Catholic Women Preach: Recent Episodes
Catholic Women Preach
Catholic Women Preach offers the theologically informed perspectives of Catholic women on the Sunday readings readings and on some feast days. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org to view preaching videos, to read preaching texts, and to learn more about the preachers.
Preaching for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Kathleen O'Brien offers a reflection on basking in God's abundance:"Whether you are in the beginning stage, budding stage, or at the end, Jesus reminds us that God is always present along the journey and abundance is always before us– let us be surprised by abundance! It’s natural for us to want to be in control and cling tightly to the imagined end result. But Jesus challenges us to give up control and to be present to God in this unfolding."Kathleen O'Brien currently lives in Berkeley, CA where she works for the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers in the Mission Formation Department. After serving three years as a Maryknoll Lay Missionary teaching English in China at Jilin Agricultural College and Jilin Catholic Seminary, she attended Catholic Theological Union in Chicago where she obtained a master's degree in systematic theology. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06162024 to learn more about Kathleen, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Terresa M. Ford offers a reflection on God's unconditional love: "God is love and only love. God loves us with a faithful love and desires that we remain close to him. This is a love that defies reason and never gives up on us. God never changes God’s mind about loving us."Terresa M. Ford, M.Div., MFA is a hospice chaplain and an Ignatian spiritual director. A graduate of the Candler School of Theology at Emory University and the Maryland Institute of Art, Teresa has written for Jesuitprayer.org, the Black Catholic Messenger and offered Contemplatios for Ignatius House Jesuit Retreat Center in Sandy Springs, Georgia. She is a member of Assisi Community, a Catholic community dedicated to the works of non-violence and social justice, based in Washington DC. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06092024 to learn more about Terresa, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Sr. Julia Walsh, FSPA preaches for the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ:"In our culture and time, we honor the body and blood of Jesus Christ—we become united as Christ’s body—as we honor the sacrifice of Christ upon the altar. We are nourished and strengthened, and sent to share feasts with our friends and boost one another up. We celebrate communion at restaurants, at dining room tables and at the Holy Mass. As we take the cup of salvation, we become healed, we become One. Thanks be to God."Julia Walsh is a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration who serves as a vocation minister plus hosts the Messy Jesus Business podcast. She is a widely published spiritual writer and author of For Love of the Broken Body. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06022924 to learn more about Sister Julia, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Trinity Sunday, Julia Erdlen offers a reflection on the many ways of relating to God: "God is always bigger than we can imagine, and the Trinity is a constant reminder of that. If I try too hard to nail down one metaphor, one perfect image to describe this mystery, I’ll hit up against the limit of my own human understanding. I can’t smush down God into a tiny box. God simply won’t fit. God is always bigger than I can imagine, and all I can do is keep adding more and more ways to describe and understand God, as I grow in my own understanding and encounter with God."Julia Erdlen (she/her) currently serves as the Liturgy Coordinator at Saint Louis University. Originally from the suburbs of Philadelphia, she completed her MDiv at Boston College’s Clough School of Theology and Ministry, where she worked with low-income and LGBTQ+ students. She has also written for US Catholic & New Ways Ministry, and is a part-time hospital chaplain. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05262024 to learn more about Julia, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Pentecost Sunday, Maureen O'Connell offers a reflection on becoming a people:"A people are those who share a vision and a desire to work together toward it. A people decide to go through hard things together, confident they will be different on the other side."Maureen O'Connell is professor of Christian ethics at La Salle University in Philadelphia and director of synod and higher education engagement for Discerning Deacons.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05192024 to learn more about Maureen, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of the Ascension, Martha Ligas offers a reflection on proclaiming the Gospel by following the example of creation:"Our invitation, then, is not to tell others how they are to live. Instead, we are called to lean into our own becoming. The more we can learn to live boldly as ourselves, with integrity, with confidence, and with purpose, the more we will become the Body of Christ that our Christian faith compels us to become. This is how we are to evangelize— by demonstrating what it means to be embodied, fully alive, and rooted in purpose." Martha Ligas (she/her) serves as the Pastoral Minister at the Community of St. Peter in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Communications Coordinator at FutureChurch. Both spaces give her room to ride the coattails of the Spirit by reimagining what it means to create faith communities of belonging. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Ministry from Fordham University. Martha lives in Cleveland, OH with her partner and their pets. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05122024 to learn more about Martha, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Meghan Larsen-Reidy, offers a reflection sharing the expansiveness of God's love:"When we open our eyes to see the expansiveness of God’s love in the people that surround us, we draw into a deeper relationship with the Divine. We cannot always anticipate the impact that each new relationship will have on our lives and vice versa. God is calling us to be open to the love that is waiting for us and to share that love with others. Our small acts of love may make an impact that we only hear about from heaven."Meghan Larsen-Reidy lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and four children. She currently works as a Campus Minister at three colleges in the Pittsburgh area. Meghan received a Masters of Arts in Teaching at the University of Portland and simultaneously did a service-teaching program. She currently attends the Franciscan School of Theology at the University of San Diego where she is getting her Masters of Theological Studies in Franciscan Theology. She attended Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame where she received a BA in Religious Studies and credits much of her success to the leadership opportunities she had at an all women’s college.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05052024 to learn more about Meghan, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Lisa Mersereau offers a reflection on remaining in God's love from her perspective as a hospice chaplain:"The stories I hear about how a dying person has maintained a prayer life are as amazing as God is. Many reflect upon how God is with them and how they know God is with them in their final illness. There is an unwavering belief that there’s mutual love flowing between them and God. By Jesus saying, 'Remain in me, as I remain in you,' we can interpret that as, 'Know that love is present to you now and will be forever as I remain in you and you remain in me.' This is one of the many things I have learned at the bedside of my patients."Lisa Mersereau, CT is a graduate of Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, IL, with a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies degree. Recently, she became a Certified Thanatologist with the Association for Death Education and Counseling by being certified in Thanatology: Death, Dying, and Bereavement. Lisa is employed at Uni Care Hospice in Escondido, CA as a Chaplain and Bereavement Coordinator and is an active ministry volunteer at Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala. She happily lives in the San Diego area.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04282024 to learn more about Lisa, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Sharon M.K. Kugler offers a reflection on what believing in a Good Shepherd God means for us:"If we believe in a Good Shepherd God then we are, each one of us, held as we navigate through the shadows of life, as we encounter illness of body or mind in ourselves or others, as we see despair and try to ease it, as we see the absence of justice and respond. These are the things that our God is acutely aware of and is constantly tending. We look to the Good Shepherd God to show us the way and we look to one another each of us, sheep, to follow, to care."Sharon M.K. Kugler became the seventh University Chaplain to Yale in July of 2007 and retired in June of 2023. She came to New Haven from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore where she had served as the University Chaplain since 1993. Sharon received her Masters degree from Georgetown University and is a member of the Theta Alpha Kappa National Honor Society for Religious Studies and Theology. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04212024 to learn more about Sharon, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Third Sunday of Easter, Mary Erika Bolaños offers a reflection on bringing our doubts and questions to faith: "Like the disciples, we often find ourselves troubled by doubts and questions. We may struggle to reconcile the complexities of life with our beliefs, or we may feel overwhelmed by the challenges we face. In these moments, Jesus’ words offer us both comfort and challenge. The gospel reminds us that faith is not immune to doubt but can coexist with it. We are invited to confront our doubts honestly and openly, trusting that Christ will meet us in our vulnerability."Mary Erika Bolaños, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Theology at the University of Santo Tomas Manila, Philippines, and concurrently serves as the Principal of UST Senior High School. She teaches at the UST Graduate School and the Institute of Preaching of the Dominican Province of the Philippines. She completed her Ph.D. Theology in UST with a concentration on the Biblical Paul and finished a Biblical Studies Certificate at the Israel Institute of Biblical Studies. In addition, she has written manuscripts, articles, and textbooks in Religious Education and Pauline studies. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04142024 to learn more about Dr. Bolaños, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Second Sunday of Easter, Layla A. Karst reflects on our call to be credible witnesses to the Resurrection in today's world: "We are an Easter people, a community of missionary disciples, beloved of God and witnesses to the resurrection. Ours is a church that is called to be radically inclusive. Our Easter joy is abundant enough to share with all and still have more left over. Our joy is deep enough to hold grief and sorrow and anger and doubt without fear. We are recognizable by our joy, yes, but also by our wounds, and by the Spirit within us that greets all with a word of peace."Dr. Layla A. Karst is an assistant professor in the department of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University where she teaches and writes at the intersection of liturgy and ecclesiology. She is currently studying the theology and practice of lay preaching in Catholic communities and their implications for building a more synodal church. She holds a PhD from Emory University and an MDiv from the University of Notre Dame.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04072024 to learn more about Dr. Karst, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Easter Sunday, Dr. C. Vanessa White offers a reflection on the power of women's voices proclaiming the Good News then and now:"If women doubt their value, this telling and retelling of the resurrection story reaffirms the power of a women’s voice - for it was Mary’s voice that first testified to the Resurrection and whose story continues today...On this day, can we, like Mary, run and share the news of Jesus’ presence in our world? In spite of our doubts and fears, do we have the strength, the fortitude, the faith to go out like Mary and the disciples and share the news that Jesus has risen? This Good News can change our hearts and change the world, if only we believe."Dr. C. Vanessa White is Associate Professor of Spirituality and Ministry as well as the Director of the Certificate in Black Theology and Ministry at Catholic Theological Union. She received her Doctor of Ministry and Master of Theological Studies degrees from Catholic Theological Union, with additional post-graduate work at Xavier University of Louisiana and Loyola University Chicago. She is also a member of the faculty for Xavier University’s Summer Institute for Black Catholic Studies in New Orleans where she teaches in both the Master’s degree and Continuing Education and Enrichment Program. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03313024 to learn more about C. Vanessa White, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Good Friday, Leslye Colvin offers a reflection on resisting systems of power and oppression:"History teaches that those who speak from the margins are targeted to suffer cruelties, and, quite often, to suffer death. Jesus was a man with a target on his back. He was born and lived on the margins of a powerful and oppressive system that placed no value on his life. He resisted the dehumanization of this system by recognizing each person as being made in the image and likeness of his beloved Abba, and he acted accordingly. For him, this was God’s law written on his heart, and his life testified to this truth."Leslye Colvin is a writer, spiritual companion, retreat facilitator, and contemplative activist. Inspired by the tradition of Catholic social teaching, she is passionate about encouraging diversity of thought especially as it relates to those often marginalized within the community. Currently in the apprenticeship program of the Guild for Spiritual Guidance, Leslye is a graduate of the Living School and the Haden Institute. She holds an M.A. in Communication from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and an undergraduate degree from Xavier University of Louisiana. Leslye serves on the Boards of FutureChurch, and NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03292024 to learn more about Leslye, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Holy Thursday, Dr. Cynthia Bailey Manns offers a reflection on living God's bold, fierce love for everyone: "In October, I will return to Rome to participate in the final assembly of this Synod. And although I will NOT be washing feet, I will follow the model of Jesus’ bold, fierce love as he cared for those he encountered. He was a healing presence to those he taught, listened to, guided and accompanied. I will be a healing presence to those I encounter, listen to, and accompany. I will love others with more empathy and without distinction. And I will love God more fiercely. Beginning today, I invite YOU to multiply and deepen your Holy Thursday experiences as you embody Jesus’ bold, fierce love in your sacred encounters with others and God."Dr. Cynthia Bailey Manns is one of four lay people from the United States who were appointed by Pope Francis as the first lay women and men voting delegates to participate at the first general assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Synodality this past October and again in October 2024. She is the Director of Adult Learning at Saint Joan of Arc Catholic Community in Minneapolis—a community whose vision is to be a visible, progressive Catholic Community, compassionate and welcoming to all. She holds a Doctor of Ministry in Spiritual Direction from the Graduate Theological Foundation in Florida and currently serves as Adjunct Faculty at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03282024 to learn more about Dr. Bailey Manns, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Palm Sunday, Sheila Leocádia Pires offers a reflection on entering into Holy Week as a Synodal Church:
"May this Holy Week be a season of deep reflection on the Church we want, a season of more conversations in the Spirit, a season of prayer and listening, and a season of open dialogue with one another."
Sheila Leocádia Pires is a Mozambican media practitioner with over 19 years of experience in Catholic journalism. She is the first woman to be appointed Communications Officer of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC). Ms Pires is a Synod delegate and Communication Secrecretary Synodal Assembly.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03242024 to learn more about Ms. Pires, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Susan Nchubiri, MM offers a reflection on the new covenant and a 'fresh start':"The new covenant that has been written in our hearts is a law of love and care, not hate and punishment. Looking at the world today, we see immense suffering, death and destruction through war and violence, great polarizations, nationalism, genocide and xenophobia, to name but a few. How can we who know God continue to allow dehumanization, dispossession, oppression and exploitation of sections of populations such as the Palestinians, indigenous peoples, refugees and migrants? How can we, in the 21st century, still embrace the politics of racism and discrimination, imperialism, war and militarism?"Susan Nchubiri, MM is a member of the Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic. She was born and raised in Kenya. Susan holds a Master’s degree in Global Affairs with a specialization in International Peace Studies from the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame - Indiana. She also holds a Master’s degree in Rural Sociology and Community Development from the University of Nairobi -Kenya. She has been missioned to Hong Kong, Haiti, and the US. In addition, she has been an ecumenical accompanier in Palestine and Israel with the World Council of Churches.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03172024 to learn more about Susan, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Ogechi Akalegbere offers a reflection on living as beacons of hope and justice: "As we reflect on this Gospel passage and the message of Sister Thea Bowman, let us recommit ourselves to the work of building a more just and compassionate society. Let us pray for the courage and the strength to stand up for what is right, even when it is difficult. And let us never forget the words of Jesus, who reminds us that whatever we do for the least of our brothers and sisters, we do for him."Ogechi Akalegbere is a Nigerian-American who currently works as the Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Washington. She previously served as the Christian Service Coordinator at an all-girls Independent Catholic School where she served as a diversity co-practitioner and ministry leader. She also uses her gifts as a public speaker, fitness instructor, and community organizer.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03102024 to learn more about Ogechi, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Third Sunday of Lent, Vickey McBride offers a reflection on trusting in God's will for us and our world, especially when anger at injustice consumes us: "Anger is a natural, human response. It is healthy and often a helpful compass that directs us to urgent needs. But if you ever feel consumed by anger when things don’t go the way you think they should, it might be helpful to remember what the psalmist says: God’s word is right, perfect, clear. God’s word leads us to everlasting life. And while we should stand up for God’s word and act as living witnesses, God does not require us to threaten or shake each other into acknowledging that truth. God’s word is effective. It’s more than factually true, it is existentially true and will, in the fullness of time, come to pass."Vickey McBride is Vice President for Mission at Saint Martin de Porres High School (Cristo Rey) in Cleveland, Ohio. In 2023, she received the Michael Pressley Award for Excellence in Catholic Education. She has written reflections for the 2024 and 2023 editions of the Living Liturgy Sunday Missal published by Liturgical Press. She also contributed to Five Minutes with the Saints: More Spiritual Nourishment for Busy Teachers, a book of meditations published by Ave Maria Press in 2014. She is passionate about music, spirituality, and building loving communities.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03032024 to learn more about Vickey, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Second Sunday of Lent, Salena Ibrahim offers a reflection on responding in freedom to God's invitations:"In this process of letting go of our attachments, knowing the cost of discipleship, and still choosing to be faithful, we can better hear God speak to us of our belovedness, of our common belonging in God. This Lenten season, let us examine our interior attachments so that we can freely respond with Abraham, “Here I am,” and allow God to transform our lives."Salena Ibrahim is earning her Masters of Divinity at Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry where her work focuses on theologies of migration and liberation, and preferences a feminist lens. Most recently, she worked as a Graduate Minister in Residential Ministry at Boston College, accompanying residential students and facilitating Jesuit tradition programming. Prior to this, Salena served as a Jesuit Volunteer (’20-21) and Associate University Minister at the University of Detroit Mercy. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02252024 to learn more about Saline, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the First Sunday of Lent, Diana Marin invites us to enter into the desert spaces of our lives with trust in God: "This past week we entered into Lent, a season of intentional desert traversing. I like to think of Lent as a skills building time. It’s a desert that is measurable and measured: we know when it begins and when it ends, we know the rules, we know to deepen our prayer, fast, and give. We do this in community. This doesn’t mean it’s not challenging, it is. But it’s a desert that invites us to build spiritual muscles, so that when life wallops us sideways, we can get back on our feet and see, even if it’s only in distant retrospect, that God softened our fall."Diana Marin serves as the Program Manager, Young Adult Mobilization at Catholic Climate Covenant. She earned a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School and a Bachelor of Arts in Romance Languages and Literature from Harvard. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02182024 to learn more about Diana, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Ash Wednesday, Clarissa V. Aljentera invites us to discern a Lenten journey that incorporates the universal elements of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, but is uniquely ours to walk:"How do you believe God is inviting you into a Lenten journey that is uniquely beautiful and uniquely yours? What is God calling you back to? How will your heart make its way home?"Clarissa V. Aljentera (she/her) is a second-generation Filipina American born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is currently the Director of Education for Justice with the Ignatian Solidarity Network. She is passionate about engaging Catholic Social Teaching in various aspects of her life. She is interested in the intersections of Anti-Asian Hate alongside systemic racism and, in particular, the role that solidarity plays among Black and Asian communities. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02142024 to learn more about Clarissa, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Olivia Catherine Hastie offers a reflection on bringing our "messiness" to God:"Our messes never go away. We all carry anxiety, trauma, discomfort, family issues, identity crises, pain, and sorrow...How will you ask God to bless your mess? How will allow the spirit to move you to love others in the midst of their messes?"Olivia Catherine Hastie is a second year Master of Theological Studies student at Harvard Divinity School focusing on Religion, Ethics, and Politics. She earned her bachelor’s degree in religious studies and peace and conflict studies at the College of the Holy Cross in 2022 and plans to pursue doctoral study in Catholic Theology/Ethics. Olivia’s work centers the body as a critical component of Christian discourse working closely with liberationist, feminist, and queer theologians and authors. In addition to her studies, Olivia is the Program Associate for Education and Advocacy with FutureChurch and an avid volunteer in her church community at Saint Cecilia in Boston where she serves on the Parish Pastoral Council. In her free time, Olivia enjoys practicing her singing skills, spending time with her family, and exploring the many coffee shops in the Boston area. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02112024 to learn more about Olivia, to read her preaching, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mary Anne Sladich-Lantz offers a reflection on healing: "Certainly, each one of us could use a dose of healing in our lives. You know where that is inside of yourself. Our whole world needs healing, too. Brokenness and division is everywhere. Can we take the very human interaction between Jesus and Simon’s mother-in-law as a model of how to be a healing presence wherever brokenness resides."Mary Anne Sladich-Lantz has been a leader of Mission and Formation for Providence St. Joseph Health for over 25 years. In her various roles within Providence St. Joseph Health, she has worked with leaders, physicians and all caregivers on personal, spiritual and professional development. Born and raised in Anaconda, MT, she graduated from the University of Providence with a BA in Sociology/Psychology. She holds a Master’s degree in Theology and Personal Spirituality from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA. Mary Anne and her husband Reggie enjoy the great outdoors and the big sky of Montana. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02042024 to learn more about Mary Anne, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Colleen Gibson, SSJ offers a reflection on living our true calling:"Ultimately, the freedom we aspire to, and which Paul speaks of, comes when we embrace God’s call to be who we truly are, loving God as only we can and letting all other loves flow forth from that...Living our truest vocation draws us into relationship with God, in and through the relationships we give ourselves to."Sister Colleen Gibson is a Sister of Saint Joseph who currently serves as coordinator of pastoral care at St. John-St. Paul Catholic Collaborative in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Sister Colleen is co-host of the podcast Beyond the Habit and a regular contributor to Give Us This Day, National Catholic Reporter, and Global Sisters Report. She holds a Master of Theological Studies degree from Boston College School of Theology and Ministry.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01282024 to learn more about Sr. Colleen, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Marissa Papula offers a reflection on discerning God's call in our lives: "I wonder when in our lives we receive invitations that turn everything upside down, and we’re left with little else to do then pick up our nets and leave it all behind for God: the job layoff, the positive pregnancy test, the diagnosis, the love at first sight. God’s call to us and our compulsion to respond might not involve a fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee. Still, it might very well involve the minutiae of our daily lives: parenthood, partnerships, jobs, the humanness of living in a body that is fragile and mortal. From within our lives but beyond our expectations and imaginations come invitations that compel us out of all we know and into a wilderness of holy surrender."Marissa Papula (she/her) serves as the Director of Campus Ministry at Loyola Marymount University in California.Formed and transformed by Jesuit education, Marissa holds her BA from The University of Scranton, and her MA and Post Graduate Certificate in Spiritual Formation from Boston College. Her academic and pastoral interests, and subjects of her speaking, writing, and presenting include Ignatian spirituality, theological anthropology, feminist theology, racial justice and LGBTQ+ ministry.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01212024 to learn more about Marissa, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Laura Boysen-Aragón offers a reflection on living into our God-given potential: "God always sees our full potential. But living into our full-God-given potential can be perceived as a threat to some...Society won’t change unless we speak out and act out and live into God’s potential for us - even when we are scared."Laura Boysen-Aragón (she/her) is the Development Director at the Loyola Institute for Spirituality (LIS) in Orange, CA. Laura is passionate about the intersection of spirituality and antiracism, and she is active in antiracism education and advocacy. She holds an M.A. in Theology from Loyola Marymount University, a J.D. from Columbia Law School, and a B.A. in English from Gonzaga University.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01142024 to learn more about Laura, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Feast of the Epiphany, Dr. Nontando Hadebe offers a reflection on God's disruption of our notions of power:"As we celebrate Epiphany we need to look for the presence and sign of God in those places that will disrupt all our categories. And like the delegation of the East, let us have the courage to respond with faith to the disruptive messages around us from the poor, the underclass, those that have been rendered invisible in our communities and in our families. It is there that we will encounter the living Christ."Dr. Nontando Hadebe is an African Catholic woman feminist theologian based in Johannesburg South Africa. She is currently coordinating gender justice projects at Side by Side and Bread for the world. She is on board of Future Church and hosts a weekly radio program with Radio Veritas. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01072024 to read Dr. Hadebe's text and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God and the World Day of Prayer for Peace, Michelle Sherman offers a reflection on holding and living a message of peace: "So today, as we remember the message of the shepherds, and consider who the messengers of peace are in our own communities, perhaps we might choose a message of peace for this new year that we can both keep in our hearts and live into for the next 365 days. May this year be a year of peace with justice, each of us contributing in ways that embrace and endure."Michelle Sherman (she/her) is the program director for nonviolence and campus outreach at Pax Christi USA. She is also a retreat presenter and spiritual director. Born in the Philippines and raised in St. Louis, MO; she has been formed, educated, and nurtured by several women’s religious communities including the Sisters of the Precious Blood in St. Louis and the Sisters of the Holy Cross at Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN. She completed the Spiritual Direction Formation program with the Sisters of Mercy and holds an MA in Theology and Ministry from Villanova University. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01012024 to learn more about Michelle, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Feast of the Holy Family, Lisa Fullam offers a reflection on nurturing our own holy family:"Family is a spiritual thing, a gift of God. As we live into those close relationships in our lives we should find ourselves growing in kindness, bending when people need bending with, forgiving when people need forgiving. We will be imperfect. We will make mistakes—we are still human, after all. So likewise, our holy family members will grow in kindness in return, bend with us when we need it, forgive us when we need it, and join us in our work for justice. THAT’S what family means, at least for Jesus and his mother, and all the members of Jesus’ chosen family, and for us as members of Jesus’ chosen family."Lisa Fullam D.V.M., Th.D. is professor emerita of moral theology from the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University and associate veterinarian at New Baltimore Animal Hospital in West Coxsackie, NY. After veterinary studies at Cornell, she earned a doctorate in Christian ethics from Harvard Divinity School. After 19 years at JST-SCU, she and her husband John R. Mabry packed up their house and their boxer dogs and headed to the upper Hudson Valley in NY where she resumed veterinary practice. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12312023 to learn more about Dr. Fullam, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Christmas, Natalia Imperatori-Lee reflects on God's determination to "make room" and encourages us to do likewise:"In the incarnation, God, too, makes room. God is determined to make room. Room for light in the darkness. Room for joy in our sadness. Room for triumph in our defeats. Room for peace in our broken, war-torn world. God is determined to make space among the ruins for celebration, to make possible within our vulnerability a sense of safety. God is determined to make room in the darkness that surrounds us for an inextinguishable light. How are we being called to make room in our lives? ...Are we determined like God to make room for good in this world filled with suffering?"Natalia Imperatori-Lee is Professor of Religious Studies at Manhattan College in the Bronx, NY, where she also coordinates the Catholic Studies program. She is the author, most recently, of "Women and the Church: From Devil’s Gateway to Disciples" (Paulist Press, 2024), and of "Cuéntame: Narrative in the Ecclesial Present"(Orbis Books, 2018). Her work focuses on the intersection of Latinx theologies, feminist theologies, and Catholic ecclesiology. She lives in the Bronx with her spouse and children.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12252023 to learn more about Natalia, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic Women Preach.
Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Karen Sue Smith offers a reflection on our role - inspired by Mary - as bearers of God's promise: "We believe that the promise/fulfillment process continues. God lives among us and within us here and now. Like Mary, we are called to be God-bearers, to make God’s compassion and justice real and present in our world. How? Answering that question requires discernment, as we discover what gifts God has given us and how best to use them. But all the basics--in the Sermon on the Mount or from Jesus’ own works of mercy, justice, and community-building – are clear enough. We need to consent and persist…."Karen Sue Smith is a retired writer and editor with nearly 30 years of experience working in the Catholic press. She served in full time capacities as editorial director at America Magazine; editor of CHURCH Magazine from National Pastoral Life Center; and associate editor at Commonweal Magazine. She earned her Master of Divinity at Harvard University and a Master of Arts in Theology at the University of Notre Dame. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12242023 to learn more about Karen Sue, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Third Sunday of Advent, Bridget McDermott Flood offers a reflection on being present to one another:"Our faith and the presence of God within us takes our joy to another level, and also requires another level of generosity...This Advent, it is not enough to experience the joy of the Season embodied in Christmas trees and holiday lights. True joy comes from taking time with those whom we love, with those who are lonely, and with those who are in need."Bridget McDermott Flood has been the executive director of the Incarnate Word Foundation since its inception in 1998. Her passion is bringing the Sisters' Incarnational Spirituality to the Foundation's work in neighborhoods and community. She is the author of "Blue Hole Wisdom: My Journey with the Sisters." She is a life-long South St. Louisan and also a ceramic artist at Carondelet Pottery, her studio in South St. Louis, as well as a beekeeper and quilter. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12172023 to learn more about Bridget, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Melissa Cedillo offers a reflection on the transformative power of faith and hope:"On this feast day, and with today's readings, we see time and time again, average people being demanded to do the impossible sometimes with only their faith. But as we look around the world, we see that sometimes, it's people's faith that is the only tool at their disposal for change. In this season of waiting may we not lose hope of the good news that is to come."Melissa Cedillo was born and raised in California's Coachella Valley. For the past five years, Melissa has worked in campaigns in Florida, Texas, California, and Washington DC. Working at the intersection of religion and politics, Melissa has worked on issues of reproductive justice, immigration advocacy, and healthcare access. She attended Loyola Marymount University (LMU) for undergrad and Harvard Divinity School for graduate school. Melissa currently lives in Sacramento, CA. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12122023 to learn more about Melissa, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Second Sunday of Advent, Sarah Hansman offers a reflection on "preparing the way":"Yes, change takes time. The arc is long. We must be patient. But, being patient does not mean slowing down our efforts. Patience does not ask me to stay silent for fear of rocking the boat nor delaying until everyone is ready for change; for they may never be. Patience means do the work. Prepare the way! Just don’t give up in the face of slow progress."Sarah Hansman (she/her) is currently an MDiv student at Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry. She has directed numerous retreats, worked as the development manager for the nonprofit Women’s Foundation of Boston, serves weekly at a medium security men’s prison, and spent this past summer as a chaplain at Massachusetts General Hospital. Sarah sees preaching as an act of resistance and hope. She plans to pursue doctoral studies, with a desire to engage questions and positive reconstructions of embodiment, sexuality, and gender in Catholic contexts. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12102023 to learn more about Sarah, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, Madison Chastain offers a reflection on modeling our discernment after Mary: "Our Blessed, Embodied Mother makes the biggest choice of her life from a place of utmost peace: “I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word.” This peace is a direct result of how Mary models decision-making: She starts with the body, she roots into her context, and all else flows from there. This is our example for discernment."Madison Chastain is a writer and nonprofit communications specialist living and working on the South Side of Chicago. Her work explores the intersection of disability, faith, creativity, and culture. She has a BA in Creative Writing and Theology/Religious Studies from St. Mary’s College of California and an MA from the University of Chicago’s Divinity School were her research focused on the relationship between medical ethics, disability theology, and crip theory. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12082023 to learn more about Madison, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the First Sunday of Advent, Ma. Marilou S. Ibita offers a reflection on the intertwined themes of return and watchfulness:"The readings assume that the Lord will come again which opens up a great future where our active participation is required both in discerning the visions of God’s reign and in making the visions come true. If we are asleep, literally, or figuratively, we cannot participate. The repeated commands for 'watching' for the coming of the Lord and our decisive participation signify urgency!"Ma. Marilou S. Ibita obtained her doctorate in biblical studies at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven, Belgium. She teaches undergraduate and graduate students at the De La Salle University in Manila and graduate students at the KU Leuven while co-directing and directing doctoral students at both universities. Her research interests include contextual biblical hermeneutics such as liberationist, feminist, ecological, trauma, postcolonial, and future-oriented biblical interpretations of the New Testament, economics and social stratification in the Bible, as well as adult faith education and dialogue that promote human rights and sustainability. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12032023 to learn more about Ma. Marilou S. Ibita, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of Christ the King, Carol Zinn, SSJ invites us to reflect on the end of the liturgical year and commit to new beginnings:"Perhaps situating this feast in its context of origin can provide a lens to situate ourselves as we end this liturgical year and ready ourselves for beginning again. How have we lived? How have we treated others? All living beings? How is it that we are still at war—within ourselves, between one another and among nations? How do we not hear the voice of the shepherd pointing the way to life? How can we continue to turn a blind eye to the needs of our sisters and brothers, near and far? How do we drift so far away from living as sheep who know they are loved and as followers of a king whose heart bursts for each one of us?"Dr. Carol Zinn, a Sister of St. Joseph from Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, PA has ministered in the formal and non-formal education profession. She has taught on all levels (pre-K through post-graduate) and has worked in the areas of educational leadership, religious education, sacramental coordinator, and music minister. Currently Carol serves as the Executive Director of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11262023 to learn more about Carol, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Rosemary Johnston offers the witness of Mother Antonia, who served in prison ministry, as an example of how we are called to share our gifts:"Mother Antonia once said, 'there is no one so ugly he does not have beauty within him; no one so weak he does not have great strength and no one so poor he is not endowed with richness. Each person is of invaluable worth.' She was not only talking about those whom she served but about each of us. We are all people of invaluable worth. Share your gifts. It is a timeless blessing for those who give and for those who receive."Rosemary Johnston became involved in prison ministry at a San Diego area women's jail in 1985. At the same time she began pursuing master’s degree in practical theology at the University of San Diego, graduating in 1990. After working as director of the Office of Human Life and Development at the diocesan pastoral center, she became a freelance writer for the National Catholic Reporter and was later hired to run the volunteer services program at Father Joe’s Villages, the country’s largest homeless shelter. She was later was hired as executive director of the Interfaith Shelter Network. In the summers of 2003, 2004 and 2005, I attended the Summer Preaching Institute at the Aquinas Institute of Theology. Since her retirement in 2013, she has served as a member of several non-profit boards and continues to organize the annual Good Friday Walk with the Suffering in downtown San Diego and the La Posada Sin Fronteras at the border fence. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11192023 to learn more about Rosemary, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Paula Rush offers a reflection on knowing and being known:"And in that moment, we realize this parable is all about knowing... And this is exactly what Jesus needs us to realize. He needs us to get in touch with that desire. The desire to know and be known. We want to be wise. We want wisdom."Paula Rush is a catechist with the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd—an approach to faith formation for children. She writes a blog, “The Better Part”—three weekly Sunday Gospel reflections for children ages 3-6, 6-9, and 9-12, and records these as a podcast. She serves as a chaplain at a Catholic high school in Waterloo, Ontario, where she lives with her husband and five children. Currently, she pursues a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies with an emphasis in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd through the Aquinas Institute in St. Louis, MO.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11122023 to learn more about Paula, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Raynah Marise Braganza Passanha offers a reflection on living as inclusive, servant leaders:"Saying yes to a sacred call requires vulnerability, being conscious of and addressing the fears that deter one from living that 'yes' honestly and completely. Let us commit to help one another be effective leaders. May our lives witness our love and faithfulness to God, the Church, and the Good News. As we address the shadow side of the Church, we need to also challenge the shadow side of ourselves. In our fight against exclusion, let us try to live consciously inclusive lives. In our work for the Reign of God, may we testify to the kind of world we are working towards."Raynah Marise is a faith and gender rights activist, based in Pune, India. In addition to her ministry in faith formation of adults, religious sisters and seminarians, she is currently the National Convenor of the Indian Christian Women’s Movement, a movement of Christian women independent of any Church finding our voice in addressing issues of concern within Churches. She is also a member of the Indian Women Theologians Forum, Sisters in Solidarity, and the Indian Catechetical Association.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11052023 to learn more about Raynah, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Marielena Hincapié offers a reflection on immigration in light of the Gospel:"Let us advocate for just and compassionate immigration policies at the federal, state and local levels that respect the dignity of every human being. Our roles as educators, scholars, advocates, and followers of Christ call us to engage in thoughtful dialogue and actively work towards a society that upholds the rights and well-being of all, especially the most vulnerable."Marielena Hincapié is a Distinguished Immigration Fellow and Visiting Scholar at Cornell University’s Immigration Law and Policy Program.Marielena immigrated as a child from Medellín, Colombia, to Central Falls, Rhode Island and grew up as the youngest in a family of 10 children. She earned her juris doctor degree from Northeastern University School of Law.Visit https://www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10292023 to learn more about Marielena, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Chanelle Robinson offers a reflection on the command to "Give to God what belongs to God" through an ecological lens: "But what happens when humanity confuses the things of God and the things of the emperor? If human greed interchanges the dignity of the planet with the pursuit of the coin, do we lose sight of what belongs to God and what belongs to the empire? What happens when the earth is exploited, when oppressed communities are made more vulnerable?"Chanelle Robinson is a Doctoral Candidate in Systematic Theology at Boston College, with a minor in Comparative Theology. Her dissertation explores decolonial and womanist approaches to theological anthropology. Originally from Canada, Chanelle earned a Master of Teaching and a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from the University of Toronto. Chanelle is the recipient of Doctoral Fellowships through the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and the Louisville Institute.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10222023 to learn more about Chanelle, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Casey Stanton invites us to say "yes" to the invitation to the feast of synodality: "To say yes to walk the synodal way is be part of God’s work, reknitting the fabric of our belonging – to God, to one another, to creation – as Christ’s living body in the world."Casey Stanton is the co-director of Discerning Deacons, a project serving the Church by engaging Catholics in the active discernment around women and the diaconate. She most recently served as Adult Faith Formation minister at Immaculate Conception Parish in Durham, North Carolina. She holds a BA from the University of Notre Dame, and a Masters of Divinity from Duke Divinity School where she graduated with a certificate in prison studies. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10152023 to learn more about Casey, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Carmen Ramos offers a reflection on lifting up the sense of the faithful: "Jesus the Cornerstone says, 'Come, stand on me; let's build something new from what happened to you. Let's build something new out of your experience. You are part of the greater story, my story, called The Resurrection Story.' You have been given the gift of dignity; you have a purpose in this world. Do you acknowledge it? You are baptized; you have a stake in this Church. Will you claim it? Were you rejected for speaking the truth? You are an heir to the Kingdom. Will you build it?"Carmen Ramos is a first-generation Mexican-American raised in central California. Currently, she works for the Office of Diaconate Formation for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Carmen graduated from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles with an M.A. in Pastoral Theology and a focus on spiritual direction. Carmen is passionate about promoting the flourishing of all women and is committed to seeking new synodal pathways that enhance the active presence of women in the Church. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10082023 to learn more about Carmen, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching for Catholic women.
