Katharine Mahon is a PhD candidate at the University of Notre Dame. She received her Master of Theological Studies from Boston College's School of Theology and Ministry in 2010 and her B.A. in History from Augsburg College in 2006. Before her foray into theology, Kate worked as a substitute teacher in Catholic schools and a preschool teacher in a migrant Head Start school in her native rural Minnesota. Her research focuses on the relationship between devotion and theology, especially as expressed in the prayer lives of laypeople. Her work in the field of Liturgical Studies is strongly influenced by her past studies of Medieval and Reformation Church History and Religious Education. In her spare time Kate enjoys baking, gardening, visiting craft breweries, reading and watching science fiction, and trying to relate everything in life to episodes of The Simpsons.