Catholic Women Preach: Raising Voices, Renewing the Church. CYCLE A

by Elizabeth Donnelly, Russ Petrus

Overview

This series of three volumes, following the A, B, C Cycles of the lectionary, offer homilies by Catholic women from the around the world. This is taken from an ongoing project, "Catholic Women Preach," https: //www.catholicwomenpreach.org/ which has featured videos every Sunday for six years. Though the texts are available on the website, this series will make them available in print form for weekly meditation, an inspiration for homilists, and a resource for courses in homiletics. A project of FutureChurch: see https: //www.futurechurch.org/

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626984837
Publisher:	Orbis Books
Publication date:	11/03/2022
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	667,042
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	17 - 18 Years

About the Author

Elizabeth A. Donnelly (Preacher Coordinator) is a frequent speaker and writer on Catholic affairs. She has served on several boards, including those of Jesuit Volunteers International, Maryknoll Lay Missioners, Bread for the World, and the Ignatian Solidarity Network. She received an MTS from Harvard Divinity School.

Russ Petrus serves as co-director for FutureChurch, which sponsors the “Catholic Women Preach” project. He holds an MDiv from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology and the School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College, where he focused on liturgics and catechesis.

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Introduction

The Holy Spirit is at work in wondrous ways. And sometimes we are blessed to be awake and receptive to the Spirit’s direction. Such is the story of Catholic Women Preach, which came to life when the Spirit led faith-filled travelers on similar journeys.

One night in 2013, Betty Anne Donnelly found herself unable to sleep, energized by her reflection upon an experience she had in 2011 while serving on the Women’s Advisory Committee of the Woodstock Theological Center in Washington, DC. The distinguished fellows—lay women and men, vowed religious and priests—were committed to communal theological reflection on pressing issues. They felt strongly that women’s voices were not being heard in the Catholic Church, a fact that served to impoverish the whole church. They determined to film Betty Anne and three other women on the advisory committee preaching on the readings for the four Sundays of Advent that year.


It was daunting and thrilling to be filmed by the talented documentarians Mary and Frank Frost in the gorgeous Copley Crypt Chapel on Georgetown University’s campus. Each woman wore a purple—or in Kerry Robinson’s case, pink— stole to mark the solemnity and joy of the liturgical season. The Woodstock team posted the preaching videos on their website, publicized them in their newsletter, and received ample positive feedback from their supporters

Lying awake one night, Betty Anne was inspired by a bold idea: to scale up this series and develop a website featuring gifted Catholic women from around the world, diverse in age and ethnicity, preaching on the readings for each Sunday and certain feast days throughout the year.

Meanwhile, FutureChurch board members Jocelyn Collen, Diana Culbertson, OP, and Rita Houlihan had set out with executive director Deborah Rose to expand upon the organization’s “Unheard Homilies” project. Introduced as a part of FutureChurch’s Annual Mary of Magdala Celebrations in 2001, “Unheard Homilies” created a space for women preachers to publicly reflect on the Word of God at a time when lay preaching (while permitted under canon law) was being stifled in many parts of the Church. FutureChurch began posting these “unheard homilies” from Mary of Magdala Celebrations on its website. Encouraged by abundant positive feedback, the board of FutureChurch decided to expand the work by creating an online platform for Catholic women to preach.

In 2015, Deborah Rose and Betty Anne met and shared their common pursuit of raising the voices of Catholic women through preaching. Russ Petrus, then program director for FutureChurch, brought his web development skills into the mix and designed what would become the platform for Catholic Women Preach. After a year of planning and development, the Catholic Women Preach website (https:// www.catholicwomenpreach.org/) officially launched in November of 2016 with preaching for Advent.

Since the launching of the website, well over three hundred extraordinary Catholic women have blessed us with challenging and inspiring reflections. All of their contributions remain fully accessible on the website, representing a rich trove of wisdom to browse and search.