Preaching for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Claire Jenkins offers a reflection on caring for all of God's creation and particularly for the most vulnerable and outcast among us: "Moreover, we have no choice as people of God: we must act collectively and individually to protect our common home, our planet. We must not ignore the messages in today’s readings if we are to save ourselves and God is to delight in creation."Dr. Claire Jenkins is a trans woman and convert to the Catholic Church. In 2013 she was awarded a PhD from the University of Sheffield for her research into the effect of transitioning on the family members of trans people. Subsequently she has advised several research projects and has spoken at many Catholic and secular university conferences. From 2017-23 she was actively involved in the pastoral care of LGBT Catholics where she coordinated a team (lay and ordained) who carried out this important work within her diocese. She also belonged to a small working party who advised the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales about trans issues. In May 2020 Claire was awarded a Senior Fellowship at Margaret Beaufort Institute, Cambridge where she is researching Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming (TGNC) young people’s experiences in schools. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10012023 to learn more about Dr. Jenkins, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Darlene Jasso offers a reflection on living God's justice and mercy:"Let us all choose...to seek the good of others and to live for others. Whether that’s working with organizations that provide quality support to the marginalized, speaking up for those with no voice, or simply providing a helping hand to those in need."Darlene Jasso is the Co-Founder and Communications Director of Little Angels of Mary, a nonprofit in Guatemala that provides nutrition and education support to indigenous children and families. Originally from San Antonio, Texas, Darlene graduated from the University of the Incarnate Word with a B.A. in Communication Arts. Soon after, she married her college sweetheart, an exchange student from Guatemala and moved to Guatemala in 2016.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09242023 to learn more about Darlene, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Read and Sign our Petition to Proclaim the Full Resurrection Story on Easter Sunday: https://futurechurch.org/petition
Preaching for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Caitlin Morneau offers a reflection on reclaiming connectedness:"Forgiveness is fundamentally an individual act, but with social implications. Every harm has repercussions, rippling impacts through time and community. Really living into the fullness of forgiveness means moving toward as full a reclamation of human dignity and communion as possible.When this becomes the way in which we move and live and have our being, suddenly seven times seventy becomes far more attainable — not a heroic act for the few. But we cannot do it alone. We need to encourage one another daily. And build up systems (legal and otherwise) that create vessels for mercy and grace to shape the labor of justice itself."Caitlin Morneau serves as Director of Restorative Justice at Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN), the national Catholic organization working to end the death penalty and promote restorative justice through education, advocacy and prayer. Caitlin is a Bernardin Scholar at Catholic Theological Union where she is completing a MA in Ministry with a concentration in Spirituality and holds an MA in Conflict Transformation from the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University. Caitlin is a facilitator of peacemaking circles and trained in restorative community conferencing. She lives in Alexandria, VA with her husband, two children, and black lab.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09172023 to learn more about Caitlin, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Carolyn Jacobs, MSW, Ph.D. offers a reflection on community:
"The challenges of our church and our world are invitations to continuous discernment of how to dialogue, to forgive, and to be obedient to the urgings of the Spirit. We live in a time when we need to step out and invite others to prayer, dialogue, and action. We need to trust the Holy Spirit to guide us. For the challenges invite us to become open to our personal and collective vulnerabilities in creating and nurturing communities of faith that are inclusive. To remember that we are not alone, that we are because others exist in the world surrounding us. We trust that whatever challenging circumstances or people we meet on our journeys, we are called to listen for God’s voice as we gather in groups of two or more and hold in our hearts the love of our neighbors as ourselves."
Carolyn Jacobs, MSW, PhD is Dean Emerita and Elizabeth Marting Treuhaft Professor Emerita of the Smith College School for Social Work and Spiritual Director. Dr. Jacobs was a member of the School’s faculty for 35 years, serving as the dean 14 of those years, as well as director of an Advanced Certificate Program in Spirituality and Social Work Practice for seven years. She received her MSW from San Diego State University, her doctorate from the Heller School of Brandeis University, and her training as a spiritual director from the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation. She maintains a spiritual direction practice and is committed to creating spaces for health care providers to discover the rich resources of contemplative practices from many wisdom traditions in developing resilience for self and others.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09102023 to learn more about Dr. Jacobs, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Phyllis Zagano offers a reflection - inspired by Saints Phoebe and Gregory - on our Christian journey:"When called, they went, and when they got where they were going, they knew (somehow) just what they had to do and to say. As days turned into weeks, then months, they understood more deeply what it was all about. It is the same with each of us. At some point we brush away the doubts and fears and understand that where we are is most probably where we ought to be. Then we can rest. We can rest from our labors in the shadow of the Cross."Dr. Phyllis Zagano is an internationally acclaimed Catholic scholar who has lectured throughout the United States, and in Canada, Europe, and Australia. Her groundbreaking work on women in the diaconate led to her appointment to the Pontifical Commission for the Study of the Diaconate of Women in 2016. She has taught at Fordham, Boston, and Yale Universities, and currently holds a research appointment at Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York. Her most recent book is Just Church: Catholic Social Teaching, Synodality, and Women (Paulist Press, 2023).Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09032023 to learn more about Dr. Zagano, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mary Margaret Schroeder offers a reflection on answering the question "Who do you say I am?": "That joy I feel as my favorite 7-year-old, Blue, runs into my arms at school pick-up—that’s Christ. When I’m on a run, silently admiring the creation that surrounds me, and I feel another set of footsteps guiding me along—that’s Christ. The overwhelming sense of peace that somehow overcomes me even as I scramble to meet a lab deadline—that’s Christ."Mary Margaret Schroeder is a senior at Yale University studying psychology and neuroscience. She is a student leader at the Saint Thomas More Catholic Chapel & Center on campus, as well as a catechist and a State Lead for Catholic Relief Services. In May 2024, she will start graduate school at the University of Notre Dame to earn a master’s degree in Education through the ACE Teaching Fellows program. In her free time, Mary Margaret loves to spend time with her five siblings, bake, and rave about NJ bagels.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08272023 to learn more about Mary Margaret, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Margaret Susan Thompson offers a reflection on persisting in pursuit of God's promise for all:
[This gospel] resonates especially with me because I’m a woman, but it has much to say to all of us who feel like we don’t fit into a box, and who sometimes feel tormented by a demon, like the daughter in need of healing. In other words, it speaks to us all. And so it calls us all to be dogged, persistent—and, like the Canaanite woman, "of great faith." Margaret Susan (Peggy) Thompson is a professor of History and Political Science at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. She is also a Senior Research Associate at the Campbell Public Affairs Institute, and holds courtesy appointments in the Departments of Religion and Women & Gender Studies. Recently, Professor Thompson’s work has focused on the history of American Catholic nuns. She has written and lectured extensively on the subject, and has an 18-lecture audio series available through Learn25.com. Her research is from an explicitly feminist perspective, emphasizing the agency and social significance of sisters to American religious and secular history.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08202023 to learn more about Thompson, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Sr Chioma Ahanihu, SLW preaches for the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, offering a reflection on Mary's capacity to bring about peace and unity, if we - like her - say 'yes' to God:
"May today’s feast remind us of our own Yes to God’s call as consecrated people of God in our different spheres of life. May we be the voice for the voiceless and the less privileged in our society. May this feast of Assumption bring peace and joy in our homes, communities and world at large." Sr. Chioma Ahanihu, SLW is a member of Sisters of the Living Word in Chicago, Il. Born and raised in Nigeria, she has lived in the US for the past 2 decades. Sr. Chioma earned a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Misericordia University, a Masters in Social Work from the Catholic University of America and a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies degree from Catholic Theological Union, Chicago IL. She is a candidate in the Doctorate in Ministry Program with a concentration in Spirituality at CTU. She is currently the Director for the Center of the Study of Consecrated Life at CTU. Prior to that, she ministered with Catholic Charities of Chicago Archdiocese as a Psychotherapist and Parish Social Worker. Her primary areas of interest as a Practical Theology scholar and minister are related to today’s Consecrated Life, Reconciliation, Spirituality, Immigration and Racism.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08152023 to learn more about Sr Chioma, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Sara Fairbanks, OP preaches for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering a reflection on God's love conquering all:
"Elijah whispers to us across the centuries, what keeps hope alive in the shadow of the cross is God’s ever-present, unsurpassed love, making us 'participants in the divine nature' (2 Pet 1:4) and 'friends of God, and prophets' (Ws 7:27)...Rooted in God’s love, perhaps we will become like Jesus, whom Catherine of Siena called a 'mad lover' who ran to his cross. 'It was not nails,' she says, 'but love that kept him on the cross.'"
Dr. Sara Fairbanks, OP, is an Adrian Dominican Sister. She is currently a professor of homiletics at Aquinas Institute in Saint Louis, Missouri. Before going to Aquinas, she taught systematic theology for twenty years at Barry University in Miami, Florida. Sara holds a Master of Theology from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis and a Doctorate in Theology at the University of St. Michael’s College, the Toronto School of Theology in Toronto, Canada. Her areas of expertise are homiletics, theology of lay ecclesial ministry, theology of preaching, practical theology and Christian anthropology.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08132023 to learn more about Sara, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Feast of the Transfiguration, Julie Vieira, IHM offers a reflection on our own "transfiguration" encounters with God:
Today on this feast of the Transfiguration, we, the disciples and seekers of today, are likewise called not just to celebrate the revelation of Jesus as Messiah. But we are called to perform our own gut check and to draw courage, energy, and determination from our experience with God. This is no simple “what would Jesus do?” gut check. It means to enter into the sacred presence of God. To walk with God. To engage with God in the unfolding of our lives and in the current realities of our time. And then to let that experience with God inform, encourage, energize – and perhaps even "transfigure" our lives.
Julie Vieira, IHM, MA, (she/her) is a writer, presenter, and thinker in spirituality with particular attentiveness to living the darkness and light — the poetry and rough prose — of everyday life. She holds a Master of Arts in Theology from St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto. She currently serves as the director of the Margaret Brennan Institute and as a volunteer crisis counselor for LGBTQ+ youth.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08062023 to learn more about Julie, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Anne Hansen offers a reflection on living the will of God "on earth as it is in heaven":
" I hope it is a place where gang members and socialites converse. A place where women preach and are involved in all seven sacraments, a place where the LGBTQ community is part of the fabric and a place where immigrants from everywhere feel at home. Maybe heaven is a gathering of the communion of saints around a very long table."
Anne Hansen is currently the Executive Director of Ignatians West in Los Angeles. Anne writes reflections on the Sunday readings for the Ignatians West newsletter and is working on a book with her sister, an Episcopal priest, on their shared experience with faith, ministry and family. Anne has a BA in Psychology from Immaculate Heart College, an M.Ed. in Educational Psychology from California State University, Northridge and an MA in Pastoral Theology from Loyola Marymount University.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07302023 to learn more about Anne, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, Antoinette Gutzler, MM offers a reflection on peering into our tombs and letting go of old ways that do not bring life:
"So we must 'let go' and we must announce. On this great Feast, we follow Mary of Magdala into the Garden as she meets Jesus and has her whole life and way of understanding life in Jesus turned around. There was a “crack” in her experience when she heard her name . . . and the light came in. We are called to find the cracks in our experience and in the realities of our world and church. We are called to make them visible so that grief and anxiety can be transformed into light and goodness – if we only listen."
Antoinette Gutzler, a Maryknoll Sister from Queens, New York, holds a doctorate in systematic theology from Fordham University. She has served in mission both in Tanzania, East Africa where she worked in religious education and young students work, and in Taiwan, where she directed a center for factory workers.
Preaching for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Erin McDonald, CSJ offers a reflection on rooting ourselves in and living out of God's unconditional love:
"We do not measure our success on the great things we have accomplished but on how much we loved, how we put that love into action and become sowers of justice, peace, and kindness."
Sr Erin is a member of the Congregation of Sisters of St Joseph, living in Detroit, MI. Sr Erin currently serves as the University Minister for Service and Social Justice at the University of Detroit Mercy and she is the co-host of the new podcast, Beyond the Habit, with Sr Colleen Gibson, SSJ. Sr Erin has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wheeling Jesuit University, a master’s degree in social work from West Virginia University and a master’s degree in practical theology from Loyola University New Orleans.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07232023 to learn more about Sr. Erin, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Joanna Arellano-Gonzalez offers a reflection on making ourselves fertile soil for the mission of the gospel:
"Just like scaring the birds and throwing out the rocks. How are we making our heart and soul fertile soil where the Word can bear good and holy fruit? Where instead of making excuses about our time, energy and comfort level, we say 'yes' to Jesus’ challenge"
Joanna Arellano-Gonzalez is a first-generation Mexicana-American, born and raised in La Villita, Chicago. She is the Director of Spiritual and Theological Formation at the Coalition for Spiritual & Public Leadership (CSPL), a Catholic-rooted community organizing coalition based in the Chicagoland area. Joanna received her Master’s in Christian Spirituality at Fordham University, with a concentration in Spiritual Direction. At Fordham, she received the first Women in Leadership Scholarship from the Graduate School of Religion & Religious Education. She works to center mujerista/womanist, indigenous, and liberation theologies and spiritualities.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07162023 to learn more about Joanna, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Shannon K. Evans offers a reflection on receiving the loving kindness of God through others:
"Because if it is true of you that you are the hands and feet of God, then it is also true of those who touch and serve you. It is also true that when they hug you, when they cook for you, when they mail you a card, when they pick you up a coffee unasked – when they lean over in their Spiderman pajamas and kiss your cheek, that it is God’s tenderness doing so to you. Helping you believe all over again. Offering the rest promised to you. Reminding you that the burden is light."
Shannon K. Evans is the spirituality and culture editor at the National Catholic Reporter and author of the books "Feminist Prayers for My Daughter: Powerful Petitions for Every Stage of Her Life" and "Rewilding Motherhood: Your Path to an Empowered Feminine Spirituality." With interest in ecofeminism, contemplative practice, and social change, Shannon leads workshops and retreats across the country that spark curiosity and compassion.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07092023 to learn more about Shannon, to view her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Bridget Deegan-Krause, M.Div., BCC offers a reflection on making room for the prophet:
"I promise you if we make the time, God shows up. God always shows up. In fact, God is waiting for us in places and spaces like that. So let's get ourselves there. Let's think about how we can make room for the prophet in us."
Bridget Deegan-Krause has served for nearly 30 years in professional ministry in Catholic healthcare and higher education. As a consultant for Catholic health systems and a retreat facilitator for boards and teams, she has worked to equip mission-focused leaders for service and is passionate about exploring spirituality as a resource for leadership. A former Jesuit Volunteer, she holds a Master of Divinity degree from Notre Dame with a BA in its Great Books program and is a board-certified chaplain. She currently serves as a sponsor director for Bon Secours Mercy Health System's Toledo market board, and as a founding board member for the Discerning Deacons project.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07022023 to learn more about Bridget, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cameron Bellm offers a reflection on the "intimate, hair-counting love of God":
"My children are growing now, no longer newborns with golden threads of hair. They go to school each day while I wrestle with how to entrust them to a dangerous world, how to manage my own heartbreak when their little hearts are broken. I don’t have any easy answers for how to do that. But I do know that we are deeply, fiercely, tenderly loved, all of us, not just my family but the entire human family, by the God who is light and who calls us to be light ourselves—to the world, yes, but also to each other. "
Cameron Bellm is a Seattle-based writer, retreat leader, and contemplative in action. She is the author of “Prayer for a Pandemic,” which went viral in the early days of COVID-19. Cameron writes the Spirit & Verse column at Jesuits.org and is the author of A Consoling Embrace: Prayers for a Time of Pandemic (2020) and No Unlikely Saints: A Mental Health Pilgrimage with Sacred Company (2021). Her work has been published in America, National Catholic Reporter, Geez, Today’s American Catholic, and Bearings Online.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06252023 to learn more about Cameron, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sr. Cathy Murray, OP, reflects on exercising Christ-like authority through compassion:
"Jesus grants the apostles authority and credibility to engage in his mission - authority that does not come from domination, from command and control, but from compassion. Compassion is the power driving Jesus into action; Compassion shapes his plan. Compassion is the ability to see others in their giftedness and to share that ability to see others in their giftedness.Jesus has that incredible gift of looking at one another with hope. Seeing giftedness and seeing potential can waken spirits, can be huge news to the other – to the one seen, but also to the one seeing."
Sr. Cathy Murray, M.Div./LCSW has had two ministries throughout her religious life weaving together social action and preaching. She ministered for fifteen years in parishes in Northern California as a pastoral associate where she preached regularly and led adult education programs as well as retreats. She has also ministered as a social work supervisor for Sonoma County Adult Protective Services. Today, she serves on the leadership team for her community, the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael. Sr. Cathy has been a faithful member of a Twelve Step Program since she was a young adult.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06182023 to learn more about Sr. Cathy, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, Dr. Julia D.E. Prinz, VDMF offers a reflection on witnessing to the Body of Christ in the world:
"Carrying the burden of the presence of God is no easy quest...We are called to a witness, out of which no fainting is going to liberate us, because bearing witness is nothing for the faint of heart."
Dr. Prinz is Adjunct Lecturer in Christian Spirituality and Former Director Women of Wisdom and Action Initiative at Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University. As a member of the Verbum Dei, she has been involved in base-community work with Hispanic and Asian immigrant populations in San Francisco since 1995. She has also served her congregation as a formation director and from 2008 to 2015, as the United States Provincial Superior, having partaken in numerous general Congregations in Rome and their Taskforces since 2001. Dr. Prinz is a regular speaker at regional and national theological conferences in Germany and the United States. Her speaking assignments and publications in general, specifically her book, Endangering Hunger for God, show her commitment to using theological research for the empowerment of the marginalized.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06112023 to learn more about Dr. Prinz, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching on the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, Laurie Brink, O.P., offers a reflection on allowing God to remake us in God's image:
"Instead of trying to make God in our image, perhaps we could take a cue from the Trinity, and allow love, grace, and fellowship to remake us in God’s image. Let’s start by hearing voices—the voices of people in need, the hurting, the forgotten, and the quaking and crying Earth. Then at the invitation and inspiration of the Trinity, let’s join the dance!"
A Dominican Sister of Sinsinawa, Laurie Brink, O.P., is Professor of New Testament Studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and New Testament Book review editor for The Bible Today. She teaches courses in the Gospels, Acts, NT Letters, and Early Christian literature. Her current research and pedagogical interests include contextualization and hermeneutics particularly the intersection of science, theology, and religious life.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06042023 to learn more about Laurie, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Pentecost, Sr. Nathalie Becquart invites us to embrace the Pentecost opportunities we are given in our individual lives as well as our collective life as the Body of Christ:"Today again, through this synod 2021-2024...we have received the promise of living a new Pentecost. We are together on this journey led by the Spirit towards a new birth of the Church in the process of coming into being. It is a long journey of engendering, not without the labors of childbirth, to get out of the ruts of the clerical Church. It is not easy; we may go through ups and downs, but we know this new birth will not take place without us. As members of the People of God clothed with the same baptismal dignity and inhabited by the Spirit, we all are to be protagonists of this New Pentecost."Sr. Nathalie Becquart, xmcj is a Xaviere sister, Missionary of Christ-Jesus, a French Ignatian-inspired order. In 2019-2020 she specialized in Ecclesiology, doing research on Synodality at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry. On February 6, 2021, she was appointed by Pope Francis as Undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops as well as a member of the Dicastery for Communication in December 2021. A renowned lecturer and speaker, she is the author of numerous publications on synodality and synods, young people and youth ministry, vocations and religious life, the Church and mission.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05282023 to learn more about Sr. Nathalie, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of the Ascension, Emily Southerton offers a reflection on following the Spirit's lead through times of change and transition:"There is a time to stop looking up and to start looking to our left and our right sides. There is a time to focus on drawing out what is from within. There is a time to move with the Spirit towards ministry and social justice, to work for equality even within the Catholic Church." Emily Southerton is a board certified chaplain and member of the National Association of Catholic Chaplains. She currently serves at Phoebe Ministry, where she provides spiritually themed small groups, funeral services, and leads monthly worship services for seniors. She has a BA in Theology and Philosophy (Aquinas College) and an MA in Theology and Pastoral Ministry (Villanova University). Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05232023 to learn more about Emily, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Kristina M. Ortega offers a reflection on the lessons her students have taught her over 20 years in light of the readings for the day: "Whatever lessons the future holds for all of us teachers or not, may we always remain open to the movement of the Holy Spirit, live a life of joy, find hope in the young people around us, and keep love at the center of all our relationships as Christ did."Kristina Ortega holds a B.A. and an M.A. in Theological Studies and a certificate in Catholic School Administration from Loyola Marymount University and has taught Theology in Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles since 2001. Currently, Kristina is the JDEI (Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) Coordinator and Service Coordinator at Mayfield Senior School in Pasadena, CA. Outside of school, Kristina sits on two planning committees for the LA Religious Education Congress and also serves as a Minister of Liturgical Movement. Kristina contributed a chapter to the book “Creating Spaces for Women in the Catholic Church” edited by Sr. Sarah Kohles, OSF due out this summer.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05142023 to read Kristina's preaching text and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Elizabeth Young, RSM offers a reflection on restoring women deacons as one way of responding to the current needs around us: "So what are the needs around us today? Who are the Hellenist widows who cry out for ministry at their own tables? ... How will each of us respond? How will we reach out? Our personal efforts can be strengthened by the response of the whole Church to delegate and to send. Why not complete the restoration of permanent deacons by authorising ministry from the other half of the population, and recognise women and men called to contribute by God, the community and needs around them?"Elizabeth Young, RSM comes from a farm in rural South Australia, Boandik country. After a degree in Circus Arts, she entered the Sisters of Mercy, professing her first vows in 2010. Elizabeth studied a Bachelor of Theology, Graduate Diploma of Teaching and Learning, and Master of Theology (Coursework). She is currently a Parish Life Coordinator in a remote town of New South Wales, where she is instituted as a Catechist to lead regular community liturgy in the absence of a priest, including baptisms and funerals. In 2021, she started the blog Liturgy on the Margins, along with the group Australian Catholics Exploring the Diaconate, which celebrates and promotes the ministry of permanent deacons, both present and potential. This includes the diaconal ministry of women who respond to needs that exist.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05072023 to learn more about Elizabeth, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Sonia Caus Gleason offers a fresh take on the familiar sheep and shepherd imagery:"The sheep metaphor can sound all soft and fluffy, strictly comforting, but we have to do our part. Sheep hear, recognize, and respond, with a little help. It can be more complicated for us humans. Sometimes we hear technically, but don’t listen. In our moments of bravura, we may forget that we’re vulnerable. We can get diverted by our own wrong assumptions and quick judgments, or tempted by the familiar message rather than what we really need to hear. The din of politics that polarize us, the echo of family fights can linger for an age. We need judgment without being judgmental, compassion while holding a steady course. We need cultural competence to heed Christ’s magnificent voice in those who are different from us: our own race, gender, identity, class, physical ability - you name it. We need the discipline of leaning in, listening for truth with alertness and curiosity. And while vulnerable, we need to be made of tough stuff. That’s a lot."Sonia Caus Gleason is a strategy and learning consultant to philanthropies and non-profits that are deepening their social and racial justice commitments. A long-time member of Boston’s Paulist Center, Sonia organized a network of small communities of faith, co-chaired the development of socially responsible investment screens, and co-led a partnership to address youth violence in the city. In a variety of settings, she has planned and presided at a range of Catholic and interfaith educational sessions, retreats, and prayer services. And amidst covid, she co-founded a lay-led, virtual prayer group that has brought forth unexpected gifts of youth empowerment and intergenerational community.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04302023 to learn more about Sonia, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Third Sunday of Easter, Svea Fraser, M.Div, offers a reflection on our common journey:"We walk by faith and we know that the Holy Spirit will not deny what the Church needs. Through Phoebe’s intercession, women (and men) are seeking her support as our steps quicken and our hearts burn within us for the renewal and transformation of a church that truly welcomes the gifts of all the baptized."Svea Fraser is a founder and current trustee for Voice of the Faithful. At present, she leads the organization’s “Women’s Emerging Voices” working group, now identified as “National Deacon Circle” in partnership with Discerning Deacons. She also serves as the coordinator and catechist for OCIA (formerly known as RCIA) for the St. John-St. Paul Catholic Collaborative in Wellesley, MA. Svea earned her Master of Divinity at Pope at Pope Saint John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, MA (she is the second and last woman to have done so).
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04232022 to learn more about Svea, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Second Sunday of Easter, Jenny DeVivo offers a reflection on embrace the whole of the paschal mystery every day:"Last Sunday, we heard the narration of the resurrection of Jesus, and today we have the disciples testifying to the resurrection. Apart from the glories of Easter Sunday and its celebration, in the ordinary days of Christian life we need the testimony of one another. On the days that the world has not stopped to collectively celebrate the resurrection, on the ordinary Tuesdays when it is business as usual, we need one another to attest to the resurrection in light of the reality of the cross."Jenny DeVivo, OblSB, PhD is a biblical scholar who received her PhD in New Testament and Early Christianity from Loyola University Chicago. She spent 10 years teaching biblical studies and other courses in theology in various Catholic universities. Currently, she serves as the Executive Director of Mission and Heritage at her alma mater, Saint Xavier University in Chicago. She is also a spiritual director, trained in the Spiritual Guidance Training Program at the Siena Center, in Racine, WI. Jenny is a Benedictine Oblate with St. Benedict’s Monastery in St. Joseph, MN. Her theology, ministry, and spirituality have been shaped deeply by various religious communities, particularly, in order of appearance, the Sisters of Mercy, the School Sisters of Notre Dame, and the Benedictines.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04162023 to learn more about Jenny, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Easter Sunday, Nichole M. Flores offers a reflection on witnessing and testifying as Easter practice:"As we enter into this season of rejoicing, how can we create space for the practices of witnessing and testifying in our daily lives? How might these practices help us to attend to our confusion, our suffering, and our wounds in the context of our daily lives, in 'lo cotidiano'? And how might these practices help us to hear Jesus’s joyful call, beckoning us to see the face of the Lord crucified and risen who has been with us all along?"Dr. Nichole M. Flores is associate professor of religious studies and director of the health, ethics, and society minor at the University of Virginia. She speaks, writes and teaches about the significance of Catholic ethics in plural social, political, and ecclesial contexts. Dr. Flores earned an A.B. in government from Smith College, an M.Div. from Yale Divinity School, and a Ph.D. in theological ethics from Boston College.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04092023 to learn more about Dr. Flores, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Good Friday, Sr. Melinda Adrienne Pellerin, ssj offers a reflection "Were You There When Love Costs Everything":"The Goodness, the holiness of this particular Friday is the ultimate act of love and we should tremble! The African American Spiritual’s lyrics, composed by the enslaved: Were You There, when they crucified my Lord? We place ourselves there. We remember, and we tremble because we have been saved. Transformative love costs everything to save us!"Melinda Adrienne Pellerin was born in Springfield, Mass. She received a BA in secondary education with a minor in history and social sciences. She went on to receive a Master’s in Educational Technology from Lesley University, and recently a Certification in Addiction Counseling. Before entering religious life, Sister Melinda was a secondary teacher spending most of her teaching career in the Public School System in Springfield, Mass. In 2019, Sister Melinda made her Final Vows with The Sisters of Saint Joseph. She is a Pastoral Minister at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church, Chaplin at a women’s jail, and a case manager at a local transitional sober home for men and women. She is the Vice President of the National Black Sisters Conference.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04072023 to learn more about Sister Melinda, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Holy Thursday, Leslye Colvin offers a reflection on Jesus' questions that serve as invitations to metanoia: In the Gospel of John reading proclaimed on Maundy Thursday, Jesus does not disappoint. He captures my attention by asking a question. At initial glance, it may appear to be quite simple. Yet, in pondering it, we may see it as a profound invitation to metanoia. "So when Jesus had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, 'Do you realize what I have done for you?'" ... Do you realize what I have done for you? Do you realize?Leslye Colvin is a writer, spiritual companion, and contemplative activist. She serves as the Policy Advocate for the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd in Silver Spring, Maryland. Leslye has extensive experience in promoting mission and expanding outreach of a variety of sectors including faith-based non profit, government, corporate, and academia. Inspired by the Catholic social justice tradition, she is passionate about encouraging diversity of thought especially as it relates to those often marginalized within the community. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04062023 to learn more about Leslye, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Palm Sunday, Elsie Miranda offers a reflection on the cost of discipleship:"It is my hope that as we prepare ours minds for Holy Week, with palms in hand—may we might find new meaning in the passion--- that calls us to renew how we understand our call to discipleship—and thus discover that the cost of discipleship simply requires that we be open to encountering Christ along the way -- open to seeing, feeling, and experiencing the betrayal, abandonment, denial and crucifixion of Jesus in our time-- in the suffering of those in our midst."Dr. Elsie Miranda is Associate Professor of Practical Theology and Director of Ministerial Formation at Barry University in Miami Shores, FL. She served as President of the Association of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States and since then has been committed to promoting theological discourse and dialogue across cultural and disciplinary boundaries. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04022023 to learn more about Elsie, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, JoAnn Melina Lopez offers a reflection on our call to journey to the tomb and co-create, with God, new life:"God is bringing life to birth, restoring and renewing our world. Do we see it? God is calling us to partner in rolling away the stones and untying the bonds of injustice. Do we hear it? This resurrection hope in the life-giving power of God is not just something for us to say we believe, but it must be encountered and experienced – and it only comes to us who are at the tomb. We must be willing to acknowledge our suffering, and the suffering of the world, and open ourselves up to God's Spirit at work."JoAnn Melina Lopez, M.Div. has been immersed in Catholic formation, education, and action for fifteen years. After completing her undergraduate degree at Saint Joseph’s University, she served as a Jesuit Volunteer in Houston, working with asylum seekers and refugees. She received her Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry and spent seven years as Campus Minister for Liturgy at Seattle University. JoAnn currently serves as Director of Faith Formation at St. Basil's Catholic Parish in Toronto, and is pursuing a diploma focused on social justice and community empowerment. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03262023 to learn more about JoAnn, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Sr. Nicole Trahan, FMI offers a reflection on seeing and dismantling systems of injustice in our world:
"As we continue to engage in the process of seeing, analyzing, reflecting, and responding our vision becomes more clear. Much like the man Jesus cures in today’s Gospel...The process doesn’t end there, though. Then, it is time to respond. Today’s Gospel ends with this imperative, 'If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.' If we see, we are responsible. We can no longer claim ignorance."
Sr. Nicole Trahan, FMI, a native of Orange, Texas, is a member of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate (Marianists) and currently lives in Dayton, Ohio. Sr. Nicole serves her congregation as a member of the provincial leadership team, vocations director and director of the pre-novitiate program. She is also a part-time campus minister at Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03192023 to learn more about Sr. Nicole Trahan, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Third Sunday of Lent, Valerie D. Lewis-Mosley offers a reflection on seeing each other as Christ sees us:
"Where the world makes us invisible – we are made visible again in Christ! This is the faith we are initiated into at the well of Baptism. It is this proclamation of conversion and metanoia and faith that we are called to run and tell about. We are called to lead others out of a place of invisibility and into the light."
Valerie D. Lewis-Mosely, RN, OPA, is the retired Director of Religious Education at the Church of Christ the King - Jersey City, New Jersey, a historical Black Catholic Parish an Apostolate for Evangelization in the African American community. She now serves in various capacities across the nation as a mentor to youth and young adults; evangelist, retreat leader and revivalist and public speaker, life coach and Spiritual Director. Catechesis to children and youth and women’s spirituality and empowerment are a major component of her ministry as a pastoral associate. She is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Theology at Caldwell University, Caldwell, New Jersey, and Xavier University of Louisiana Institute for Black Catholic Studies.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03122023 to learn more about Valerie, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Second Sunday of Lent, Jung Eun Sophia Park, SNJM offers a reflection on the "Rhythm of the Paschal Journey":
"We, the people of God, are also invited into the Rhythm of the Paschal journey, which first begins with our receiving blessings, to then become blessings ourselves. We experience these abundant blessings and then encounter the cry of the poor, the lonely, and the oppressed. In this Rhythm of the Paschal journey, we continue to walk into the land that God shows us, as eternally present pilgrims, as a gift to others."
Jung Eun Sophia Park, SNJM, is associate professor at Holy Names University in California. She loves to give retreats, spiritual directions, and workshops in US and other countries. Her academic interests are global justice and spirituality, shamanism, postcolonial feminism, and mysticism. She has written numerous articles and published several books.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03052023 to learn more about Jun Eun Sophia Park, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the First Sunday of Lent, Crystal Catalan offers a reflection on journeying through the desert times in our lives:
"I am so grateful that the Gospel passage for this Sunday does not end with Jesus suffering in the desert. Rather, the passage ends with, 'Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.' For me, this is the beauty of our faith. That we absolutely cannot exist without being in relationship with others, and angels are sent to aid with our healing."
Crystal Catalan currently serves as the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Presentation High School in San Jose, CA. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of San Diego, an M.A. in International Development from Eastern University., M.A. in Pastoral Ministries with an emphasis in Restorative Justice and Chaplaincy at Santa Clara University, and the Certificate in Restorative Justice Leadership and Facilitation through the University of San Diego.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02262023 to learn more about Crystal, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Ash Wednesday, Rose Lue offers a reflection on living our Lenten practices from our heart:
"May what we do, and say, come from this greater capacity for life and love that is found in the heart, where God resides deep within us. May it give witness to our true communion with God, with one another, and with all of creation."
Rose Lue is a community organizer, justice advocate, and spiritual companion. An Advanced Lay Leader in the Diocese of San Jose, California, having completed 7 years of formation along with the candidates for permanent diaconate, Rose currently leads the mental health ministry at her parish and serves on the diocesan committee for Catholic Campaign for Human Development. She is also a wife, mother to three, and an active long-time member of St. Simon Parish in Los Altos, California. In her spare time, she likes to play games, various sports, and be outdoors.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02222023 to learn more about Rose, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sister Eileen Reilly, SSND offers a reflection on the gospel's call to "be perfect" through the lens of her ministry with people who have lost loved ones to violence and murder:
"As you can see, each of these folks has taught me something about this Gospel call to be perfect. So, my answer to the question, Does God really expect us to be perfect? is YES! YES, with the understanding that becoming perfect is a life-long process, that it happens in community with others, and that it often takes courage to challenge the prevailing wisdom. YES, you and I are called to be perfect. I invite each of us to trust that God’s grace is working in us and that today we can take at least one step in that lifelong process to be perfect."
Sister Eileen Reilly, a native of Boston, has been a School Sister of Notre Dame (SSND) for over 50 years. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Education, an MA in Peace and Justice Studies, and an MDiv from Weston Jesuit School of Theology. While living in Connecticut, Eileen had the opportunity to accompany a man who was eventually executed by the state of Connecticut. This strengthened her passion for abolishing the death penalty and led her to her present ministry at Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN), the national Catholic organization working to end the death penalty and promote restorative justice.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02192023 to learn more about Sr. Eileen, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Crystal Caruana Sullivan offers a reflection on our relationship to God's law and our journey of discipleship:
"A 'rule book' may work as a moral guide for a three-year-old. But we need something more than the prescriptive starting point or set of rules or list of laws. We need Jesus. We need Jesus, who takes us deeper into the mystery of God’s wisdom – who invites us to go deeper into the heart of God as we live into God’s kingdom. And this is the harder route – because it requires that we choose – each and every day – to surrender our complicated opinions and relationship with the law – and to trust in God, to show us how to follow. "
Crystal Sullivan lives in Dayton, OH and has served as the Executive Director of Campus Ministry at the University of Dayton, A Catholic Marianist university, since 2011. She holds a Master of Theological Studies from Weston Jesuit School of Theology, bachelors in Religious Studies and Biology from Kalamazoo College, and is a certified Campus Minister and Marianist Educational Associate.
Crystal is a Lay Marianist and a member of the Micah Theotokos community. Crystal and her spouse David have two adult children. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02122023 to learn more about Crystal, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mary Miro offers a reflection on the life's work that is playing our role in the Reign of God:
"I also know this work is about more than handing out bread to the poor. This is more than a one-time public policy measure, philanthropic event, or election; this is a life’s work. Let us bravely step into the light and, together, be about liberating others and ourselves from oppressive thinking. As we draw closer to the light, perhaps the prophetic words of Isaiah, Paul, and Jesus may embolden us to work toward bringing healing, justice, and peace to our world."
Mary C. Miro serves on the Steering Committee of the Equality for Women in the Church ministry at St. Nicholas Church in Evanston, Illinois. She became a certified Racial Healing Practitioner through the TRHT Initiative (Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation) and has facilitated racial justice and racial equity programming through Just Faith Ministries.Mary attended Marquette University, earning her B.A. in Psychology and Sociology. Following Marquette, Mary pursued an M.A. from the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration, focusing her studies on public policy, community organizing, and non-profit management.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02052023 to learn more about Mary, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Beth Ford McNamee offers a reflection on embracing our call to be a part of God's unfolding reign of justice:
"Consider your calling, Paul says. Can we show up for this upside-down reigning of God? Can we place ourselves in spaces where we are not trying to be first, best, or boasting before God and others? Can we place ourselves instead in marginal spaces, place ourselves in humility before the sacredness of one another, to become people of authentic encounter, kinship, and relationship?"
Beth Ford McNamee is Associate Director of Saint Joseph's University (SJU) Campus Ministry, where she oversees local community service, social justice programs, student leadership formation, and a Campus Ministry Associate program. She is a triple graduate of SJU (B.S., Psychology; M.S., Psychology; Ed.D., Higher Education Leadership). She served as a Jesuit Volunteer in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania with Loyola High School, ‘00-‘02, and completed a Masters in Pastoral Studies at Washington Theological Union, ‘06. Her dissertation research (’22) explored influences of Ignatian formation for higher education social justice leadership. She and her spouse Jeremy are busy enjoying life with their 8-year-old son.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01292023 to learn more about Beth, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Karen Ross offers a reflection on the radical vision God has for God's people:
"Since God is an active God working in and through the lives of those who suffer, we can be assured that this new world is not only possible, but that she is already on her way. May we have the grace and bravery not only see this light amidst the darkness, but be that light to guide the way for others."
Karen Ross, PhD (she/her/ella) is a graduate program director, theology and ethics professor, and yoga and mindfulness instructor. She currently works at Catholic Theological Union as the director of the Pathways@CTU program, which seeks to engage young people- especially those from marginalized communities- in co-creating the church of tomorrow. She received her PhD in theology and ethics from Loyola University Chicago, and her research focuses on feminist ethics and Catholic sexuality education, particularly of young women and girls.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01222023 to learn more about Dr. Ross, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Lisa Frey, offers a reflection on our calling to give witness:
"At family tables or meeting tables, at bedsides or on laptops… testimony needs to be lifted up everywhere there is a hunger for it. It is not the time for shrinking, for protests of inadequacy, unprepared, overwhelmed, too young, too old, not the right gender or race or orientation. No, testimony is our call. Testimony from the margins, denied the authority of office or ordination, when all that we have is our witness… you know how powerful that sometimes simple, authentic witness can be."
Following a thirty-year career in parish ministry, Lisa Frey currently serves hospice patients and their families as a spiritual care coordinator with Hospice of the Western Reserve in the Cleveland, Ohio area. She earned her Master of Arts in Theology at St. Mary’s Seminary in Cleveland and Doctor of Ministry in Homiletics at the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01152023 to learn more about Lisa, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Feast of the Epiphany, Stella Baltazar reflects on the call to unite all humanity in cooperation with Nature and the Divine toward a new reality:
"[The Epiphany] is a call to humanity to enter the circle of life and breathe as one. The journey of the wise men is an act of regeneration to a new existence. This is the discovery made by the Magi. Their keen observation of the natural signs and their sensitivity led them to the discovery of the divine manifestation on earth."
