Mother-Daughter Tea

Want to know the secret to raising happy daughters? 

How about trust, acceptance, open communication, and unconditional love.

All moms need help from time to time as we guide our daughters through the turbulent teen years. Moms need a community of support – one that encourages them and affirms their values.The “Wonderfully Made” Mother-Daughter Tea empowers mothers to pass on the wisdom of their experience about fertility awareness, positive body image and human dignity from the Catholic perspective (CLICK HERE for the "Wonderfully Made" Resource Page for Catholic Moms; CLICK HERE for Additional Resources).

A relationship built on trust and open communication between moms and daughters is essential through every stage of womanhood - from pre-teen to teen to adult and beyond. The "Wonderfully Made" Mother-Daughter Tea is a celebration of the special bond between mothers and daughters. It's the perfect way to honor the unique relationship that connects generations of women in each family - grandmothers, mothers, aunts, sisters and daughters. Read all about the launch of the Mother-Daughter Tea here.

All girls are made in the image and likeness of God. They are wonderfully made and by their baptism they are daughters of the King. The “Wonderfully Made” Mother-Daughter Tea features these activities:

• A fun and fanciful tea party with all the trimmings - special tea sandwiches, desserts, and assorted teas

• A special program with three teaching segments designed to give moms and daughters a new understanding of God's beautiful plan for fertility and motherhood:

1. Segment One: Human dignity, chastity, positive body image, self-esteem, authentic love

2. Segment Two: Introduction to fertility awareness for girls age 10 -13 

3. Segment Three: Breakout sessions that include a mothers-only panel discussion and a daughters-only craft activity

NOTE TO MOMS: This program includes a brief introduction to the process of puberty and menstruation as well as basic reproductive female anatomy. The terms “sexual intercourse” and “sperm” will be mentioned in the context of conception and childbirth but no parts of the male anatomy or technical aspects of intercourse will be shown or discussed.

To bring the "Wonderfully Made" Mother-Daughter Tea to your parish, contact Belem Perez, Department of Evangelization and Family Life; [email protected]; 609-403-7133. 

"I praise you, because I am wonderfully made." Psalm 139:14

More About the Program - A Catholic Approach to Becoming a Woman

Raising daughters to become strong and confident women who will recognize their God-given gifts and maximize their full human potential can feel like a daunting task for Catholic mothers in today's world. One day your sweet little daughter wants to hold your hand and be just like you in every way. To her you can do no wrong. Then suddenly, seemingly out of the blue, this same sweet girl becomes a recalcitrant pre-teen who rolls her eyes at your every suggestion. She is more influenced by her peers than her own loving family. Your daughter is becoming a woman - the most natural process in the world but also one of the scariest.
The "Wonderfully Made" Mother-Daughter Tea gives Catholic moms the tools and on-going resources to openly discuss and teach their daughters all aspects of becoming a woman through each new stage of their development from the Catholic perspective.

To fully equip moms to impart their wisdom from a Christ-centered standpoint, the Mother-Daughter program offers three distinct but interconnected teaching segments that include resources intended to be used by moms with their daughters at home. 

Segment One - Chastity and Human Dignity

The first segment of the "Wonderfully Made" Mother-Daughter program deals with the importance of the mother-daughter relationship because all girls need their mothers (or a trusted mother figure) to teach them how to respect themselves and their bodies, understand their inherent value as human persons created in God's image, and learn to make the right choices in their friendships and future dating relationships. As Catholic mothers and daughters, a personal relationship with Jesus along with reliance on Mary, our most Holy Mother, is essential. Topics in this segment include:

• The unique bond of mothers and daughters throughout the ages – ever ancient, ever new

• Daughter of the King of kings – you are precious and wonderfully made; your dignity comes from God, your creator, and cannot be taken away

• Chastity – honoring the sacredness of our bodies and the gift of our fertility; never to use others or be used by others

• Authentic love – all things are done for our own good and the good of others according to God’s plan

The happiest moms and daughters – made for love, to be loved and to give love; to know and be fully known; relationship based on trust, mutual respect and open communication.

Segment Two - Introduction to Fertility Awareness

The second segment of the Mother-Daughter program offers the basics of fertility awareness including an explanation of puberty (growth and development), menstruation and an introduction to the female reproductive system, all from the Catholic perspective. The miracle of fertility and procreation is an awesome gift and responsibility. Honoring the sacred gift of our femininity helps us to appreciate all that comes with the cycle of fertility and the hormonal changes that impact our daily lives. Mothers are best at helping their daughters to understand the on-going changes they must undergo to one day become a strong and confident woman - one who loves the Lord.

The take-home resource for mothers for this segment is the Couple to Couple League Mother-Daughter area - a complete set of instructional videos and downloadable resources for moms and daughters divided into three age groups: 1) Girls Ages 9-12; 2) Ages 13-15; 3) Ages 15-18. The Mother-Daughter area also includes a mother daughter community, a private group of like-minded moms to share on such topics as when to discuss the facts of life, chastity education and what's a normal cycle.
   

Segment Three - Mothers-Only Panel Discussion

The final segment of the Mother Daughter program is a mothers-only panel discussion that takes place at the same time as the daughters-only craft activity where girls will be creating special gifts for their moms.This facilitated discussion will begin with a special presentation on the gift of motherhood (with our Blessed Mother Mary as our role model) and the unique dignity of all women. The goal of this final segment is to provide practical solutions to the greatest challenges of raising faith-filled Catholic daughters in a secular world, and shed light on the supernatural bond between mothers and daughters.

According to St. John Paul II in his 1995 Letter to Women,

"the Church sees in the face of women the reflection of a beauty which mirrors the loftiest sentiments of which the human heart is capable: the self-offering totality of love; the strength that is capable of bearing the greatest sorrows; limitless fidelity and tireless devotion to work; the ability to combine penetrating intuition with words of support and encouragement."

As human persons we are all wounded and in need of healing and forgiveness, yet God gives all mothers the grace to respond with authentic love to the myriad joys and challenges of raising daughters according to His plan. Even when we feel unworthy to parent our daughters appropriately because of mistakes we may have made in our past, we are blessed with a Catholic faith that reminds us that our God never gives up on us. 

As Catholics we can transform our mistakes and our deepest wounds through the power of the cross and the Sacrament of Reconciliation to become the best teachers, advisors, and wisdom sources for our daughters. We also have the on-going support of our Catholic Faith Community, but most importantly, we have Jesus who gives himself to us freely, totally, faithfully and fruitfully in the Eucharist - we have it all!

Meet our Speakers:

Katelyn San Severino (Chastity Speaker from Generation Life)

Katelyn San Severino serves as the Director of Programs for Generation Life which is a dynamic movement of young people committed to building a culture of life by educating other young people on the pro-life and chastity messages. Gen Life believes that by spreading the message of chastity, we can end abortion at its root cause.

Katelyn graduated with her bachelor's degree in Psychology from Temple University. A few years after college, Katelyn experienced her own conversion which led to her full-time work as a pro-life and chastity speaker. She has a heart for speaking to young women on finding their worth and identity in Christ. When she is not speaking in the classroom Katelyn stays busy running around with her toddler. She is grateful to be able to share the joyful messages of life and love over a warm cup of tea!

Introduction to Fertility/Becoming a Woman: Catherine Ziesmer...

Catherine Ziesmer is a member of St. Denis parish and has worked extensively in various volunteer ministries with a strong foundation in Pope St. John Paul II's Theology of the Body.

Catherine is a university graduate and the recipient of the Reverend Bishop O'Connell Scholarship - a four year full-tuition scholarship to the Catholic University of America with a Bachelor’s Degree in Art History, Criticism and Conservation.

Catherine is able to leverage her strong work ethic and customer service expertise to liaise between artists, clients, and leadership. She is sdept at conducting outreach to donors, brainstorming audience development strategies, and developing innovative art programs and events.  She speaks fluent Italian and is proficient in Spanish. Catherine currently works for a Manhattan based firm in her field, and generously offers her services in spreading the beautiful teachings of our Catholic Church especially for teens and young adults.

Chastity/Human Dignity Speaker: Enza Cerami

Enza Cerami is a certified Catechist and professional speaker on the topic of chastity.  She has presented the pro-life and chastity message to youth and young adults in New Jersey for the past 14 years.  Enza has served in Youth and Young Adult Ministry in the Archdiocese of Newark, the Diocese of Metuchen, and the Diocese of Trenton.  She is also a licensed social worker, with a BA in Psychology from Fairleigh Dickinson University and an MS in Clinical Social Work from Columbia University. 

Prior to her career as a speaker, Enza worked with victims of domestic violence as a counselor, and helped train domestic violence response volunteers in Union County, New Jersey.  Her greatest treasure, besides knowing Jesus Christ, is being a mom to her two daughters. Enza Cerami is a certified Catechist and professional speaker on the topic of chastity. 

She has presented the pro-life and chastity message to youth and young adults in New Jersey for the past 14 years.  Enza has served in Youth and Young Adult Ministry in the Archdiocese of Newark, the Diocese of Metuchen, and the Diocese of Trenton.  She is also a licensed social worker, with a BA in Psychology from Fairleigh Dickinson University and an MS in Clinical Social Work from Columbia University.  Prior to her career as a speaker, Enza worked with victims of domestic violence as a counselor, and helped train domestic violence response volunteers in Union County, New Jersey.  Her greatest treasure, besides knowing Jesus Christ, is being a mom to her two daughters.