This project could not have been successful without the help of our distinguished advisory board members: M. Shawn Copeland; Richard Gaillardetz; Thomas Groome; Nontando Hadebe; Mary Catherine Hilkert, OP; James Keenan, SJ; Raymond Kemp; Paul Lakeland; Astrid Lobo Gajiwala; James Martin, SJ; Rhonda Miska; Carolyn Osiek, RSCJ; Brian Pierce, OP; Nancy Pineda-Madrid; Barbara Reid, OP; Kerry Robinson; Christine Schenk, CSJ; and June Siciliano, OP.

We are also grateful for those who offered editorial assistance: Diana Culbertson, OP; Marianne Race, CSJ; Janet Schlichting, OP; and Mary Ann Wiesemann-Mills, OP.

We are extremely grateful to Robert Ellsberg for encouraging us to edit this collection of Year A homilies. We could not have done it without the assistance of the extraordinarily talented and tenacious Kelly Sankowski, who corresponded with our contributors, proposed homily titles, and edited and updated biographies. Our warmest thanks to Kelly.

We dedicate this volume to the many prophetic, Spirit-led women who have inspired and helped to clear and illuminate a path forward for us. Three contributors to this volume— Louise Akers, SC; Francine Cardman, PhD; and Jeannie Masterson, CSJ—completed their earthly journeys before they could see their work published. May they be among the cloud of witnesses who continue to guide us and help us discern the stirrings of the Spirit.

Table of Contents

Foreword Barbara E. Reid, OP xv

Introduction Elizabeth Donnelly and Russ Petrus xix

ADVENT

First Sunday of Advent Stay awake! Jamie T. Phelps, OP 3

Second Sunday of Advent A change of direction Astrid Lobo Gajiwala 7

Third Sunday of Advent Celebrating what is good Kerry A. Robinson 14

Fourth Sunday of Advent Taking the long route Nontando Hadebe 18

CHRISTMAS SEASON

Nativity of the Lord How are we laboring? Christine Schenk, CSJ 23

Feast of the Holy Family Caring for the anawim Cambria Tortorelli 28

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Peace shaped by nonviolence, rooted in justice Marie Dennis 32

Epiphany of the Lord A different way Jane Wakahiu, LSOSF 36

Baptism of the Lord Baptism: calling us out of our comfort zone Jane M. Cruthirds 40

LENT

Ash Wednesday A communal commitment Simone Campbell, SSS 47

First Sunday of Lent Repentance that flows from love and mercy Dianne Bergant, CSA 50

Second Sunday of Lent Seeing Jesus in a new light Laurie Jurecki 53

Third Sunday of Lent The woman who testified Mary Catherine Hilkert, OP 57

Fourth Sunday of Lent Seeing the world through God’s eyes Rachel Bundang 63

Fifth Sunday of Lent Do we recognize Jesus weeping with us? Krista Chinchilla-Patzke 69

HOLY WEEK

Palm Sunday Waiting with our suffering God M. Shawn Copeland 75

Holy Thursday Hearing and responding to God’s call to serve people Virginia Saldanha 78

Good Friday What do we do with so great a love? Joan S. Dawber, SC 81

EASTER SEASON

Easter Sunday The women who did not lose hope Margaret A. Farley 87

Second Sunday of Easter The visible wounds of Christ Jeannie Masterson, CSJ 91

Third Sunday of Easter Coming into the fullness of His glory Anita P. Baird, DHM 94

Fourth Sunday of Easter Cultivating an attitude of silence Anne Arabome, SSS 99

Fifth Sunday of Easter Seeing ourselves as prophets Donna L. Ciangio, OP 103

Sixth Sunday of Easter Let’s use our voices Sarah Attwood Otto 106

Solemnity of the Ascension May we begin looking around Teresa Maya, CCVI 109

Pentecost Trusting the Holy Spirit to shape us C. Vanessa White 113

ORDINARY TIME

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time The saving power of innocence Diana Culbertson, OP 119