Stella Baltazar, fmm is a member of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, Ootacamund Province, Tamil Nadu, India. She holds a master's degree in sociology and theology from the University of Mysore and is passionate about educating and empowering women, especially widows, for collective action for change.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01082023 to learn more about Stella Baltazar, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Lauri Przybysz offers a reflection on Mary's love and concern for all individuals and families, and particularly those are are victim to violence:
"Mary was chosen for the role of Mother of God, to make God present in the world. Someone experiencing a dangerous home situation may choose you – when they seek guidance and help. They may need you to reassure them that they are not alone. Many abused people, women and men, seek help first from the Church because they see it as a safe place. Even if their abusers isolate them from other social contacts, they may still allow them to go to church. You may be that person at church, the person of faith that they know and trust. Do you know how to help?"
Dr. Lauri Przybysz is Education Director of Catholics for Family Peace, http://www.catholicsforfamilypeace.org/, an education and research initiative that aims to inform everyone on ways the Catholic community can promote family peace and prevent and respond to domestic abuse. Dr. Przybysz received her Doctor of Ministry at the Catholic University of America, specializing in adult faith formation. She is retired Coordinator of Marriage and Family Life for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and she is past-president of the National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers (NACFLM). Her book, Catholic and Grandparenting: 5 Challenges and 5 Opportunities, is published by ACTA.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01012023 to learn more about Dr. Przybysz, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Nontando Hadebe preaches for Christmas, offering a reflection on being "Christmas People":
"So Christmas is not a once-off event that happens on the 25th of December, but it is a calling at the very core of our identity to be a Christmas people...Christmas cannot be celebrated without people experiencing the mercy and the love of God in tangible ways. And the only way they can do that is through us. We are Christmas. Christmas is waiting to happen through us."
Dr. Nontando Hadebe is a lay woman theologian and International Coordinator for Side by Side, a faith movement for gender justice. She was previously senior lecturer at St. Augustine College in South Africa, specializing in African Theology, Pastoral & Contextual Theology, Feminist & Womanist Theology, Liberation Theology and Pastoral Psychology. She is a member of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians as well as the TCCRSA Women's Caucus comprising Catholic women theologians in Africa.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12252022 to learn more about Dr. Hadebe, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Colleen Dulle offers a reflection on Mary's faith:
"Mary, like every new parent in the face of very imminent physical and material fears, is still holding on to faith in the intangible thing that has been promised to her: That she will have a child, who will be a sign to her and to the world that God is with us."
Colleen Dulle is a multimedia journalist covering Catholic and Vatican news. In her current position as Associate Editor at America Media, Colleen writes and edits Vatican news and analysis pieces, along with hosting and producing the weekly news podcast Inside the Vatican. She creates Vatican explainer videos for America Media’s YouTube channel and contributes to Sacred Heart University’s “Go, Rebuild My House” blog.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12182022 to learn more about Colleen, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Elisabeth Roman offers a reflection on Mary's model of discipleship:
"But it is Mary who truly inspires us to go forward in faith; to say yes to God each and every day, as we care for those suffering still from the COVID 19 pandemic, for those mourning the losses of family members; to care for the sick, the poor, and the elderly. And the migrants who come seeking new life and bring with them their families, faith, and love of God."
Since 2014, Elisabeth Román has served as the president of the National Catholic Council for Hispanic Ministry, a national organization of Catholic organizations established in 1991 to promote Hispanic ministry through advocacy, education, networking and leadership development. She is the former director of the Office of Hispanic and Ethnic Ministries in the Diocese of Joliet. She has years of experience serving in ministry in the Archdiocese of Chicago, including working with the Archdiocesan V Encuentro Process, and as Managing Editor of the Hispanic Ministry Resource Center with Claretian Publications. Elisabeth collaborates and works with national Hispanic ministry leaders and organizations on projects and programs targeted towards Latinos and diversity in the Catholic church. Most recently she was the national chair of the Raices y Alas National Catholic Leadership Congress held in April 2022 in Washington DC, which gathered over 400 Catholic leaders from the US, Latin America, Europe, and the Vatican.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12122022 to learn more about Elisabeth Roman, to view her video or read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Third Sunday of Advent, Julie Hanlon Rubio offers a reflection on Prophetic Patience:
"Patience is a theme in this week’s readings. A virtue. While patience seems appropriate when I’m thinking about resting in Advent rather than rushing to Christmas, when patience is presented as an anecdote to impatience with injustice, I worry. Though it may seem as if this week’s readings do exactly this, I wonder if something else is going on...Prophetic patience, it seems, does not mean settling."
Julie Hanlon Rubio is the Shea-Heusaman Professor of Christian Social Ethics and Associate Dean at Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley, California. Previously, she taught at St. Louis University for nearly two decades. Her research focuses on Catholic social thought, family, feminism, and reconciliation. She is the author of four books, including "Family Ethics: Practices for Christians" (Georgetown University Press, 2010) and "Hope for Common Ground: Mediating the Personal and the Political in a Divided Church" (Georgetown University Press, 2016), and has co-edited two volumes of essays. Her new book, "Can You Be a Catholic and a Feminist?" will be published by Oxford University Press in 2023.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12112022 to learn more about Julie, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, Patricia A. Parachini, SNJM invites us to give consent to God's invitation in our own lives:
"Consenting to God’s call in our lives can be a difficult process and sometimes even emotionally draining It often requires a response based on very little information. As you know from your own experience, consent requires a leap of faith and courage. Think of the many ways throughout your life that God has invited you to consider something new."
Patricia A. Parachini, SNJM, D.Min, is a Sister of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, living in Silver Spring, Maryland. Pat is a theologian and spiritual director. Pat has ministered as a professor of pastoral theology, preaching and spiritual direction in several graduate schools of ministry, i.e. Loyola University in Baltimore, the Washington Theological Union (WTU), St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore and the Catholic University of America. Pat has worked in various other ministeries: spiritual direction, hospital chaplaincy, campus ministry, catechetics, and teaching in elementary and high school. Pat contributes reflections to the liturgical aid, Give Us This Day. She has had two books published on lay preaching and has written two chapters published in edited books about preaching.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12082022 to learn more about Pat, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Second Sunday of Advent, Joanna Williams offers a reflection on cooperating to bring about God's peace, justice, and freedom:
"And if we have the grace of that hope, we are better equipped to do the hard work of the journey to get there. Which means winnowing and clearing and cutting down and burning what doesn’t bear fruit."
Since 2021, Joanna Williams has been the Executive Director at the Kino Border Initiative (KBI), a binational Catholic ministry in Nogales, Arizona and Sonora that works towards a vision of migration with dignity through humanitarian services, holistic accompaniment, education, and advocacy. Joanna graduated with a Bachelor's in Science from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, where she researched the role of the Latino Church in creating social change. She was also confirmed into the Catholic Church her senior year at Georgetown. In 2019 she received a Master's in Public Policy from Arizona State University.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12042022 to learn more about Joanna, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the First Sunday of Advent, Teresa Maya CCVI offers a reflection on what it means to prepare:
"Preparing the way is not just decorating, reading, or meditating- though, all those practices are graced reminders of the season we begin. Preparing the way is moving, walking in Jesus’ paths, and finding those he blessed, healed and accompanied...May our first candle of Advent remind us to prepare our souls, home, and community to celebrate God’s promise to be with us always."
Sister Teresa Maya is a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio since 1994. Her education ministry has spanned several decades: she has served as teacher, history professor, administrator, and speaker. She has passion for formation of ministers for Hispanics/Latinas/os in the United States. She has a commitment to life-long learning and a strong conviction in the future of consecrated life. Sister Teresa got her B.A. at Yale University, her M.A. at the Graduate Theological Union at Berkeley and the Ph.D. in El Colegio de Mexico in Mexico City. She served fourteen years in the leadership of her religious institute and on the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) presidency from 2016-19. She currently accompanies other religious congregations as facilitator and consultant.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11272022 to read Sister Teresa Maya's text and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of Christ the King, Angélica N. Quińónez offers a reflection on the "kingship" of Jesus:
"It is easy to call Jesus King, to proclaim his Kingship, to sing hyms of praise to Christ our King, but it might still challenge us to understand that Jesus flipped what it meant to be a King with a kingdom. We are called to build that kingdom of mercy and love. But, until we see the crucified and resurrected face of our King in the faces of those on the margins, we will not and cannot understand the Kingship of Jesus."
Dr. Angélica N. Quińónez is an educator and serves as the Director of University Ministry at the University of San Francisco. She is a proud graduate of the University of Southern California where she earned her Doctor of Education degree in Organizational Change and Leadership. She is a double USF Master’s graduate in Theology and Teaching with an emphasis in Catholic schools, and earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from Santa Clara University. She is a native San Franciscan passionate about Ignatian spirituality since her high school days at St. Ignatius College Preparatory.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11202022 to learn more about Dr. Quińónez, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Rita Houlihan, offers a reflection on integrity and gratitude :
"Can personal integrity and deep gratitude transform our grievances into prayers and actions? – that’s my question – actually it’s my challenge to myself...With today’s chaos of wars, famines, natural disasters, compounded by political factions and grievances we need to maintain faith in the God of the Living and Practice Gratitude."
Rita Houlihan is a member of Ascension parish in New York City where she teaches Confirmation. She is on FutureChurch’s Board of Directors and is committed to restoring our historical memory of early Christian women leaders with a special focus on Mary Magdalene and the women omitted from our Sunday Lectionary readings. Rita had a 32+ year career at IBM, in sales and Change Strategy Consulting and has a BA in Psychology and Philosophy (Newton College of the Sacred Heart, now Boston College) and an MA in Educational Psychology from NYU.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11062022 to learn more about Rita, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for All Saints Day, Grace Salceanu offers a reflection on "Beatitude love":
"Thank God for the ways that community shows up to love us when we are suffering or simply too small in our vision. Thank God for the communion of saints who are too steeped in God’s love to be petty and small. They are blessed, drawing us into the improbable ways of the Beatitudes, urging us to choose in humility the ways of mercy, righteousness, and peace."
Grace Salceanu is an educator and campus minister in the Bay Area. Her work has spanned co-directing global education programs in the Philippines and El Salvador, leading retreats, organizing spiritual formation for youth and adults in San Francisco, and teaching theology. She is a director of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11012022 to learn more about Grace, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Dr. Rachel Bundang offers a reflection on belonging:
"Jesus recognizes that Zacchaeus is also kin-- "son of Abraham"-- and wants to belong-- "for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost." Isn't that desire for kinship and belonging also our own? Let's take a step back to recognize when and how the desire surfaces for us. Let us also follow Jesus' lead to extend that invitation to someone else: offer an opening to someone looking for a place to land, to call home, to be loved unconditionally."
Dr. Rachel Bundang is a Catholic feminist ethicist. Presently based in the Bay Area, she teaches on the Religious Studies faculty at Sacred Heart Preparatory in Atherton and the Graduate Program for Pastoral Ministries faculty at Santa Clara University. She has written multiple articles and book chapters and until recently served on the editorial team for the journal Theological Studies. A founding member of the Asian Pacific American Religious Research Initiative (APARRI), her areas of interest lie at the intersections of race, feminisms, technology, inequality, and Catholic social teaching. As a liturgist, she preaches and leads music regularly at her home parish in the Bay Area and also offers retreats and workshops nationally.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10302022 for Dr. Bundang's text and for more preaching from Catholic women.
FutureChurch hosts “a Celebration of Women’s Wisdom and Witness” to launch the first volume of Catholic Women Preach: Raising Voices, Renewing the Church (Orbis Books, 2022).
We are joined by Carolyn Osiek, RSCJ, a leading authority on the role of women in the early church; Nicole Trahan, FMI, vocations director for the Marianist sisters; Virginia Saldanha, a theologian-activist in Mumbai, India; and Kerry Alys Robinson, founding executive director and partner for global and national initiatives at Leadership Roundtable.
Visit the Orbis Books Website to purchase your copy. Also available on Amazon as a paperback and Kindle edition(Nov. 3) as well as many other booksellers for those residing outside of the United States.
Preaching for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Ellie Hidalgo offers a reflection on humility, especially as we seek to become a synodal Church:
"It requires humility to become a People of God capable of encountering one another, listening, dialoguing, and able to do the hard work of communal discernment. All this synodal listening can be fruitful if we are curious and believe that every person we meet has God-given dignity and has something of value to share and that we too have something of value to share."
Ellie Hidalgo is co-director of Discerning Deacons, a project that engages Catholics in the active discernment of our Church about women and the diaconate. She graduated with a Masters in Pastoral Theology from Loyola Marymount University and received her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. Ellie was commissioned as a pastoral associate for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 2013; she preached for Catholic Women Preach in 2020 and in 2018 and helped to facilitate national prayer services in 2020 and 2021 to commemorate St. Phoebe, one of the early Church’s female deacons. Previously, Ellie served as a staff writer for The Tidings Catholic Newspaper writing news and feature stories about Hispanic ministry, restorative justice, youth ministry, and immigration reform. Ellie is the first of five children born to Cuban parents and a proud aunt to eight nieces and nephews and numerous godchildren. She returned to Miami, Florida, USA in 2020 to live closer to family.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10232022 to learn more about Ellie and Discerning Deacons, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jessica Kerber, aci, offers a reflection on resistant hope:
"It is interesting, then, in our Gospel reading, that when Jesus speaks about the need to be persistent in prayer, he does not pull out the example of Moses, but rather, he turns to the widow: a poor widow who has not actually seen manna falling from heaven, a poor widow who has not witnessed water being poured forth from a rock, and a poor widow who is not watching the Israelite forces defeat the great forces of Amalek’s army. She is a poor widow, rather, who desires that justice be done for her…in her daily life, in the smallness of the life. This is the example that Jesus pulls out. Here too we experience - in the daily, in something that relates much more to us and to the people that we know and love – Jesus speaking of this need of continued persistence and resistant hope. For this poor widow must resist three things..."
Sister Jessica Kerber is a Handmaid of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, an international congregation of Women Religious with Ignatian Spirituality and a charism of Eucharistic Reparation. As a sister, she completed her philosophy and theology studies at the Jesuit Pontifical University in Madrid, where she also studied about the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius and spiritual direction. Sr. Jessica currently coordinates the Ignatian Service Minor at St. Louis University and teaches a course within this program. Her primary role, however, is as formator for her sisters, offering opportunities and accompaniment for the sisters of temporary vows to continue to explore, deepen, and discern their vocation as Handmaids.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10162022 to learn more about Sr. Jessica, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Margaret Susan Thompson offers a reflection on living with a spirit of gratitude:
"Truly, as today’s Psalm proclaims, Yahweh is faithful and has done wondrous deeds. What has God done for you? There are miracles all around us. Have you said 'thank you' today?"
Margaret Susan (Peggy) Thompson is a professor of History and Political Science at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. She is also a Senior Research Associate at the Campbell Public Affairs Institute, and holds courtesy appointments in the Departments of Religion and Women & Gender Studies.Prof. Recently, Professor Thompson’s work has focused on the history of American Catholic nuns. She has written and lectured extensively on the subject, and has an 18-lecture audio series available through Learn25.com. Her research is from an explicitly feminist perspective, emphasizing the agency and social significance of sisters to American religious and secular history.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10092022 to learn more about Thompson, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Barbara W. Eckert offers a reflection on "vision" and truth:
"The stories we read, places we walk, images we ponder, shape our vision of others’ lives. People do write the vision down, clearly. For us to “read the vision, readily” there are faulty histories, old misconceptions, one-sided points of view in our way. These are the “non-essential” and “potentially lethal” items for us to discard. "
Barbara W. Eckert is a leadership consultant for the Catholic Church and has worked in over 60 dioceses in the US, Canada, and the Caribbean. Eckert is a consultant for Catholic Leadership Institute, Villanova University’s Center for Church Management, and the Saint John Vianney Center. She is a board member of the Missionaries of the Poor and part of the team for Shirts Across America’s workshops on human and civil rights. She holds a master’s degree in Pastoral Studies from Seattle University and is a proud “Zag” alumna of Gonzaga University. In Tacoma, Washington, she shares life, faith and learning with her husband Bill, loves to travel, create perennial gardens and be with her two sisters.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10022022 to learn more about Barbara, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Amanda W. Daloisio offers a reflection on drawing close to one another:
"On closer inspection of this story I realize that it has no description of any interactions between Lazarus and the rich man. And so I think, perhaps there were none! Perhaps the rich man never even really noticed Lazarus. His downfall, perhaps, was his complacency. And so yes, woe to that rich man! His wealth shielded him from the realities outside his door and the consequences were dire."
Amanda W. Daloisio has been a part of the New York Catholic Worker community since 2002. She currently serves as co-managing editor of The Catholic Worker newspaper, work that allows her to debate both politics and grammar, which she truly loves. She is also the co-editor of Ambassadors of God: Selected Obituaries from The Catholic Worker.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09252022 to learn more about Amanda, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary time, Mary J. Novak encourages us to be a reflection God's justice:
"The question almost daily is how are we to act with God’s justice in a world that for some of us, is much more comfortable without it? The psalm and the second reading really do provide the essential way. First, the psalm guides us, as does Catholic Social teaching: to center those who are made poor by our systems and structures. And the second reading guides us to pray. We pray for the spiritual freedom called for at the end of the passage in Luke, to serve God and not mammon, the medieval word for the worship of wealth or riches."
Mary J. Novak serves as Executive Director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice in Washington, D.C. NETWORK was founded 50 years ago by Catholic Sisters to effect structural change at the federal level. Prior to joining NETWORK, Mary served Georgetown University Law Center as a Mission Integrator and Adjunct Professor of Law with a particular focus on Ignatian spirituality and pedagogy at the intersection of psychology, spirituality and the work of justice. Mary studied and trained in theology, spirituality, and spiritual direction at Santa Clara University and the Washington Theological Union. She has extensive experience in pastoral ministry, including the ministry of spiritual direction and circle processes.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09182022 to learn more about Mary, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Laurie Cassidy offers a reflection on the familiar parable of the prodigal son:
"Don’t these family dynamics feel familiar? Aren’t these circumstances the very places where we feel lost and stuck. It is tempting to want the parable to spell out a resolution, to offer a roadmap home, give an assurance that in the end 'we can all get along' if we just follow the divine directions. But could it be that parable invites us to experience something better and beyond our imagining -- God’s compassion right at the very places we feel lost, vulnerable, stuck, and powerless? Jesus seems to be offering us compassion as 'a way out of no way'."
Laurie Cassidy, Ph.D. is a theologian, anti-racist activist and spiritual director. She currently teaches in the Christian Spirituality Program at Creighton University and was associate professor in the religious studies department at Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania. An award-winning author and editor her latest book, Desire, Darkness and Hope: Theology in a Time of Impasse is edited with M. Shawn Copeland. Her forthcoming book is entitled Praying for Freedom: Racism and Ignatian Spirituality in America. Over the past thirty years Cassidy has been engaged in ministry that facilitates the intersection of personal and social transformation. Raised in Massachusetts she now makes her home in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, traditional homeland of the Ute in Colorado.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09112022 to learn more about Laurie, to view her video or read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, timone davis offers a reflection on becoming "bluetooth Christians":
"My call to live in Christ is not my parent’s call, not my siblings’ call, not my friends’ call. It is MY call. And as such, I must move past what anyone else may think or say, hoist up my cross, and follow Christ."
timone davis is a cradle Catholic who was a “pewster” until she discovered that the uselessness of the Church was because she wasn’t giving anything of herself. After committing to do something, her life changed. Her first ministry was with the RCIA, where she not only welcomed others into the Church, but also revitalized her own spirituality. After working for the Archdiocese of Chicago as the coordinator of ReCiL – Reclaiming Christ in Life Young Adult Ministry, timone launched PEACE centered WHOLENESS with her husband Orlando, where they are blending clinical counseling and spiritual companioning. In addition to running a business, timone is an assistant professor in the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University Chicago. In her spare time, she serves as the treasurer of the National Institute for Ministry with Young Adults and Associate Convener of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium. dr. timone davis uses lower case letters in the spelling of her name to indicate her willingness to embody the creedal assertion in John 3:30 in her everyday living.
Preaching for the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mary Lou Bozza offers a reflection on humility:
"Jesus is urging us, when we are invited as guests into a situation, to begin with a posture of openness to what others are bringing-- when in doubt, assume that others are more in need of special care than we are, and try to offer that care. Not because your own struggles aren’t real, but because everyone is struggling, and even in our weakness, we have something to offer others. When we are put into the position of being host, when we have been given the resources-- financial, emotional, physical, or otherwise-- to be able to welcome others, we should seek out not those who are the easiest to welcome, but those who are most in need."
Mary Lou Bozza is the Assistant Director of the Center for Ministry and Service at Regis College in Weston, Massachusetts. Mary Lou and her husband Gary are the parents of a delightful toddler, and spend much of their time surrounded by their large Irish-Italian-Chinese-Lebanese family, enjoying delicious food and each other. After growing up in central Connecticut, Mary Lou attended Boston College, graduating with a degree in Theology and Hispanic Studies. Her senior thesis about Dorothy Day is part of the Dorothy Day archives at Marquette University.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08282022 to learn more about Mary Lou, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cindy Bernardin offers a reflection on "striving":
"The thing about this gospel-striving is that it admits to our unfinishedness. It leaves room, plenty good room, for God’s healing-saving grace. Gospel-striving is not deadly, solitary, or lonely. It is alongside, among, in relationship with, God and neighbor."
Cindy Bernardin currently preaches ecumenical Sunday Morning Prayer once a month in New Harmony, Indiana. Her latest ministry is working as a preaching coach for the Institute for Homiletics - Preaching for Encounter program, a collaboration between the University of Dallas, The Catholic Foundation of Dallas, and the Archdiocese of Dallas. Cindy previously ministered as a certified Catholic Chaplin. She holds an Master of Arts in Theology from Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology and a Doctor of Ministry in Preaching from Aquinas Institute of Theology.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08212022 to learn more about Cindy, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, Kerry Robinson offers a reflection on finding hope in radical faith and community:
"It seems especially lately, collectively and individually, we know the terrible seductive temptation to despair, the feeling of hopelessness about the future, the weight of so many seemingly insurmountable challenges before us making it difficult to see beyond a bleak horizon. And yet. This Gospel. This Gospel is a celebration of radical faith in God’s abundant, loving invitation no matter the reality in which we find ourselves."
Kerry Alys Robinson is the founding executive director and partner for global and national initiatives at Leadership Roundtable. She and her husband, Dr. Michael Cappello, have two children, Christopher and Sophie.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08152022 to learn more about Kerry, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Karen Seaborn offers a reflection on disturbing the peace in order to achieve true peace for all:
"Today’s gospel tells us that Jesus came to set the world on fire. And he calls us, his disciples, to continue the work he started. He never told us working toward peace and unity would be easy. Or immediate, as much as he wished it was so. Jesus had to trust that new life would emerge from the conflict that led to his passion and death. So too are we called to trust—that when we set a fire for justice, inclusiveness, and radical love, new life will emerge."
Karen Seaborn is a member of the retreat team at King’s House Retreat Center in Belleville, IL, where she preaches quiet retreats, serves as Spiritual Director on directed retreats, and presents weekend retreats for married couples with her husband, Scott. Additionally, Karen offers parish workshops and days/evenings of reflection throughout the greater St. Louis metropolitan area. She is an adjunct professor at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Mo. She holds a Doctor of Ministry in Preaching degree, a Master of Divinity degree, and a Graduate Certificate in Spiritual Direction from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08142022 to learn more about Karen, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jackie Minnock, B.Th, M.Phil, offers a reflection on being lamplighters to one another:
"We all have a part to play in this journey of faith – in this journey of believing in something greater than self. The process is laid out in today’s readings. We are called to be light to others, using the gifts we have been given. We are called to allow others to light the way for us too."
Jackie Minnock was born in Dublin Ireland. She contracted Polio when she was a year old and is proud to be known as a Polio Survivor. Jackie now lives about an hour north of Dublin in Co. Louth. She is married to Colm for over 30 years and has two children and one grandchild. She completed her Theology Degree by Distance Education at the Priory Institute Dublin in 2011 and her Masters in Intercultural Theology and Interreligious Studies at The School of Ecumenics at Trinity College Dublin in 2014. She has written for a number of Theological Journals in Ireland and has also broadcast on Irish National Radio - TE - in their Living Word slot on morning radio. She has also written a number of articles for the Polio Survivor Magazine in Ireland. She is a member of We Are Church Ireland and Root & Branch Lay Led Synod Group and is passionate about reform in the Catholic Church.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08072022 to learn more about Jackie, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Elizabeth Garlow invites us to the ecological conversion called for in Laudato Si':
"We will have to let go of the short-termism and instant gratification that is so pervasive. We will need to adopt a longer-term view, one that helps us understand what it might look like to live in ways that would make us good ancestors. It reminds me of the passage in today’s Gospel parable where God says to the harvester - ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’"
Elizabeth Garlow has worked in the areas of social entrepreneurship, impact investing and public policy with an eye toward building an economy rooted in solidarity and mutual care. Three years ago, Elizabeth was moved by the launch of the global Economy of Francesco Movement to co-find the Francesco Collaborative, a network of investors, entrepreneurs and other changemakers seeking to respond to Pope Francis’ call to be “protagonists of transformation” in our economy. Today, she runs “Livable Future Investing” workshops through the Francesco Collaborative, inviting investors to discern and embrace their most important work in building the solidarity economy. She also accompanies religious congregations as they discern how to align their assets with mission in an ever-evolving world. She also conducts research on well-being economics as a fellow with New America. Elizabeth holds a BA from Kalamazoo College and a Master’s in public policy and economics from Princeton University. She loves swimming, playing folk music, and making a home in the Detroit area with her partner Paul and their new daughter Sophia.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07312022 to learn more about Elizabeth, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Brenna Davis offers a reflection on the communal nature of the prayer Jesus teaches us:
"And so my prayer for all of us is that as we enter into the dynamics of the Lord's Prayer, that we can be consoled, that we can trust in God's plan, and that we can be bread for one another and lean on our neighbors when we need the sustenance to carry us forward to bring about the reign of God."
Brenna Davis currently serves as the Director of Environmental Initiatives at the Ignatian Solidarity Network. She is a certified spiritual director, Cuyahoga County Master Recycler, a member of NCR’s EarthBeat Advisory Panel, and a board member for the Jesuit Retreat Center in Parma, OH and Bethlehem Farm in Pence Springs, WV.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07242022 to learn more about Brenna, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, Kayla August offers a reflection on Mary's unique role as a pillar of our community and example to all:
"She was sent to make known that the one she loved…. LIVED. She wasn’t just a woman who hoped and prayed, who waited and wept, she was a woman who LOVED. And a God who is LOVE knows that a woman who loves and believes … is the way to change the world. So, let Magdalene be a reminder of what we can endure, what we can bring, and what awaits those powered by love."
Kayla August is a doctoral student at the School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College, where she is pursuing a Ph.D. in Theology and Education with a focus on preaching. As a lay woman in the Church, Kayla makes a point to preach whenever and wherever she can. She is not only a proud contributor to the voices found on Catholic Women Preach, but she has also preached in a variety of places including McGrath’s Institute for Church Life Saturday with the Saints at Notre Dame, St. Francis of Assisi Parish in New York's 7 Last Words of Christ prayer service on Good Friday, and a variety of churches, youth gatherings, and universities across the U.S.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07222022 to learn more about Kayla, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic Women.
Preaching for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Susan Fleming McGurgan offers a reflection on the "strange little story" of Martha and Mary:
"What is the truth about Martha and Mary? For me, it is enough to know that their faithfulness, their commitment to love and serve, and yes, lead, is our inheritance--yours and mine, passed down from mother to daughter, between sister and sister, disciple to disciple, from woman of faith to woman of faith throughout the ages-- whatever our station, whatever our circumstance, whatever our struggles, whatever our personal response to God’s call."
Dr. Susan McGurgan has served in pastoral ministry and lay formation for 30 years as a parish minister, formation director, professor, and administrator. She is currently the Director of Lay Ecclesial Formation and Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology for Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and School of Theology in Cincinnati. She holds a BA Honors History degree from Oklahoma State University, an MA Religion from the Athenaeum of Ohio/Mount St. Mary's Seminary, and a D.Min in Preaching from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary (Now Bexley-Seabury). In 2021, she launched a preaching website offering resources and support for working preachers, Preaching Hope: https://www.preachinghope.org/
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07172022 to learn more about Susan, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Ann M. Garrido leads us through an imaginative retelling of the parable of the Good Samaritan and helps us reflect on being neighbors:
"Is neighbor a noun or a verb? Is it someone you live near…or someone who draws near when you need them? Is neighbor something you have or something you do?”
Ann Garrido is associate professor of homiletics at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, MO. While her first passion is teaching, Garrido has also served the school in a number of administrative roles including (at varying points in time) as Director of the Doctorate of Ministry in Preaching, Director of MAPS Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Director of Field Education, Director of Distance Learning, and Director of the Aquinas Ministry Integration Project. Most recently, Garrido served as the Marten Fellow in Preaching at the University of Notre Dame. She preaches each month for the Dominican website Word.op.org and is the author of numerous books.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07102022 to learn more about Ann, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourteenth Sunday, Maria Luevano-Salazar offers a reflection on rejoicing in carrying out the mission and plan that Jesus has laid out for us:
"Now more than ever, it is crucial that we hear the calling, that we hear the plan, that we go out there and do what is asked for us to do. Today we need to be the new missionaries and disciples, the servants, and the leaders in today's hurt world. To go out like the 72 disciples that returned and rejoiced. Knowing that there will be challenges, but that in Jesus’ name we can successfully complete the mission."
Maria Luevano-Salazar was born in Zacatecas, Mexico. At the age of 13 Maria and her family immigrated to Chicago. After only a few years of living in the United States and learning English, she attended Loyola University Chicago and majored in Spanish Literature. After graduating from Loyola University, Maria became very involved with Hispanic Young Adult Ministry and Hispanic Ministry at the Archdiocese of Chicago. After 5 years of Ministry work with the Office for Hispanic Ministry at the Archdiocese of Chicago, Maria started working at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, where she is also an alumna, as a Spanish teacher. In addition to teaching, Maria is currently leading the Hispanic Ministry Initiative within the school community. Maria is a mother of 4 children and enjoys partnering with her husband to teach their faith to their children.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07032022 to learn more about Maria and to view her text and video (in both Spanish and English).
Preaching for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Krista Chinchilla-Patzke offers a reflection on focusing the work ahead:
"We, as Jesus’ disciples were, are being invited to embrace freedom and shift our attention onto something else. After saying goodbye to my family in California, it’s easy for me to think solely of everyone and everything that I’m leaving behind. It is my concentration on that - not my goodbyes, -that may make me unfit. We are being asked to focus on the kindom of God—not to be absorbed by what we lose when we say 'yes' to following Jesus. There is a cost to discipleship, but there is much more gain."
Krista Chinchilla-Patzke was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala and raised in Southern California. She serves as the Faith and Justice Campus Minister at Loyola University Chicago. Her passion for ministry was ignited by faith-based service and immersion opportunities; she is grateful to oversee programs in which undergraduate students, faculty, and staff can engage issues of justice, learn about advocacy, and consider culturally responsive ministry. She cultivated her pastoral approach in her prior professional work at Marian University in Indianapolis, Indiana and Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois.She earned an MA in Theology and Ministry from the School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College and a BA in Theology and Psychology from Loyola Marymount University.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06262022 to learn more about Krista, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, Jenny Wiertel reflects on meeting violence and senseless death with real presence:
"There may never be any answers to the tragedy of war, violence, and evil, but we’re here because we’re here because we’re here. Today, as we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi, we proclaim that not only are we here, but Christ is here, in the bread and the cup, in our neighbor, in us. In the face of meaninglessness, being here means something. Christ meets the absurdity of violence with the absurdity of real presence."
Jenny Wiertel is a Master of Divinity student at the University of Notre Dame. During the academic year, she serves as an assistant rector in Pasquerilla West Hall at Notre Dame. In this role, she provides pastoral care, preaches at liturgy, directs retreats, coordinates community service, and most importantly, empowers students to become leaders in their community and in their Church. She has spent two summers living and working with those experiencing homelessness in Phoenix, AZ at Andre House of Hospitality, a ministry inspired by Holy Cross spirituality and the Catholic Worker movement. Jenny is passionate about amplifying the voices of those who are marginalized in our Church and in our world, and she hopes to use her Master of Divinity to continue to preach, accompany, and serve.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06192022 to learn more about Jenny, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, Patricia Bruno, OP, offers a reflection inviting us into the Mystery:
"We will never understand the mystery that the poet of Proverbs explores, but if we sit in silence with the barn doors open wide, Wisdom will feed our imaginations so that our spirits will rise and be able to enter into the dance of praise and gratitude. And don’t worry. Even if our legs are a bit old, we’ll be able to join in the dance because we know the steps by heart."
Patricia Bruno, O.P. is a Dominican Sister of San Rafael, CA. Patricia is a spiritual and retreat director and writes a monthly scripture internet article, Stories Seldom Heard. She has led retreats, justice and preaching workshop in New Zealand, Australia and the United States. Patricia began her ministry as a teacher. In 1980 she founded the Interfaith Pittsburg Community Organizing Project, CA. In 1985 Patricia became the Promoter of Preaching for her congregation, a board member of Parable (a national conference for Dominican Life and Mission) and of the Academy of Preachers. In the 1990’s, while on the staff of Pace e Bene, a Franciscan organization that offers retreats and workshops on nonviolence, Patricia co-authored a book, From Violence to Wholeness. Patricia, as the Promoter of Justice for the San Rafael Dominicans, established their congregation’s Socially Responsible and Alternative Investment Committees. In 1990 she became the Director of Justice Education for the Northern California Community Loan Fund. By 1999 a coalition of seventeen Roman Catholic congregations/provinces were active members of and investors in the Fund. Patricia’s religious life has braided together two major themes: spirituality and justice.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06122022 to learn more about Patricia Bruno, OP, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Pentecost, M. Shawn Copeland offers a reflection on 'Spirit of God Different':
"At Pentecost, Spirit God Different missions us to live out the command of Jesus to ‘love one another.’ Spirit God Different opens us, teaches us to live in and live out active compassionate, loving solidarity with those whom our society chooses to oppress––those whom our society exploits and alienates, marginalizes and dominates, rejects and denies, attacks and assaults, represses and crushes, murders and destroys. By creating these blessed fleshly differences, Spirit God Different nudges us to reach out to one another, to communicate, to meet one another, to enjoy one another, to act in love for and with one another. Spirit God Different urges us to defend and protect one another from oppression and violence of body and soul, mind and heart; to respect and honor, welcome and embrace one another in all our fleshly difference––for our shining and beautiful fleshly differing bodies are dwelling places of Spirit God Different."
Dr. M. Shawn Copeland is Professor emerita of Systematic Theology at Boston College and Theologian-in-Residence at Saint Katharine Drexel Parish, Roxbury, Massachusetts. She is an internationally recognized scholar and award-winning writer. Copeland is a former Convener of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium (BCTS). She was the first African American and first African American woman to serve as president of the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA).
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06052022 to learn more about Dr. M. Shawn Copeland, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of the Ascension, Stephanie Boccuzzi offers a reflection on ascending - rising up - to the realities of today:
"This Solemnity asks us to Rise! Get up! Be empowered to be a light to the world! And, to do so, we ask ourselves, 'What does ascending mean after these past two years of global, national, and individual suffering?' 'How can we rise up to meet the challenges of today?' 'Do we situate our gaze on a future of joy and restoration, or do we live in the pain and worry of the past?'"
Stephanie Boccuzzi currently teaches Theology at Xavier High School in Manhattan. A graduate of The University of Scranton, Stephanie studied International Business and Spanish with a concentration in Latin American Studies. Following graduation, she lived in Quito, Ecuador and served with The Center for Working Families. The experience in Quito led her to pursue a Master of Divinity degree at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University. Her areas of interest include women in Scripture, racial justice in the Catholic Church and beyond, curriculum design in ethics, and preaching and spiritual accompaniment. Stephanie recently accepted the role of Mission Leader at Trinity Health of New England, where she will serve St. Mary’s hospital in Waterbury and the senior living communities of Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05292022 to learn more about Stephanie, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, M. Patricia Ball, M.S.R.N. offers a reflection on finding peace in our turbulent lives by actively inviting God into them:
"We can pray unceasingly and live the gospel if we find sustenance in remembering that we are engulfed in God’s loving embrace. In that embrace we can find the peace he gives and that we so desire. It is good that God is here".
M. Patricia Ball, M.S.R.N. has been a practicing psychiatric nurse since 1983. Her current professional work is in the area of research into treatments for Schizophrenia. For the past 45 years she has been an active member of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Baltimore, an intentional community committed to being inclusive and active in issues of social justice and the work of Vatican II. She currently serves as a lector, liturgy planner, Eucharistic minister, and on the Committee on Church Reform. As part of her work for church reform, Patricia joined Discerning Deacons and has been active with them since its inception. She also serves as a hospice volunteer.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05222022 to learn more about Patricia, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Mariann McCorkle invites us to consider how we can embody Christ's command to "love":
"Who accompanied you and made an impact on your spiritual life. Join me in giving thanks for that accompaniment. How then do we embody that love for ourselves and others?"
Mariann McCorkle is Co-Director of the Ignatian Legacy Fellows Program, Loyola University Chicago. She founded the program in 2018 with John Fontana, Co-Director, to promote a community of learning in a pilgrimage over one year in one’s retirement. Mariann holds a Bachelors and a Masters Degree in English and has taught literature, poetry and spirituality for years.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05152022 to learn more about Mariann, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Sr. Jane Nesmith, SBS, offers a reflection on listening for the voice of the Good Shepherd in our world and lives today:
"Our very lives depend on our choosing the option of following the Good Shepherd, and to declare with our lips and our lives that he is indeed the Way, the Truth and the Life. This one and only Good Shepherd calls out to us in our heartbreak and our loneliness. He calls out to us in our frustration and our guilt. This Good Shepherd brings His love to our lovelessness. This Good Shepherd brings His power to our powerlessness. This Good Shepherd stands by His promise, 'I give you life eternal and nothing in all creation will ever be able to snatch you out of my hand.'"
