Catholic Women Preach

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. "   Mol...

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 invi...

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...

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? Encoura...

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...

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...

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 an...

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 Ezekie...

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." &...

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 boa...

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 'Th...

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 b...

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 free...

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...

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 w...

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 La...

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 Go...

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...

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 th...

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!'"...

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 ever...

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 mot...

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....

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...

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 educ...