prayer is that God will use the words to bring someone, somewhere, closer to him. Essentially, this is what makes anyone’s work important — whether you’re a doctor saving lives in the emergency department or a cashier at a grocery store. If you make an offering of what you do, it becomes important because God is working in it.

Q. What is a special Catholic tradition that you love? 

A. Donuts after Mass. Oh, you mean, like, a real one? Okay, this is OG Catholic — the phrase “offer it up.” I love it so much. It’s my battle cry as I charge into a day of nonsense that I don’t feel like doing. 

Q. How long have you worked as a writer for (Practicing) Catholic? And for LPi?

A. I have been writing for LPi for almost three years and have been working on the (Practicing) Catholic project since last year.

Q. What are some other ways you live out your faith? 

A. I wish I could say I was one of those amazing, tireless volunteer types who devotes hours and hours to her parish or a worthy apostolate, but alas — this is not the season for that! Everything is very centered on my home and family for me at the moment. I will say, though, that I definitely feel that I live out my faith in the homeschooling of my children. It’s something that is challenging and time-consuming and little understood by others, but it’s a true vocation. It gives me true joy.

Q. What do you hope to pass along to our readers? 

A. The reason I wanted to call these reflections (Practicing) Catholic is because I love the play on the word “practicing.” It implies training, preparation, a desire to constantly improve, and the reality of constant failure, too. We’re all Catholic, yes, but we’re all just practicing, right? Essentially, that is what I want our readers to take away from these reflections — that we are all works in progress. None of us gets it right all the time, but we have to invite God into the process.

Churches who print their bulletins with LPi have full access to WeCreate for free! If you don’t publish with us, reach out to us to get started. You can also purchase a stand-alone subscription to WeCreate and receive full access to content like the (Practicing) Catholic reflection and more here.

Updated on 03-13-2024