Sister Jane Nesmith is a native of Philadelphia, PA, and a 58-year member of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. She holds a Master’s Degree in Education with a concentration in Religious Studies and a Certification in Youth Ministry from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, WI. Sister’s previous mission sites included: Rayne, Lake Charles, and New Orleans, LA; Seattle, WA; Evansville, IN; and Jamaica, West Indies. She taught youth of all grade levels, coordinated youth programs, served as a Director of Campus Ministry, Pastoral Associate, Pastoral Life Coordinator, and co-founded a pilot youth ministry program at Xavier University. She has also served as a founding and board member of the National Black Sisters’ Conference.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05082022 to learn more about Sister Jane, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Third Sunday of Easter, Kelly Meraw, reflects on Jesus' final post-resurrection appearance and what it means for our Church today:
"In his threefold affirmation of love for Jesus, Peter is guided to the most integral mark of an intimate lover of Christ: limitless love and mercy. Peter must be reminded of his need for Christ’s mercy in order to ultimately be the conduit of it. Teaching Peter that ‘to love is to forgive’ is our Lord’s last blueprint entrusted to a Church who is asked to spill divine mercy over a world in desperate need of it. A Church who is asked to confront their own finite love and follow the movement of the Holy Spirit into a radical, unbounded love. An agape love. A love like Christ showed Peter, and a love like Christ has shown us."
Kelly Meraw is the Director of Liturgy, Music, and Pastoral Care for St. John - St. Paul Collaborative (a thriving Catholic Collaborative of two parishes in Wellesley, Massachusetts). In her parishes she leads bible studies, organizes faith sharing circles and social justice initiatives, leads communion, wake and committal services, offers adult faith enrichment programming and shepherds bereavement ministries.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05012022 to learn more about Kelly, to view her video or read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Maureen Glavin, RSCJ preaches for the Second Sunday of Easter, offering a reflection on seeking and believing:
"On this topic of deep knowing or mature belief, I often think of the founder of my congregation, Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat. She wrote regularly about the interior life or interior spirit. Her own contemplative practice provided her with the kind of ongoing experiences which allowed her to know what it tasted like, felt like, to be in union with, communion with, in relationship with, touched by and touching, the living Christ. So, what about us?"
A native of upstate New York, Sr. Maureen Glavin has been a member of the Society of the Sacred Heart for 34 years. Having recently completed a term serving on the Society’s United States–Canada Province Provincial Team, she has said ‘yes’ to an invitation to live, learn and minister in Indonesia beginning in August of 2022. In addition to teaching math and science in her early years in the Society, Sister Glavin served as Assistant Principal of Our Lady of Guadalupe School in Houston, Texas, and as Director of the Junior High School at Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart in Miami, Florida. Prior to being named to the Provincial Team, she served for 13 years as Head of School at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in St. Charles, Missouri.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04242022 to learn more about Sr. Maureen, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Easter, Kimberly Lymore encourages us to find resurrection in our own lives:
"Today is a reminder that we are a resurrection people who have the power to resurrect those things in our lives that have been buried. Take off your burial clothes and put on your garment of praise. Scripture tells us that God has turned our mourning into dancing. Today is the day we resurrect our dreams, our faith, our peace, whatever it is we have buried."
Kimberly Lymore is a member of The Faith Community of St. Sabina, where she was appointed the full-time Pastoral Associate by the Rev. Michael L. Pfleger on September 1, 2000. She is currently Convener of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium and Director of the Augustus Tolton Pastoral Ministry Program at Catholic Theological Union (CTU). Dr. Lymore received her Masters of Divinity with a concentration in Word from CTU and she received her Doctor of Ministry from McCormick Theological Union.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04172022 to learn more about Kimberly, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Lifting up the experience, faith, and wisdom of her ancestors and elders, Valerie D. Lewis-Mosley, OPA preaches for Good Friday:
"Whenever I would ask my grandparents and great-grandparents about their experiences in the Jim Crow south of segregation and the terror of the Ku Klux Klan, their response was 'A burning cross has no power over the Cross of Calvary.' It was their abiding faith and trust in the Blood poured out that day on Calvary that allowed my ancestors and elders the confidence to believe and trust that their help cometh from the Lord."
Valerie D. Lewis-Mosley, OPA is the retired Director of Religious Education at the Church of Christ the King - Jersey City, New Jersey, a historical Black Catholic Parish an Apostolate for Evangelization in the African American community. She now serves in various capacities across the nation as a mentor to youth and adults evangelist, retreat leader and revivalist and public speaker, life coach and Spiritual Director. Catechesis to children and youth and women’s spirituality and empowerment are a major component of her ministry as a pastoral associate. She is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Theology at Caldwell University, Caldwell, New Jersey, and Xavier University of Louisiana Institute for Black Catholic Studies. Valerie is a member of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium. She holds multiple advanced degrees in nursing, law, and theology, including a Doctor of Ministry from Drew Theological School in Madison, NJ.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04152022 to learn more about Valerie, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Remembering the lunch counter sit-ins of the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Kim Harris preaches for Holy Thursday, offering a reflection on creating a welcome table:
"Are we looking and bending down, to wash the feet of a neighbor? Or even allowing our own feet to be washed in the ritual…? While feeling other than, feeling above or even feeling disdain for those who are in deep need. Unhoused, underfed, unremembered? Do we see, as we look at our table not only who is there, but who is not there? Who is not invited? Who is invited but cannot gain access?"
Kim R. Harris is Assistant Professor of African American Thought and Practice in the Department of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. She holds a Ph.D. in Worship and the Arts from Union Theological Seminary, New York City. Dr. Harris is a member of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium and the North American Academy of Liturgy. While pursuing her Ph.D., she composed Welcome Table: A Mass of Spirituals. Welcome Table is a featured complete Mass setting in the second edition of the Black Catholic hymnal, Lead Me Guide Me and the Gather Hymnal 4th Edition (GIA Publications Inc.). Her current research concerns Black Catholic liturgy in a time of changing parish demographics and consolidations, as well as the need to diversify available liturgical resources for worship.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04142022 to learn more about Dr. Harris, to watch her preaching video or read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Palm Sunday, Cecilia González-Andrieu, Ph.D., offers a reflection on "stubborn hope":
"And so – we are called out of ourselves to take this road with Jesus – to take up the gift of the reign of God we are called to bring, while knowing that there will be murderous opposition to that gift. As we step out of our comfort into the starkness of what is real, we transcend fear to see clearly that we must continue on to Jerusalem because that is where change happens. This Holy Week we sit with Jesus in the underground cistern, where he was likely kept overnight as he awaited trial and try to fathom how it is that he continued to love and work for love in spite of so much evidence that he should just give up. Humanity must have broken his heart. They were hopeless, mired in their own self-preservation, and yet, there were those women, his mother, the Magdalene, the others. Fearless they pushed on, wanting him to see them, to know their nearness. Like in so many of the stories of his Jewish community, they enacted God’s reign, the few who made visible God’s love, showing that humanity was not without hope."
Cecilia González-Andrieu, Ph.D., is professor of Theology and Theological Aesthetics at Loyola Marymount University. Her work explores systematic theology, theological aesthetics, and political theology from the particularity of the Latinx experience. She is the author of Bridge to Wonder: Art as a Gospel of Beauty and co-editor of Teaching Global Theologies: Power and Praxis. A scholar-activist Dr. González-Andrieu speaks and marches with those who thirst for the liberative power of theological thought in a number of interlaced areas of inquiry.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04102022 to learn more about Cecilia, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Teresa Delgado, Ph.D., redirects our attention toward the systems, powers, and structures that use that use vulnerable people for their own benefit:
"How is it scandalous to say that Jesus enacts no punishment, no condemnation, for an 'adulterous' woman, that he just lets her go; yet not scandalous that the religious power structures of the time could have accused an innocent person, condemning her to death, just to prove a point?What responsibility do we have in undoing the systems and structures that make it all too easy to drag a vulnerable person to the middle of the square to be stoned for all to see and participate?...As we journey through these final days of Lent, I pray we have not become so desensitized to the harm done by powers and privilege, because we are so much more focused on shaming the 'sinner' rather than dismantling the structures that make such shaming all too easy."
Teresa Delgado is Director of the Peace and Justice Studies Program and Professor and Chairperson of the Religious Studies Department at Iona College (New Rochelle, NY). She received her doctorate from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, under the guidance of the trailblazing womanist theologian Dr. Delores S. Williams. She has published on topics ranging from diversity in higher education, transformational pedagogies, constructive theology and ethics, and justice for racially, ethnically and sexually minoritized persons.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04032022 to learn more about Dr. Delgado, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Sr. Anne Celestine Ondigo, FSJ offers a reflection on reconciliation and re-entry:
"Today’s readings announce the good news of acceptance where all, irrespective of their dispositions are eligible to a warm re-entry. During this Lenten period, eligibility to God’s mercy is more emphasized as the Church draws its faithful to the penitential nature of the season, to the Sacrament of reconciliation, to renewal, penance and hope. It’s an invitation by the merciful Father to an act of sincere contrition. A decisive moment to review our conscience and return to the boundless sea of God’s love and mercy."
Sr. Anne Celestine Ondigo is a member of the Franciscan Sisters of St Joseph-Kenya currently residing in Perry, New York. She is an educator who has taught for several years. She also advances advocacy for peace and justice both theoretically and pragmatically. Her advocacy in the field of peacebuilding is inspired by the values of the Catholic Social Teachings and those of St Francis of Assisi. A post-doctoral researcher at Boston College, she has a PhD in Diplomacy, Peace and International Relations.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03272022 to learn more about Sr. Anne, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Sr. Anne Celestine Ondigo, FSJ offers a reflection on reconciliation and re-entry:
"Today’s readings announce the good news of acceptance where all, irrespective of their dispositions are eligible to a warm re-entry. During this Lenten period, eligibility to God’s mercy is more emphasized as the Church draws its faithful to the penitential nature of the season, to the Sacrament of reconciliation, to renewal, penance and hope. It’s an invitation by the merciful Father to an act of sincere contrition. A decisive moment to review our conscience and return to the boundless sea of God’s love and mercy."
Sr. Anne Celestine Ondigo is a member of the Franciscan Sisters of St Joseph-Kenya currently residing in Perry, New York. She is an educator who has taught for several years. She also advances advocacy for peace and justice both theoretically and pragmatically. Her advocacy in the field of peacebuilding is inspired by the values of the Catholic Social Teachings and those of St Francis of Assisi. A post-doctoral researcher at Boston College, she has a PhD in Diplomacy, Peace and International Relations.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03272022 to learn more about Sr. Anne, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Jaime L. Waters preaches for the Third Sunday of Lent, offering a reflection on repentance:
"Repentance allows us to turn our attention to aspects of ourselves and our lives that need more care and correction. The gardener acknowledges the ways that the tree has failed and commits to cultivating the earth and adding nutrients to nourish the tree and help it grow. The gardener asks for time, recognizing that renewal might not happen overnight. Then, the parable simply ends unresolved which I think is very fitting. The missing resolution and the lack of conclusion might signal that we need to finish the story. We have the opportunity to give time and care to nourish ourselves (and others too), and the results hopefully will be very positive! Today’s Gospel reminds us to be intentional about our spiritual growth and development, turning away from sin and turning towards God, so that we, too, may bear fruit."
Jaime L. Waters teaches Scripture at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. She is associate professor of Catholic Studies and the author of Threshing Floors in Ancient Israel: Their Ritual and Symbolic Significance (Fortress Press, 2015) and the forthcoming book What Does the Bible Say About Animals? (New City Press, 2022). Waters is also a contributor at America: The Jesuit Review of Faith & Culture. She holds a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University, M.A. from Yale University, and B.A. from Boston College. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03202022 to learn more about Jaime Waters, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Second Sunday of Lent, Vivian Cabrera reflects on the dynamic between longing and doubt:
"Our hearts can tell us what our minds can’t comprehend. They urge us to stay. As we enter Lent this year, let us sit in the certainty of what our hearts tell us, these hearts that were created by God, for God. Let us cry out what the psalmist says: ‘Hear, O Lord, the sound of my call; have pity on me and answer me. Of you my heart speaks, you my glance seeks.’ It’s up to us to stay and wait…long enough to let the Lord show up and speak."
Vivian Cabrera is a writer and editor in New York. She attends the Graduate School of Social Service at Fordham University. Prior to her graduate work, Vivian worked at America Media as the assistant editor for digital media. Vivian’s writing has been featured in America, the National Catholic Reporter, and FemCatholic, and she contributed an essay to the book Interrupted Presence: Eleven Stories of Finding God in Times of Trouble.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03132022 to learn more about Vivian, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the First Sunday of Lent, Melissa Cedillo reflects on inviting God into our work for justice:
"As Lent begins, let us remember that we cannot survive on bread alone. Just as we cannot produce all the food we need for a happy and full life on our own. Let us remember to lean on Jesus in our most justice filled fights and in our moments of weakness...Where do we seek nourishment from when bread alone is not enough? How are we inviting God into our fight for justice?"
Melissa Cedillo was born and raised in California's Coachella Valley. She attended Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles where she earned a BA in Theological Studies. After college, Melissa spent time in Washington DC as a campaign associate for Faith in Public Life working to defend the integrity of the 2020 Census. Melissa then went on to complete an MTS at Harvard Divinity School where she studied religion, ethics, and politics through a public policy lens. Melissa currently works at the National Catholic Reporter as the Latino Catholics Fellow.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03062022 to learn more about Melissa, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Ash Wednesday, Sr. Cora Marie Billings invites us to live each day of Lent intentionally:
"We know the scriptures also tell us that today is the day of salvation. So today - each day of Lent - as I go through it, I will focus on one thing that day. And the scriptures say a lot about almsgiving. For me, almsgiving is giving every part of my body - my voice, my heart, my lips, my ears. So each day of Lent, I will focus on giving one blessing, one grace that God has given me for that day."
Sister Cora Marie Billings has been a member of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas for 65 years. During that time she has been a Teacher, a Campus Minister and an Administrator. She is one of the Founding Members of the National Black Sisters’ Conference. Since 1968 she has been an advocate for human rights and anti-racism. As such she has done presentations around the nation. At present she considers herself a Community Volunteer.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03022022 to learn more, to read Sr. Cora Marie's text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jennifer Theby-Quinn offers a reflection on being rooted in Jesus' radical, boundless love:
"That’s what the firm foundation looks like: a tree, with roots reaching deep to her source, who stays near the water that gives her life, a person unafraid of vulnerability, unafraid of being wrong, because I am deeply, deeply rooted in the radical and boundless love of Jesus. This is the tree Jesus mentions at the end of today’s reading: the tree known by her fruit. I’d so much rather be a healthy fruit tree than a 2x4."
Jennifer Theby-Quinn is a professional actor, vocalist, educator, and campus minister. Jen believes in the power of story-telling to shift perspectives and explore questions. She currently serves as a Campus Minister focusing on the Graduate Student/Young Adult Community and Women’s Community at The Catholic Student Center at Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri. Jen also heads Upper Room, an undergraduate spiritual and theological formation program she had a hand in creating. Based in Saint Louis, Missouri, Jen performs regionally in everything from contemporary drama to musical theatre to long form improv. Jen lives with her Beloved husband and two snuggly pups.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02272022 to learn more about Jennifer, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (February 20, 2022), Deborah Wilhelm offers a reflection on pausing before springing to action:
"That pause for conversation is a gift; it only takes place because everyone’s asleep--and as the text says, that deep sleep is the work of the Lord. This conversation is in that liminal space, neither here nor there, in which decisions are made and carried out, and lives are changed. Because at some point in our lives, we're all going to be Saul--broken, vulnerable, and nevertheless anointed by God."
Deborah Wilhelm, DMin, is Adjunct Professor of Preaching and Evangelization at the Aquinas Institute of Theology, where she also co-directs the Delaplane Preaching Initiative; in addition, she lectures in practical theology at Loyola University New Orleans. She is co-author, with Bishop Sylvester Ryan, of Preaching Matters: A Praxis for Preachers, and co-author of the upcoming 2023 Year A edition of Living the Word.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02202022 to learn more about Deborah or to read her preaching text and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Bridget Bearss, RSCJ preaches for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering a reflection that invites us to move beyond polarity:
"We live in a divided world and we are the instruments of the heart of God, who choose to build bridges of relationship in places, structures, attitudes and experiences of difference. We do not remain in the polarity, but live from the unity of knowing that we – each one of us – has the possibility of prophet or persecutor."
Bridget Bearss, RSCJ is an educator, artist-writer, activist for the Beatitudes, and facilitator of processes to build and strengthen the experience of communities of dialogue, justice and hope. She is a member of the Society of the Sacred Heart, United States-Canada Province, currently serving as Executive Director of a work of her congregation, Stuart Center for Mission.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02132022 to learn more about Bridget, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Bridget Bearss, RSCJ preaches for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering a reflection that invites us to move beyond polarity:
"We live in a divided world and we are the instruments of the heart of God, who choose to build bridges of relationship in places, structures, attitudes and experiences of difference. We do not remain in the polarity, but live from the unity of knowing that we – each one of us – has the possibility of prophet or persecutor."
Bridget Bearss, RSCJ is an educator, artist-writer, activist for the Beatitudes, and facilitator of processes to build and strengthen the experience of communities of dialogue, justice and hope. She is a member of the Society of the Sacred Heart, United States-Canada Province, currently serving as Executive Director of a work of her congregation, Stuart Center for Mission.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02132022 to learn more about Bridget, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Colleen Dulle Preaches for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering a reflection on the ongoing nature of conversion:
"Each of the conversion stories we heard today were preceded by doubt and a sense of unworthiness...Each of these people, all towering figures in salvation history, need a word of encouragement to overcome their hesitancy and begin their work. So here’s a last question to reflect on: If we are to be Christ to one another, what can we do to encourage and empower the prophets of our day to speak, or the saints of our day to minister?"
Colleen Dulle is a multimedia journalist covering Catholic and Vatican news. In her current position as Associate Editor at America Media, Colleen writes and edits Vatican news and analysis pieces, along with hosting and producing the weekly news podcast Inside the Vatican. She creates Vatican explainer videos for America Media’s YouTube channel and contributes to Sacred Heart University’s “Go, Rebuild My House” blog. Her forthcoming biography of the French author, social worker and mystic Madeleine Delbrêl will be published by Liturgical Press.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02062022 to learn more about Colleen, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Flora x. Tang preaches for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering a reflection on loving and belonging:
"At the end of our gospel reading, Jesus passed through the midst of the people and went away. In walking away, he began his ministry, found his new family in his disciples and friends: friends who gave him room to proclaim the gospel, friends who do not underestimate him or reject him for who he is. We learn from Jesus’ leaving Nazareth that in situations where we are not accepted at all and are experiencing harm, that it is okay to set boundaries, walk away, and find new communities of belonging."
Flora x. Tang is a doctoral student in theology and peace studies at the University of Notre Dame, where she writes and researches about post-traumatic sacramental theology, queer theology, and literature of the Asian diaspora. Flora has previously worked as a hospital chaplain, a campus ministry fellow, and a service-learning program coordinator for college students. Her writings appear in the National Catholic Reporter and America Magazine, and her book of poetry is published in Mandarin Chinese. She is originally from Beijing, China.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01302022 to learn more about Flora, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Jennifer Reyes Lay Preaches for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, bringing the readings into conversation with her work to end human trafficking:
"Go, and be the Body of Christ in the world, proclaiming Good News to the poor and the vulnerable, liberating those held captive and oppressed through human trafficking, and opening the eyes and hearts of those who would rather not see this wound that is harming our collective body and wellbeing."
Jennifer Reyes Lay is the first Executive Director of U.S. Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking (USCSAHT). Jennifer has a Master of Divinity from Eden Theological Seminary, and an honors B.A. in Theology and International Studies from St. Louis University. She currently lives in St. Louis, MO with her husband Roger and their dog Bella where she enjoys spending time outdoors, gardening, singing, dancing, reading, and writing.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01232022 to learn more about Jennifer, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Paige Byrne Shortal offers a reflection on God's abundance and revisits her "Prayer for the Missing Instruments":
"Like the overflowing abundance of wine at Cana,
there is an abundance of gifts, of voices, of vocations.
The poverty we live with is not necessary,
and I dare say, is not from God.
Pray for the Masters of the Hall.
Pray for the voices that are silenced.
Pray for the people who are permitted to hear only
a part of the great music written for them.
Pray for all of us."
Paige Byrne Shortal is enjoying semi-retirement after forty years in pastoral ministry for two parishes and assisting various organizations with their regional and national worship services. She holds a BA in Theology from Saint Louis University and an MA in Pastoral Studies from Aquinas Institute of Theology, She has written for various Catholic publications, including the National Catholic Reporter, Liguorian, Ministry & Liturgy, and National Pastoral Music.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01162022 to learn more about Paige, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus, Mariángel Marco Teja offers a reflection on living into our identities as beloved children of God:
"Celebrating the baptism of Jesus is a good opportunity to renew our own baptism, to listen again in the intimacy of our hearts, until it is engraved in fire in our hearts: 'You are my beloved daughter/son'; and to know that we are sent like Jesus to proclaim God's love and to practice justice. We are all beloved sons and daughters of God, missionaries on the move."
Mariángel Marco Teja was born in Asturias, Spain. She is sister of the Congregation Ursulines of Jesus. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Geography and History from the University of Oviedo, Spain. She has always been linked to the world of human rights, in some stages at professional level and in others as voluntary. The six years prior to coming to Canada in April 2019, she lived as a missionary in Ecuador, where she worked with REPAM (Pan-Amazonic Ecclesial Network), whose collaborative ties she maintains to this day. She is eager reader with a constant desire to learn.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org.preaching/01092022 to learn more about Mariángel, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Feast of the Epiphany, Genie Natividad, MM offers a reflection on today's standing with seekers and refugees:
"To stay in their homes and in their own land, therefore, is not an option. They must leave. But where?...Like the Magi who follow the star, the asylum seekers too must follow their own star hovering over them, trusting, believing, and moving forward and onward to what is life-giving. They must choose life, not death. They rise and go meet the One who comes, Jesus the Christ who gives them life."
Sister Genie Natividad, born and raised in rural Philippines, is a Maryknoll Sister. Her most recent mission was in 2021, when she responded to the call for volunteers at the U.S. Mexico border providing aid to migrants. Genie was recently elected to serve in her congregation’s leadership team for the next six years.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01022022 to learn more about Genie, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Anne Arabome, SSS preaches for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God:
"As I see it, Mary’s contemplative posture teaches us that the quality of our presence to one another, the depth of prayer in which we hold one another, and the expanse of our love for others can be life-giving beyond words and healing beyond all remedies, especially at times of anxieties and worries, loss and pain, uncertainty and despair, such as we have experienced during the pandemic. Her contemplative poise draws us into the loving embrace of the Divine, who loves and enfolds us in Christ. Her contemplative openness reveals God’s desire to touch and transform our lives with God’s light. Not only is Mary a missionary disciple, an apostle of joy, she is – to use a phrase from St. Ignatius of Loyola – a contemplative in action."
Anne Arabome is a member of the Sisters of Social Service in Los Angeles, California. She is presently the Associate Director of the Faber Center for Ignatian Spirituality at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which provides faculty and staff with support and guidance in leading a reflective life. Of Nigerian parentage and origin, she is a naturalized US citizen and holds a PhD in Systematic Theology from the University of Roehampton in London, UK and a Doctor of Ministry in Spirituality from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, Illinois.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01012022 to learn more about Anne, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Feast of the Holy Family, Emily Garvey offers a reflection on complicated people and complicated relationships:
"Today celebrates Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, complicated people who behaved in complicated ways. But they loved God, they loved one another, and they loved others. Their humanity probably leaked out in some messy ways. But they kept trying - they kept putting on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. They bore one another and forgave each other."
Emily Garvey currently works for the University of Notre Dame in a program that brings together a summer long justice learning immersion for undergraduates with tenets of Catholic Social Teaching. She is a lifelong Catholic and a mother to two sons, one of whom is transgender. Since 2015, Emily has engaged in respectful dialogue, in public and in private, about Catholicism and gender diversity. She holds Master’s degree in Systematic Theology from the University of Notre Dame.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12262021 to learn more about Emily, to watch her video or to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Ann M. Garrido Preaches for Christmas:
"And Christmas and Easter are two sides of the same coin. Both tell us that there is nothing—nothing—that is human that God is not willing to enter into in solidarity with us. Neither conception and birth, nor life and death. None of this is foreign to our God. Yes, Christmas and Easter are two sides of the same coin: the coin with which our salvation is paid."
Ann Garrido is associate professor of homiletics at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, MO. While her first passion is teaching, Garrido has also served the school in a number of administrative roles including (at varying points in time) as Director of the Doctorate of Ministry in Preaching, Director of MAPS Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Director of Field Education, Director of Distance Learning, and Director of the Aquinas Ministry Integration Project. Most recently, Garrido served as the Marten Fellow in Preaching at the University of Notre Dame.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12252021 to learn more about Ann, to watch her video or read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Dr. Nontando Hadebe offers a reflection on the history-making relationship between Mary and Elizabeth and its power for women today:
"There was another power operating in the most unlikely place - that is in the lives of these two women from an oppressed nation who had no significance, status or power. The two women had no male presence or authority to mediate their experiences for them; they were left on their own to make sense of the extraordinary events that were happening in their lives. Left to themselves, they discovered their power borne out of their relationship with God and with each other to face with courage, resilience and faith the uncertain future that lay ahead of them."
Dr. Nontando Hadebe is a lay woman theologian and International Coordinator for Side by Side, a faith movement for gender justice. She was previously senior lecturer at St. Augustine College of South Africa. A member of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians, she is passionate about gender equality, Africanization, and social justice.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12192021 to learn more about Nontando, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Carmen Nanko-Fernández offers a reflection on the intersection of the readings for the Third Sunday of Advent and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe:
"We need to remember that today is a day of rejoicing, of fiesta—a time to affirm the gift of life, no matter how fragile; a time to confirm that we are indeed accompanied by the divine. Fiestas are not escapes from daily misery, but necessary acts of resistance to suffering, acts of re-membering and restoration en lo cotidiano (in the everyday). Fiestas are responses of gratitude for the God que nos acompaña (who accompanies us) and rejoicing for the protections offered us wrapped in the embrace of maternal arms."
A self-described Hurban@́ (Hispanic and urban) theologian, Carmen is Professor of Hispanic Theology and Ministry, and the director of the Hispanic Theology and Ministry Program at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, USA. Carmen created Theology en la Plaza column for the National Catholic Reporter. Some of her recent essays are available there as well as in Commonweal. She is also the founding co-editor of the multivolume series Disruptive Cartographers: Doing Theology Latinamente (Orbis).
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12122021 to learn more about Carmen, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Catherine Mooney, Ph.D., preaches for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary:
"Mary”s Magnificat foretells of a magnificent future already happening. It is being borne into our Fallen world by every person who, like Christ, lives in solidarity with the outcasts and fights for a world of love and justice."
Catherine Mooney teaches church history and the history of Christian spirituality at Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry. She has a Master’s in Theological Studies (M.T.S.) from Harvard Divinity School, and an M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. in medieval history from Yale University.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12082021 to learn more about Dr. Mooney, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the First Sunday of Advent, Crista Carrick Mahoney offers a reflection on “staying awake,” even when we’re already tired:
“We’ve been on high alert for nearly two years, so sometimes these Advent reminders to stay awake, pay attention, be ready, only feed the weariness. It’s ok to feel tired! In that barely awake state, in those moments when we feel more anxious, less patient, or we are just having an 'off day', we can still meet the world with love and compassion, because we, too, are being met as we are by a God who fulfills promises out of love and fidelity. Even in our tiredness, we can meet the world as it is with a posture of openness that will help wake us up and participate in the hope, peace, joy and love of this holy season of preparation.”
Crista Mahoney earned her Master of Divinity from Boston College School of Theology and Ministry. Her professional ministry began in campus ministry at Emmanuel College in Boston, MA, then as the Catholic Chaplain on a multi-faith team at Babson College in Wellesley, MA, before returning to her alma mater, the College of the Holy Cross, to work with students on retreats and women’s faith sharing groups. Crista also coordinates and edits the Return To Me: Lenten Reflection Series at Holy Cross.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11282021 to learn more about Crista, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of Christ the King, Jordan Denari Duffner offers a reflection on experiencing and enacting the Reign of God - even in unexpected places:
"God’s reign is not only something that we look forward to at the end of time, nor is it simply a realm that we will someday reach. It is also something that we can experience here, even if only in glimpses, and that we can work to build now. We experience the kingdom whenever we choose to live as if the justice, peace, and love of God’s reign are already present. Whenever we love our neighbor, give of ourselves to honor their dignity, or put ourselves on the line for their sake, we enact the kingdom. It may not be present in its fullness, and we may not see the fruits of our labor, but this experience of the kingdom is very real nonetheless."
Jordan Denari Duffner is an author, educator, and scholar of Muslim-Christian relations, interreligious dialogue, and Islamophobia. Her books are Finding Jesus among Muslims: How Loving Islam Makes Me a Better Catholic (2017) and Islamophobia: What Christians Should Know (and Do) about Anti-Muslim Discrimination (2021). Ms. Duffner is currently pursuing a PhD in Theological and Religious Studies at Georgetown University. A former Fulbright scholar in Amman, Jordan, she is also an associate of the Bridge Initiative, where she previously worked as a research fellow. She currently teaches an undergraduate introduction to Islam course at Georgetown.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11212021 to learn more about Jordan, to view her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sr. Christa Parra, IBVM offers a reflection on accompanying each other - and especially asylum seekers - through terrifying times:
"Life is not as terrifying when we know that we are not alone. The Psalm today is similar to the song Stand By Me as it emphasizes that with God at my right hand, I will not be disturbed. My heart, body, and soul are confident because God does not abandon me. These words resonate with the stories from our families seeking asylum. There is a deep trust in God’s constant presence and faith that God will continue to lead us on the path of life. We are God’s beloved ones, God’s darlins’, called to 'stand by' one another knowing that God always 'stands by' us."
Sister Christa Parra, IBVM is part of an inter congregational and intercultural community in El Paso, Texas where she loves and serves God's beloved people at the U.S./Mexico border. A third-generation Mexican American, she earned her Master of Divinity and a certificate in Hispanic Theology and Ministry at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. She professed final vows with the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 2016.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11142021 to learn more about Sr. Christa, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Phyllis Zagano offers a reflection on belonging in the Church:
"The Church, our Church, your Church, has leaders, rules, and boundaries. You are part of the people of God, and so am I. The difference with Church, I think, is that the leaders must continually learn from the others. Hierarchy—and all clerics are part of the hierarchy—hierarchy cannot cut itself off from the rest of people of God. Hierarchy, from me to the bishop to the pope, is part of the people of God. And saying hierarchy as part of the people of God is not just another way of controlling the Church. It means we all belong."
Dr. Phyllis Zagano is an internationally acclaimed Catholic scholar who has lectured throughout the United States, and in Canada, Europe, and Australia. Her many awards include the 2014 Isaac Hecker Award for Social Justice from The Paulist Center Community in Boston for “her prolific body of work that has constantly echoed the cry of the poorest of our society for dignity and for justice both inside and outside the church....specifically the dignity of all women.” Her groundbreaking work on women in the diaconate led to her appointment to the Pontifical Commission for the Study of the Diaconate of Women in 2016. She has taught at Fordham, Boston, and Yale Universities, and currently holds a research appointment at Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11072021 to learn more about Zagano, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of All Saints, Yunuen Trujillo offers a reflection on the Beatitudes and shifting our notions of holiness:
"How can we know the saints fully, if we don’t recognize those saints who are unknown, who come from sections of the population we consider 'less than.' We are called to be a Church of encounter, a Church of accompaniment, and listening Church. As we begin our journey in the Synod on Synodality I encourage you to ask yourself, what are the walls that I have built around my version of God? What are the limitations I have given to sainthood? ... Start listening to the stories of people who are different than you and ask God to guide you onn a journey of discernment about the unknown."
Yunuen Trujillo is a Catholic lay minister, a faith-based Community Organizer, and an Immigration Attorney. She is the founder of the Instagram @lgbtcatholics, an online platform of resources for Catholic LGBT Ministry and she is the Religious Formation Coordinator (Sp) for the Catholic Ministry with Lesbian and Gay Persons of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. She is the author of the upcoming book LGBT Catholics: A Guide for Inclusive Ministry, which is being published in Spring 2022 by Paulist Press.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11012021 to learn more about Yunuen, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Simone Campbell, SSS offers a reflection on the Greatest Commandment:
"So let us this week embody the care and community that I experienced in Texas by the end of our gathering. Let us have space for those who disagree and find our connections before the Divine together in a love that overflows all bounds. Then may we be marked by love...let us make manifest that we do in deed care for those who differ. Let us remember to love our neighbors as ourselves for this indeed is the reign of God."
Sister Simone Campbell (a Roman Catholic Sister of Social Service) is a religious leader, attorney, and author with extensive experience in public policy and advocacy for systemic change. For almost 17 years she was the executive director of NETWORK, Lobby for Catholic Social Justice and leader of Nuns on the Bus.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10312021 to learn more about Sr. Simone, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Allison Connelly-Vetter offers a reflection on disability, consent, inclusion, and access:
"Those of us who are disabled, those of us who have long known these truths in our bones and synapses, can find in these readings divine validation and affirmation of our naturalness, worthiness, and on-purpose-created-ness. And all of us, abled and disabled alike, can find in these texts a moral and spiritual imperative for disability justice. Our sacred texts both create and reflect the world as we know it, and today, our texts remind us of our new and ancient call to be in right relationship with disabled people and all God’s creation."
Allison Connelly-Vetter (she/her) received a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary. While in graduate school she studied interdisciplinary approaches to disability theology and Madness and wrote a capstone thesis on Christian ableism and restorative justice. Allison regularly preaches and offers presentations and workshops for churches and religious congregations across the country on topics such as disability theology, queer Christianity, and theological grounding for social justice.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10242021 to learn more about Allison, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jocelyn A. Sideco offers a reflection on liberation:
"We know the world is far from perfect or ideal. AND we know that Jesus’ teachings, Jesus’ example, Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection give us an opportunity to live in a way that is most liberatory, most free, most loving. To live and to love is not to subjugate yourself under the weight of the cross. To live and to love is not to subjugate yourself to 'it’ll get better later' of suffer now, experience peace in heaven 'later' mentality."
Jocelyn is a Catholic-Episcopal minister with a background in training leaders in deepening their cultural competency, educating to enhance diversity and multicultural awareness, and building a skill set of social justice practices that promote the dignity of each person and the common good. She is currently both the Pastoral Associate at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Burlingame, CA and Associate Executive Director at Catholic Volunteer Network. She holds a Masters in Theological Studies from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley and lives with her spouse and two daughters in Burlingame, CA.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10172021 to learn more about Jocelyn, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sarah Attwood Otto offers a reflection on welcoming others:
"Today’s readings make clear that our joy, as well as our salvation, is to be found in welcoming and being in relationship with each other...There is no path to God that we can take independently of our spouse, our children, or our neighbor – the Word made flesh in those around us."
Sarah Attwood Otto is a retreat director and spiritual director at Ignatius House Jesuit Retreat Center in Atlanta, GA. Prior to retreat ministry, Sarah worked in college campus ministry at Providence College and directed the Newman Catholic Center in Chico, CA. She earned her Master of Divinity from Boston College School of Theology and Ministry.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10032021 to learn more about Sarah, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Jacqui Rémond preaches for the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time - the Fourth Sunday of the Season of Creation:
"Until the human family can embrace what Pope Francis calls an integral ecological conversion, can cut out of our lives the sinful, destructive patterns of living on Earth that are driving climate change, we will continue more and more to face the fiery abyss, the unquenchable flames that are the contemporary incarnation of Gehenna. Are we willing to change lifestyles so that we stop participating in systems that constantly fragment God’s interconnected creation and make real our commitment to God’s gift of life here on Earth?"
Jacqui Rémond is the Former National Director of Catholic Earthcare Australia, the ecological agency of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (2007-2017) and Co-Founder of the Global Catholic Climate/ Laudato Si’ Movement.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09262021 to learn more about Jacqui, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Rose Marie Berger preaches for the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, reflecting on this time of transformation in light of the readings:
"Today, all of us are living in a Great Transformation. The old is falling away. A new center is emerging. Let us draw one another close and find new ways of building that put Jesus’ foundational people at our center. Let us be intentional in choosing our leadership role. Let Lady Wisdom teach us how to come through this process of dying and rising, this Great Transformation, and to come through it well and in the name of Jesus. Amen."
Rose Marie Berger is a Catholic poet, writer, and peace activist who has worked for social change movements for 40 years. She is poetry editor and senior editor for Sojourners, a magazine whose mission is to inspire hope and action by articulating the biblical call to social justice. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09192021 to learn more about Rose Marie, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mary C. McGinnity offers a reflection on overcoming our illusions about ourselves and the world and to act:
"...We are challenged to look at the realities of those who suffer and address them. No illusions. We are challenged then to look at our own suffering and the sufferings of others and address them – address them properly. We are asked to look deeper, see beneath illusions and act with love and care. "
Mary McGinnity is President and CEO of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps, a national service corps that enlists men and women over the age of 50 in service assignments in non-profit service agencies meeting needs of people in low-income communities across the US.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09122021 to learn more about Mary, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Ann Carr offers a reflection on our need to be opened by Christ:
"To hear, to speak, to breathe. What does it mean for us to have our own grace filled, life transforming encounter with Jesus in this time of epochal change? Do we have the courage of the deaf man and his community of companions to approach the Christ and be opened? "
Ann Carr is a long time member of the Maryknoll Affiliate movement and has twice served on the Maryknoll Affiliate leadership board. Her undergraduate work at Bucknell University was in Religious Studies. Currently, she works as a pediatrician in Philadelphia, PA with children with special health care needs. She also works part time with the team at a children’s home in Macuelizo Honduras. Her areas of interest include liberation theology, the integration of contemplation and mission, evolutionary consciousness theology and trauma informed care for children.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09052021 to learn more about Ann, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the September 3rd Feast of Saint Phoebe, Carolyn Osiek, RSCJ offers a reflection on Romans 16:1-2, which never appears in the Roman Catholic Lectionary:
"Phoebe is another woman silenced in the lectionary, but who was not so silent in her own context. She was a woman of influence: minister, deacon, and sponsor of one of the earliest churches. Phoebe was a woman who used her social status and power for the good of others and for the spread of the Gospel. We remember her, even though she was thought not important enough—or perhaps too important—to be included in the lectionary. Perhaps we could reflect on how we use whatever social power we have, to influence, to provide resources, to call out injustice, to come to the aid of the needy, to further the proclamation of the Good News. If we do that, Phoebe will be proud to have us as her successors."
