Denver Catholic

12 AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2025 | DENVER CATHOLIC This mindset has led to a faith-filled home. Emily said she and her children listen to a daily saint pod- cast, pray the morning Rosary together using a children's book and play Catholic music while clean- ing. Her five-year-old even pretends to celebrate Mass while Emily cooks dinner. "Right now, it's such innocence, it's easy versus the later years when they push back," Emily explained. "I want to ingrain the excite- ment and the love now." Emily also draws strength from Catholic media like the "Bible in a Year" podcast and the Hallow app, saying that these resources help deepen her own faith and help her pass it on to her children in engaging ways. "It's such a beautiful faith, such a complex faith. When they're able to explain it in a way that gets you excited, the kids start to see that too," she said. Trust Though beautiful, life on the farm isn't easy by any means. Shortly after the birth of her second son, Tom and Emily endured a harrowing lambing season. Emily was caring for orphaned lambs — feeding them every three hours through the night, through storms, through exhaustion — when a sick- ness swept through the barn. Despite her efforts, many lambs died. "I would sit in that barn and cry at two in the morn- ing. I just physically could not control any of it," she recalled. That night became a turn- ing point, and she found her- self growing in trust in God. "It was the moment I realized how spiritually lost I was, how much I didn't trust him," she said. "And I finally gave it up to God. He was listening. That's all he needed — for me to finally give it up." That surrender and the grace it wrought brought peace. "Farming is hard, but it really does come with its graces. I truly wouldn't change it for anything," she said. Domestic Church w c CONNECTING E THE LAND In between Windsor, Greeley and Eaton, Tom and Emily Brown and their family run sheep, grow their own hay and navigate the unpredictable rhythms of rural life. Life on the farm is lived intentionally every day. "It's a really unique way of life. It comes with its own beauty. I truly wouldn't change it for anything," Emily told the Denver Catholic. The days start early, typically around 5:30 a.m. and end an hour or two shy of midnight, depending on the season. Irrigating pastures, finding stray lambs and hand-raising those neglected by their moms are just a few of the chores. "It is a very different way of life," Emily said, especially from the one she was raised in. "I grew up in the city!" The need for flexibility to respond to weather and live- stock is in constant tension with the routine required to raise three young children. "We try to be structured with our days, but we're so much at the mercy of God," Emily admitted. So, adjustments are part of daily life — like sporadic picnic dinners with Dad in the pastures. This fall, their five-year-old will begin homeschooling to support a family framework that makes sense for them. For the Brown family, a large part of that routine is fostering faith. Raised Catholic, Tom and Emily have chosen to keep their spiritual practices central to family life. Unlike urban Catholics who may have dozens of Mass options within a short drive, rural families like the Browns must plan carefully. "We'll look at our schedule and make sure the Sunday

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