May 2024
One night during COVID, parishioner Mary Beth Wiskus was FaceTiming with a group of college friends when she asked to take a quick break. “Just give me five minutes. I’m going to go up and say prayers with my boys. I’ll be right back.” Their reaction surprised her. “My girlfriends were like, WHAT?? That’s crazy!” And although their good-natured teasing didn’t bother her, she still looks back on it with a shrug. “In our family, we pray before every meal, we pray at night…I didn’t know that was weird.”
Praying together at home was an important part of Mary Beth’s upbringing, and she and husband Todd were raising their sons, Matthew and Tommy, the same way. She explained it to her friends. “This is our routine. We say our prayers and we always have our nightly intentions, and then we go to bed.”
Bedtime prayers are just one factor in a faith life that, for Mary Beth, centers more on consistency than drama. “I’m not that interesting,” she says. “As far as faith goes, I’m more of a Steady Eddie, slow burn type of person.” She believes that trusting God is a daily choice, especially when things don’t go as expected. This has helped her through difficult times and keeps her grounded as a mom, wife, teacher, and coach.
Mary Beth says she has always tried to teach her two boys to do their best no matter what and to appreciate their own uniqueness. “God made you ‘you’ for a reason. Who you are is amazing!” Her talent for building kids’ confidence reaches beyond her own household as she fulfills what she sees as God’s plan for her right now. “God wants me to impact kids’ lives, and help them, and empower them.”
In 2007, Mary Beth made a deliberate choice to teach at Dowling Catholic, despite having offers elsewhere. She wanted to be in an environment where faith is an essential part of everyday life. In her math classroom, she loves having the freedom to engage in faith-centered conversations with her students. She reminds them, “You’re not going to use the quadratic formula every day of your life, but you’re going to use your faith.”
As Dowling’s head volleyball coach, she places a huge priority on the spiritual well-being of her team. Faith plays a role in every aspect of her coaching, especially when athletes give in to negative self-talk. “Trust in the talents that God gave you,” she urges. “You’re literally glorifying Him by trusting Him and saying, ‘I’m good enough.’”
Never one to brag, Mary Beth maintains a low-key attitude about her faith life. “I’m not this huge, bright flame where people are like, ‘Wow, your faith is alive!’” But it’s clear that her reliable, everyday faith has an impact on those around her, and that slow, steady burn is enough to light the way.