3 minute read
Nell O’Leary: Blessed Is She
Blessed is She
The Power of Sisterhood and Community
by Laura Neutzling
As the middle child in a family of seven in St. Paul, Minnesota, attorney-turnedwriter Nell O’Leary learned the power of community early in her life—not only with the convenient built-in community she had with her four siblings, but the community found in the Catholic church they attended together. Having that support around her was a defi ning part of her childhood. “There was always this idea of sticking together,” Nell remembers. “You stick up for your sister, you stick up for your brother. You’re kind of a little unit out there in the world trying to navigate it together. It’s a huge gift.”
A natural storyteller, Nell loved writing in her journals and reading stacks of books, so when she went to college, it seemed natural to major in English. But she also loved watching legal dramas like Perry Mason, which ultimately inspired her after graduation to pursue a career as an attorney. Making the connection from her love of storytelling as an English major to practicing law wasn’t as much of a stretch for Nell as one might think. “When you’re in court and you’re the attorney, it’s like the ultimate storytelling,” Nell observes. “You’re advocating for something. You’re telling people’s stories. And somehow it kind of got ingrained in my subconscious that being an attorney would be part of protecting people’s stories and telling people’s stories.” After practicing for a few years, Nell put her law license on inactive status as she and her husband began welcoming children into their lives. But her longing to tell and advocate for others’ stories was still alive in her heart. With her kids still in diapers, she joined a Facebook group of
Catholic mom bloggers recommended to her by a friend. It wasn’t long before the group founder, Jenna Guizar, asked Nell to write some special material weekly for the group. Her dream of storytelling had returned. Over the next seven years, Jenna and Nell became best friends, and the group of bloggers they tended grew into an international women’s ministry they would eventually call Blessed Is She. Today the group comprises over 45,000 women in regional Facebook groups all over the world, with events, retreats and resources for this ever-growing community—and Nell is the managing editor. “We just have this incredibly spirit-moved ministry. It’s really nothing that we could have planned. We’ve created a special niche here for the modern Catholic woman—something that’s faithful to the church, but also has a look and feel that’s relevant to her life. It’s beautiful and very inviting.”
The women who are a part of Blessed Is She fi nd the same support and community that was so precious to Nell throughout her life—and they’re tapping into a deeper relationship with God through the ministry’s devotionals and scripture off erings. As managing editor, Nell is grateful for the work she does, not only helping other Catholic women fi nd community and belonging, but for a job that allows her to be with her family. “I travel with a little baby right now,” Nell says. “He comes along when we go on retreats. To think, if I had known seven years ago, Someday you’ll do something you’ll really love—I want to learn the important lesson of just being trusting and satisfi ed with what God has in front of me.”
Adapted for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast. Put your phone in Camera mode and hover over this code to hear more of Nell's story!
Nell’s 10-minute Prayer Hack for Prayer Hack for Busy Women Busy Women
“I spend ten minutes a day reading scripture. It might be reading scripture. It might be on my phone at night while the baby’s asleep on me, or it might be with a cup of tea and a candle lit and my Bible opened during the daylight hours. Ten minutes a day, just praying with scripture—not studying it, not pulling up my study Bible, not reading the footnotes—genuinely just sitting and slowly reading through wherever I am right now. Jesus Calling is also a beautiful little book that can help women into that prayer time with a greater sense of trust—it kind of just hones your attention on God’s work in your life.”
Nell’s book Made New: 52 Devotions for Catholic Women is available at your favorite book retailer today.
