Catholic Women Preach

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 ti...

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...

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? &nbsp...

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...

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....

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-f...

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 Peo...

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 foll...

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 accompan...

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. Ra...

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 a...

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....

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 s...

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 willing...

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 Format...

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....

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." &...

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 w...

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 str...

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 J...

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 d...

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 gui...

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 Congrega...

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 understandin...

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 jus...