About

Hello there! Yes, you reading this. Hello! I’m glad you found us here. Welcome!

Who is Amanda?

I’m Amanda. Yep, that’s my name. It comes from the Latin word amare which means to love. Amanda is the future participle form of the verb which, when applied to a person, roughly means the one who is to be loved. Therefore, I need to be loved. That makes sense, right? 🙂

Oh, that’s not what you were asking? Okay. I like the Latin but I suppose I can go a step further for you.

Anyway, I’m Amanda and I’m Catholic (just in case you couldn’t guess that). I am in my early 30s. I was Baptized at 14 days old, received my First Holy Communion at 8 years old, and was Confirmed at 17 years old. I have always been a Catholic school girl but, no, none of my schools ever required uniforms even though I wished they would have. So… definitely a cradle Catholic here.

In high school I made a crazy promise to God that I would do whatever He wanted in all things. Yep, this was a bit crazy and has definitely had some crazy effects in my life. It led me to enter a convent the summer after I graduated from high school and then to leave that convent three months later. God had other plans.

Those plans led me to become a consecrated virgin. On January 1, 2018 I was consecrated as a virgin living in the world at the hands of the Most Reverend Michael Warfel, the Bishop of Great Falls-Billings. My Consecration was under Canon 604 and the Rite in the Roman Pontifical.

So… I guess that’s the short story of my life.

What is Orandi et Legendi?

Well, it’s Latin, in case you were curious. Can you tell I really like Latin? This great little phrase pretty much sums up my life: praying and reading. At any given time you will probably find me praying or reading.

This website originally began as a book blog. I reviewed many of the books I was reading and wrote other book related posts. Then I started graduate school and basically had to stop reading novels for fun because I was now reading big academic texts.

Now this website is the home of a Catholic blog and my online store. This website might get a bit overwhelming, so I’d recommend you start here:

You can find me across the internet on the following sites:

  • Discord
  • Twitter: @catholicamanda
  • YouTube: CatholicAmanda
  • Instagram: @catholicamanda

If you are interested in learning about my vocation of consecrated virginity, please see the selection of videos below from my YouTube channel: