Catholic Women Preach

Preaching for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Ximena DeBroeck, Ph. D. offers a reflection on being prophetic lights in a world marked by injustice: "I wonder what you need to be a prophet of light and flip every switch of mercy-filled actions so that those around you don’t have to fear the darkness of injustice. Go, then, be that prophetic light to the world!"Ximena DeBroeck is an adj...

Preaching for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Rhonda Miska offers a reflection on perceiving the world through the Beautitudes, allowing them to shift our attention from power and success to mercy, justice, and love: "Through Jesus’ presence within us, we can put on the Beatitudes and see ourselves and the world clearly, as Jesus sees. And when we see clearly, we can choose love instead o...

Preaching for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Angela Howard McParland offers a reflection on responding to God's call in a time of despair by choosing hope, resistance, and love: "Like the disciples who left their fishing nets to follow Jesus, people of faith all over our country are showing up, speaking out, and modeling nonviolent love of neighbor."Angela Howard McParland is a m...

Loretta Pehanich preaches for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, inviting us to claim and live our baptismal priesthood: "We live in times where people all around us are discouraged. As God's servants—God’s priests—we have a duty to invite people to LOOK! God's message of love and hope is right here, in the communities we touch—the people we randomly meet throughout the day."Lor...

Preaching for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Sr. Maureen Sullivan, OP invites us to live as Spirit-filled missionary disciples who see God in our neighbor and through our lives reveal God in the world: "The descent of the Holy Spirit at Jesus’ baptism empowered him and anointed him for his public ministry. We too were empowered to be missionary disciples to others. Each of us received...

Preaching for the Feast of the Epiphany, Jordan Denari Duffner offers a reflection on finding God in the midst of chaos and suffering: "God’s appearance to us, whether to the Magi in first century Palestine or today wherever we are, often doesn’t take away our suffering. But it reminds us that God is present to us precisely amid that hardship."Jordan Denari Duffner, PhD is a Catholic the...

Preaching for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God - World Day of Peace - Martha Inés Romero Medina offers a reflection on moving beyond desiring peace and living peace as a way of life: "It is not enough to call for peace; we must embody it in a way of life that rejects every form of violence, whether it be visible or systemic."Martha Inés Romero Medina serves as Secretary General for P...

Preaching for Christmas, Cecilia González-Andrieu offers a reflection on what it means to have Christian faith: "God is with us. God is with us always, and God dwells with us most perfectly in the ones who need us. Where are our mangers? Let us search for them because that is where Creation joins our song. To go to them, protect them, accompany them is to give our Christian faith meaning and...

Joanna Arellano-Gonzalez preaches for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, offering a reflection on dreaming a new way into being: "Heed your dreams, like Joseph did. Be a prophetic dreamer. Trust the vision God plants in you, and dare to act on it, with courage, tenderness, and fire."Joanna Arellano-Gonzalez is a proud first-generation Mexican-American, originally from La Villita on Chicago’s Sou...

Preaching for the Third Sunday of Advent, Carmen M. Nanko-Fernández offers a reflection on experiencing and embracing the in-breaking of God's mañana: "On that day, many years ago, in the company of thousands united by a desire for housing justice, en solidaridad with many made poor, vulnerable and homeless, the presence of God’s reign broke-in. Barriers to communication fell, obstacles t...

Preaching for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Dr. Nichole M. Flores offers a poem reflecting on the presence and power of Our Lady: "She is everywhere. Speaking, guiding, prompting, praying. Advocating, organizing, redefining, reconciling. Calling, responding, giving, receiving. Bleeding, healing, crying, rising. She is everywhere."* Adapted from Nichole M. Flores, The Aesthetics of...

Preaching for the Immaculate Conception of Mary, Yolanda Chávez offers a reflection on Mary's 'yes' and the migrant woman's courage: "Mary’s 'yes' did not end in Nazareth. It continues in every woman who dares to hope, in every man who learns to see with mercy, in every community that makes room for love."Yolanda Chavez, M.Div., is a member of the Ecumenical Assoc...

Preaching for the Second Sunday of Advent, Carmen Ramos invites us to reclaim our common divine ancestry by nurturing new blossoms of justice, kinship, and courageous hope:"Even as we lament, we organize hope. This is our Divine Ancestry, given to us by Jesus, blooming anew. When we reclaim our divine lineage, people from longstanding opposing views gather together as the wolf and lamb; the l...

Preaching for the First Sunday of Advent, Dr. Angélica N. Quiñónez invites us to reframe Advent as a wake up call to awareness, compassion, and courageous action in the face of injustice: "Advent is not about waiting for God to act. Advent is about waking up to where God is already at work and joining God in that work. Staying awake means being prepared to say yes. Yes to justice. Yes to acco...

Preaching for the Solemnity of Christ the King, Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy offers a reflection on the character of God's Reign we are called to co-create: "In this final hour on Calvary, we see a radically different kind of kingship than the world elevates. God’s reign is not self-serving, or seeking retribution. Nor does it portend a death-dealing system intent on punishment. No. Inste...

Preaching for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sr. Judi Clemens reflects on how "“the sun of justice with its healing rays” shone through the life of Sr. Dorothy Stang and the people of Brazil's ecclesial base communities: "God was Dorothy’s friend and companion to the land and the landless too. Dorothy witnessed to the belief that all creation is interconnected and innately good…ev...

Preaching for the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, Joanna Williams offers a reflection on recognizing and building upon the Divine goodness within ourselves, others, and our communities: "At the core of our being, we are loved and made holy, created in God’s image and likeness. Our most natural orientation is towards goodness, a goodness that produces abundant fruit..."Jo...

Preaching for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls), Marie Philomène Péan, D.Min. invites us to trust that in God we are held, we are loved, and we are home: "As a nurse, a chaplain, and a pastoral associate, I have sat beside people as they took their final breath. I have held hands, whispered prayers, and witnessed something sacred: death is not the end. It is a passage...

Preaching for the Solemnity of All Saints, Elvira Ramirez offers a reflection on living our call to holiness through our own gifts and circumstances: "Today, let us reflect on the particular gifts we have received and on the circumstances of our daily lives that invite us to mercy, love, justice, peace, and to holiness."Elvira Ramirez is executive director of Maryknoll Lay Missioners. Sh...

Graceann F. Beckett preaches for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, inviting us to consider how humility, honesty, and trust in God’s love open the way to true justification:"God desires relationship, to be able to draw near, and this desire is certainly not dependent upon a grand presentation of one's most pious actions or traits."Graceann Beckett is a M.T.S. student at Boston C...

Preaching for the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sister Jessica Kerber offers a reflection on living resistant hope: "Hope indeed is something to live into, sometimes requiring persistence and that resistant hope. For as Scripture promises us: hope does not disappoint."Sister Jessica Kerber is a Handmaid of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, currently serving as both formator and United S...

Preaching for the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Lynn Cooper offers a reflection on cultivating a spirit of gratitude and belonging: "I invite you to live into the spiritual gift of the grateful Samaritan—how might we embrace the internal transformation that comes from the spiritual practice of cultivating gratefulness, and how might we foster a culture of belonging..."Lynn Coope...

Julia D'Agostino preaches for the Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, inviting us to encounter one another with compassion and reminding us that even the smallest faith can reveal God’s Reign breaking into our world: "I pray that we all may turn to our neighbor, encounter them, allow our hearts to break, and let the mercy of God work through us. Have faith, even if it be the size of a...

Alison Stone preaches for the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, reminding us that everything is connected and there is room at God’s table for all: "We are not powerless here. We are connected. Furthermore, we are capable of creating a more just and compassionate world — one choice, one table, one shared meal at a time."Alison Stone is the Animator of Mission and Identity for Francis...

Preaching for the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Julia Louise Morrow reflects on the struggles and questions that come with remaining in the Church while still daring to hope for its transformation: "I remain because Catholicism, at its best, is a call to solidarity, to mystery, to justice, and to hope. And I remain because I believe that transformation is possible—not only in the conf...