Catholic Women Preach

Preaching for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Olivia Hastie offers a reflection on mutually building the relationships and communities that help us grow into who God calls us to be:"Sometimes the issue is not the seed. Sometimes the issue is that the seed landed among rocks, or thorns, or ground that had not yet been prepared. Growth requires relationships. It requires care. It require...

Preaching for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Theresa Gardner offers a reflection on finding hope amid a world marked by polarization and dehumanization:"The hatred, darkness and pain of the world has brought me to my knees, knocking the wind out of my spirit. But it is the light and the hope of my students and those who are on the margins of society that continue to give me strength-...

Preaching for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Teresa Thompson offers a reflection on what it means to be a holy nation for all people:"May all Christians believe in the glory of God with the same strength, and may all people of goodwill share in the project of becoming a nation where all — all, all, all — can thrive."Teresa Thompson is a writer, therapist, and public theologian based i...

Preaching for the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Nicolete Burbach offers a reflection on a God who sees and cares for us - even when society or the Church doesn't: "Even when others do not see you in the Gospel’s consolations—even when you can’t see yourself—God still sees you. God still cares."Nicolete Burbach is a theologian whose work aims to help the Catholic Church to navigate it...

Preaching for the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Rachelle Simon offers a reflection on how Jesus models a way to serve others wholeheartedly without burning out — through compassion, community, and receiving God's grace before trying to give it:"Basking in [God's] love allows us to tap into gratitude, transforming our service from an obligation, into the overflow of a grateful heart. W...

Elise Gower preaches for the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, offering a reflection on caregiving, belonging, and finding God's presence in the wounded, in-between places of life:"In 1 Corinthians, Paul reminds us that our belonging, too, is ever-present. The work isn’t to earn, be granted, or achieve belonging; it is to recognize God’s truth: we though many, are one body."...

Preaching for the Solemnity of the Trinity, Dr. Jennifer Kryszak invites us to reflect the Trinity by choosing courageous, honest relationships that mend division and build true peace:"We cannot be at peace with God if we are not at peace with ourselves and others"Dr. Jennifer Kryszak is the Director of Strategic Planning for the Franciscan Peace Center, a ministry of the Sisters of St....

Preaching for Pentecost, Martha Ligas offers a reflection on overcoming fear and complacency through openness to the Holy Spirit: "The Spirit is ready to bust down the door. She is actively waiting to animate our very selves, to set our hearts on fire, to lead us through a thrown open door into a world that desperately needs our ministries."Martha Ligas (she/her) serves as the Pastoral M...

Preaching for the Solemnity of the Ascension, Karla Keppel offers a reflection on a God who "nudges" us: "When we let ourselves be nudged out of our comfort zones, we open ourselves to the very best God has to offer us. We open ourselves to the possibility of connection, of community, of building the Reign of God in real time with real people who are in desperate, desperate, need of...

Pau Delgadillo preaches for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, offering a reflection on sharing the love we've received: "Live in such a way that no one who meets you doubts they are loved. In a world that is beautiful and scary, let us ask ourselves a question: how am I passing that love on? Because the love we’ve received was never meant to stop with us." Paulina (Pau) Delgadillo is a sto...

Preaching for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Claire Lucas offers a reflection on embodying the Living Christ by serving a suffering world:"We are called to act now with boldness–to look amongst us and say–where can we be deacon to those in need? ... Who is most at risk of falling, or being pushed, through the cracks, and how are we, as the Body of Christ in the Church, changed by our encounter w...

Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Devon James reflects on the discerning the voice of the Good Shepherd: “We see people who follow modern-day thieves and robbers thinking they will be rewarded with green pastures. But we know the true message of Jesus: love, not hate; peace, not war; unity, not division.”Devon James is a Campus Minister at Xavier University in Cincinnati. A native of Chic...

Preaching for the Third Sunday of Easter, Jes Rude offers a reflection on recognizing Jesus in our midst, particularly as we form community with one another: "Sharing a meal helps us to meet people where they are. It opens a space for conversation...Eating together leads us to see the dignity and humanity of those we’re eating with..."Jes Rude is the Director of Youth and Young Adult Min...

