How One Woman Inspires Liturgical Living: GIVEN Alumna Tasha Gordon

“Be who God made you to be, and you will set the world on fire.”

— Saint Catherine of Siena

Living liturgically is an aspect of the faith that is very special to GIVEN alumna, Tasha Gordon. By observing the Church’s liturgical calendar and its seasons – Ordinary Time, Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter – we live more in sync with the life of Christ and the mysteries of the Church. Through her online candle shop, Pax Rosa, Tasha encourages Catholic families to live liturgically. 

She shares, “My passion is deeply rooted in serving others, especially families within the Catholic faith. This passion comes to life through my candle business, Pax Rosa. Our mission is to rekindle the habit of prayer, offering saint-inspired candles that create a sacred and peaceful atmosphere.” The GIVEN Institute helped Tasha with her business plan to create a liturgical candle set for families and church communities to use at home during the liturgical seasons of the year. Tasha adds, “the mission was to help individuals and families more deeply acknowledge and celebrate these seasons, enriching their devotion and spiritual growth throughout the year.” With her time at the GIVEN Forum in 2024, Tasha was able to find the guidance needed to get her idea off the ground.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tasha discovered her love of candle-making. She explains, “As I delved into the craft, I realized I could blend this newfound love with my faith. When I found that modern Saint candles were hard to come by, I was inspired to create my own line, merging meaningful faith-based elements with modern design. That’s how Pax Rosa’s saint candle collection came to life.” Tasha wanted to honor the Blessed Mother with her small business, Pax Rosa. The name for her small business, “Pax Rosa,” comes from the Latin word for “peace” (pax) and “rose” (rosa) – which is a nod to the Virgin Mary. Tasha’s goals for Pax Rosa is to help her customers create a sense of peace in their homes and deepen their prayer experience with God. 

Pax Rosa’s products include a line of candles inspired by the saints and room sprays. The candles incorporate unique designs of the saints. For her creative process, Tasha shares:

“My creative process begins with selecting a saint and immersing myself in their story, learning about their life and virtues. From there, I choose scents that reflect elements of their personality or story. For example, for St. Thérèse of Lisieux, known as the Little Flower, her candle features the scents of magnolia and peony, these floral aromas are a fragrant reminder of her gentle spirit and her love for God.”

To continue growing her business, Tasha had the idea to launch a liturgical candle set. While participating at the GIVEN Form in 2024 at The Catholic University of America, Tasha learned how to take this Action Plan to the next step:

“I enhanced the action plan by incorporating devotional elements that align with each liturgical season, ensuring that the candles and the devotionals complemented one another perfectly.” She continues, “I also learned that it was more effective to roll out the candle sets in phases rather than all at once. For example, I offered the Advent set with its devotional ahead of Advent, and then followed with the Lenten set in due course.”

The GIVEN Institute’s guidance helped Tasha become a more confident entrepreneur who is able to share her creative skills with her customers and community. Tasha expands, “The most fulfilling outcome was seeing families come together during the liturgical seasons, growing in their faith and deepening their prayer life. This was the core reason behind my action plan: to foster spiritual growth and unity within families and communities.” With help from her GIVEN mentor, Tasha’s small business has become a tool for evangelization and a resource for Catholic families to make a Christ-centered home that aids their “Domestic Churches.”

The GIVEN Institute helps women discover God’s love, to illuminate ‘the feminine genius’ that women contribute to families, society, the Church, and the world. Tasha is an example of an alumna who is utilizing her gifts to fulfill her personal mission to help families grow in faith and deepen their prayer life for Christ and His Church.