Mariah Cressy

Having strongly identified with the mission, Mariah was on the team that launched Grotto Network in 2017. Now, between chasing around her first-born and helping neighbors find their dream home, Mariah writes articles for the Grotto community that helped her and her husband make it back to regular Sunday Mass.

Make a fresh start for 2021 by using this guide for making new year's resolutions.

Your Grotto Guide to Taking on the New Year

Article / Health & Wellness

Take these steps to vote for the upcoming election in November — your vote counts.

Take These Steps to Make Sure Your Vote Counts

Article / Volunteer

Celebrate Women's Equality Day, as this year marks 100 years since women *earned* the right to vote.

After 100 Years, Women’s Votes Matter As Much As Ever

Article / Transform

The only way to develop grit is to challenge yourself. This author shares her method of doing so.

Where Grit Comes From and Where It Can Take You

Article / Transform

Alternate-Thanksgiving-Meals

Thanksgiving Meals for Every Dietary Restriction

Article / Health & Wellness

Non-Pumpkin-Fall-Recipes

14 Fall Recipes That Leave the Pumpkin in the Patch

Article / Health & Wellness

Be aware about these 4 things to know about pregnancy.

4 Things I Didn’t Expect from Pregnancy

Article / Health & Wellness

Read these tips for cooking vegan holiday recipes.

How to Make Vegan-Friendly Meals for the Holidays

Article / Health & Wellness

Read these 6 book recs for tips on how to adult.

6 Books to Help with Next-Level Adulting

Article / Career & Finance

These 5 adulting activities have been great ‘excuses’ for bringing new friends together.

5 Adult-ish Activities to Gather New Friends Together

Article / Relationships

Read how to use intrinsic motivation and why it works better than if-then rewards.

Why Internal Beats External Motivation Every Time

Article / Health & Wellness

Life lessons I learned while potty training a cat.

Lessons I Learned from Potty-Training My Cat

Article / Relationships

We should never stop learning — and if we're living intentionally, we'll become forever learners. Read why that's important.

How Changing My Mindset Made Me a Forever Learner

Article / Career & Finance

Here's how to overcome fear — and it's not the way you think.

How to Use Your Fear in a Way that Helps You

Article / Health & Wellness

Here's how to get better at something — harness flow to expand your mental limits.

The Art of Flow and How to Harness It

Article / Health & Wellness

Use these 4 essential job application tips to make your application really stand out.

4 Essentials for a Stand-Out Job Application

Article / Career & Finance

Can people really change? While trying to realize her own potential, this author learned it's all about a person's mindset.

Why I Changed the Way I Say Hello

Article / Transform

Is multitasking possible? No, but here's how you can get more done in any given day AND sleep better.

Why I Ditched Multitasking For Brain Dumping

Article / Health & Wellness

What is a Catholic feminist? This author sat down with the creator of The Catholic Feminist Podcast. Read the interview here.

What It Means to be a Catholic Feminist

Article / Transform

Read how this author discovered the importance of being vulnerable.

How I Realized the Value of Vulnerability

God winks help me know I'm headed in the right direction, so I can be mindful and joyful in the moment.

Why I Believe in “God Winks”

Article / Belief

Here's how this newlywed couple has learned to compromise in marriage, especially between maximizer and satisficer decision-making tendencies.

What Our First Year of Marriage Taught Us About Compromise

Article / Relationships

Man and woman holding hands and praying around a dinner table full of merged families during the holidays.

What My In-Laws Taught Me About Merging Holiday Traditions

Article / Relationships

A woman checking in with her online community while tying her sneaker on the side of the bed early in the morning.

What an Instagram Fitness Crew Taught Me About Community

Article / Health & Wellness

Notes on how to be a better friend. Handwritten notes about life events taped to a wall include the following: John's birthday August 21st; Maggie hears back about job interview on Wednesday; Elizabeth's sister's baby is due in June; Sarah is moving to a new house on Saturday; Chris's dog's name is Penny, favorite food is Chipotle; Gina is running the Chicago marathon.

This Simple Life Hack Makes Me a Better Friend

Article / Relationships

One way to stay in touch with friends: two women tying their running shoes, getting ready for a run together.

4 Creative Ways to Stay in Touch with Friends Post-College

Article / Relationships

Dirt road winding through pine trees, getting back to nature.

Why “Getting Back to Nature” is Overrated

Article / Health & Wellness

Black and white wedding photo of the author Mariah and her husband.

Why I Changed My Last Name — And Don’t Care That You Didn’t

Article / Transform

A man and woman who were set up by family, sitting next to each other at a dinner table, talking over two glasses of red wine.

6 Reasons You Should Let Your Family Set You Up

Article / Relationships

Why go on a Catholic pilgrimage? My reason was these four rocks glasses, with different shades of bourbon, lined up horizontally on top of a wooden bourbon flight board.

I Went on a Catholic Pilgrimage for the Bourbon

Article / Community

Explore more Grotto

Learn to battle loneliness with intentionality (and possibly tacos) with this author's story.

How I Battled Loneliness with Tacos (and Intentionality)

This student finds joy in standing out and being different. He believes God gave him the gift of helping others find courage to be different.

Finding Joy in Daring to Be Different

Read about these five factors here for what to know when buying a house.

Buying Your First Home? Here’s What You Should Know

How to Discover and Define Your “Brand”

Find out how to forgive yourself by following these tips.

Are You Holding Yourself to an Impossible Standard?

Taking a break from social media can feel like you're disconnecting yourself from the world, but it may be the perfect opportunity and discernment in order to move forward with your life.

Why I’m Re-Thinking Social Media During Lent

Watch how Cristo Rey High School gives inner-city students corporate training before they even head off to college.

This School Gives Inner-City Students Corporate Training

Read these five Women's History Month books to celebrate the contributions women have made in society.

5 Biographies to Read This Women’s History Month

Try this delicious garlic butter ramen noodles recipe.

Meatless Friday Recipe: Garlic Butter Ramen Noodles

Watch these Black history videos that can help educate you.

Watch These Videos to Expand Your Knowledge of Black History