Everything, even sweeping, scraping vegetables,
weeding a garden, and waiting on the sick could
be a prayer, if it were offered to God.
—Said of St. Martin de Porres*

As parents with young children, we always have dishes to wash, loads of laundry to do, and floors to sweep and mop.

In my house, crumbs seem to grow up from the floorboards; even after I sweep, there is always something on the floor! We have shelves to dust, decluttering to do, and toys to put away. No wonder we’re tired parents! Cleaning up after kids is a full-time job!

When I was growing up, I despised doing chores. Chores were always treated as a punishment instead of an opportunity to have a tidy, peaceful home. That negative attitude carried into
adulthood, and for a long time, I still didn’t enjoy or appreciate cleaning.

The real transformation in doing chores came when I realized that every part of house cleaning can be offered as a prayer.

I can delight in folding laundry because my family has clothes to wear. I can contemplate the precious memories made in those clothes, chuckle at the kids’ preferences for certain articles, praise God for my husband’s job while folding his work uniforms, and so on.

I can delight in doing dishes because my family has more than enough to eat. Our children have their colorful cups and plates, and I think about the fun we have making silly, kid-friendly meals they swoon over. I feel at peace when the kitchen is back in order, and I thank God that we have an endless supply of hot water.

I know this sounds bizarre, but I can delight in picking up the toys when I think about how much the kids enjoy playing together, when I think about their little imaginations at work, and when they start to clean up alongside me because they want to be helpers.

St. Martin de Porres knew this secret to enjoying housework, and he learned to do even the most menial tasks out of love. As a lay Dominican in Peru, he was responsible for cleaning, sweeping, kitchen duties, laundry, and caring for the sick. Most of his life was spent working and praying. He joyfully completed these tasks and saw the great graces that came from humbly serving his fellow Dominican brothers as well as the poor and the sick in their care.

And the Lord used Martin, who found prayerfulness in the ordinary, to bring about extraordinary, miraculous cures both during and after his life.

When it comes to being tired parents, we have two choices: we can grumble about chores and let resentment fester, or we can embrace the small cross of housework and offer the completion of tasks for the ones we love or for other intentions. I can assure you that it makes a huge difference to choose the latter!

Sometimes the chores are still overwhelming, and I’m still not fond of constantly cleaning, but when I can offer up my duties for the salvation of my family, I am reminded of the gift of my
vocation and the opportunities to praise God in my state of life.

Let us pray:

St. Martin de Porres, the housework never really ends, does
it? Help me find joy and satisfaction in the work I do to
keep up my home. As I sweep the floors, help me to give
thanks for the feet that walk along them. As I wash the
dishes, help me to give thanks for the mouths that eat from
them. As I dust the shelves, help me to give thanks for the
faces in the photos that grace them. As I fold the clothes,
help me to give thanks for the people who wear them. As
I pick up the toys, help me to give thanks for my children,
who play with them. Amen.

And a shorter prayer you can memorize and pray often:

St. Martin de Porres, help me find joy in my housework.
Amen.

This article is excerpted from “The Prayer Book for Tired Parents: Practical Ways to Grow in Love of God and Get Your Family to Heaven” (c) 2022 David and Debbie Cowden. Please only reproduce with permission.

*Mary Fabyan Windeatt, Saint Martin de Porres: The Story of the Little Doctor of Lima, Peru (Rockford, IL: TAN Books, 1979), chap. 6.