Carolyn Osiek, RSCJ, was professor of New Testament at Catholic Theological Union at Chicago for 26 years, and is professor emerita from Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University. She retired in 2009 to become provincial archivist of the Society of the Sacred Heart, United States-Canada Province. She is the author or editor of many books and articles on topics of New Testament and Early Church, and of the early history of the Society of the Sacred Heart.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09032021 to learn more about Osiek, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Lisa Frey offers a reflection on passing on the treasures we've been given:
"How are we keepers of the fire? How are we adapting and reinterpreting the teaching for a new generation…in our home and in our church and in our nation? The role of bishops is to preserve the tradition of the church, yes. But the letter from James says today, the word has been planted in you. Welcome it, and live it. 'Be doers of the word and not hearers only.' Welcome the word. Welcome the tradition and the ancient teaching. Welcome it to grow, and change, prune with discipline, die back in winter, nurture it again with life."
Lisa Frey has served in ministry at the Church of the Resurrection in Solon, Ohio since 1991. In addition to shared pastoral care, faith formation, and administration of the parish, her areas of responsibility include social justice, outreach, wellness and bereavement. A lifelong learner, she earned her Master of Arts in Theology at St. Mary’s Seminary in Cleveland and Doctor of Ministry in Homiletics at the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08292021 to learn more about Lisa, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Elise Dubravec preaches for the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering a reflection on staying in the Church despite difficult teachings and practices:
"How can I stay when our readings tell me to subordinate to patriarchy, or when I see LGBTQ+ Catholics fired from their jobs, or when women are still denied a place at the altar, or when Catholic parishes and schools serving black communities are closed more than white schools and parishes? These teachings and practices that I do not accept tell me to leave. But I stay because of the one thing that made those disciples walk away. I stay in Eucharistic solidarity because it compels me to find hope and to fight for others. I stay because there is work to do."
Elise Dubravec is in her last year as a Master of Divinity student at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley, CA. She has centered her studies on advocating for women’s leadership and ordination along with LGBTQ+ ministry.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08222021 to learn more about Elise, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Molleen Dupree-Dominguez, M.Div, preaches for the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, offering a reflection on Mary's (and our) power to embody the will of God:
"Alongside Miriam and Judith and Deborah, heroines of the Jewish tradition, today our Mary takes her place in an established lineage of rebel women who exercised their own power in order to accomplish the will of God. "
Molleen Dupree-Dominguez is a teacher, writer, and minister living in the beautiful Bay Area of northern California. She earned a Master of Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University in 2003, along with a Certificate in Spiritual Direction in 2004.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08152021 to learn more about Molleen, to read her text, and for weekly preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Crystal Catalan offers a reflection on our call to be "bread" for others:
"No doubt right now, there is division in our world, tremendous sadness, a desire to be seen or heard, there is loneliness, and loss caused by the twin pandemics of this time with racism and covid-19. And still, regardless of our individual circumstance, we are all invited to the table to be compassion, to be forgiveness, to be love, and to be kindness to others."
Crystal Catalan currently serves as the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Presentation High School in San Jose, CA. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of San Diego and an M.A. in International Development from Eastern University. She is currently pursuing her M.A. in Pastoral Ministries with an emphasis in Restorative Justice and Chaplaincy at Santa Clara University, and the Certificate in Restorative Justice Leadership and Facilitation through the University of San Diego.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08082021 to learn more about Crystal and her ministry, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Lisa Abad-Brown offers a reflection on Jesus' familiar words, "I am the Bread of Life":
"Jesus is giving us bread provided by the very author of love, the God who brought us into being and loves us far more than we could ever imagine - without boundary or breaking point. This love is that eternal ingredient that Jesus very personally, and at great cost, comes to deliver to us right here in our very own history."
Lisa Brown serves as the Director of Religious Education and The Office of Family Ministry at Christ the Redeemer Catholic Community in Lake Orion, MI. She holds a master’s degree in Theology from Loyola University of Chicago and is a trained spiritual director.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08012021 to learn more about Lisa and her ministry, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Ellen Buelow offers a reflection on the feeding of the multitude in light of her efforts to solve food insecurity:
"Most of all from this story of the multiplication of the loaves and fish, we can be open and grateful for endless possibilities. Jesus told us 'You yourselves, give them something to eat.' How can we fulfill that command? Encourage everyone to be as generous as the boy who gave what little he had. Then God can multiply the work in our communities to end hunger."
Ellen Buelow is a retired teacher who enthusiastically gives back to her community in Albuquerque, N.M. As a Bread for the World member https://bread.org and the advocacy chair for the Interfaith Hunger Coalition http://interfaithhungercoaltion.org she joins others to solve food insecurity in New Mexico.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07252021 to learn more about Ellen and her ministries, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Feast of Saint Mary of Magdala, Rita Houlihan offers a reflection on the need to preserve and tell her true story:
"We must preserve and pass on Mary Magdalene’s pivotal role in bringing the story of the Resurrection to us. If our bishops, cardinals, priests and pope cannot see her, can they see me, can they see you? Without her witness, where would we be? "
Rita is a member of Ascension parish in NY, NY. She had a 32+ year career at IBM, in sales and Change Strategy Consulting. She is on FutureChurch’s Board of Directors and is committed to restoring our historical memory of early Christian women leaders with a special advocacy for Mary Magdalene.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07222021 to learn more about Rita, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sr. Jennifer Berridge offers a reflection on the image of the Good Shepherd,
"Living an integrated life in God, with God, for God, and sent by God, at our best selves, we are both. We are sheep and shepherd, ultimately listening to the one voice of the good and gentle shepherd who calls out to us so tenderly."
Jennifer Berridge, CSJ, is a Sister of Saint Joseph in the Congregation of Saint Joseph in the Wheeling, West Virginia community. She currently provides case management services at Catholic Charities West Virginia in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston. Through a collaborative partnership, she ministers at Wheeling Hospital to provide resources and supportive counseling to the most vulnerable.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07182021 to learn more about Sr. Jennifer, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Natalie Terry offers a reflection on our authority and responsibility to go to live our calls among God's people:
"Our authority is not in doctrine or canon or religious rule, it is in love. A transformative love that we embody and that we have the ability and responsibility to share."
Natalie Terry is a minister, preacher and educator with an ever-evolving call to accompany people and communities in their spiritual journeys. She currently serves as the Assistant Executive Director of Villa Maria Education & Spirituality Center in Northwestern Pennsylvania. In her ministry journey, Natalie has served as the director of an Ignatian spirituality center, as a faith-based community organizer and as a high school campus minister and philosophy teacher. She received a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07112021 to learn more about Natalie, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Emily Southerton, MA, offers a reflection on our authority and responsibility:
"So when you are misunderstood just like Jesus in his hometown of Nazareth, and when you are asked, 'where does your authority come from?' what will be your response? For me, I have found my authority comes from the call. That just as the Spirit entered Ezekiel, so too has the spirit entered me and, I believe, enters each of you through the Sacrament of Baptism."
Emily Southerton serves as a Catholic Chaplain delivering spiritual care and support at Phoebe Ministries- a faith based, long term, assisted care facility in eastern Pennsylvania. Originally from Michigan, Emily graduated from Aquinas College with a bachelor of arts, double majoring in philosophy and theology. She holds a Master's degree in theology and a certification in pastoral ministry from Villanova University.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07042021 to learn more about Emily, to read read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Bridget Deegan-Krause offers a reflection on the importance of women's lived experiences:
"My hope is that we can spend time thinking about and appreciating the living and dying and rising that happens in women's lives over and over again, including in their bodily experience, something that is absolutely core to our Christian story."
Bridget Deegan-Krause has served for 25 years in professional ministry in Catholic healthcare and higher education. A sought-after retreat facilitator for boards and teams, she provides executive leadership formation and coaching with a wide variety of professionals in healthcare, government and other not-for-profit settings. A former Jesuit Volunteer (’91-’92), she holds a Master of Divinity degree from Notre Dame with a BA in its Great Books program and is a board-certified chaplain. She currently serves as a sponsorship trustee for Bon Secours Mercy Health System's Northern Ohio region, and as a national advisor for the Discerning Deacons project.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06272021 to learn more about Bridget, to reach her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Danielle Vella offers a reflection on our call to enter into the raging storms that refugees and displaced peoples are navigating:
"Ultimately, however, they hope not only in the mercy and compassion of God Almighty but also in the mercy and compassion of their fellow human beings. It is this hope that propels them to go on those boats, to risk dying to live."
Danielle Vella is Director of Reconciliation Programs for the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), an international humanitarian organization that serves refugees in more than 50 countries worldwide. A journalist, Danielle has also has written extensively about the experiences of refugees struggling to find a new life and future. One of Danielle’s most recent projects was writing Dying to Live: Stories from Refugees on the Road to Freedom, which was published by Rowman & Littlefield in February 2020. To interview refugees to share their stories, Danielle travelled extensively in Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the United States. Her work has taken her to remote refugee camps, to land borders, to the seashore where migrant boats arrive, to immigration detention centres, and even to war zones.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06202021 to learn more about Danielle, to reach her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Gina Scaringella, OP, offers a reflection on the expansiveness of God's reign and our role in building it:
"So, people of God, keep building! All of our efforts mean something. Ultimately, God is the one who will grow life, ever so patiently, from tiny seeds and little branches. So, plant the seed. Welcome the green leaves. Pray 'Thy kingdom come,' and know that your prayer will be answered. Life insists because God insists."
Gina Scaringella, OP, is a Sister of Saint Dominic of Caldwell, New Jersey, who professed first vows in August 2019. She currently provides editorial and research support for the study of the restoration of women to the diaconate. As a Dominican, she embraces the sacred call to preach God’s love with hope that others will receive and embody this love. She preaches through both spoken and written word in parish and retreat settings as well as for her Caldwell congregation. She has served in campus ministry, retreat ministry, RCIA, hospice, ESL study, and communications.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06132021 to learn more about Gina, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, Celeste D. Mueller, D.Min offers a reflection on confronting the violence of our world by uniting ourselves more deeply to one another:
"Let us pray every headline and every statistic with these words: This is my body, this is my blood. As we see the faces in communities locked in opposition to one another. . . As the news brings to our eyes the faces of the victims, and the faces of the perpetrators, Let us pray: This is my body, this is my blood. We are one."
Celeste Mueller serves as Vice President, Ministry Formation for Ascension, a Catholic health system headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. She also serves as designer and faculty for the Ascension Leadership Academy and leads Ascension’s Formation Facilitator Certification Program. Celeste’s current research and writing interests include advancing the professional competence in formation as a multidisciplinary art and science, and formation for virtuous leadership. She holds a Doctor of Ministry in Practical Theology from Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, an MA from Aquinas Institute of Theology, and a BA in philosophy and theology from the University of Notre Dame.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06062021 to learn more about Celeste, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Trinity Sunday, JoAnn Melina Lopez offers a reflection on our call to share God's love with the world:
"This isn’t a trite, saccharine kind of love. It’s not the kind of love that helps us fall asleep at night, warm and cozy in our beds. It’s a fierce, fiery, energizing, transforming love, that calls us to awaken every morning and go about our days as enfleshers of freedom, and disruptors of every system that obscures God’s love."
JoAnn Melina Lopez currently serves as Campus Minister for Liturgy at Seattle University. She completed her undergraduate degree at Saint Joseph’s University, before going on to serve as a Jesuit Volunteer in Houston, working with asylum seekers and refugees. She received her Masters of Divinity (M.Div.) from the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, and joined Seattle U’s Campus Ministry team six years ago. JoAnn grew up in India and Singapore, where she learned the importance of hospitality, inclusion, sharing meals, and how to live in an multifaith and multicultural world.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05302021 to learn more about JoAnn, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Pentecost Sunday, Dr. Suzanne Nawrocki offers a reflection on the free gift of the Spirit for all:
"Maybe John wants to clarify that the Holy Spirit, the love between the Father and the Son is for everyone. That it is for you and for me. But, then it would follow that the command, I send you is also for everyone. I send you to be missionary disciples, yes, but I am also going to equip you. I give you the bond of love that I have for my Father and my Father has for me. A love that Jesus wants us to share with the world."
Dr. Suzanne Nawrocki holds a Doctorate in Ministry from Aquinas Institute of Theology, St. Louis where she has previously been an adjunct professor. She is an executive member of the Catholic Association of Homiletics, known as C.A.T.H.; the wider ecumenical group, the Academy of Homiletics; and the international guild Societas homileticus. Dr. Nawrocki assisted in the Practices Peer Forum to update accreditation standards for the Association of Theological Schools, helped the USCCB train clergy on preaching Laudato Si, consulted and lectured for the University of Notre Dame Martin Preaching initiative, and assists the Diocese of Austin Deacon formation in preaching.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05232021 to learn more about Dr. Nawrocki, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of the Ascension, Megan Effron offers a reflection on living out our baptism with the help of the Holy Spirit:
"The next time you dip your hand into a font of holy water, remember that Jesus has appointed you –not just your bishop or your pastor—but YOU to proclaim the Gospel to every creature. And think about that four-letter word: WILL. The Holy Spirit will be with you, but what WILL you do with that power?"
Megan Effron is the Director of Faith Exploration at La Lumiere School, an independent, Catholic boarding and day prep school in La Porte, Indiana. She teaches a variety of theology courses—Biblical Literacy, Stories of Grace, and Exploring Faith with C.S. Lewis—and also coordinates school retreats and liturgies. She and her husband Kevin live on campus and serve as Dorm Parents for the residential students of Becket Dorm. Prior to working at La Lumiere, Megan served in a variety of ministry roles while earning her Master of Divinity at the University of Notre Dame.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05162021 to learn more about Megan, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Jane Mellett offers a reflection on making this Easter Season one of ecological transformation:
"To be followers of Jesus, to love our neighbour, involves embracing the joy of Christ in all of creation and walking more gently on this earth, to be guardians and protectors of God’s handiwork."
Jane Mellett lives in Dublin, Ireland and is the Laudato Si’ Officer with Tròcaire (the overseas development agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland). Prior to this, Jane was a parish pastoral worker with the Archdiocese of Dublin serving in parish ministry for many years. A graduate of St. Patrick’s College Maynooth, Jane holds a Masters Degree in Theology (specializing in New Testament Scripture) as well as a Masters in International Development from Kimmage Development Studies Centre, Dublin.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05092021 to learn more about Jane, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Monique Jacobs offers a reflection on the image of the Divine vine grower and invites us to build a partnership of trust:
"Often, left to my own wisdom, I might point to what feels fruitful to me, showy, productive…when in fact, that is what will be pruned away… If I cling too tightly to what I know, to what I prefer, will I miss out on what else God wants to reveal to me? What else will come to life? This partnership, for it is indeed a partnership, can only work if there is trust."
Monique Jacobs is Director of Faith Formation for the Diocese of Reno, Nevada - a ministry she has served for almost 20 years. She also accompanies seekers as a spiritual director and contributes monthly to the Faith Forum column in the Reno Gazette Journal, engaging with leaders of multiple faith traditions on given topic. She received her M.A. in Religious Education at Fordham University in New York.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05022021 to learn more about Monique, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Bonnie MacLellan, CSJ offers a reflection on the image of the Good Shepherd:
"Our life circumstances may persist, but our responses to these circumstances change when we know that we do not face life's challenges alone. Jesus, our Good Shepherd, will never abandon us, and that makes all the difference in the world!"
Bonnie Anne MacLellan is a Sister of Saint Joseph of of Sault Ste. Marie. Having served in numerous ministries and professions including nursing, health care administration and canon law, she is currently General Superior for her congregation and Executive Director of the Centre for Canonical Services at Saint Paul University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She holds a Doctorate of Canon Law from the Saint Paul University; a Ph.D. in human and organizational systems from the Fielding Institute in Santa Barbara, California; and several graduate degrees and certifications including a master's of public health from The University of Minnesota.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04252021 to learn more about Sr. Bonnie McLellan, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Third Sunday of Easter, Christy M. Hicks Aydt offers a reflection on joyously welcoming Christ into our midst, even as we journey through sorrowful and fearful times:
"Our sorrow and fear is not so different from the first disciples of Jesus. But notice what happens in the midst of their distress and confusion. Jesus appears. He eats with them, maybe he even dances with them. And they are filled with amazement, sheer joy, wonder, fullness."
Christy M. Hicks Aydt is a Campus Minister at Saint Louis University and a spiritual director; also trained in the 19th Annotation, the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. Most of her career has been ministering to young people on college campuses. Prior to working at Saint Louis University, Christy worked as an Acquisition Editor at Liguori Publications for two years. In 2010-2011, she spent a year in India and Nepal. Though her studies have been through the lens of Catholic-Christian faith and thought, she reverences the faith and beauty other faith traditions share. Eastern spirituality and culture has gifted her with a more expansive image of God. Christy lives in St. Louis, Missouri with her husband and family.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04182021 to learn more about Christy, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Second Sunday of Easter, Nicole Perone offers another look at "doubting Thomas":
"We realize that identifying as a disciple of Jesus Christ is not simply a matter of whether you believe or you don’t. Rather, it is about what we do with our belief...Can we become the living proclamation of Doubting – no, Believing Thomas, who gasps in breathless awe, 'My Lord and my God!'"
Nicole M. Perone is the National Coordinator of ESTEEM, the faith-based leadership formation program for Catholic students at colleges and universities across the United States. ESTEEM is a partnership between Leadership Roundtable and Saint Thomas More Catholic Chapel and Center at Yale University. Nicole previously served as the Archdiocesan Director of Adult Faith Formation for the Archdiocese of Hartford. She holds a Master of Divinity from Yale University. In 2018, Nicole was a delegate to the Pre-Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment, and served on the writing committee for the final document. Her work has been published by Catholic News Service, America Media, The Jesuit Post, and US Catholic.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04112021 to learn more about Nicole or to read her preaching text and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Sr. Anita Baird, DHM Preaches for Easter Sunday, inviting us to rejoice and be glad in the Good News:
"The Easter story is our story! It is a story of light overcoming darkness. It is a story of truth overcoming lies. It is story of love overcoming hate. It is a story of hope overcoming despair. It is a story of victory!...Go forth and tell somebody, tell everybody, that Jesus Christ is raised from the dead. He has conquered death and the victory is ours in Jesus’ name."
Sister Anita Baird, a native of Chicago, IL, is a member of the Religious Congregation of the Society of the Daughters of the Heart of Mary. In 1997 Sister Anita became the first African American to serve as Chief of Staff to the Archbishop of Chicago and in 2000, she was appointed founding director of the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Office for Racial Justice, which directed the Archdiocese’s initiatives to eradicate racism in its structures and institutions. Sr. Anita is a past president of the National Black Sisters’ Conference and recipient of the organization’s Harriet Tubman “Moses of Her People” Award.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04042021 to learn more about Sr. Anita, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Good Friday, María Teresa (MT) Dávila reflects on Christ, crucified and risen, reconciling our own individual and communal suffering:
"Surely the news of over 500,000 dead, the utterance of the words 'I Can’t Breath' by our African American brothers and sisters, the death of a Capitol guard during the insurrection in January, the death and suffering of our loved ones, our mothers, our aunts, our brothers, our friends, our lovers – these moments that center our histories, these too bring us to our knees. On Good Friday our being brought to our knees for what seems like every day of our existence finally begins to make sense, as the one who reconciles all in all also dies our death and breaths his last. May the entire story of creation, and all of our unique stories be reconciled in Jesus the Christ, crucified and risen."
María Teresa (MT) Dávila, visiting associate professor of practice at Merrimack College, is a scholar focusing on racial and migrant justice, public theology, and the ethics of the use of force. With Agnes Brazal, she is co-editor of Living With(out) Border: Theological Ethics and Peoples on the Move (Orbis Press, 2016). She is a regular contributor to “Theology en la Plaza”, National Catholic Reporter, the first Latin@ column in a national Catholic newspaper.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04022021 to learn more about María Teresa (MT) Dávila, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Holy Thursday, Marilyn Santos offers a reflection on missionary discipleship:
"If God loves us in this way, serving us, to the point of giving his life, in the same way we must love others. And by this example, God tells us what it means to “love each other as I loved you.” We must serve, not stand above or apart. Not pontificate but be there in the trenches with others. "
Marilyn Santos is the Associate Director of the Secretariat of Evangelization and Catechesis at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. She previously served as the Director of Mission Education in the National Office of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04012021 to learn more about Marilyn, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Palm Sunday, Dr. Nichole Flores offers a reflection which names the words and feelings of woe and abandonment, but calls us to focus on words and actions of healiing and mercy:
"As we approach this Holy Week, May we find comfort in the words of mercy poured out Even in the midst of trial. May we pour our mercy to those around us, Especially as we all continue to walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death of this pandemic. And may we pour out mercy to those most in need, Doing all that we can to defend the lives and dignity of the children of God Crying out for God’s mercy."
Dr. Nichol M. Flores is assistant professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia. She speaks, writes and teaches about the significance of Catholic ethics in plural social, political, and ecclesial contexts. Her first book, The Aesthetics of Solidarity: Our Lady of Guadalupe and American Democracy will be available from Georgetown University Press in July 2021. In 2015, Dr. Flores was honored with the Catherine Mowry LaCugna Award for best academic essay in Catholic theology from the Catholic Theological Society of America. Dr. Flores earned an A.B. in government from Smith College, an M.Div. from Yale Divinity School, and a Ph.D. in theological ethics from Boston College.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03282021 to learn more about Dr. Flores, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of the Annunciation, Pat McDonough offers a reflection on learning from the mysticism of Mary:
"On the Feast of the Annunciation, we are reminded that Mary becomes conscious of God within her...Mary, like any mystic, trusts her own experience of the Divine within, and surrenders to it. Do we?"
Pat McDonough has enjoyed a thirty-five year career as a Catholic educator and school psychologist in the Diocese of Rockville Centre. Her experience in pastoral ministry spans years as a Director of Religious Education, Director of Youth Ministry, Coordinator of Programs in the Diocesan Office of Family Ministry, and professor of psychology and theology in Catholic high schools and colleges on Long Island. She holds a P.D. in Psychology, M.S. in Education, M.A. in Theology and a B.S. in Criminal Justice. She completed the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius over the course of an unforgettable thirty days as a graduate student.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03252021 to learn more about Pat, to read her preaching text or watch her video, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Grace Salceanu reflects on living God's invitation to relationship - with God, and with one another:
"God calls us to be so full of life, we give our whole selves away in love...This Lent, we are asked to take the long view with Jesus. Who would we become if we were at home in God’s generous and reckless love? How would we use our time? Our lives?"
Grace Salceanu is the Director of the Ignatian Spiritual Life Center in San Francisco. She holds degrees in Theology and Anthropology from Fordham University and her Master's degree in Interdisciplinary Education from Santa Clara University.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03212021 to learn more about Grace, to view her vido or read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Alyssa Perez offers a reflection on living out the ubiquitous John 3:16:
"These days can bring up the 'dark' parts of us and we can get trapped in the cycle of shame and judgment of ourselves, feeling like we will never be worthy of God’s love. That is the power of today’s gospel, the truth in today’s gospel. It shakes us out of this cycle and reminds us that it’s not true! God does love us, not because we deserve it, as the second reading reminds us, but because it is gifted to us freely. God comes into our lives and journeys with us during this dark season of Lent, and sees our goodness and potential. That is the good news!"
Alyssa Perez works as a Resident Minister and the Assistant Director of Alternative Breaks and Advocacy at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles, CA. She received her Master of Nonprofit Administration degree at the University of San Francisco, and her Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Political Science at LMU.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03142021 to learn more about Alyssa, to view her video or read her text, and for more preaching for Catholic women.
Preaching for the Third Sunday of Lent, Olga Segura offers a reflection on the making meaning of Christ's crucifixion in today's context of racist violence and suffering:
"We believe in the power of the crucifixion, and this belief must help us to understand more deeply the systemic violence enacted upon Black, indigenous, people of color, and all marginalized groups. As Catholics, this means we are called to fight for a better, more liberated world. We are called to go to the margins and center the experiences of society’s most vulnerable communities."
Olga Marina Segura is the opinion and culture editor at the National Catholic Reporter and the author of Birth of A Movement: Black Lives Matter and the Catholic Church. Her writing has appeared in The Guardian, ZORA Magazine, Shondaland, The Revealer, Refinery29, and Sojourners.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03072021 to learn more about Olga, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Second Sunday of Lent, Vickey McBride reflects on everything that changed last Lent and offers a reflection on allowing God to reveal Herself to us:
"You don’t need to be good. You just need to try your best to be receptive, to recognize that God might be trying to reach out to you right where you are. Settle in. Say to God, 'Here I am.' Sit and BE with God and God will let you glimpse Her power."
Vickey McBride is the Director of Campus Ministry at Saint Martin de Porres High School (Cristo Rey) in Cleveland, Ohio. Prior to working at Saint Martin, she lived and worked in Brownsville, Texas as a teacher in the Alliance for Catholic Education, earning her Master of Education degree from the University of Notre Dame.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02282021 to learn more about Vickey, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the First Sunday of Lent, Tia Noelle Pratt, PhD offers a reflection on the Lenten Year we have all experienced:
"It feels like we’ve had more suffering than one year can hold. It has truly been a Lenten year. Yet, Lent brings with it the promise of Easter rebirth and renewal. We truly have gotten this far by faith. It is a faith that has been sustained by prayer and the promise of God’s covenant with Noah and the promise that God’s ways are love and truth. As we reflect on this first Sunday of Lent and in the days and weeks to come, we must not forget the sacrifice and suffering we have borne and witnessed in the last year. Doing so would dishonor all of that pain and all of that loss. Instead, we must prayerfully embrace it because that will allow us to see the rebirth and renewal that comes with the light of Easter."
Tia Noelle Pratt, PhD is a sociologist of religion specializing in systemic racism in the Catholic Church. She received her PhD in Sociology from Fordham University in 2010. For more than twenty years, Dr. Pratt has researched and written about how systemic racism impacts African-American Catholic identity. She is the President and Director of Research at TNPratt & Associates, LLC an Inclusion and Diversity consulting firm in Philadelphia, PA and the curator of the #BlackCatholicsSyllabus.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02212021 to learn more about Dr. Pratt, to view her video or read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Ash Wednesday, Teresa Marie Cariño offers a reflection on refusing to return to the status quo through our Lenten practices:
"So as we enter into this season of Lent, let us turn our whole hearts to God and place in God our trust. Let us give alms not just by giving money to the poor but by working for economic security of all. Let us pray not just by reciting rote prayers but by opening our hearts to listen to the Spirit. Let us fast, not just from food and drink but from the privileges we have been given to stand in solidarity with the oppressed. Let us work together to repair relationships and co-create systems of economic and social justice. Let us be brave enough to be the light as we free a new dawn."
Teresa Marie Cariño serves as the Director of Faith Formation at St. Ignatius Parish in San Francisco, CA and is studying for her Masters of Theological Studies at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, CA. A native of the San Francisco – Bay Area, Teresa received her Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Religious Studies at the University of San Francisco. Teresa is an extended member of the Benincasa community. She serves on the Board of Directors for the National Catholic Reporter and on the National Advising Committee for the Ignatian Solidarity Network.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02172020 to learn more about Teresa, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Maria McGuire preaches for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering a reflection on allowing ourselves to be open to God's healing and to be open to the needs of others:
"The invitation before us today is to open ourselves to God and recognize our need. Open ourselves to the one who sees us, hears us, and longs to touch and connect with us. And when this happens, it changes something inside us. God’s touch opens us to see with new eyes- to see and hear those around us who feel separated- those who long to be seen, heard and touched. When we see and hear the need of those around us, we take on the mind of Christ. And the mind of Christ says this, 'I am yours and you are mine- imperfect, yes- but highly valued and beloved.'"
Maria McGuire is a Chaplain with Hospice, recognizing thee sacredness of every season of life. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and her Master's in Theology and Religious Education from Loyola University, New Orleans. She eearned a Spiritual Direction Certificate from Mercy Center, Buringame. She has worked in various Church ministries over the years, most frequently in RCIA, Adult faith Formation, and collaborating with retreats and workshops.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02142021 to learn more about Maria, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholi women.
Preaching for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Kimberly Lymore offers a reflection on living as disciples at all times -- but particularly in times of suffering:
"In this time of the pandemic of COVID, the pandemic of violence, the pandemic of police brutality, the pandemic of injustice and racism, the pandemic of poverty and food insecurity, the pandemic of poor educational systems, let us remember that through our Baptism, we are called into missionary discipleship to evangelize and preach the unadulterated Gospel of Christ in season and out of season, when convenient and inconvenient."
Kimberly Lymore is a member of The Faith Community of St. Sabina, where she was appointed the full-time Pastoral Associate by the Rev. Michael L. Pfleger on September 1, 2000. She is Associate Convener of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium and Director of the Augustus Tolton Pastoral Ministry Program at Catholic Theological Union (CTU). Dr. Lymore received her Masters of Divinity with a concentration in Word from CTU and she received her Doctor of Ministry from McCormick Theological Union.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02072021 to learn more about Kimberly, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Christina R. Zaker offers a reflection on opening ourselves to the voice God "in the stuff of this world":
"Life is messy, yet that is exactly what we need: to be engaged in the stuff of this world - the sights, the tastes, the smells - distracted by all of it, because all of it is God!"
Dr. Christina R. Zaker is the Director of Field Education and teaches in the Spirituality and Pastoral Ministry department at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. As a practical theologian, she focuses on theological reflection as it intersects with justice and family spirituality. Christina received her Master’s degree from the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University, Chicago and her Doctorate in Ministry from Catholic Theological Union. She is a frequent speaker and retreat director, has written numerous articles in both scholarly journals and mainstream magazines and has recently published her book, Surprised by God: Teaching Reflection through the Parables (Rowman & Littlefield 2020).
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01312021 to learn more about Christina, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mumbi Kigutha, CPPS offers a reflection on responding to our own "call within the call":
"What kind of invitation is God proffering to you as we begin this year? What do you need to leave behind in order to follow Christ? How better can we love God and neighbor? What is the call within the call for each of you? I am convinced the answer lies in a process of the heart, in discernment, so that we may clearly hear God’s call separate from all the naysaying that our brains may distract us with. Just as Jonah, James and John, listened, trusted and responded, may we listen, trust and respond. What ails your heart, and what will soothe it? "
Sister Mumbi Kigutha was born and raised in Kenya. She has worked with diverse vulnerable populations including stints with various UN agencies and currently resides on the southside of Chicago orking as a part-time International Consultant for Jesuit Refugee Services under the Reconciliation and Social Cohesion Department. Sr. Mumbi is also a regular contributor to the Horizons column of the Global Sisters Report and was also recently appointed as the organizing secretary of the Pan-African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network. Sr. Mumbi graduated from CTU with a Master of Arts in Justice Ministry and a Certificate in Pastoral Ministry in addition to her previous MBA in Marketing. Her theological interests center around Womanist and Africana interpretations, reconciliation, racial and gender equity and their intersection with other areas of social justice.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01242021 to learn more about Sister Mumbi, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jeanne Fielding Lord offers a reflection on awakening to our vocations "at this extraordinary moment in our lives, at this extraordinary moment in our world:"
"So, let’s not forget the lessons of this year. Let’s raise our voices together on behalf of those whose voices are silenced, and say, with joy and courage: Here I am, Lord. I come to do your will."
Jeanne Fielding Lord serves as Associate Vice President and Dean of Students at Georgetown and has been professorial lecturer in the Department of Catholic Studies and currently teaches in the Designing the Futures program at the University. She holds a J.D. from The Catholic University of America and an Ed.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01172021 to learn more about Jeanne, to read her text, and for moree preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Rachelle Kramer offers a reflection on our participation in Jesus' mission and ministry of bringing justice and light to the world:
"The light of one individual may be small, but it has the potential of growing exponentially when it spreads to others. Rosa Park’s light spread to an entire nation. Jesus’ light spread to the whole world. Let us be a light to the nations by the choices we make each day. We never know the impact it may have."
Rachelle Kramer is currently editor and content creator of the Prayer Corner for Wisdom’s Dwelling (wisdomsdwelling.com), a new online space for Catholic women, women seeking faith, and women who seek. Rachelle holds a D.Min. from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, Illinois where her research focused on fostering the holistic development of college students at Catholic Universities. She has master’s degrees in theology (St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota) and music (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) and twenty years of experience leading liturgy and music programs in university and parish settings.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01102021 to learn more about Rachelle, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Epiphany, Marie Dennis offers a reflection on "the kind of global paradigm shift that the arrival of the Magi portends":
"As the global community struggles to respond to the crises of our time, a fundamental shift is needed from systems of exploitation and domination toward a new order of universal communion toward which this feast, this manifestation of the universal inbreaking of the reign of God points. Laudato Si’ calls it an ecological conversion, a shift to a new normal in which the infinite worth of every person is honored, the earth is healed, and the primordial unity of all beings is recognized."
Marie Dennis is senior advisor to the secretary general of Pax Christi International. She was co-president of Pax Christi from 2007 to 2019 and serves on the executive committee of Pax Christi’s Catholic Nonviolence Initiative.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01032021 to learn more about Marie, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Dr. Kim R. Harris offers a reflection on Mary and Jesus and “the talk” and Black and brown Mothers and “the talk”:
"We must remember the glorious Mother, raising her child in a dangerous land, to help us all be free. Then we must spend our time, our energy, our prayers, and our actions, working to help all people be free."
Dr. Kim R. Harris is the Assistant Professor of African American Thought and Practice in the Department of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University. In addition to teaching courses on Black liberation and Womanist theologies, Harris leads music in a variety of liturgical and academic settings. She is a liturgist, composer and recording artist, presenting lectures on the music of the Black Catholic experience, the spirituals of the Underground Railroad and the freedom song of modern Civil Rights Movement.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01012021 to learn more about Dr. Harris, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Feast of the Holy Family, Bridget Burke Ravizza offers a reflection on the character of Christian families:
"From a Christian perspective, of course, it is not enough to care for the needs of our own family members. We belong to them, yes, but not only to them. We belong to the wider body of Christ, and we are called to be light to the world. The gospels very clearly push us in this direction--moving beyond exclusive identity with birth-kin and toward expansive identity as brothers and sisters in God, a new family to whom we are spiritually and materially accountable. This is why the fruitfulness of Christian families expands to enrich the wider society. This is why Christian families are deliberately outward-facing and justice-seeking."
Bridget Burke Ravizza is a Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin. Bridget earned her doctorate in Theological Ethics at Boston College, and her work focuses on sexual ethics and the ethics of marriage and family. She is co-author (with Julie Donovan Massey, M.Div.) of Project Holiness: Marriage as a Workshop for Everyday Saints.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12272020 to learn more about Bridget, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Christmas, Kayla August encourages us to find the glorious even in our simpler Christmas celebrations this year:
"This Christmas, may need to be a simpler time than ones in the past...But, in these seemingly simple moments, let us not miss the miraculous in our midst. The small moment when the GLORY OF GOD is around us and we are awakened to the miraculous hidden in the ordinary. A moment filled with deep peace and great joy."
Kayla August serves the Notre Dame University (South Bend) community as the rector of Lyons Hall, an all-women’s and historic halls of Notre Dame. Originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, she received her bachelors from Loyola University of New Orleans followed by two years of service work with Americorps. She then worked in Loyola’s Mission and Ministry department as a graduate student intern while working toward her masters in pastoral counseling from Loyola University’s Institute of Ministry. Kayla is now pursuing a doctorate in preaching as a way to serve God by giving her voice to the church. She also plans to use her education to lift-up and empower marginalized voices of those often overlooked in the universal church and in our world. She dreams of a Church truly alive with Christ, and she believes her vocation is working toward making that Church a daily reality!
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12252020 to learn more about Kayla, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Mary Katharine Deeley offers a reflection on seeing ourselves as God sees us:
"It is sometimes hard to see how God is working in a world that is darkened by pandemic and civil unrest, and injustice toward the marginalized and vulnerable among us. Because of that, Advent is precisely the time to learn how God sees us. It is the time to ask ourselves all the questions: What might God be building in us? By what new God-given name will our Gabriel call us – full of grace, full of peace, full of joy or love, or hope? And will we listen when Gabriel cries out, 'Behold,' begging us to see our new relationship with God and how God is working through us to reveal Christ to the world."
Mary Deeley has taught and ministered in academic settings since 1978. Currently, Mary serves as the Pastoral Associate and the director of the Christ the Teacher Institute for the Sheil Catholic Center at Northwestern University where she works with young adults and others in discernment processes, leadership development, spiritual direction, and education and formation. She earned her M.Div at Yale Divinity School and her Ph.D., Northwestern University. Mary is the author of a Mothers, Lovers, Priests, Prophets, and Kings: What the Old Testament Tells Us About God and Ourselves; Daybreaks: Daily Reflections for Advent and Christmas; and Remembering God: Resting in the Midst of Life all published by Liguori Press, as well as numerous reflections on lectionary readings, scripture, campus ministry, and young adults.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12202020 to learn more about Mary, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Dr. Pearl Maria Barros offers a reflection on the "dangerous memory of Mary":
"[R]ecalling the 'dangerous memory of Mary' challenges depictions of Mary’s life that attempt to neutralize its radical implications for pushing against injustice and its call to stand in compassionate solidarity with all who suffer....It is this dangerous memory of La Virgen of Guadalupe that empowers nos/otrx to push against all that keeps us from recognizing the presence of God in ourselves, and each other."
