Welcome to Fairest Love Families! This series highlights families throughout the United States who have a love for their Catholic faith and a devotion to the Blessed Mother.
Meet the Ruedis! Ann and Tom Ruedi have been married for 35 years and have six children and six grandchildren! Ann and Tom met in their senior year of college in a marketing class. Both grew up in the midwest but now reside in Texas. Their role in sharing their faith has transformed as they have become grandparents, and they make it a priority to bring their love for Christ to their growing family each and every day.
What role does your faith play in your family life?
We believe our role as parents has been to share our faith, through example and traditions in the home. We are very active in this role.
What is your favorite family devotion or prayer?
We have practiced the devotion of the Holy Rosary and a devotion to Jesus in the Sacred Heart. The Rosary is the prayer which brings peace to your soul when everything seems hard, challenging, and not in your control.
What do you hope your children understand from this devotion?
Mary is our Heavenly Mother, and she is always there for us… even when our earthly mother cannot be. She cared for Our Lord throughout his life, and she cares deeply for our souls.
Share a moment when the Blessed Mother has helped you through a difficult time or a challenge you faced as a family…
This reminds of a time when we enrolled our daughter in 2nd grade after homeschooling for two years. It was difficult, yet an important time for us to trust in Our Lord and his Mother.
I attended a mother/daughter lunch in the classroom, and another parent from our parish spoke about our Blessed Mother and how we are to turn to her at all times and trust in her Son’s path for our lives. It was a huge moment for me to know that this was exactly where we needed to be. From that time onward, I prayed and trusted in God’s plan for every moment in our life’s journey.
Scripture says that Jesus’ mother “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:18–19). Our Lady has been instrumental as a model figure to imitate in daily life. She is humble of heart… you can keep silence in your heart and contemplate what is happening. This, for me, pertains to many circumstances of life. We pray from the heart in silence and appreciate a spiritually rich silence which fosters a contemplative spirit.