Preaching for the Second Sunday of Easter, Kelly Sankowski invites us to rethink the story of "doubting" Thomas and to stop defining ourselves or others by our worst moments and to trust in God’s merciful, fuller vision of who we are: "As we enter into this joyous Easter season, may the mercy and love of God empower us to be more like Thomas: to use the brain that God gave us to ask...

Kimberly Lymore Preaches for Holy Thursday, encouraging us to live Eucharist, not just receive it: "Holy Thursday insists that worship without justice is incomplete. We cannot receive the Body of Christ while disregarding bodies crushed by poverty, violence, and neglect. We cannot proclaim 'Amen' at this table and then remain silent when dignity is denied."Kimberly Lymore is a me...

Preaching for Good Friday, Emmjolee Mendoza Waters invites us to choose compassion, justice, and solidarity like Simon, Veronica, and the women instead of joining "the crowd” in condemnation: "Who will we be? Will we be part of the crowd, swept up in fear or anger or even ignorance, crying out for death? Or will we step onto the road; shouldering weight, offering mercy, daring to weep?&q...

Charlene A.W. Howard, MA preaches for Easter Sunday, encouraging us to live as Resurrection people — by continually “rising up” in the face of suffering, injustice, and fear: "We live in crucifying times filled with propaganda, divisiveness and fear mongering yet reality, morality and civility refuse to crumble. We keep getting up! We rise like Christ rose on the third day."Charlene Howa...

Preaching for Palm Sunday, Mūmbi Kīgūtha, CPPS invites us to consider where we stand as Christ's Passion continues today: "During this Holy Week, we are not being asked to fix everything...However, we are invited and asked to choose where we stand. Do we stand with the crowd? Do we stand with fear, or do we stand with Christ?"Mũmbi Kĩgũtha, CPPS, is a Sister of the Precious Blood, bo...

Preaching for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Leslye Colvin encourages us to respond actively to Christ's call to participate in the work of liberation: "Jesus calls the mourning bystanders to actively participate in the liberation of their sibling, Lazarus, by untying him... We too are being called to participate in the liberation of others. For whom is Christ calling us to untie and let go?&q...

Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Joan F. Neal, M.A. encourages us to live as children of the light—speaking truth, defending human dignity, and embodying the Gospel in our public and personal lives: "Every time we witness to the truth in whatever way we can, every time we act in friendship, love, and solidarity with our neighbors, a ray of the light of the Reign of God pierces the dar...

Preaching for the Third Sunday of Lent, Sr. Xiomara Méndez Hernández, OP offers a powerful reflection on the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the Well, inviting us into our own courageous dialogue, deep encounter, and transformation: "Indeed, we can be transformed by an encounter at the Well. We might risk receiving Living Water. It could also happen that by being gifted wit...

Preaching from her experience as a Black, lay Catholic woman, Dr. Valerie D. Lewis-Mosley offers a reflection on listening to Jesus, embracing the cross with love, and claiming our place in God’s ongoing work of transfiguration: "It is this willingness to embrace the cross, the Mount Calvary experience that provides the ultimate transfiguration of our souls and spirits in the Resurrection.&qu...

Preaching for the First Sunday of Lent Dr. Kim R. Harris offers a reflection on hope, liberation, and God’s life-giving power in the face of oppression, told through African American spiritual tradition and biblical storytelling: "On this first Sunday of Lent, we hear the story once again, of God blowing breath into a lump of clay. We think once again of God blowing breath into some dry bones...

Preaching for Ash Wednesday, Carolyn D. Townes, OFS invites us to enter into Lent with a posture of openness - hearts softened, spirits awake, ready return to one another and to God: "May the ashes we receive today awaken in us a holy tenderness. May they strengthen our resolve to honor the sacredness of every life — not only in prayer, but in practice. Not only in lament, but in the daily wo...

Preaching for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Betsy Cahill offers a reflection on Jesus' invitation to follow him, not merely the law: "In the reign of God, true righteousness transcends outward practice and demands of us a radical interior openness to knowing and doing God’s will. Jesus calls us unflinchingly to embark on an open-ended journey towards holiness. Do not follow the law m...