Dr. Pearl Maria Barros is assistant professor of religious studies at Santa Clara University. She holds a Th.D. in Religion, Gender, and Culture from Harvard, an M.T.S. from Harvard, and a B.A. from Santa Clara University. She is a Catholic feminist theologian whose work engages Latinx cultural studies and decolonial theory. In particular, her research focuses on the relationships between sexuality, subjectivity, and spirituality in Latinx women’s writings, especially in Anzaldúan thought.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12122020 to learn more about Dr. Barros, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
"What is clear is that to be a Catholic is to proclaim that bodies matter. We are not simply concerned for the state of a soul, but for the whole person, even as the world tells us that women’s bodies in particular are fragile and disposable. Yet, a first-century pregnant teenager teaches us otherwise."
Preaching for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, Angela Howard McParland offers a reflection on honoring the sacredness of each and every body.
Angie McParland serves as Campus Minister and Religion teacher at La Salle Academy in Providence where she lives with her husband and three young children. A Kentucky native who has called New England home for over a decade, she earned a B.A. in English and Religion from Centre College and and served for a year with Americorps*VISTA before earning a Master of Divinity at Vanderbilt Divinity School as well as a certificate in Religion, Gender, and Sexuality in 2007. She has worked in ministry for more than fifteen years in parish and campus settings from Nashville to Boston.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12082020 to learn more about Angie, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Second Sunday of Advent, Katherine Greiner offers a reflection on proclaiming God's promise of salvation especially in this fraught Advent of 2020:
"This Advent, more than ever, we are called to be both listeners and proclaimers, to be contemplatives and prophets, to let the silence prepare us to speak truth to oppressive power and to speak tenderness to the oppressed. As we continue to wait in joyful hope for an end to this pandemic, may this time of bewildering silence become a holy silence, one in which we hear God speak words of comfort and tenderness. There, in that silence, God will transform our cries of anguish into a chorus of Advent hope so we may proclaim: Maranatha. Come! Lord Jesus Come!”
Katherine A. Greiner is associate professor of theology at Carroll College in Helena, Montana. She holds a Ph.D. in Theology and Education from Boston College. Her research interests include Christian spirituality, lay ministry in the Catholic Church, and feminist and contextual theologies. She currently serves on the College Theology Society Board. She has been regular contributor to the blog Daily Theology and is a regular contributor to Liturgical Press’s Loose Leaf Lectionary.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12062020 to learn more about Katherine, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the First Sunday of Advent, Sr. Terry Rickard offers a reflection on being awake to the continual coming of the God of hope, even as we lament our current realities:
"Be awake, be woke to the God of hope who comes to us now in midst of our lamentations. Lamenting the surging virus, a divided country and a sinful and suffering Church. Lamenting racial injustice, lamenting our wounded earth and 545 children still separated from their families. As we enter Advent time, we lament with our eyes wide open, asking the God of hope to awaken us to the comings of God into our lives and into our suffering world."
Sr. Theresa Rickard is a Dominican Sister of Blauvelt, New York and the President of RENEW International. She holds the degrees of Doctor of Ministry in Preaching from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Missouri; Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York City; and Master of Arts in Religion and Religious Education from Fordham University, New York.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11292020 to learn more about Sr. Terry Rickard, OP,. to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of Christ the King, Ellie Hidalgo offers a reflection on building el reino de Dios -the kingdom of God as engaged citizens and Catholics:
"As Catholics, what we believe to be the shape of the heart of Christ the King, determines how we respond and the kinds of communities we construct. And if in our communities we have laws that treat the lives of the hungry, the poor, the sick, the stranger, and the imprisoned unjustly, then it is up to us to take courageous stands and change those laws. The kinship community is constructed when we allow ourselves to be guided by eyes and the heart of the Good Shepherd who sees each one of us and loves each one of us."
Ellie Hidalgo served for 12 years as the pastoral associate for Dolores Mission Catholic Church and School, a Jesuit parish in Boyle Heights, just east of downtown Los Angeles, California. The parish is known for its restorative justice ministries, including special liturgies and support groups for families who have lost loved ones to homicide and for families with loved ones in prison. The first of five children born to Cuban immigrant parents, Ms. Hidalgo graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) and a Master of Arts in Pastoral Theology from Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles). She was commissioned as a pastoral associate for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 2013.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11222020 to learn more about Ellie, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Rose Lue offers a reflection on using our God-given gifts fearlessly to cooperate in building God's reign:
"Consider the Gospel’s invitation to share the talents entrusted to you in trust and without fear. Know that when shared in this way, there’s a promise of the talents being multiplied! And if we all used our God-given talents in this way, we would be, in fact, cooperating with God in building, in realizing, a world where love, peace and justice reign. "
Rose Lue is a community organizer, justice advocate, and spiritual companion. An Advanced Lay Leader in the Diocese of San Jose, California, she has completed 7 years of formation along with the candidates for permanent diaconate. She currently serves on the Justice Commission of the Diocese, Youth Council of her parish, the diocesan committee for Catholic Campaign for Human Development, and the strategy team for Silicon Valley Sponsoring Committee (a group that’s growing a broad-based organization in the Bay Area). She is also a board member of Bay Area Conference for Associates and Religious, co-founder and leader of the Student & Alumni Network for the Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries at SCU, and the co-founder/co-director of a community called GoGatherAsOne whose mission is to promote and honor our universal unity as one humanity and one people of God.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11152020 to learn more about Rose, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Patricia Smith, RSM offers a reflection on returning to the ancient practice of living in communal anticipation of the return of Christ:
"In their time, Matthew’s audience were ardently awaiting the final coming, the end of the world as they knew it. As that didn’t happen, later generations transferred the hope of Christ’s coming to one’s own personal life at the moment of death. I suggest returning to the original practice . . . And so, in each and every moment, we must be ever vigilant to continue to share the oil of justice, mercy, and all the blessings so critically needed in our world today."
Pat Smith, a Sister of Mercy, is the former Chair of the Board of Mercy High School Baltimore, and a Theological Consultant. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Latin Education from Mount Saint Agnes College, Baltimore; her Master’s degree in Theology from the University of San Francisco; her PhD in Theology from the University of St. Michael’s College, Toronto. She has taught in high school, colleges and at the graduate level. She was Professor of Theology and Academic Dean at St. Mary’s Seminary and University, Baltimore, and served as community theologian for the Sisters of Mercy, Baltimore.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11082020 to learn more about Pat, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Pauline Hovey offers a reflection on the Greatest Commandment in light of her experiences serving at the US-Mexico border:
"Who does this? Who gives half of what they have to a stranger? Or one-third of what they’ve earned when they don’t even know when they will next receive any income? Who does this? Imitators of Christ. Such actions make no sense in 'our' world with its desire for security and certainty. But in Jesus’ world of reckless, extravagant love, these actions are life-giving. And my 'alien' brothers and sisters understand that."
Pauline Hovey spent most of her life on the East Coast, but began accompanying asylum seekers in El Paso, Texas in 2013 and ultimateely relocated there in 2016. Prior to moving, Pauline operated a writing and editting business for more than 25 years. She now writtes from the boarder and heer articles appear on various Catholic online publications, including National Catholic Reporter and US Catholic.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10252020 to learn more about Pauline, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Maureen O'Connell offers a reflection on resisting the thinking, habits, and solutions of empire:
"We aren’t chosen by the authority figures of empires, no matter what religious or political guises they moralize with or campaign in or what certainties they claim to offer or platitudes they attempt to ply us with. We are chosen by God. And the God who chooses us has a dream for us—the individual us and the collective us—that surpasses the imagination of empire."
Maureen H. O’Connell is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Religion and Theology at LaSalle University. She authored Compassion: Loving Our Neighbor in an Age of Globalization (Orbis Books, 2009) and If These Walls Could Talk: Community Muralism and the Beauty of Justice (The Liturgical Press, 2012). She is a member of POWER (Philadelphians Organizing to Witness, Empower, and Rebuild), an interfaith coalition of more than 50 congregations committed to making Philadelphia the city of “just love” through faith-based community organizing.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10182020 to learn more about Maureen, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-eight Sunday in Ordinary Time, María Soledad offers a reflection on preparing for the feast God has planned for us:
"...in these moments of history in which we feel so deprived and unsatisfied with our present, let us remember that the God of Jesus is a God that has prepared a big feast for us. That our hope and our future is a feast, and that we can prepare for that feast only if we dress ourselves with the proper garment. That is the garment of solidarity, of expectation, of hope—the garment of those who know that human beings need bread, but also wine. We need the minimum of justice, but also the maximum of love, gratuitousness, and abundance that will satisfy together our bodies and souls."
María Soledad was born in Santiago de Chile in 1985. She is now living in the Boston area while pursuing her PhD in Systematic Theology at Boston College. She is also a Resident Minister serving college students and a member of the Latinx community of St. Ignatius Parish at Chestnut Hill. She is also co-founder of the movement Mujeres Iglesia, a Catholic and feminist movement based in Chile, that unites Catholic women from different parts of the country in the common effort to deepen their faith through a feminist lense, and pursue justice for women both in the Church and society.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10112020 to learn more about Maria Soledad, to watch her video or read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - through the lens of Saint Francis - Ramona Miller, OSF offers a reflection on finding our own goodness and peace by living into community with all creation:
"As we desire to develop a vineyard that pleases God and deepens our inner peace we come to realize that there can be no fences around the perfect vineyard. We are being called to be in relationship with all of creation and all peoples and creatures. Lest we get frightened by the expectation to be so magnanimous, keep in mind that God planted the law of love in our hearts."
Sister Ramona Miller is currently the elected leader/president of the Sisters of Saint Francis in Rochester, Minnesota. She is a graduate of Seattle University (master’s degree in Ministry) and the Franciscan Institute, St. Bonaventure University (master’s degree in Franciscan Studies). She is the author of "In the Footsteps of Saint Clare", and co-author of "Praying with Clare of Assisi."
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10042020 to learn more about Sister Ramona, to read heer preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Marge Kloos, SC offers a reflection encouraging us to go out and work in the vineyard today:
"Today, we are a planet awakening to multiple injustices cascading over our consciousness. Our journey to the vineyard cannot be put on hold. The urgency of this moment calls us to go to work in the vineyard where the weeds of hate and indifference choke the vitality of our souls."
Marge Kloos, S.C., D. Min. is a Sister of Charity of Cincinnati and is serving as a member of the Leadership Team of her religious community. As an associate professor of religious and pastoral studies at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, Marge has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in Ministry, Spirituality, and Ecological and Social Justice.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09272020 to learn more about Marge, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jessie Bazan offers a reflection on the familiar parable of the workers in the vineyard:
"Our God is a God of infinite possibilities, whose ways are high above the human ways to which we’ve grown accustomed. Our God cannot be tamed within the made-up constructs of in or out, worthy or unworthy, last or first. Our God is near to all who call upon the divine name in truth, no matter if we got to work at the crack of dawn or right before quitting time."
Jessie Bazan is a theologian and writer. She edited and co-authored the book, Dear Joan Chittister: Conversations with Women in the Church, released in September 2019 with Twenty-Third Publications. Jessie also serves as the program associate for the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research. She earned her Masters of Divinity degree at the Saint John's School of Theology and Seminary in Collegeville, Minnesota and Bachelor of Arts from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09202020 to learn more about Jessie, to view her video or read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jacqueline Regan offers a reflection on forgiveness:
"Seventy times seven? Really? Jesus knew that we needed practice. With hearts opened wide to the amazing grace of God’s mercy, can we trust that Jesus’ instruction is a sign of solidarity with the human condition? Can we live as if it is a piece of wise advice that shapes and sustains our prophetic practice of love and forgiveness for the long haul?"
Jacqueline Regan (Jackie) is the Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Career Services at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry (STM). She earned an M.Div. and an M.A. in Spiritual Direction from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology and Ministry. Jackie’s greatest source of joy in her ministry is participating in and creating inclusive formation programs that foster relationships with and among students from all over the world. At the STM and in her parish of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Jackie has been active in spiritual direction, prison and interfaith ministry, international immersion experiences, hospice chaplaincy, liturgical ministry, and RCIA. She has served on executive boards for the Association of Theological Schools and Association of Graduate Programs in Ministry, and is currently a member of the Boston College Forum on Racial Justice and the Regional Council of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09132020 to learn more about Jackie, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Dr. Julie Welborn offers a reflection on our call to be on the watch -- for ourselves and for one another:
"When we engender these kind of healthy relationships; when we sharpen others and allow others to sharpen us, in the end we become better people, and position ourselves to be available to represent and serve God."
Julie Welborn is a skilled teacher and preacher who worked at the Office of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of Chicago in 2011-2016 and served as the Director of Catholic Identity from 2014-16. She has taught and facilitated confirmation and reconciliation sacramental classes and retreats; shared the gospel as a scripture teacher for the Chicago Catholic Scripture School; taught scripture in the Continuing Education & Enrichment Program during the summer at the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at St. Xavier University in New Orleans; has preached at churches and conferences of various denominations and has been featured as keynote speaker at schools and various educational organizations. She holds a Doctorate of Ministry, a Master of Divinity and a Certificate in Biblical Spirituality from Catholic Theological Union. She currently serves as the Associate Pastor of Youth and Family Life at LaSalle Street Church in Chicago.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09062020 to learn more about Julie, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sr. Nicole Trahan offers a reflection on persistence as we seek, in the words of St. Paul, not to be conformed to this age:
Let us challenge ourselves to keep learning and growing, allowing God to transform us by the renewal of our minds, so we might act with courage in spite of the obstacles and struggles to bring about a time acceptable to the Lord.
Sr. Nicole Trahan, FMI, a native of Orange, Texas, is a member of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate (Marianists) and currently lives in Dayton, Ohio. Sr. Nicole serves her congregation as a member of the provincial leadership team, vocations director and director of the pre-novitiate program. She is also a part-time campus minister at Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08302020 to learn more about Sr. Nicole, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Elyse Raby offers a reflection on authority:
"This is the kind of lived authority, the kind of witness and testimony, that opens the doors to the kingdom of heaven. This is the authority that makes Christianity credible. It is the kind of authority that we so desperately need from our church leaders who are in positions of authority."
Elyse Raby is a doctoral candidate in systematic theology at Boston College. She is completing her dissertation on the church as the body of Christ in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Catholic theology and, in particular, how different understandings of embodiment shape our understandings of the church, its ministry, and its relationship to the world.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08232020 to learn more about Elyse, to read her text or watch her video, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sr. Gerardette Philips offers a reflection on the universality of God's love and compassion -- regardless of race, culture, or creed -- and the invitation to be in relationship with one another:
"The Breath of the Compassionate God breathes on all alike, extending the invitation and making God’s mercy available for all. However we can only feel this breath if we are close enough... In the three readings of today we are given an invitation to be in the house of prayer together, to exclude no one, to experience the mercy of God and a promise that our requests will be granted in God’s way and in God’s time."
Sr. Gerardette Philips, RSCJ, (Religiuses du Sacre Coeur de Jesus) was born in India. She has been living and serving in Jakarta/Bandung – Indonesia over the last twenty years. She serves as the Director of Formation and District Leader of the RSCJ in Indonesia. She is actively involved special education and interreligious dialogue.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08162020 to learn more about Sr. Gerardette, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of the Assumption, Pat McDonough offers a reflection on the wholeness and holiness of each woman:
"Mary’s 'yes' made her whole, a wholeness for which we all long. She shared so singleheartedly, so fully in the life of Jesus, that God invited Mary to share fully in his resurrection. If heaven could welcome a female body, why can’t the hierarchy?"
Pat McDonough has enjoyed a thirty-five year career as a Catholic educator and school psychologist in the Diocese of Rockville Centre. Her experience in pastoral ministry spans years as a Director of Religious Education, Director of Youth Ministry, Coordinator of Programs in the Diocesan Office of Family Ministry, and professor of psychology and theology in Catholic high schools and colleges on Long Island. She holds a P.D. in Psychology, M.S. in Education, M.A. in Theology and a B.S. in Criminal Justice. She completed the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius over the course of an unforgettable thirty days as a graduate student.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08152020 to learn more about Pat, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Emily R. John offers a reflection on living out of our connectedness with God -- especially during tumultuous times:
"That still point, that everyone has within, helps us see that every moment of our lives is reverent. Resting in the love of God not only changes us but also invites us to take on the injustices and systematic oppression in the world. It gives us the spirit and courage to Show Up."
Emily John currently lives in Milwaukee, WI. Throughout her career, she has striven to use her talents best to serve the poor. And currently works with the Cardinal Felix Foundation raising funds for the poor on the Caribbean islands of St. Lucia and Dominica. She received her MA and PhD from St. Michael’s College, Toronto School of Theology, University of Toronto.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08092020 to learn more about Emily, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Casey Stanton preaches for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering a reflection on acknowleding and channeling our anger and grief:
"Come turn that hot anger into fuel that sustains your love of creation and the people of God entrusted to your care. Come and be changed, be renewed, be fed -- by the same one who promises that no creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, but that in him we conquer overwhelmingly."
Casey Stanton, M.Div., is the Minister of Social Action and Discipleship at Immaculate Conception Parish in Durham, North Carolina. She holds a BA from the University of Notre Dame, and a Masters of Divinity from Duke Divinity School where she graduated with a certificate in prison studies. Casey spent a decade working in the field of faith-based and labor organizing where she witnessed the power of collective action to bend decision makers towards justice.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08022020 to learn more about Casey, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Anne Koester offers a reflection on finding and sparking joy:
"We should find joy simply in sharing the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ and in building up the reign of God by loving others – as in everyone – not a select few, not just the ones we like or could benefit us, not just the ones whom we think are like us – but loving everyone. The people who make us uncomfortable, those whom we don’t personally know, those who are very different from ourselves, those who need our listening hearts and who likely will not give us some advantage. But here we will find deep and ever-lasting joy."
Anne Koester is with Georgetown University, Washington, DC, where she has been an adjunct instructor with the Theology Department since 2003. She also oversees the RCIA process and is co-facilitator of the “Women Who Stayed” initiative at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in DC. A former trial lawyer, Anne studied theology, with a concentration in liturgy, at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. She has worked at the Notre Dame Center for Pastoral Liturgy and the Georgetown Center for Liturgy. From 2004-2007, Anne served on the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Women in the Church and Society. She is a member of the North American Academy of Liturgy and its Christian Initiation Seminar group.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07262020 to learn more about Anne, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Feast Day of Saint Mary of Magdala, Nontando Hadebe offers a reflection on claiming the apostolic tradition of Mary Magdalene:
"As we celebrate Mary Magdalene, we rise up as women and we say we have a tradition that can be traced to a direct commandment from Jesus to speak. And we shall speak: we shall speak with authority; we shall speak with intelligence; we shall speak for ourselves..."
Dr. Nontando Hadebe is a lay woman theologian and senior lecturer at St. Augustine College in South Africa, specializing in African Theology, Pastoral & Contextual Theology, Feminist & Womanist Theology, Liberation Theology and Pastoral Psychology.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07222020 to learn more about Nontando, to view her video, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Ruth Fehlker offers a reflection on growth and progress even in times of injustice, pain, and uncertainty:
"And so I cling to this unlikely hope: the hope that many small people in many small places who take many small steps will eventually change the face of the earth."
Ruth Fehlker holds a master’s degree in Catholic theology from the University of Münster as well as certificates in pastoral psychology and pastoral theology after training with the Diocese of Münster for four years. She works as a pastoral worker (Pastoralreferentin) in the parish of St. Lamberti in Coesfeld (www.lamberti-coe.de). She is a member of the womens’ council to the bishop in the Diocese of Münster.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07192020 to learn more about Ruth, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Molleen Dupree-Dominguez preaches on the familiar parable of the Sower and the Seed, offering a reflection on the seeds of racial justice being sown today:
"The weeds and thorns of racial superiority have set excruciatingly deep roots in the institutions of the United States of America as well as in the hearts of Americans. Any skilled gardener will tell you, uprooting entrenched weeds takes persistence and focus. God assures us through the mouth of Isaiah: My work is not wasted. I send out my word, says God, and it will not return to me until it has accomplished its word. God’s Word - these seeds thirsting for justice - will find fertile soil. God is our ultimate model of the skilled gardener - persistent and focused. Let her be our guide."
Molleen Dupree-Dominguez is a teacher, writer, and minister living in the beautiful Bay Area of northern California. She earned a Master of Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University in 2003, along with a Certificate in Spiritual Direction in 2004.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07122020 to learn more about Molleen, to read her text, and for weekly preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourteeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Christine Elisabeth Burke, IBVM offers a reflection on Wisdom-Sophia's message of hope during time of struggle and invitation to live in a new way:
"Can we have the humility to come as little ones', asking Wisdom to help us to understand, to change, to live in a new way? Can we let go of some good things to a allow a greater good to emerge?"
Christine Burke IBVM (Loreto) lives in Quezon City, Philippines. She was engaged for many years in various aspects of adult faith education in the archdiocese of Adelaide, Australia. She is currently giving a seminar course at Maryhill School of Theology on Feminist Theology and Spirituality and supervises some post-graduate students. She has published “Freedom Justice and Sincerity: reflections on the life and spirituality of Mary Ward” and “The gift of Mary Ward”, as well as an earlier volume “Through a woman’s Eyes” which presented meditations and feminist insights into Gospel stories.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07052020 to learn more about Christine, to read her text or view her video, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, timone davis offers a reflection on living and loving a "Life According to Jesus":
"See, to truly love God is to love self. The love for self manifests itself in how we treat others. My love for Gaud causes me, calls me, to see my goodness and worthiness... and I can't help but share that with others -- evangelization"
After working for the Archdiocese of Chicago as the coordinator of ReCiL – Reclaiming Christ in Life Young Adult Ministry, timone davis launched PEACE centered WHOLENESS with her husband, Orlando, where they are blending clinical counseling and spiritual companioning. In addition to running a business, timone is an assistant professor in the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University Chicago. In her spare time, she serves as the treasurer of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium. dr. timone davis uses lower case letters in the spelling of her name to indicate her willingness to embody the creedal assertion in John 3:30 in her everyday living.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06282020 to learn more about timone, to read here preaching text, and for weekly preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Joan S. Grey offers a reflection on overcoming fear:
"How do we overcome fear? It’s more complicated than someone saying: don’t be afraid. Taming this emotion requires more than a command or suggestion, even from a trusted source."
From being first-generation American to being in the first class with women at West Point and a 2019 Harvard graduate, Joan Grey hopes her "Didn't See That Coming" experiences may ease the journey for others.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06212020 to learn more about Joan Grey, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, Susan Haarman offers a reflection on being a Eucharistic people:
"Eucharist isn't a spectator sport. We participate in the body of Christ when we break the bread. We participate in the blood of Christ when we drink from the cup. Living into a Eucharistic reality means participating in it. It means saying yes to that relationship again and again and again. It means trying to model the Eucharistic relationship that God offers us to everyone around us..."
Susan Haarman is the associate director at Loyola University Chicago’s Center for Experiential Learning, facilitating faculty development and the service-learning program. She has degrees from Marquette University, Loyola University of Chicago, the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, and previously served as the faith and justice campus minister, also at Loyola University Chicago.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06142020 to learn more about Susan, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, Sharon Chipman offers a reflection on our invitation to join the Trinity in the dance of life even in a time of pandemic:
"We are being saved, and we are being called to save others in every possible way we can. Keep dancing my sisters and brothers. Follow the hesed steps of the Creator and Redeemer, and may the music, the rhythm, the kiss and the love of the Holy Spirit Be with you!"
Sharon Chipman is a retired Lay Ecclesial minister who has served in Campus Ministry and Parish ministry for over 40 years. She earned her Masters of Divinity degree from the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley, CA, and her MA in Theology from The Graduate Theological Union, also in Berkeley. Sharon has done much preaching over the years in retreat and liturgical settings. She has worked in a variety of ministry settings and with every age group from kindergarteners to seniors.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06072020 to learn more about Sharon, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Pentecost, Dr. C. Vanessa White offers a reflection on listening to the Holy Spirit during a time of Pentecost, while weaving African American Spirituals throughout:
"Like those first disciples in the Upper Room, may we be open to the coming of the Holy Spirit during this time of pandemic to use us and transform us for the good of all."
Dr. C. Vanessa White is Associate Professor of Spirituality and Ministry as well as the Director of the Certificates in Pastoral Studies and Black Theology and Ministry at Catholic Theological Union. She received her Doctor of Ministry and Master of Theological Studies degrees from Catholic Theological Union, with additional post-graduate work at Xavier University of Louisiana and Loyola University Chicago.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05312020 to learn more about Dr. White, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of the Ascension, Cathe Shoulberg, RSM offers a reflection on what the readings for the Ascension might offer to our uncertain and frightening times:
"This feast speaks so directly to each one of us amid these uncertain and frightening times - WE are called like the Apostles, WE are being sent, to open our hearts to Jesus; to stand, serve and be with the poor among us; to welcome the marginalized, to help the sick, to forgive one another – simply put, to LOVE as Jesus; to make our World a dwelling as envisioned by Jesus – united with one another, in love. Most importantly, Jesus lets us know, in no uncertain words, that he will send the Holy Spirit to us. Jesus, promises not to leave us orphans for he will be with us, all day, every day until the end of time! "
Cathe Shoulberg, RSM, is a Sister of Mercy of the Mid-Atlantic Community. Born and raised in East Norriton, PA, Sister Cathe, she received a BS in Education from Gwynedd Mercy University and a Master’s in Education from Arcadia University. For fifteen years, Sister Cathe taught First Grade in various parish schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Diocese of Camden. She was the principal of St. Elizabeth School in the diocese of Allentown for five years and in June, 2018 completed a thirty year tenure as Principal at St. Helena School, Blue Bell.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05242020 to learn more about Cathe, to read her text or view her video, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mary Ann Hinsdale offers a reflection on hope, particularly at a time of pandemic:
"...these precarious situations caused by the Coronavirus pandemic: joblessness, food insecurity, our elders and veterans dying alone in nursing homes and hospitals, exhausted parents trying to balance working at home and overseeing their children’s education, seeing the future plans we have made or the provisions for our retirement collapse and disappear. All of these are stressors and have a bearing on whether we are able to 'give an accounting for our hope.' At best, we may feel resigned; at worst, we simply feel paralyzed. And yet, for me, the reading from John’s Gospel for this Sixth Sunday of Easter offers us some 'good news,' – and a reason for our hope, even though we are living with painful situations."
Sr. Mary Ann Hinsdale, a member of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Monroe, MI), is an Associate Professor of Theology at Boston College. She received her B.A. from Marygrove College (Detroit), her M.A. in religious education from the Catholic University of America, and her Ph.D in Systematic Theology from the University of St. Michael’s in Toronto. Her academic specializations are in theological anthropology, ecclesiology, and feminist and ecological theologies.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05172020 to learn more about Sr. Mary Ann Hinsdale, to view her video or read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Sr. Donna L. Ciangio, OP offers a reflection on making Christ present wherever we are:
"These two lines that I heard in the Gospel today -- 'Where I am you also may be' and 'Whoever believes in me will do the work that I do' -- [are] essential for us. We bring Christ wherever we are. We are given the work to carry on the mission of Christ in our time and in various ways."
Sr. Donna is a Dominican Sister of Caldwell, New Jersey and holds a doctorate from Drew University. She is the director of Church Leadership Consultation and works internationally and nationally in promoting parish vitality and pastoral direction, congregational and leadership development, faith formation, Small Christian Communities, consulting with parishes and dioceses, and in many other areas.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05102020 to learn more about Sr. Donna, to read her text or view her video and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Maryknoll Lay Missioner, Susan Nagele reflects on the familiar shepherd imagery of the readings through the lens of her experience in East Africa:
"The responsorial psalm is very comforting, 'The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.' But let’s be practical. Jesus left this earth many years ago and it takes more than words to keep people and the animals alive. We, ourselves, must be the body of Christ. I think Jesus is telling us that there is nothing we shall want and we will have abundant life if we take care of one another the way a good shepherd takes care of the sheep."
Susan Nagele is a Maryknoll Lay Missioner and Family Physician who began working in East Africa in 1985. Her service provided primary health care in Tanzania for six years, Sudan for 12 years (all during the second war in what is now called South Sudan) and Kenya for 14 years. She returned to the USA in 2018 and continues to work for Maryknoll Lay Missioners doing medical consultancy, mission education and promotion in the Midwest.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05032020 to learn more about Susan, to read her text or watch her video, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Third Sunday of Easter, Mary J. Novak offers a reflection that illuminates restorative justice practices with the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus:
"Feeling guilty, infuriated, overwhelmed with grief: we all experience the spiritual desolation that can accompany these feelings in our world and Church today. What can we do besides turn away and run? We can walk alongside one another and listen deeply, restoratively. As we listen in circle, when we feel the healing love of Christ in our midst, slowly, the desolation can turn, widening our perspective. We may even experience spiritual consolation, a sense that our hearts are burning as we listen to each other. From this encounter, we might even begin to trust that a way forward will emerge as it did for the disciples on the road to Emmaus."
Mary J. Novak serves in Washington, D.C. as the Associate Director for Ignatian Formation at Georgetown University’s Law Center and School of Continuing Studies where she also serves as Catholic Chaplain and Adjunct Professor of Law. She is also chair of the Board of Directors of Catholic Mobilizing Network.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04262020 to learn more about Mary, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Second Sunday in Easter, Joanna Williams offers a reflection on savoring God's abundance:
" ... the invitation is to a mentality of abundance and not scarcity. As we practice this discipline of cherishing it is not because we are ignorant of suffering, evil, and darkness."
Since 2015, Joanna Williams has been the Director of Education and Advocacy at the Kino Border Initiative (KBI), a binational Catholic and Jesuit ministry in Nogales, Arizona and Sonora that works to promote humane and just migration policy. In her role, she works to ensure that the migrants who arrive to KBI’s aid center are heard by US communities, including schools and parishes, and by policymakers.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04192020 to learn more about Joanna, to view her video or read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Easter, Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, reflects on what resurrection means for community:
"But over the years, as the community has reflected, we have moved away from that individualistic conception of resurrection and the afterlife into one of personal transformation, of being able to move past our ego and our selfishness into a state of love and into a state of community."
Sister Helen Prejean is known around the world for her tireless work against the death penalty. She has been instrumental in sparking national dialogue on capital punishment and in shaping the Catholic Church’s vigorous opposition to all executions. A Sister of Saint Joseph since 1972, she is the author of "Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States," "The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions," and "River of Fire: My Spiritual Journey."
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04122020 to learn more about Sr. Helen, to view her video or read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Good Friday, Joan Dawber, SC, offers a reflection on loving like God:
"Good Friday is clearly about deep, faithful, steadfast, merciful love. Jesus shows us how to love, to love like God. Jesus' whole life, ministry, and death show us how to love. The question is, what do we do with so great a love?"
Joan Dawber, SC, incorporated LifeWay Network, Inc. in 2007 as a Not-for-Profit Corporation collaborating to combat human trafficking and has recently retired from her position as Executive Director. She is a member of the Sisters of Charity Halifax and lives in New York City.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04102020 to learn more about Joan, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Holy Thursday, Virginia Saldanha offers a reflection on responding to God's call to serve God's people:
"Jesus handed his disciples a challenging servanthood. It involves humility in service and sacrifice even to the extent of breaking one’s body and shedding one’s blood. Holy Thursday places before us the challenges involved in following Jesus’ model of service among the People of God."
Virginia Saldanha Virginia is a theologian based in Mumbai, India and has long represented laity, family and women's issues in organizations of Asian and Indian bishops. She is currently involved in advocating for women survivors of sex abuse in the Church in India, as well as advocating for recognition of the rights and dignity of LGBTI+ persons. She is also associated with various Church Reform groups.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04092020 to learn more about Virginia, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Palm Sunday, Jessica Coblentz reflects on resurrrection means in the face of suffering and injustice today:
"Resurrection does not erase the pain of our shattered plans and life’s difficult unknowing. Resurrection does not undo what has been done...Christ’s resurrection reveals that a transformation of our suffering and uncertainty awaits us. And like Jesus’s first followers, it is a transformation far beyond what we can fathom—whether at our best or at our most undone."
Jessica Coblentz is a Catholic theologian. She is assistant professor of religious studies at Saint Mary’s College (Notre Dame, IN), where her teaching and research focuses on systematic theology and issues of mental health, feminism, and the relationship of the theology and the psychological sciences. She earned a PhD from Boston College, an MTS from Harvard Divinity School, and a BA from Santa Clara University.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04052020 to learn more about Jessica, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Krista Chinchilla offers a reflection on accompanying each other out of our tombs:
"What do we need to do to untie ourselves? What is it that keeps us bound? Maybe it’s a fear of the unknown or maybe the thought of leaving our comfort zone; maybe something else entirely. Once we liberate ourselves, we can then ask ourselves how we will accompany and advocate for those who are tied up in suffering."
Krista Chinchilla serves as the Campus Minister for Catholic Social Concerns and Service at Marian University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Born in Guatemala City, Guatemala and raised in Southern California, Krista earned an MA in Theology and Ministry from the School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College and a BA in Theology and Psychology from Loyola Marymount University.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03292020 to learn more about Krista, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Dr. Rachel Bundang offers a reflection on walking in the light:
"If we can bring light to others, shouldn’t we do that without delay? If we can bring life and help each other flourish and live in fullness, shouldn’t we do that without hesitation? We can be light for one another now. God is light for us now. Live now. Walk in the light"
Dr. Rachel Bundang is a Catholic feminist ethicist. Presently based in the Bay Area, she teaches on the Religious Studies faculty at Sacred Heart Cathedral in San Francisco and the Graduate Program for Pastoral Ministries faculty at Santa Clara University. She has written multiple articles and book chapters and additionally serves on the editorial team for the journal Theological Studies and is a founding member of the Asian Pacific American Religious Research Initiative (APARRI).
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03222020 to learn more about Dr. Bundang, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Third Sunday of Lent, Jennifer Delvaux offers a reflection on pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zones and into encounters:
"The story reminds us that we have to, as Jesus did, intentionally go out of ourselves. Go out of our parishes. Out of the comfort what is our normal – to find the ostracized and to talk with them. To ask them questions and to listen to their answers. To acknowledge and celebrate their joys. To acknowledge and grieve the tragedies in their lives. To invite them into our communities and to walk with them, so they recognize that they truly belong as God wills it."
Jennifer Delvaux is Senior Coordinator for the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Office for Evangelization and Missionary Discipleship, where she supports parishes in the efforts to develop a culture of evangelization and missionary disciples. She enjoys these opportunities to enter in to conversation with others about faith, social justice, science fiction, the experience of the feminine in the Church, and especially breaking open the scriptures.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03152020 to learn more about Jennifer, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Second Sunday of Lent, Lauren M. Schwer offers a reflection on embracing and living our belovedness:
"May we seek to live our belovedness, relax with knowing we cannot control it, and seek to deepen a genuine relationship of response with the God that loved us into existence."
Lauren serves as the Associate Director of Campus Ministry at Loyola University Chicago. Lauren earned both her Masters of Arts in Pastoral Ministry and her Bachelor of Arts in Theology from Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. While at Boston College, she was a four-year varsity volleyball player. Her passions include running, traveling, and gathering her loved ones in her home.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03082020 to learn more about Lauren, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the First Sunday of Lent, Marcia Chatelain offers a reflection on joining Jesus in rejecting the empty promises of injustice:
"The temptations are all around us; the rhetoric is all around us. But if we imagine ourselves atop the great mountain, and we see ourselves as people able to reject the empty promises of the Devil, then we were able to reject the empty promises of a society that tells us that that there are only winners and that we don’t have to think about losers."
Marcia Chatelain is a Provost’s Distinguished Associate Professor of History and African American Studies at Georgetown University. She is the author of South Side Girls: Growing up in the Great Migration (Duke University Press, 2015) and Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America (Liveright Publishing Co./ W.W. Norton, January 2020). She is a current co-host of the Slate podcast, “The Waves,” which covers feminism, gender, and current events. At Georgetown, she has won several teaching awards and served on the University’s Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03012020 to learn more about Marcia, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Ash Wednesday, Karon VanAntwerp offers a reflection on accepting Lent's invitation to transformation:
"May this Lent be a time of recommitment for us, as we say 'Yes' again to our baptismal call to be priests – and leaders of faith; to be prophets – ones who listen to God’s Word and announce it in our communities, our families and our world; and to be kings – ones who willingly and lovingly pour out our lives in service to those who are in need."
Karon VanAntwerp Latham has worked in ministry for the Catholic Church for the past twenty years, serving as a campus minister, hospital and hospice chaplain, parish minister, retreat leader and currently as a high school theology teacher. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Michigan and an M.A. in Pastoral Ministry from the Franciscan School of Theology.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02262020 to learn more about Karon, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Emily Cortina offers a reflection on seeking restorative justice:
"Jesus is calling us to a higher level of justice--one that goes deeper than reason, one that lights our hearts on fire with a love that allows us to look at an enemy and see instead a brother or sister."
Emily Cortina is Coordinator of Outreach and Formation with Kolbe House Jail Ministry of the Archdiocese of Chicago. In this role, Emily is responsible for parish outreach and education, ministry to families affected by incarceration, and formation of volunteers participating in faith-based accompaniment ministry in Cook County jail. She entered this ministry after being introduced to restorative justice through a practicum accompanying youth in juvenile detention with Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation and learning from her husband’s incarceration experience as a Mexican immigrant. She earned an MA in Intercultural Ministry from Catholic Theological Union and a BA in Economics and Journalism from Creighton University.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02232020 to learn more about Emily, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Kate Ott offers a reflection on following Jesus in fulfilling the Law and the Prophets:
"We must remember: ethics – rules and commandments – are not lived in a philosophical abstraction. Jesus reminds us that following the law and the prophets is difficult work, in need of discernment, open to the Spirit, and guided by integrity."
