What Our Lady of La Leche Can Teach Us about Owning a Business: A Reflection on Nurturing Leadership
“Lovely Lady of La Leche, most loving Mother of our Savior Jesus Christ, and my mother, please listen to my humble prayer. Your heart knows my every wish, my every need. I trust, dear Mother, that you will shelter me beneath your protecting mantle, as you did your Son” (Our Lady of La Leche Novena Prayer).
October 11th is the feast of Our Lady of La Leche, who is near and dear to my heart for many reasons. Our Lady of La Leche is known as the patron of mothers, childbirth, and infertility. Many people visit the shrine in hopes of conceiving a child. Many of those prayers have been answered over the years.
The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche is located in St. Augustine, Florida, just a few miles from my home, so I visit often. In the cooler months, I take my laptop there and work from the picnic tables on the grounds. It is an incredibly peaceful place, often called the “Sacred Acre.”
God definitely had a plan when He placed me in this town, so close to this holy place. My husband and I struggle with infertility and I visit the shrine often to help make sense of our situation and find peace with it. I am not sure if I ever will, but I love that I have this holy place nearby to help me carry this cross.
Over the years, I struggled to relate to Mary and the different ways she is portrayed, as I am not a mother. But as time went on I learned more and more about her and how she helped others around her. The traditional association with Our Lady of La Leche focuses on motherhood and family life. But the qualities she embodies—nurturing, patience, strength, and perseverance—are equally valuable in the realm of business.
I started my business several years ago so I could keep a flexible schedule when I have children. Now, I have a successful business, but I do not have the children I created it for. I still love my business, my clients, and the flexibility it gives me for other reasons. And Our Lady of La Leche has helped me in this endeavor in the most unexpected ways.
Nurturing Leadership
Owning a business requires a caring leadership style that often parallels the nurturing care Our Lady of La Leche exemplifies. This nurturing approach to leadership emphasizes the importance of cultivating a supportive environment where employees can thrive, feel safe, and grow in their careers.
We have all had that boss who did not treat us with respect or help us grow in our careers. We can use Our Lady of La Leche’s example of nurturing as a model for business owners who prioritize both their company’s success and the well-being of their colleagues. Her example encourages business owners to approach challenges with patience and nurture their businesses through their various stages of growth and change.
Balancing Work and Life
For women business owners, the intercession of Our Lady of La Leche can be especially meaningful in balancing the demands of entrepreneurship with family life. Many of us are juggling numerous responsibilities, from running businesses (sometimes more than one) to managing a household, nurturing a marriage, raising children, and sometimes caring for elderly family members. It is always a struggle to find the balance between our professional goals and our personal lives.
It is important to remember to keep prayer in our day-to-day activities, and women who look to Our Lady of La Leche may find strength in her example. She can help us recognize that the skills we use in nurturing our families are equally powerful in building and sustaining a successful business.
Our Lady of La Leche offers more than spiritual support for mothers; she provides a powerful example of nurturing leadership and balance for women who own and run businesses. Her patronage reminds us that the qualities traditionally associated with motherhood are also essential in running a business. By embracing these qualities, women entrepreneurs can lead their businesses with strength and compassion, ensuring that their ventures are not only successful, but also caring environments for their clients, employees, and anyone else they may encounter.
Beth Anne Kaczmarczyk is a cradle Catholic and wife who is passionate in helping others in her community with her husband through the Knights of Columbus. She has been a QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor for over 10 years and runs her own Bookkeeping firm at BethAnneBookkeeping.com. She is passionate about helping small businesses understand their business finances so they can have less stress and grow their businesses. You can connect with her on her website, Instagram or join her monthly newsletter to receive a Monthly Bookkeeping Checklist!