Dr. Kate Ott is a feminist, Catholic scholar addressing the formation of moral communities with specializations in technology, youth and young adults, sexuality, pedagogy and professional ethics. Her newest book is Christian Ethics for a Digital Society. She is Associate Professor of Christian Social Ethics at Drew University Theological School in Madison, NJ and a Lecturer in Practical Theology at Yale Divinity School in New Haven, CT.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02162020 to learn more about Kate, to read her preaching text, view her video, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sister Bibiana Ngundo offers a reflection on being the light of Christ in our darkened world:
"We are called to bring peace and healing to a world torn down by the ravages of war and hatred. As we hold Christ’s candle of love to his people we in turn become their light, their role model, and guide to the true Light, Christ the Lord."
Sister Bibiana Ngundo, LSOSF, is from Kenya and a member of the Congregation of the Little Sisters of St. Francis. By profession she is a teacher and currently, lecturer at the Catholic university of Eastern Africa (AMECEA). Besides teaching, Sr. Bibiana is involved in research both within and outside the campus. She also delights in composing and teaching liturgical music to choirs as an evangelization strategy.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02092020 to learn more about Sr. Bibiana, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Feast of the Presentation, Kathy Lilla Cox offers a reflection on recognizing the unfolding fulfillment of God's promises, like the prophet Anna, in unexpected people and ways:
"Can we develop a willingness to see the infancy of God’s promises being incarnated into the world, a world awaiting and needing restoration, reconciliation, redemption, and peace? And then when God arrives, in persons young, vulnerable, and needing care, can we recognize that we are seeing God face to face, give thanks, and proclaim God’s presence in our midst to others awaiting redemption, even as we continue to hope for God’s promises to be fully realized?"
Kathy Lilla Cox is a Research Associate and Visiting Scholar at the University of San Diego. After earning her PhD in Theology from Fordham University, she taught undergraduates from 2007 to 2018 in central MN at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University. During the same period, she taught graduate students at St. John’s School of Theology and Seminary (Collegeville, MN).
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02022020 to learn more about Kathy, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Helen R. Graham, MM, offers a reflection on light overcoming darkness:
"It is through our regular 'celebration, study . . . [and contemplation] of the word of God' that we are nourished and enlightened by constant retelling, reinterpretation and re-appropriation of the story of the God who continues to be our light, our salvation and our stronghold so that we need not fear the darkness."
Helen R. Graham, a member of the Congregation of the Maryknoll Sisters since 1956, arrived in the Philippines in September of 1967, and soon began teaching at Maryknoll College and at the Sister Formation Institute which was founded during Vatican II to provide a minimum of theological education for religious women. She continues to teach Sacred Scripture in the Philippines today, as well as to conduct evening Bible study groups, workshops and seminars in the Philippines and other parts of the world, which she has been doing since 1984.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01262020 to learn more about Helen, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jean Santopatre offers a reflection on giving witness to the Holy Spirit's movement in our world:
"We are being called today, more than ever, to witness where the Holy Spirit is at work in others, as well as in ourselves."
Jeanmarie Santopatre is Pastoral Associate for Faith Formation for Family and Ignatian Young Adults and Social Justice Ministry at Saint Ignatius Parish in New York City. She holds a Master of Arts in Theology, Education, Leadership and Ministry from Yale Divinity School and has extensive education and experience in Ignatian Spirituality.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01192020 to learn more about Jean, to read her preaching text and view her video, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Jane M. Cruthirds offers a reflection on embracing our own call -- even when that call seems daunting:
"At our baptism we are claimed by Christ and restored to the holiness which reflects God’s image. We are given the graces we need to follow Jesus and are anointed into service with Him. With faith we step forward each day to do important work that might very well be above our pay grade."
Jane Cruthirds is a mother and Theology teacher living in Louisville, KY. Her joy is raising her soon to be 10-year-old son, Duncan. Jane’s professional ministry focuses on providing religious education and service-learning opportunities to students at Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville, KY. She earned her Master’s in Pastoral Studies from Loyola University – New Orleans.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01122020 to learn more about Jane, to read her preaching text or view her video, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Epiphany, Jane Wakahiu, LSOSF offers a reflection on being changed by our encounters with Christ in Scripture, the Sacraments, and in one another:
"We have a choice to remain the same or to open our hearts, to open our eyes to see the light of Christ in others, to walk with those who are searching, and, to purify our motives and intentions for the spirit is generous to guide and accompany us on our journey of life."
Sister Jane Wakahiu, LSOSF, PhD is Associate Vice President of Programs Operations and Head of Catholic Sisters Initiative for the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. Wakahiu was previously the executive director of the African Sisters Education Collaborative (ASEC). She holds a Ph.D. in human development and higher education administration from Marywood University, a Master of Arts degree from Saint Bonaventure University, and a Bachelor of Education from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01052020 to learn more about Sister Jane and her work, to read her text or view her video, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Sister Draru Mary Cecilia offers a reflection on modeling our lives after Mary and allowing God to bless others through us:
"Through the Blessed Virgin Mary, we have each individually, been blest beyond compare. We in turn are called to be a blessing to others. How?"
Sister Draru Mary Cecilia (Ph.D.), is of the Congregation Little Sisters of Mary Immaculate of Gulu (LSMIG) in Uganda. She is the Executive Director of African Sisters Education Collaborative (ASEC). Sister Draru has great passion for education of women in Africa and holds two diplomas in education and another in educational planning and management. In her research, she highlights the resilience of women in Africa and how they constantly negotiate their socio-cultural contexts in order to build successful educational and professional careers.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01012020 to learn more about Sister Draru and her work, to read her preaching text and view her video, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Feast of the Holy Family, Cambria Tortorelli offers a reflection on building community and standing in solidarity with the vulnerable -- especially refugees and asylum seekers:
"Building solidarity between communities that are very different, and yet have so much in common through our shared faith and humanity, is essential to making our hearts bigger and more understanding of one another’s struggles. After all, it is through healthy loving relationships that grace is unleashed in the world. "
Cambria Tortorelli has served as the Parish Life Director (pastoral leader) at Holy Family Church in South Pasadena, California, since 2008. She holds a BA in English Language and Literature from Oxford University in England, and a Master’s Degree in Religious Studies from Mount St. Mary’s University in Los Angeles.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12292019 to learn more about Cambria, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Christmas, Diana L. Hayes, implores us to "Rejoice!":
"Beautiful are the feet and the entire body of that person who comes to us alight with the love of God, bringing us the good news, the Gospel message, a message never heard before in its fullness. For unto us this day is born in the city of David, a Savior, a child, who is the bearer of peace and all good things not to just a few but to all of humanity."
Diana L. Hayes is a Professor Emerita of Systematic Theology at Georgetown University. Her areas of specialization are Womanist Theology, Black Theology, U.S. Liberation Theologies, Contextual Theologies, Religion and Public Life, and African American and Womanist Spirituality. Dr. Hayes is the first African American woman to receive the Pontifical Doctor of Sacred Theology degree (S.T.D.) from the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium) and has also received three honorary doctorates.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12252019 to learn more about Dr. Hayes, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Liz McCloskey offers a reflection inviting us to trust that God is doing something new: "What are the signs in your own life that God is creating something new in you? and who is it that helps you see the signs? Fear not. Say prophets. Say angels. Says God."
Liz McCloskey is a parishioner at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Washington, DC where she is a spiritual director, co-facilitates a feminist bible study, and is on the team of the Ignatian Spirituality Project, a nationwide ministry with formerly homelessness people in recovery from addiction. She is one of the founders of the 5 Theses initiative, a set of simple proposals articulated to prompt reform of the Catholic Church.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/12222019 to learn more about Liz, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, Mary Jo Iozzio offers a reflection on realizing joy in this world through inclusion:
"Indeed, where anyone is absent or excluded from our assemblies, it is there that our joy will be incomplete: all are called to something different, that is, through the joy in the world as a whole that may only be realized when inclusion prevails."
Mary Jo Iozzio, Ph.D. is Professor of Moral Theology at Boston College School of Theology and ministry. She recently earned the License in Sacred Theology-STL with a focus on disability from Boston College (2019). She served as inaugural member on the American Academy of Religion, Committee on the Status of People with Disabilities in the Profession and now serves as co-chair of its Religion and Disability Studies Group.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12152019 to learn more about Mary Jo, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Second Sunday of Advent, Amy Woolam Echeverria offers a reflection on listening to prophets -- from all of creation -- today:
"In these days of Advent, let us prepare the way for the Incarnation by opening our hearts to the song of trees as prophets. Let us hear the tree-prophets of today in a way that creates understanding and space for the ache of God’s love and that the sap of life will once again flow through all Creation to bud, bloom, and bear good fruit for all."
Amy Woolam Echeverria serves as the International Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Coordinator for Columban Missionaries. In recent years, she has contributed to the founding of international networks and projects such as the Global Catholic Climate Movement (GCCM), the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative (CNI, a project of Pax Christi International) and the Ecclesial Network for the PanAmazon (REPAM). She has served on several Boards and Steering Committees for national and international organizations and coalitions dedicated to peace, social and environmental justice.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12082019 to learn more about Amy, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Jeannine Gramick, SL Preaches for the First Sunday of Advent, offering a reflection on where she finds hope -- particularly for the global LGBT community -- this advent:
"But isn’t Advent a season of hope? Do I find hope despite this kind of discrimination against LGBT people in Poland and other parts of the world? Yes, I really DO have hope. Many things give me hope for a future of peace, justice, and mercy, but I’ll mention only three..."
Jeannine Gramick is a Sister of Loretto, born and raised in Philadelphia, where she was educated in the Catholic school system, where she felt her call to religious life, and where, almost 50 years ago, she began a ministry to lesbian and gay people, which has transformed the Catholic Church in the United States and beyond. In 1977, along with Father Robert Nugent, she established New Ways Ministry, an international Catholic ministry of justice and reconciliation for the LGBT community and the Catholic Church.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12012019 to learn more about Jeannine Gramick, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of Christ the King, Julia Walsh, FSPA offers a reflection on what it takes to see and live in the Kingdom of God here and now:
"The criminal next to Christ shows us how the reign of God can be known and experienced if our gaze is totally on Christ, on the power of God--and not on one’s self. From a cross, the criminal gained a new perspective and was able to see the truth. He was free to be authentic, to see the big picture, to know the love of God. Following the criminal’s example, let us also see the kingdom of God around us and live like the saints we were made to be!"
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11242019 to learn about Julia Walsh, FSPA, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
On the thirtieth anniversary of the martydom of six Jesuits, their cook, and her 15-year-old daughter in El Salvador, Katie Lacz preaches for the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering a reflection on unreasonable hope:
"The deaths of martyrs can feel like total loss. Like victories for the powers that be. A reminder of our insignificance in the face of the wars, insurrection, earthquakes, famine, and plagues that Jesus names in the Gospel today. But we are a people of unreasonable hope. Hope that in the final say, the evildoers will be stubble and God’s love will heal like the rays of the sun, as the prophet Malachi writes. Hope that, as the second reading reminds us, how we are in community matters and reflects who we are as Christians. Hope that beyond the violence and chaos in this world – even peeking through it, if you look hard enough – is the reign of God, the upside-down reign where the last are first, the lowly are lifted up, the hungry are fed, and all people are revealed in their fullness as beloved children of God."
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11172019 to learn more about Katie, to read her preaching text or see her video, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Elizabeth O'Donnell Gandolfo offers a reflection on resisting Empire in our own time and place:
"We debase our God-given dignity by giving in to the demands of Empire. And we are therefore faced with the task of ejecting and rejecting that pork, of undoing all that which binds us to the ways and means of Empire and severs us from covenant with the divine, with creation, and with our fellow human beings."
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11102019 to learn about Elizabeth O'Donnell Gandolfo, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Yvonne Prowse offers a reflection on living as God's beloved:
"As we grapple with climate change, as we look to the struggles throughout our world, as we hear of further violence in our schools and city streets, and carry many other concerns in society and in our personal lives, there is a great deal of anxiety and fear. And there are people, like Zacchaeus, and systems – social, political, cultural systems – that cause or perpetuate violence and suffering, and instill fear, anxiety, resentment, self-defensiveness, and more. And when we’re acting out of those fears, etc, we’re not living as the beloved of God. "
Yvonne Prowse, M.A. is a spiritual director at the Ignatius Jesuit Centre in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. She chairs/co-chairs their training programs in spiritual direction; teaches many aspects of spiritual direction and Ignatian spirituality; and supervises other spiritual directors.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11032019 to learn more about Yvonne, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for All Saints Day, Jessie Bazan offers a reflection which illuminates the Beatitudes today:
"Holy people, past and present, bear witness to what WILL happen by living fully into what IS happening."
Jessie Bazan is a theologian and writer. She edited and co-authored the book, Dear Joan Chittister: Conversations with Women in the Church, released in September 2019 with Twenty-Third Publications. Jessie also serves as the program associate for the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11012019 to learn more about Jessie, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Verónica Rayas offers a reflection on how God responds to the cries of the poor:
"Through our hands and feet, the steadfast mercy, love, and justice of God is experienced by those most in need today. Isn’t that amazing! God invites us to incarnate that love, mercy, and justice in the world."
Verónica Rayas, Ph.D., is the director of the Office of Religious Education in the Diocese of El Paso. She holds a Ph.D. from Fordham University in religious education.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10272019 to learn more about Verónica, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time -- World Mission Sunday -- Margaret Eletta Guider, OSF offers a reflection that brings World Mission Sunday; the witness of Dorothy Stang, SNDdeN; the Synod on the Pan Amazon Region; and today's readings into conversation:
"They invite us to do more than see and judge; they require us to act, to make connections and to put into practice what we say we believe..."
Margaret Eletta Guider, OSF, is Associate Professor of Missiology at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry and department chair of the Ecclesiastical Faculty.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10202019 to learn more about Margaret Guider, OSF, to view her video or to read her preaching text and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Shawnee M. Daniels-Skykes offers a reflection on the sanctity of all bodies:
"For there is no difference between Jews and Samaritans, disabilities and abilities, men, women, and children, black, brown, and white bodies. Yes, we are all one in Christ Jesus."
Shawnee M. Daniels Sykes, PhD is currently a Professor of Theology and Ethics at Mount Mary University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A Registered Nurse by training, Dr. Daniels Sykes received her doctorate from Marquette University in Religious Studies with a specialization in Theological Ethics and a sub-specialization in Bioethics.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10132019 to learn more about Shawnee, read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Maryknoll Sister Sia Nyasari Temu offers a reflection on the power of faith:
"Jesus told his disciples if they had faith 'the size of a mustard seed' they could command a mulberry tree to be uprooted and moved to the sea. This is an image Jesus is using to illustrate the power of faith, no matter how small that faith is. He is aware that it is when we believe in something that we are able to realize it. Indeed, Jesus is not talking of a magic way of doing things, rather it is the role faith plays in realizing our vision, dreams, and desires."
Sister Sia Nyasari Temu entered the Maryknoll Sisters in 2003. In 2006, she was assigned to the Peace Building Team in Africa, based in Nairobi, Kenya. The focus of this team’s ministry is “Conversations for Social Change,” a program designed to prototype a process to effect social change through personal transformation.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10062019 to learn more about Sia, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Joan Rosenhauer offers a reflection on responding to the enormity of the need around us:
"Even though we know that we can’t all do everything, and we can’t all do the same thing, every one of us can – and must – do something. Christ’s teachings tell us clearly that we all need to identify the 'somethings' we can do to help the Lazaruses in our world."
Joan Rosenhauer is the Executive Director of Jesuit Refugee Service/USA. In this role, she leads the organization’s efforts in the U.S. to fulfill its mission to accompany, serve, and advocate for refugees and displaced people. As a member of JRS’s global Senior Leadership Team, she also helps lead JRS’s global operations.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09292019 to learn more about Joan, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Marisa Vertrees offers a reflection on living the value of Sabbath:
"When we focus too much on consumption and material wealth, we harm ourselves, we harm others, and we harm creation. We focus on the wrong things, letting it pull us away from our relationship with God, and forgetting to step back and set aside time for prayer and for God."
Marisa Vertrees was the Organizing Director at the Global Catholic Climate Movement, an organization with volunteer leaders and member organizations in 92 countries, dedicated to engaging the Catholic community and grassroots in living out Pope Francis’ call in Laudato Si’ and halting global climate change.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09222019 to learn more about Marisa, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy offers a reflection on restorative justice:
"The story of the Prodigal Son reminds us that we are all called, in whatever ways reconciliation may be necessary in our lives -- whether we resemble the father, the elder brother, or the prodigal son himself. We are called to take one step, then another, on our journeys to recover what is lost and transform damaged relationships. Reconciling isn’t about forgetting the hurt, it’s about us finding new ways to model God’s boundless mercy."
Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy the Executive Director of Catholic Mobilizing Network, a national organization that mobilizes Catholics and all people of goodwill to value life over death, to end the use of the death penalty, to transform the U.S. criminal justice system from punitive to restorative, and to build capacity in U.S. society to engage in restorative practices. She has a Master in Theology degree from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09152019 to learn more about Krisanne, to view her video or read text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Gina Messina offers a reflection on what it means to be "all in" as a disciple of Jesus:
"When Jesus says..that we need to be 'all in,' what does this mean? First, I think we need to be honest with ourselves and acknowledge that being 'all in' is rare - it is challenging and a great risk that many of us are not willing to take. That said, what we can do is wake up every morning and acknowledge our position in the world, our abilities to contribute to positive social change, and do our best to make that happen. We are not always going to be successful; but it is our intention that matters."
Gina Messina is a feminist scholar, Catholic theologian, and activist. Her research and writing gives particular attention to the intersection of gender, religion, and politics. Messina is currently Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Ursuline College in Pepper Pike, Ohio where she formerly served as Dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09082019 to learn more about Gina, to view her video or read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Marie Anne Mayeski offers a reflection on humility:
"If we are to be humble after the pattern of Jesus, then, like Him, we must lay aside the garments that social status and worldly privilege dress us in and wash the feet of those who are like us, equal to us, made in the image and likeness of God. We must, in short, wash each other's feet."
Marie Anne Mayeski received a Ph.D. in Theology from Fordham University and taught for 30 plus years in the Department of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University. Her areas of specialization were New Testament theology, early Christian history and the place and accomplishments of women in Christian history.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09012019 to learn more about Marie Anne, to see her video or to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary time, Michelle Becka offers a reflection for a community living with disappointed expectations calling us to decisive action
"Being a Christian is not simply a state of mind. It requires a decision – how we want to live as Christians...Whatever we are waiting for, will not happen by itself."
Michelle Becka is professor of Christian Social Ethics at the Faculty for Theology of Wuerzburg University, Germany. She is member of the editorial board of Concilium, an international journal for theology, and co-editor of the book series “Ethik und Gesellschaft” ("Ethics and Society") and of the journal of the same name. She is also a member of the international planning committee of Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08252019 to learn more about Michelle, to view her video or read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary time, Michelle Becka offers a reflection for a community living with disappointed expectations calling us to decisive action
"Being a Christian is not simply a state of mind. It requires a decision – how we want to live as Christians...Whatever we are waiting for, will not happen by itself."
Michelle Becka is professor of Christian Social Ethics at the Faculty for Theology of Wuerzburg University, Germany. She is member of the editorial board of Concilium, an international journal for theology, and co-editor of the book series “Ethik und Gesellschaft” ("Ethics and Society") and of the journal of the same name. She is also a member of the international planning committee of Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08252019 to learn more about Michelle, to view her video, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, Carolyn Osiek, RSCJ offers a reflection on the promise of the day as revealed in the readings:
"Mary too is caught up in this great process of realizing the effects of the resurrection. It’s not a promise of peace during the course of the process; rather, it’s a promise of tension and struggle. We live in time and we touch eternity. "
Carolyn Osiek, RSCJ, was professor of New Testament at Catholic Theological Union at Chicago for 26 years, and is professor emerita from Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University. She retired in 2009 to become provincial archivist of the Society of the Sacred Heart, United States-Canada Province. She is the author or editor of many books and articles on topics of New Testament and Early Church, and of the early history of the Society of the Sacred Heart.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08152019 to learn more about Osiek, to read her view her video and read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Michelle Pérez offers a reflection on global citizenship in light of gospel values of missionary discipleship and servant leadership:
"As I continue to grapple with missionary discipleship and servant leadership in my every day ... I’m going to remember these words, 'and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.'"
Michelle Pérez currently serves as the Cultural Commissions Coordinator for the New Jersey De-partment of State and was former Senior Aide to the Governor in the Office of Intergovernmental Af-fairs. She recently completed a Master of Arts at the School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University, concentrating in Post Conflict State Reconstruction and Sustainability and Latin America and the Caribbean. She is an alum of Saint Peter’s University where she pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, as well as secondary fields of study in Anthropology and Philosophy.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08112019 to learn more about Michelle, to view her video and read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Meghan Clark offers a reflection on wealth and discipleship:
"Luke’s parables about money are ultimately parables about discipleship... The Rich Fool helps us remember that private property is not absolute. The goods of the earth are never really just 'mine' to do with as I please."
Meghan J. Clark, Ph.D., is an associate professor of moral theology at St John’s University (NY). She is author of The Vision of Catholic Social Thought: the Virtue of Solidarity and the Praxis of Human Rights (Fortress Press, 2014) and co-editor of Public Theology and the Global Common Good: The Contribution of David Hollenbach (Orbis, 2106), both of which were awarded first place prizes from the Catholic Press Association Book Awards. Active in public theology, she is a columnist for US Catholic magazine and a contributor to America Magazine and Millennial Journal.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08042019 to learn more about Dr. Clark, to read her preaching text, view her video and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sr. Judgette Gallares, RC offers a reflection on prayer: "Jesus is teaching us that prayer is first and foremost a relationship between God and us, a relationship built on love and trust, not on fear."
Sr. Judette Gallares, RC, from the Philippines, is a member of the Religious of the Cenacle, Asia Region. She is currently missioned at the Cenacle in Macau, China S.A.R. She is a member of the Ecclesia of Women in Asia, a forum of Asian Catholic women theologians and women doing theology in Asia. She is an author of several books and articles on theology, biblical spirituality, religious formation, and consecrated life. Among her books are Images of Faith, Images of Courage, Fire Within, and Journeys of the Heart.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07282019 to learn more about Sr. Judette, to view her video or to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Feast of St. Mary of Magdala (St. Mary Magdalene), Elizabeth Berne DeGear offers a reflection which explores the meaning of the word "migdala," the subjectivity of Mary of Magdala, and our agency today:
"Now is a time to celebrate. On this Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene
we can celebrate the power of her experience as good news. She is reminding us that we all have to claim our own experience as the good news. Jesus as rabbouni. 'My' teacher. Your teacher. And we have to go out and live it and preach it and teach it with authority."
Elizabeth Berne DeGear is a chaplain, writer, Bible scholar and Catholic feminist.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07222019 to learn more about Elizabeth, to read her text, view her video, and for more preaching from Catholic Women.
Lupita Vital Cruz preaches for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering a reflection on hospitality:
"I invite you to be hospitable by embracing immigrants, embracing those with no voice, embracing our neighbors, and embracing our families and ourselves. "
Lupita Vital Cruz is currently the director of the Hispanic Apostolate for the Diocese of San Jose, California. She holds a master's degree in catechesis from the University of Santa Clara and has over 25 years of experience in catechesis.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07212019 to learn more about Lupita, to read her text, to view both her English and Spanish videos, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Julie George, SSpS offers a reflection on how the parable of the Good Samaritan calls us beyond our traditional boundaries, laws, and rules with a particular emphasis on how the institutional Church might respond faithfully to the parable: "Jesus taught us to transform the law as per the signs of the time, and to stand in solidarity with the people in need."
Julie George, SSpS who belongs to the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit, is a women’s rights lawyer who has been practicing law for the past 16 years. In 2006, in response to the growing needs of women victims of domestic violence and other forms of discrimination, she established an independent practice, and has since secured justice for hundreds of women in cases of domestic violence, matrimonial issues, sexual abuse, and property rights, among others.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07142019 to learn more about Sr. Julie, to read her preaching text, watch the video, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Emily Rauer Davis offers a reflection on finding strength, comfort, and hope in God our Mother:
"In spite of the hardships we face, or creeping feelings of despair, we are invited to recall the love of God as Mother: nurturing us, consoling us, and reassuring us of our place in the world. We are called to be a people of hope as we go about our work as disciples in our broken world, with God’s promise of abundant, gratuitous love as our foundation."
Emily Rauer Davis is Assistant Chaplain and Director of Domestic Immersions at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. A 1999 graduate of Holy Cross, she spent a year with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in Fresno, CA before receiving her Master of Divinity degree at Weston Jesuit School of Theology.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07072019 to learn more about Emily, to read her text, view her video, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Elizabeth Turnwald offers a reflection on surrendering to God's personal invitation to discipleship:
"We can get so caught up in the preparation that we don’t appreciate the invitation. But the marvelous thing about God, this all-forgiving, all-patient Universal Love, is that even when we don’t answer 'correctly,' she finds a way of repeating herself; and she will continue asking until we’re ready. It’s a cycle, a pattern, and a living relationship. We won’t always get it right the first time, but we will eventually discover that sweet bliss of open surrender."
Elizabeth Turnwald is a current Jesuit Volunteer in New York City and is the Retreat Coordinator and Conflict Resolution Program Assistant at the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding. A graduate of the University of Dayton, she holds a B.A. in Music and in Spanish with a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies. She will soon pursue a Master of Divinity at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06302019 to learn more about Elizabeth, to view her video or read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, Rita Ferrone offers a reflection on how "“The Eucharist commits us to the poor:”
"Eucharist commits us to the poor, because Jesus chose to identify himself with them, and he tells us again today: 'Give them something to eat.'"
Rita Ferrone is an award-winning writer and frequent speaker on issues of liturgy and church renewal in the Roman Catholic tradition. She is currently a contributing writer and columnist for Commonweal magazine, and serves as general editor for The Yale ISM Review, an ecumenical journal of worship and the arts for the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. She is a contributor to the Pray Tell Blog, and writes for the Liturgical Press daily prayer resource, Give Us This Day.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06232019 to learn more about Rita Ferrone, to watch her video or to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Trinity Sunday, Lynn Cooper offers a reflection on entering more deeply into the mystery of the Trinity:
"My friends, this Trinity Sunday, I invite you to dwell in this reframing of mystery – the forever understanding –and marinate in one or two of these provocations: How might unity in multiplicity inspire us to be in solidarity with people of other faiths or no faith? In the spirit of the liturgical year, which calls us to re-encounter our tradition and story in cycles, how have joy and sorrow from your past year redefined your relationship to the Trinity? How might we use the Trinity as a way to deepen our work for justice, honoring difference and diversity as holy? And lastly, how might we make space to listen to and carouse with the Spirit, allowing everyday sacramental moments to break open our faith so we may remember, once again—in body and spirit—that God is a verb?"
Lynn Cooper has served as the Catholic Chaplain at Tufts University since 2008. She holds a B.A. from Tufts in Comparative Religion and English, an M.Div from Harvard Divinity School and is currently working on a Doctor of Ministry at Boston University. To learn more about Lynn, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women, visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06162019.
Boreta Singleton preaches for Pentecost Sunday, offering a reflection on making use of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, already given to us:
"You and I may be surprised-- the same Spirit that urged Jesus to pray and fast in the desert for forty days, the same Spirit that enabled him to heal the sick, the same Spirit that forgave his executioners is present in you."
Boreta Singleton is Director of Faculty Formation at St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City, NJ. She holds an MA in Theology from University of Notre Dame, an MS in Pastoral Care and Counseling from Neumann University and will graduate with a Certificate in Spiritual Direction from Fairfield University on Pentecost Day, 2019.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06192019 to learn more about Boreta, to read her text or watch her video, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of the Ascension and from her experience as a mother, Gretchen Crowder offers a reflection on looking outward and forward, not upward or backward, to the see Risen Christ in our midst:
"[Jesus]is something completely new. And at this moment, if the disciples fail to recognize this newness, if they dwell on what has passed they might miss so much ahead that is truly special. If they continue to raise their eyes up to Heaven instead of looking forward to the Christ in their midst, they will miss the point."
Gretchen Crowder is the Director of Campus Ministry at Jesuit Dallas. She is a regular contributor to the sites IgnatianSpirituality.com and JesuitPrayer.Org and a collection of her writings can be found at gretchencrowder.com.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06022019 to learn more about Gretchen, or to view her video and read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Hilda Ortiz Mena Preaches for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, offering a reflection on contributing to the Kingdom of God by creating a culture of reconciliation and encounter:
"We cannot solve all of [the world's problems]. But we can dare to open the door and start a life of reconciliation and encounter everywhere we are."
Hilda Ortiz Mena is finishing her master's degree in Theology and Contemporary World at the Universidad Iberoamericana (UIA) in Mexico City. Her research is directed at developing ethical responses to inequality, such as gender inequality, and how it is made manifest through migration and ecology. Hilda’s current work considers feeding the hungry and considers how to give in ways that maintain the dignity of people and how to follow models given by Jesus of Nazareth.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05262019 to learn more about Hilda, to view her video or read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Melinda Brown Donovan preaches for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, offering a reflection on discipleship: "As receivers of that redemptive love, we are called to embody the love of Christ: to become a community of healing mercy, kindness, inclusion, compassion, and forgiveness."
Melinda holds an MA in Pastoral Ministry, with a concentration in Religious Education, as well as post-graduate certificates in Ecclesial Ministry and Spiritual Formation, all from Boston College. For ten years she served in various parish ministry positions within the Archdiocese of Boston, and began working for Boston College in 2006. Currently, she serves the School of Theology and Ministry (STM) as Associate Director for Continuing Education, coordinating a robust roster of on-campus events on current topics of theology and ministry, and working with non-credit online faith enrichment courses for STM Online: Crossroads.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05192019 to learn more about Melinda, read her preaching text, view her preaching video and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Colleen Gibson, SSJ offers a reflection on becoming God's people, God's flock, in a divided world:
"As the psalmist sings out: “We are God’s people, the sheep of his flock.” God knows us and loves us, even when we don’t hear so well. At a moment in our church and our world when people have stopped listening to one another or are selectively listening to the voices they agree with, we must remember- no one is greater than the others- we are all sheep."
Sister Colleen Gibson is a Sister of Saint Joseph who currently serves as the coordinator of services at the Sisters of Saint Joseph Neighborhood Center in Camden, New Jersey, which provides opportunities for connection, enrichment, and empowerment with and among neighbors and neighboring communities in Camden and the surrounding areas. Author of the blog Wandering in Wonder, Sister Colleen is a regular contributor to Give Us This Day, National Catholic Reporter, and Global Sisters Report, and has been published in various periodicals, including Commonweal and America among others.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05122019 to learn more about Sister Colleen, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Mary Kate Holman preaches for the Third Sunday of Easter, offering a reflection on how the Risen Christ sets us free from past faults and failings for the work of the gospel:
"Where can we as Church heed Jesus’ invitation to cast our nets differently when our present practices aren’t working? Where can we joyfully, boldly rush out to meet Jesus on the shore? How can we call our Church to repent of our shameful denial of Jesus, and, in an affirmation of our love for him, feed his sheep?"
Mary Kate Holman is a PhD candidate and Senior Teaching Fellow in Fordham University's Department of Theology.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05052019 to learn more about Mary Kate, to watch her preaching video, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Second Sunday of Easter, Noella de Souza, MCJ offers a reflection on touching and allowing ourselves to be touched by the wounds of those who suffer, while seeing and taking consolation in the signs of resurrection in our world:
"Reading the gospel of John, we ask for that grace that we touch and are touched by, that we feel interiorly the depth of suffering there is in the world today, symbolized by Jesus’ passion, suffering and death. We ask for the consolation to capture the footprints of the Resurrection in life, in the Church, in the world..."
Noella de Souza belongs to a community of women religious, the Missionaries of Christ Jesus, and has trained in Education, and Psychotherapy and Counseling. She has been working in the field of education for the last forty years.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04282019 to learn more about Noella, read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Inspired by the full Resurrection narrative in the Gospel of John, Annie Burns preaches for Easter, offering a reflection on moving through the current pain and fear toward healing and reconciliation and new ways of being Church:
"I think it is time for myself and for our Church to move through these moments of fear and pain. It is time for us to turn around and see Jesus risen. To get up, blinking through our tears, and to share the hope of the Resurrection with the people around us. To restore our communities in justice, through reconciliation and atonement. To let go of past ways of being Church to make room for healing, growth, and prospering as we begin a new chapter. I know I can’t do this by myself. I need all of my church, all of you, all of my brothers in positions of power, to join me in this Resurrection moment. It is time to listen to the unattended to prophets, to seek out the voice of the Spirit in the most unexpected places, to put as our new cornerstone that which had previously been rejected."
Annie Burns is a graduate of Loyola University, Chicago and a former Maryknoll Lay Missioner. She currently serves on the FutureChurch board.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04212019 to learn more about Annie, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Holy Thursday, Kathy Baroody, informed by her years of experience with the L'Arche Community, offers a reflection on Christian love, saying:
"So the question for us this evening is, Can we say yes to Jesus’ invitation? Can we choose to love to the utmost? To engage humbly with one person at a time, to offer refreshment and tenderness to the weary soul, to look with extraordinary love into the eyes of the person in front of us, and convey that they are of infinite value? If, indeed, this is possible, then we will know that the hour of salvation has come."
Kathy has lived most of the past 35 years in Bethlehem, in the Holy Land. As a member of L’Arche, she is responsible for the mission of L’Arche in Palestine and was instrumental in supporting the creation of a community in Bethlehem. L’Arche is an international federation of communities, founded by Jean Vanier, that brings together people with and without intellectual disabilities to share life and create communities of welcome where each person’s unique gifts can be shared and celebrated.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04182019 to learn more about Karen, watch her video, read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Kaya Oakes, offers three insights from the passage about the woman “caught” in adultery: 1. “Jesus instead chooses not to condemn her. And that’s not the same thing as forgiveness, because, perhaps, in her case, there’s nothing for him to forgive;” 2. “What if she didn’t do it?... It’s entirely possible the ‘adultery’ this anonymous woman was caught in was really something else,” and 3. “the woman never asks for forgiveness. Unlike those who’ve been accused, who’ve been found guilty and who have publicly begged for forgiveness, she is silent, until Jesus asks who has really condemned her, and her answer is no one.”
This leads Oakes to conclude, “It’s no coincidence that our other readings today are about new ways of doing things, new ways of seeing ourselves and the world around us.” She ends: “Our newness might look like this: that we might speak, and be believed, instead of being dismissed. That when we’re falsely condemned, judged, or criticized, we might stop condemning ourselves. That we might not be condemned for things we did not do, but instead be set free. That we might learn to atone rather than apologize when we have actually done real harm. That we might get, for the first time, to tell our own stories, instead of having them told.”
Kaya Oakes teaches nonfiction writing at the University of California, Berkeley. She is the author of four books, including Slanted and Enchanted: The Evolution of Indie Culture (Henry Holt, 2009); Radical Reinvention: An Unlikely Return to the Catholic Church (Counterpoint Press, 2012); and The Nones Are Alright: A New Generation of Seekers, Believers, and Those In-Between (Orbis Books, 2015). Her writing has appeared in America, Commonweal, Slate, The New Republic, Foreign Policy, The Guardian, Narratively, Religion Dispatches, Religion News Service, National Catholic Reporter, and many other publications.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04072019 to view her preaching video or read her preaching text and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Paola Piscitelli offers a reflection on joyful reconciliation and radical welcome: "That is what God is like: he always precedes us in love and runs towards us, sinners, to embrace us and to teach us to embrace each other. This Lenten season is a good time for us to experience the richness and joy of reconciliation and welcome. May this time of Lent help us change our heart and attitude; may we be able to accept the embrace and words of the Father and may we witness the same welcome and joy to those who are excluded from our society and who do not receive words and gestures of reconciliation and joy."
Paola Piscitelli is the President of the Community of Sant’Egidio USA, the American branch of the larger worldwide movement founded in Rome in 1968. Born in Rome, Italy, Paola joined the Community of Sant’Egidio while she was attending high school. She has been a member of it since then and has become president of its American branch in 1993. As such she has coordinated the service programs and the growth of the Community in the United States through seminars, retreats, presentations and lectures. As all the members of Sant’Egidio her commitment with the community is totally volunteer.
To learn more about Paola, the Sant'Egidio community, to read the text of Paola's reflection or view the video, visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03312019.
Preaching for the Third Sunday of Lent, Kristin Heyer offers a reflection on standing on holy ground: "We don’t have to walk in the desert or witness a miraculous sight to recognize that we are standing on holy ground. As with Moses, God interrupts our ordinary lives, as well. We experience moments when something perceptibly shifts and we become aware of the sacred quality of the encounter."
Kristin E. Heyer is professor of theological ethics at Boston College. She serves as co-chair of the planning committee for Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church, a global network that fosters connections within the world church. She has also served on the boards of the Catholic Theological Society of America, the Moral Traditions Series at Georgetown University Press, and the Seminar on Jesuit Higher Education. She received her B.A. from Brown University and her Ph.D. in theological ethics from Boston College.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03242019 to learn more about Kristin, to watch her video or read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Second Sunday of Lent, Sr. Jane Wakahiu, LSOSF offers a reflection on the ways we encounter God and how we might respond to those encounters: "God meets us right where we are, and in the ordinariness of our own lives, but we too have a responsibility to pause, to listen, and to open our eyes to see what God is asking of us."
Sister Jane Wakahiu, LSOSF, Ph.D., is a member of the Institute of the Little Sisters of Saint Francis, Kenya. Wakahiu oversees the planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation’s Catholic Sisters Initiative and its Catholic Education Programs. Before
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03172019 to learn more about Sister Jane, read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the First Sunday of Lent, Sheila Kinsey, FCJM, offers a reflection that encourages to consider Jesus' temptation in the desert and to reflect upon our own desert journeys: "We are to become the presence of God for others. In our lives, we will face temptations, but God is there to guide us so that we don’t fall into sin."
Sr. Sheila Kinsey, a member of the Franciscan Sisters Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (FCJM), is the Executive Co-Secretary for the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Commission of the Union of Superior Generals (USG) and International Union of Superior Generals (UISG). She was appointed to the position in 2015, upon completion of her term as general councilor for her congregation in Rome. She is actively involved in issues related to poverty, human rights, refugees and migrants, anti-trafficking, peacebuilding, environment, sexual abuse and collaboration, and currently serves as the Coordinator of the UISG Campaign: Sowing Hope for the Planet.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03102019 to view Sr. Sheila's video or to read her text and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for Ash Wednesday, Christine E. Boyle, Director of Campus Ministry at St. Peter's University in Jersey City, NJ, offers a reflection on how we might enter into this Lenten season, especially in light of the clergy sexual abuse and coverup scandal: "And so as I enter my forty day journey of Lent, like many in the church, I am praying to discern a grace-led and grace-filled pathway forward. Discernment does not mean slow or passive acting; it means deliberately prayerful, and Spirit-led listening and action so I can best serve Christ and our church, as an individual and needed member of our assembly."
Christine E. Boyle is the Director of Campus Ministry at Saint Peter’s University in Jersey City, NJ. She is a proud alumna of the University of Scranton (B.A. History) and the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University (M.Div). She resides in the Jersey City area with husband and family. Outside of work, she is involved in a local women’s prayer group and her parish.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03062019 for Christine's text, to learn more about her, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jaclyn Newns offers a reflection on imaging "God as a vine grower and gardener admiring us, proud of us."
Jaclyn Newns is a spiritual director and retreat consultant based in the Philadelphia area. As a campus minister at Saint Joseph’s University, she supports students through faith-sharing communities (CLC) and weekend retreats grounded in encountering Ignatian spirituality through the arts.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03032019 to learn more about Jaclyn and to read her text and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary time, Sister Rhonda Miska, offers a reflection that reveals the true meaning of Jesus' sayings in today's gospel and presents a new way of understanding and acting upon them in our own time: "2,000 years ago Jesus called for his followers to act with love, in joyful resistance, in creative non-violence. Today Jesus offers the same, beautiful, demanding life-affirming call to all of us…Today, how will we respond to Jesus’ challenge."
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02242019 to learn more about Sister Rhonda, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jennifer Owens-Jofré Preaches offers a reflection on hope. "How might we practice hope in the face of disheartening circumstances?," she asks.
For her, practicing hope is bound up in our work to partner with God in bringing about the Kin-dom here and now: "Let us become a people of radical Christian hope. Let us place our faith in the Kin-dom that is to come. Let us embrace our charge to partner with God in bringing that Kin-dom about, in the here and now."
Jennifer Owens-Jofré recently completed her doctoral studies at Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA. Currently, she serves as Visiting Assistant Professor of Constructive Theology at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary through a Postdoctoral Fellowship with the Louisville Institute.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02172019 to read Jennifer's text and for more preaching from Catholic Women.
Preaching on the readings for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary time, Neomi De Anda focuses on "what Latina theologians call 'lo cotidiano,' the everydayness, of today’s Gospel." What does such a reading mean for leadership in the Church? What does it mean for our everyday lives of discipleship?"
Neomi DeAnda, a Tejana scholar/activist and Catholic Lay Marianist, was raised between El Paso and Corpus Christi, Texas. She currently serves as Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Dayton. She holds a Ph.D. in Constructive Theology.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02102019 to learn more about Dr. De Anda and to read her preaching text, and for more Catholic women preaching on the Sunday Scriptures.
Preaching for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Louise Lears, SC offers a reflection inviting us to allow Jesus to free us from that which holds us captive -- including our own prejudices: "Yet, Jesus was doing just what he was anointed to do. He was opening the eyes of those before him to their racism and nationalism. He was trying to set them free of their captivity, reminding them that God’s love extends to everyone – and so should theirs."
Louise is a native of Baltimore who entered the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati at age 35. She has ministered as a chaplain, mission leader, professor, and medical ethicist in Albuquerque, Colorado Springs, St. Louis, Baltimore, and now Cincinnati. She earned a Master’s in Theology (St. Mary’s Ecumenical Institute in Baltimore) and PhD in Health Care Ethics (St. Louis University). Elected to the Leadership Council of her congregation in 2011, she is currently serving a second term. She has a passion for social justice and the inclusion of women in all the ministries of the Church.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02032019 to learn more about Louise, read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Carmen M. Nanko-Fernández offers a refreshing reflection on the Holy Spirit, saying, "For too long we have domesticated the Holy Spirit, imagining a peaceful white dove as a comforter to support the status quo, or as an advocate without the sharp edge of advocacy."
A self-described Hurban@́ (Hispanic and urban) theologian, Carmen is Professor of Hispanic Theology and Ministry, and the director of the Hispanic Theology and Ministry Program at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, USA.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01272019 to learn more about Carmen, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jane E. Regan offers a reflection on how we all might intentionally reflect the glory of God: "As we move into the second week in ordinary time, may we be those who intentionally reflect God’s glory through a sense of gratitude, through actions of kindness, and by nurturing within one another the voices that preach the Gospel in word and action."
Dr. Jane E. Regan is Associate Professor of Theology at the School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College and Director of Continuing Education for the School of Theology and Ministry. Her academic background, which includes a PhD in religious education from the Catholic University of America, is complemented by her educational and pastoral work. She has been involved in religious education at the diocesan and national levels for many years. Dr. Regan is a nationally recognized speaker with a particular focus on adult faith formation and catechetical leadership.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01202019 to see Dr. Regan's preaching video or to read her text text and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Baptism of the Lord, Andrea Hattler Bramson offers a reflection on staying true to our vocation despite the "curve balls" that life will inevitably throw our way: "As you ponder your life, tasks, and responsibilities, let yourself doubt, like John the Baptist be confident that God accompanies us with love and mercy, and then let yourself stay TRUE to your vocation – whatever it is."
Andrea has been the president of the Loyola Foundation for over 10 years, and has been a trustee for over 30. She has served on the boards of SOAR!, FADICA, NCEA, and was the president of the pastoral council of her parish in Reston, Virginia. Andrea is the mother of three and now lives in Bluffton, South Carolina with Brian, her husband of over 25 years, her daughter Victoria, and the two dogs that show anyone unconditional love.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach/preaching/01132019 to learn more about Andrea, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Epiphany, Barbara E. Quinn, RSCJ offers a reflection on how Epiphany calls and empowers us to broaden our visions and horizons: "When the light of the Epiphany star sears our souls, it also casts a beam of light across and beyond any horizon we have imagined before, calling us to a new vision."
Barbara Quinn, RSCJ is a member of the Society of the Sacred Heart, United States-Canada province. Since 2011, she has been serving as the Associate Director of Spiritual Formation at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry (STM). Prior to coming to the STM, Barbara served for 10 years as the founding director of the Center for Christian Spirituality at the University of San Diego.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01062019 to learn more about Barbara, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching for Sundays and holy days from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Wamũyũ Teresia Wachira, IBVM offers a reflection inviting us ask, "What can we learn from God’s action of choosing a woman, whom we, in our world will refer to as a nobody, to carry in her womb, Jesus – God’s loving son? What can we learn from God’s choice of shepherds, who are the poorest in the society, shepherds who smell of sheep to be the first bearers of the Good News?"
Wamũyũ Teresia Wachira, IBVM -- of Kenya -- is Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader of the Peace and Conflict studies at St Paul University (an ecumenical private university) in Nairobi, Kenya. She is a member of the Board of Pax Christi International, the global Catholic peace movement. She also serves as a member of the Advisory Committee of the IBVM – United Desk, New York; the co-coordinator of the Loreto Eastern Africa Province Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) committee; and as an active member of the steering committee of the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01012019 to learn more about Wamũyũ Teresia, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Feast of the Holy Family, Kerry Weber offers a reflection on family life, sacraficial love, and reliance on God.
Kerry Weber is an executive editor of America, where she has worked since 2009. She is a co-host of "America This Week," a weekly radio program on SiriusXM 129, The Catholic Channel. Kerry is the author of Mercy in the City: How to Feed the Hungry, Give Drink to the Thirsty, Visit the Imprisoned, and Keep Your Day Job (Loyola Press), which received a 2014 Christopher award, as well as awards from the Catholic Press Association and the Association of Catholic Publishers. Her writing and multimedia work have earned several awards from the Catholic Press Association, and in 2013 she reported from Rwanda as a recipient of Catholic Relief Services' Egan Journalism Fellowship recognizing excellence in the Catholic media. She is a graduate of Providence College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. From 2004-2005 Kerry volunteered through the Mercy Volunteer Corps as a special-education teacher on the Navajo reservation in St. Michael's, Arizona. She has been a Mercy Associate since 2012. She is a board member of the Catholic Press Association and of the Ignatian Solidarity Network.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12302018 for Kerry's text and for more preaching on the Sunday and Holy Day Scriptures from Catholic women.
Yadira Vieyra Alvarez preaches for Christmas, offering a reflection on living Christmas joy, even in difficult times: "We must remember, however, that receiving this child is a decision. If we do not accept and embrace the presence of Jesus in our daily lives, of what use is his peaceful dominion? If we do not have peace in our families, our homes, our marriages, our communities, of what use is God’s offering to us?"
Yadira Vieyra Alvarez was appointed as an auditor at the 2018 Synod of Bishops on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment and represented the immigrant community in the United States. Yadira Vieyra Alvarez is Research Specialist at the School of Social Service Administration at The University of Chicago, where she works on evaluating the effectiveness of doula home visiting services being provided to adolescent mothers. Yadira is also collaborating with the University of Chicago at Illinois and Immaculate Conception Parish in Brighton Park through “Fortaleciendo mi familia” – a series of sessions aimed at bringing low-intensity cognitive behavioral therapy and psychosocial support to Mexican immigrant families experiencing distress, anxiety, and depression due to exposure to community violence, financial challenges, and migration-related worries. She attended Cristo Rey Jesuit High School and later moved to Washington D.C. where she completed her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Theology from Georgetown University. She received her Masters of Science from Erikson Institute in Chicago, a premier graduate school in early child development. As part of her commitment to urban Catholic Education, Yadira has also served in a variety of ministerial and catechetical roles including the Leadership Advisory Council at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12252018 to read Yadira's text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Sara Fairbanbks, OP offers a reflection on how we might birth Christ into our own time and culture: "As we celebrate the birth of Christ this Christmas, how can we birth Christ in our time and culture? What steps can we take to overcome racial injustices in our country? Like Elizabeth and Mary, will we, too, be full of grace? How will we labor with God, who brings down the powerful and lifts up the lowly so that as sisters and brothers we may live in dignity and equality as the one family of God?"
Dr. Sara Fairbanks, OP, is an Adrian Dominican Sister. She is currently a professor of homiletics at Aquinas Institute in Saint Louis, Missouri. Before going to Aquinas, she taught systematic theology for twenty years at Barry University in Miami, Florida. Sara holds a Master of Theology from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis and a Doctorate in Theology at the University of St. Michael’s College, the Toronto School of Theology in Toronto, Canada. Her areas of expertise are homiletics, theology of lay ecclesial ministry, theology of preaching, practical theology and Christian anthropology.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12232018 to learn more about Sara and to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women for every Sunday of the year.
Elyse Gallway preaches for the Third Sunday of Advent -- Guadete Sunday -- offering a reflection on developing and nurturing a disposition of joy, regardless of our circumstances: "Paul understood that happiness is ultimately a choice. One that is built upon an awareness and acceptance of God’s presence and power operating in our lives."
Elyse Galloway is a Maryland native, receiving bachelor degrees in anthropology and community health from Tufts University, and holds a master’s degree in public health from the Yale University. At both institutions, Elyse dedicated her time to extracurricular activities promoting community engagement and leadership development. She was a proud member of the Saint Thomas More Graduate Council and active supporter Afro-American Cultural Center at Yale, receiving the Khalid Lum Leadership Award which recognizes the efforts of a graduate student who has devoted tremendous leadership to the House and its community.
Having worked for a variety of government and non-profit entities, including the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health and Sesame Workshop, Elyse continues developing her passion for minimizing the gap between science and society through communications. Elyse aspires to transform the valuable takeaways of research into engaging deliverables, advancing progress and empowerment of individual and community level health.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12162018 to view Elyse's video and read her text and for more preaching on the Sunday scriptures from Catholic women.
Natalia imperatori-Lee preaches for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, offering a reflection on how Our Lady and the solidary between two "misbehaving" women in the Gospel for the day offer an antidote to despair and hopelessness: "Guadalupe makes God present in the Americas, to dispel fear amid violence and trauma, and she does it through the virtue of solidarity with those in need."
Natalia Imperatori-Lee is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Manhattan College in the Bronx, NY, where she also coordinates the Catholic Studies program. She is the author of Cuéntame: Narrative in the Ecclesial Present (Orbis Books, 2018). Her work focuses on the intersection of Latinx theologies, feminist theologies, and Catholic ecclesiology.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12122018 to learn more about Natalia, view her video, read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
Rebecca Muder preaches for the Second Sunday of Advent, offering a reflection on discipleship: "We are called to find and dedicate ourselves to the work that is uniquely ours to do, work that contributes to the creation of a more just and compassionate world."
A self-professed perfectionist, she finds solace in today's readings, saying, "God isn’t interested in perfect. She is interested in our willingness to try."
A native Kansan, Rebecca studied English and Sociology at Emporia State University. As an Amate House Volunteer in Chicago, she worked for the Catholic Charities of Chicago and Heartland Human Care Services. Becca earned a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from the University of Dayton where she also worked as a Residence Life Campus Minister. Following graduate studies, she returned to Chicago to serve Amate House for four years as a Program and Recruitment Coordinator before joining the Maryknoll Lay Missioners in 2016. She recently transferred to El Salvador from Brazil and is currently engaged in the process of learning Spanish. In 2019, she will begin a new ministry at a primary school, Patronato Lidia Coggiola, in Zaragoza, a small town just outside of San Salvador.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12092018 to learn more about Becca, watch her video, read her text, and for more preaching for the Sunday Scriptures from Catholic women.
Annemarie Paulin-Campbell preaches for the Immaculate Conception, offering a reflection on how we might respond to our own "annunciation moments when our former understanding of our future is shattered and a new one is held out in invitation."
Dr. Annemarie Paulin-Campbell is a South African Catholic laywoman who has been working in the area of Ignatian Spirituality for the past twenty years. She heads up the Spirituality work of the Jesuit Institute South Africa which is based in Johannesburg. She has a Masters degree in Educational Psychology from the University of the Witwatersrand and Master of Arts Degree in Christian Spirituality from Heythrop College, University of London. She has a doctorate in the interface between psychology and spirituality from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal. Her doctoral thesis was on shifts in image of God and self in women making the Spiritual Exercises. Her primary work in the Jesuit Institute involves the training and supervision of spiritual directors and the giving of retreats including the Spiritual Exercises.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12082018 to learn more about Annemarie, to view her video, or to read her text. Find preaching for every Sunday of the year and many holy days at www.catholicwomenpreach.org.
Carmen Sammut, MSOLA preaches for the First Sunday of Advent, offering a reflection on recognizing Jesus, the Emmanuel, God-with-us in every person we meet and sowing seeds of hope this Advent.
Carmen Sammut, msola was born and lived her first 22 years on the island of Malta. She was trained as a teacher and taught for 3 years before joining the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa (msola) in 1974. She completed her religious studies and training in London, England and Ottawa, Canada. She obtained a degree in Rome in Arabic and Islamic studies. Apart from 2 years in Malawi, her missionary experience has been in Muslim countries in interreligious dialogue. She lived 15 years in Tunisia, 9 years in Algeria and 3 years in Mauritania before becoming, in 2011, congregational leader based in Rome. She has been President of the UISG since 2013.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12022018 to learn more about Sr. Carmen Sammut, read her text, and for more Catholic women preaching.
Agnes Brazal preaches for the Solemnity of Christ the King, offering a reflection on making God's reign a reality in our hearts, minds, and society.
Dr. Agnes M. Brazal is associate professor and research fellow at the De la Salle University, Manila. She is past President and founding member of the DaKaTeo (Catholic Theological Society of the Philippines) and one of the first "mothers" of the Ecclesia of Women in Asia (EWA), an association of Catholic women theologians in Asia. Before becoming a professional theologian, she worked as community organizer, campus minister/student organizer, coordinator of the Basic Ecclesial Community Program of the Diocese of Catarman, Samar, and formator of social development workers.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11252018 for video, text, and more preaching for every Sunday of the year.
Claire Noonan preaches for the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering a reflection on finding our way in these troubled times: "In times such as these, where do we turn? How do we set our feet, as the psalmist says, on the path of life, toward fullness of joy? Who can show us the way? "
Claire Noonan, DMin, is a practical theologian who brings more than two decades of experience in university ministry, adult faith formation, and social justice education to her work as Vice President for Mission and Ministry at Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from The Catholic University of America with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Religion. She earned a Master of Divinity degree at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, and her Ecumenical Doctor of Ministry degree at Catholic Theological Union with a concentration in spirituality.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org for Claire's text, preaching video, and more preaching on the Sunday scriptures.
Kelly Miguens preaches on the readings for the Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering a reflection which lifts up the women in today's readings as models of discipleship and invites us to ask ourselves, "What must change in my life and heart, so that I too may offer myself generously, from my own poverty, to the work of God in this world.?"
Kelly Miguens currently works as a faculty member in the Religious Studies Department and Campus Minister at a Jesuit high school in California. Kelly is an alumni of the University of Scranton, where she received her bachelors degree and participated in the Casa de la Solidaridad program in the Spring of 2009. Most recently, Kelly received a Masters of Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley, CA.
Kelly is passionate about social justice, Jesuit education, and Ignatian spirituality. This passion led Kelly to work as a campus minister at the University of Scranton for a few years. Prior to that she served for two years as a Jesuit Volunteer in San Francisco, CA and Detroit, MI. Through her professional work and service, Kelly has developed retreats, created social justice programs, and has accompanied college and high school students on immersion trips throughout the United States, Central America, and South America. Kelly is also passionate about her time spent teaching classes and ministering to women at a Federal Corrections Institution in CA. Additionally, Kelly serves as a support person for the Berkeley-Oakland Jesuit Volunteers.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11112018 for Kelly's preaching video and text and for more preaching from Catholic women on the Sunday scriptures.
Preaching on the readings for the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Marina Pastrana asks us to consider how we might go beyond prescribed responses that society and even religion ask of us by responding to our neighbors in need with love.
Marina was born in Chihuahua, Mexico and grew up in the border towns of Tijuana Baja California and Chula Vista, California. Marina graduated from Boston College Carroll School of Management in 2008 with a major in Accounting and a minor in Latin American Studies. She attended the School of Theology and Ministry, graduating with a master’s degree in Theological Studies in 2010.
In 2010, Marina founded the Montserrat Coalition, an innovative and holistic approach to supporting the needs of low socio-economic students beyond traditional models of financial aid.
In 2013, Marina began working at Catholic Extension Society, a national fundraising organization that financially supports mission dioceses in the United States. Marina’s particular focus is on the development of Hispanic lay leaders within the Catholic Church. At Catholic Extension, Marina travels nationally to serve catholic communities in the poorest and most marginalized areas of the United States.
For the past six years Marina has also volunteered her time at her parish St. Mary of the Angels in Jamaica plain. She has served in a variety of roles such as Parish Council Co-Chair and finance council member as a representative of the Spanish speaking community.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11042018 for Marina's preaching video and text and other preaching.
Kerry Robinson preaches for All Saints Day, offering a reflection on the communion of saints "to which [we] are called and to which [we] belong." She reminds us that "the invitation to sanctity is not for the unattainably pious or impossibly virtuous, but for all of us."
Kerry Robinson is the founding executive director and global ambassador of Leadership Roundtable, dedicated to promoting excellence and best practices in the management, finances and human resource development of the Catholic Church by harnessing the managerial expertise and financial acumen of senior level lay executives.
Kerry is a member of the Raskob Foundation for Catholic Activities and FADICA (Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities). She has been an advisor to and trustee of numerous grantmaking foundations, family philanthropies and charitable nonprofits since 1990 including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Catholic Campaign for Human Development, America Media, Jesuit Volunteers Corps, and the National Pastoral Life Center.
Kerry served as the director of development for Saint Thomas More Catholic Chapel and Center at Yale University and led a $75 million fundraising drive to expand and endow the Chapel's intellectual and spiritual ministry and to construct a Catholic student center on Yale’s campus.
She is the prize-winning author of Imagining Abundance: Fundraising, Philanthropy and a Spiritual Call to Service and the founding editor of The Catholic Funding Guide: A Directory of Resources for Catholic Activities.
She and her husband, Dr. Michael Cappello, have two children, Christopher and Sophie.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/11012018 for Kerry's video, text, and more preaching.
Jocelyn Sideco preaches from her terrace in Assisi for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, inviting us to contemplate the Gospel reading from three perspectives: that of blind Bartimaeus, of the crowd, and of Jesus. For her, contemplating the actions and words of Jesus proves most fruitful.
Jocelyn is a retreat leader and spiritual director in the tradition of St. Ignatius of Loyola. A graduate of 3 Jesuit Schools, formerly and currently employed at 3 Jesuit colleges, 1 Jesuit High School, 1 Jesuit Province, and 2 Jesuit Retreat Centers. Her pilgrim heart and temperament led her to minister to people in New Orleans and the surrounding area immediately after Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. She co-founded a relief non-profit retreat experience called Contemplatives in Action (which has since closed).
Jocelyn is an active networker within Jesuit, Ignatian and Ecumenical circles. She serves best when she is able to create a space for individuals and communities to consider their call, their mission, and respond joyfully to the needs of a broken world. She is available for mission-centered, non-profit organizational coaching and consulting.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10282018 to view Jocelyn's preaching video, read her text, and for preaching for every week of the year.
Maria Cataldo-Cunniff preaches on the readings for the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering a reflection on truth and truth-telling.
Maria Cataldo-Cunniff is a person with a disability. She holds Masters degrees in theology from University of Notre Dame and Weston Jesuit School of Theology and is a member of the National Association of Catholic Chaplains. She has served as chaplain at both Phillips Academy, Andover and Boston Children’s Hospital. Her essay, Raise Up the Roof: Families with disabilities belong at the synod too was published in America Magazine.
While she now spends most of her time being a mom to Joseph, age 9 and Margaret, 8, Maria occasionally preaches and leads retreats as well. Through engaging Sacred Scripture, Maria makes meaning out her own experience of disability and suffering and hopes to help others do the same.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org for more preaching and to learn more about Maria, read her text, and view her video.
Trena Yonkers-Talz preaches for the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering a reflection on readings by sharing the lived example of one of her friends from El Salvador.
Trena Yonkers-Talz has lived in Central American for over 20 years working in Jesuit higher education. She and her husband, Kevin, co-directed Santa Clara University’s study aboard program, Casa de la Solidaridad. Currently, Trena and Kevin are launching Centro Ignacio Ellacuría (CIE) with the Jesuit university in El Salvador, Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas (UCA). CIE develops academic and formation programs that integrate the exploration of faith and the promote of justice through a praxis-based, liberationist pedagogy.
Trena has a master’s degree in Theology from Boston College and a master’s degree in College Student Development from Miami University. She is a very proud mom of four daughters (Sophia 18, Grace 16, Hannah 13 and Emma 8). She is originally from Hastings, Michigan.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10142018 for more information about Trena, to view her video, and to read her text.
Susan Ross, Ph.D. preaches for the Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary time, offering a reflection on our need to be loved and to love.
Dr. Susan A. Ross is Professor of Theology and a Faculty Scholar at Loyola University Chicago. She is Past President of the Catholic Theological Society of America (2012-13) and served as Vice President and member of the editorial board of Concilium: International Theological Journal.From 2008-2016 she served as chair of the Theology Department at Loyola. Most recently, she has taught courses on Beauty and Ethics, Theological Anthropology, Conscience, and Religion and Gender.
Susan first preached as a graduate student at the University of Chicago Divinity School, where she came to appreciate its Protestant heritage and emphasis on the Word. Since then, she has preached at Loyola, professional society liturgies, workshops and conferences.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10072018 to learn more about Dr. Ross, view her preaching video, and read her text.
Lorna Gold preaches for the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time in light Pope Francis' visit to Ireland which was overshadowed by the latest revelations and developments regarding clergy sex abuse and cover-up.
Lorna works for Trócaire, the Irish Catholic Development Agency. She is a specialist in International Development who has worked in an academic and NGO context for almost two decades. Currently, she is leading a project on how the Irish Church can implement Pope Francis’ message on integral ecology, articulated in Laudato Sí. She writes and speaks extensively on Pope Francis’ vision and was responsible for chairing an all-female panel at the launch of this encyclical in the Vatican with world-renowned author, Naomi Klein in 2015. She holds a PhD in Economic Geography from Glasgow University and as well as working for Trócaire, lectures in Applied Social Studies in Maynooth University
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09302018 to view Lorna's full bio, video and text
Mar Muñoz-Visoso preaches for the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering a reflection how we might grow in discipleship.
María del Mar Muñoz-Visoso is executive director of the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. In that capacity, she supervises the and directs the work of the staff serving the Bishops’ Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church and its five Subcommittees (for African Americans, Asian and Pacific Islanders, Hispanics, Native Americans, and the Pastoral Care of Migrants, Refugees and Travelers). This includes the current efforts on the V National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry.
Mar holds a B.A. in Communications with a major in Journalism from C.E.U. San Pablo in Valencia, Spain, and a master of theological studies (M.T.S) from the Madonna University in Livonia, Michigan
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09232018 for more information about Mar, text, and video,.
Cecilia González-Andrieu is Associate Professor of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University. She holds a doctorate from the Graduate Theological Union, where she combined the study of systematic theology with religion and the arts, working jointly with the department of Peninsular Studies at UC Berkeley. Her work explores systematic theology and theological aesthetics from the particularity of the Latinx and Iberian perspectives. A scholar-activist, she is a contributing writer for America Magazine and an active member of the board of directors of the Ignatian Solidarity Network. She is a member of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the U.S., the Catholic Theological Society of America and an alumna and supporter of the Hispanic Theological Initiative.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09162018 to learn more about Cecilia, view her preaching video, and read the text of this reflection.
Maryann Cusimano Love preaches for the Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering a reflection on the difference between our laws and God's Law.
Dr. Maryann Cusimano Love is a tenured Associate Professor of International Relations in the Politics Department of The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. She serves on the U.S. Catholic Bishops' International Justice and Peace Committee, and the Advisory Board of the Catholic Peacebuilding Network. An alumna of the Johns Hopkins University (PhD), the University of Texas at Austin (MA), and St. Joseph's University in Philadelpha (BA), Dr. Cusimano Love is a frequent speaker on international affairs issues, is a columnist for America magazine, and supports the Holy See Mission at the United Nations.
To learn more about Maryann, read her text, and view her preaching video visit http://www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09022018.
Heidi Kallen Preaches for the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering a reflection on how we might grow in faith and conviction through friendship and accompaniment.
Having spent 9 out of the last 12 years living and working in Latin America and Asia in collaboration with the Jesuits in higher education, Heidi is currently working in San Francisco at St. Anthony’s Foundation’s Medical Clinic as a therapist. She graduated from Santa Clara University with degrees in psychology and religious studies.
To learn more about Heidi, view her preaching video, and read her text, visit http://www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08262018.
Anita Houck preaches for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, reflecting on Woman Wisdom's daily invitation to her feast.
Anita Houck is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana, where she has served as department chair and director of the Writing Proficiency Program. Anita received her B.A. in Religious Studies from Wesleyan University, an Ed.M. in Teaching and Curriculum from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Religion and Literature from the University of Chicago Divinity School. She is the Secretary/Treasurer of the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality and former Vice President of the College Theology Society, which awarded her the Monika Hellwig Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2017. She is co-editor, with Mary Doak, of Translating Religion(Orbis, 2013).
Visit http://www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08192018 to learn more about Anita, read her text, and view her preaching.
Kochurani Abraham preaches for the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, offering a reflection on the "liberative significance" of the feast day for women today.
Kochurani Abraham is a feminist theologian, gender researcher and trainer from Kerala, India. She has a Masters in Child Development from Kerala University, Licentiate in Systematic Theology from Pontifical University of Comillas, Madrid and PhD in Feminist Theology from University of Madras, India. She was the former coordinator of Ecclesia of Women in Asia, an association of Asian level feminist theologians and has been the board member representing Asia for International Network of Societies in Catholic Theology (INSeCT). At present she is the Regional Coordinator of the Indian Christian Women’s Movement for Kerala and the Vice-President of the Indian Theological Association.
Visit http://www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08152018 for more information and to view the preaching text and video.
Mary Lou Bozza preaches for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering a reflection on the recognizing the daily bread that God sets before us and calls us to share with one another.
Mary Lou is currently the Director of Development at Haley House, a feisty Boston non-profit founded in the Catholic Worker Tradition which includes a soup kitchen, affordable housing, an urban farm, and a social enterprise cafe employing people returning from incarceration. She is also a founding member of FACES (Faith in Action with El Salvador), a U.S. non-profit established to support community organizations in El Salvador. Mary Lou's writing has been published by Liguori Press, various Catholic newspapers, and in a collection of essays about feminism and faith.
Visit http://www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08122018 to learn more about Mary Lou, see her preaching video, and read her preaching text.
Preaching for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Tessa Pulaski offers a reflection that brings a serigraph by Corita Kent, which features a quote from Dan Berrigan, SJ, into conversation with the readings of the day.
Tessa graduated from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in 2015, where she studied Science, Technology and International Affairs. She has served as an intern at the Global Catholic Climate Movement, the Jesuit Center for Ecology and Development in Lilongwe, Malawi, and at Refugees International's Climate Displacement Program and the Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement in Washington, D.C. This past year, Tessa worked on Catholic Relief Services’ Advocacy Team, focusing primarily on food security issues.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08052018 for more information about Tessa, to see her preaching video, and read her text.
Chantal Afou Bengaly preaches for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering a reflection on generosity: "It is too easy to lament the condition of the world and, like the disciples, feel overwhelmed. Jesus says, ‘just bring me what you have and let’s get started.’"
Afou Chantal Bengaly is a social justice activist, motivational speaker, trainer, moderator and youth mentor. She was the first woman from her home village of Kourouma to study attend university. Chantal served as a catechist for children ages 6 to 15 during her studies. She currently works as program manager with Wetlands International Mali.
She contributed to the forthcoming text God's Quad: Small Faith Communities on Campus and Beyond edited by Kevin Ahern and Christopher Derige Malano and published by Orbis Books, Maryknoll, NY.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07292018 for more about Chantal and to see her preaching video and read her text.
Samantha Lin preaches for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering a reflection on community and unity.
Samantha Lin earned her bachelor’s degree in Foreign Service from the Georgetown University in 2014. In 2012, Samantha studied in Amman, Jordan and simultaneously taught English to refugee kids through Jesuit Refugee Services Jordan. After graduating, Samantha served with Jesuit Volunteer Corp in Chicago where she worked in refugee resettlement. She has also worked with Seeds of Peace, an international peacebuilding camp for teenagers from the Middle East, South Asia and the US. In 2015 Samantha was granted the Russell Berrie Fellowship in Interreligious Studies to study in Rome and remained there after the year-long fellowship, recently earning her diploma in Judaic Studies from the Pontifical Gregorian University.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07222018 to learn more about Samantha, read her text, and view her preaching video.
Colleen Griffith preaches for the Feast of St. Mary of Magdala, offering a prayerful meditation addressed to Mary herself:
Dr. Colleen M. Griffith is Professor of the Practice of Theology at Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry where she serves as Faculty Director of Spirituality Studies for the M.A. program. the dual degrees, and the Post-Master’s Program in Spiritual Formation. She holds her doctorate in Theology from Harvard Divinity School, where she worked under the direction of historical theologian Margaret Miles. Dr. Griffith’s research and writing interests include historical and contemporary spirituality, Christian theologies of the body, method in practical theology, and exploration of the relationship between doctrine and spiritual practice.
Visit http://www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07222018a to learn more about Dr. Griffith, read her text, and see the preaching video.
Preaching from Nairobi, Kenya, Heidi Cerneka offers a reflection on missionary discipleship for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary time.
Heidi Cerneka has lived in Latin America for over 20 years, and is currently living in Nairobi, Kenya, working with incarcerated women and refugees. She holds Master’s degree in Pastoral theology. Additionally, after 20 years of advocacy for women and justice, she decided to return to school and to obtain a law degree. She is now a licensed attorney in the state of Illinois. She has served as a Maryknoll Lay Missioner (MKLM) for almost 20 years, and is on the MKLM board of directors. Maryknoll Lay Missioners is a lay Catholic organization inspired by Jesus and the Gospel to live and work for justice in communities around the world.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07152018 to learn more about Heidi, and to see her preaching video and read her text.
Sallie Latkovich, CSJ preaches for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary time, offering a reflection on our baptismal call to be prophets in the world.
Sallie is a member of the Congregation of St. Joseph, and holds a Doctor of Ministry Degree from the Graduate Theological Foundation in Scripture and Spirituality. Sallie is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature and the Catholic Biblical Association, and a member of Spiritual Directors International; she is active in a number of Peace and Justice Organizations including NETWORK. Recently elected to the Leadership Team of her religious congregation, Sallie will leave her position at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, in July 2018.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07082018 to learn more about Sallie, and to see her preaching video and read her text.
Sr. Gabriella Bottani preaches for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary time, offering a reflection on Jesus' invitation to "arise" and stand up for justice.
Sr. Gabriella has been the International Coordinator of Talitha Kum, the Worldwide Network of Religious Life against trafficking in persons, constituted by the UISG (International Union of General Superiors) since 2015. Talitha Kum -- headquartered in Rome, Italy -- is a network of 22 local networks, based in 76 countries in 5 continents.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07012018 to learn more about Sr. Gabriella, the Talitha Kum network, see her preaching video with captions, and read her text.
Elizabeth Mueller Stewart preaches for the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, offering a reflection on speaking our truth, especially from a woman's perspective.
Elizabeth Mueller Stewart, a St. Louis native, graduated from Cor Jesu Academy in 2006. In 2009, after living in El Salvador with the Casa de la Solidaridad program (Santa Clara University), she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Justice & Peace Studies at Marquette University. Following undergrad, she joined Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest for a year in Washington. In 2014, she graduated with a Master of Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley. Beth is currently the Director of Service Learning at a Catholic high school in the Bay Area.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/0242018 to learn more about Elizabeth, see her preaching video, and read her text.
Alyssa Pasternak Post preaches for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary time, offering a reflection encouraging us to be "courageous" in this already-but-not-yet time of God's reign.
Alyssa Pasternak Post earned her bachelors degree in Theology from Wheeling Jesuit University and her Masters in Theological Studies from the University of Dayton. Post-college Alyssa served in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps at WomenRising in Jersey City, New Jersey, followed by a few years as a theology teacher at St. Dominic Academy in Jersey City and later at Archbishop Alter High School in Dayton, Ohio. She also facilitated theology courses on the subjects of morality, prayer and Catholic social teaching for The Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation at the University of Dayton.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06172018 to learn more about Alyssa, and to see her preaching video and text.
Alison M. Benders preaches for the Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering a reflection that challenges us to engage in the work of the Turbulent Spirit: "The Holy Spirit's work cannot be reduced to comfort and consolation. Rather, the work of the Spirit is turbulent. The Turbulent Spirit upends our distorted priorities through the protests of the poor."
Alison M. Benders, J.D., Ph.D., serves as Associate Dean and Senior Lecturer at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University. Alison earned her B.A. in Philosophy at Yale University, her J.D. at the University of Virginia, and her Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Boston College.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06102018 to learn more about Alison, and to see her preaching video and text.
Preaching for the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, Jeannine Hill Fletcher offers a reflection on how we might truly venerate the Blood of Christ in today's troubled and violent world.
Jeannine Hill Fletcher is Professor of Theology at Fordham University, Bronx NY, and board member of the grassroots social justice organization, the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition. Her most recent book is entitled, The Sin of White Supremacy: Christianity, Racism and Religious Diversity in America (Orbis, 2017).
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06032018 to learn more about Jeannine, watch her preaching video and read the text.
Deb Organ Preaches for Pentecost Sunday, offering a reflection on how -- with the help of the Holy Spirit -- we can move beyond division and fear.
Deb is currently the Pastoral Associate and Mental Health Clinician at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Minneapolis, MN and teaches Theology and coordinates Masters level ministry formation at St. Catherine University in St. Paul MN. She also is part of the teaching team, offering a systematics theology course, for the Spanish Pastoral Ministry Certificate Program at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul MN.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05202018 to see Deb's preaching video, read the text, and learn more about her.
Elizabeth Ngami preaches for the Ascension, offering a reflection on Jesus' instruction to "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature."
Elizabeth Ngami is Programmes Officer for Kenya Christian Professional Forum, where she works with church bodies representing Catholics, Evangelicals, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Anglicans. She is committed to humanitarian service delivery for social impact and social justice of all members of the society. She is a member of St. Paul's Catholic University Chapel, where she is also a lector.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05132018 to see Elizabeth's preaching video, read the text, and learn more about her.
Sophia Park, SNJM preaches for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, offering a reflection the paradox of "remaining in love."
Jung Eun Sophia Park, SNJM, is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Philosophy at Holy Names University in Oakland, California. She earned a PhD in Christian Spirituality from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. Along with teaching undergraduate students, she serves as a spiritual director with those who experience immigration and dislocation, as well as those who are exploring new ways of crossing cultural spirituality. As a scholar, spiritual director, a person of hybrid cultures, and a Holy Names sister, her publications embrace a wide spectrum.
visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05062018 to view Sophia's preaching video and read the transcript.
Karen Murphy preaches for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, offering a reflection on the act of "divine pruning."
Karen Murphy has a BA in Theology from the University of Scranton (a Jesuit university), and an MA in Theological Research, Christian Spirituality from Andover Newton Theological School. Her thesis was on the Eucharistic Theology of St. Catherine of Siena, whose feast day is celebrated today on the 5th Sunday of Easter. St. Catherine teaches that we can only ever love God as much as we love one another. In this spirit, Karen envisions a church in which all who hunger for grace through the sacraments are received, welcomed, and cherished – ensuring in effect that God is received, welcomed, and cherished.
visit http://catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04292018 to see Karen's preaching video and to read the text.