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time We are children of the light Jocelyn E. Collen 123

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time God’s mad miracle of making do Janet Schlichting, OP 127

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Hunger and mercy in our time Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy 133

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Fulfilling the law and the prophets Kate Ott 137

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time A higher level of justice Emily Cortina 141

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Being held in God’s maternal arms Rhonda Miska 144

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time Let us shrill in the night Léo Lushombo 147

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Hospitality personified Crista Carrick Mahoney 150

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Sharing the burden Christine Elisabeth Burke, IBVM 154

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time We are the soil Molleen Dupree-Dominguez 158

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time God is a good gardener Ruth Fehlker 162

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Drawing from the old and discovering the new Maria Teresa Gastón 166

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time The passion that moves the will to justice Casey Stanton 169

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Be not afraid Louise Akers, SC 174

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time A dialogue with Jesus Gerardette Philips, RSCJ 177

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time The true way of authority Catherine Mooney 181

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Know better, do better Nicole Trahan, FMI 185

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time A people of reconciliation and restoration Karen Clifton 189

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time The “good news” of forgiveness Jacqueline Regan 193

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Living in the image of God’s reign Francine Cardman 197

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Go out and work in the vineyard today Marge Kloos, SC 200

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time What type of tenant am I? Yudith Pereira Rico, RJM 204

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Accepting the invitation to the feast Petra Dankova 208

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Letting go of our idols Katherine A. Greiner 211

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Journeying with traveling Jesus Pauline Hovey 214

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Created to be Christ for others Terry Battaglia 218

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time The oil of justice and mercy Patricia Smith, RSM 220

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Using our God-given talents Rita L. Houlihan 224

SOLEMNITIES AND FEASTS

Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Free to choose Barbara E. Reid, OP 231

Our Lady of Guadalupe Accepting the mystery of God Jutta Battenberg Galindo 235

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Holy with hope Kathy Lilla Cox 238

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity Who will teach us the steps? Antoinette Gutzler, MM 241

Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ A call to relationship Susan Haarman 245

Feast of Saint Mary of Magdala Commissioned to speak Nontando Hadebe 249

Feast of the Transfiguration A feast of visionary hope Mary Rose D’Angelo 253

Solemnity of the Assumption Not tethered to the Earth Joan Chittister, OSB 256

Solemnity of All Saints The path of the beatitudes Marguerite Barankitse 260

Solemnity of Christ the King Jesus, hidden in plain sight Norma Pimentel, MJ 263

PREACHER BIOGRAPHIES 267

Editorial Reviews

"A tremendous resource for the church" —James Martin, SJ, author of "Learning to Pray."

"As you listen with the ear of your heart to the wisdom of women, may you, too, be emboldened to preach the word with persistence at all times and in all ways."—Barbara E. Reid, O.P., from the Foreword

"In this book, Betty Anne Donnelly and Russ Petrus have gathered a liturgical year's worth of wisdom from some of the most insightful, gifted Catholic women of our day. This text will accompany Catholics in prayer and reflection. It will inspire preachers and hearers of God's word. Most importantly, it will remind us all that women's voices have been at the heart of the Christian message since Mary Magdalene first witnessed the empty tomb on Easter morning."—Natalia Imperatori-Lee, author, Cúentame: Narrative in the Ecclesial Present

"From the first Pentecost to our own day, the Spirit continues to pour out abundant gifts on the whole People of God. Central to the gifts bestowed in baptism is the commission to women as well as to men from every nation to proclaim the good news that 'the reign of God is at hand.' This volume of preaching by faith-filled missionary disciples from around the globe is a valuable response to the call of Pope Francis for a 'more incisive role for women' in the Church's mission. The testimony of these women inspires unexpected hope and suggests creative possibilities for a fuller hearing—and living—of the Gospel. At the same time, the collection raises the disturbing question of why we so rarely hear the Gospel preached by women."—Mary Catherine Hilkert, O.P., Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame

"These reflections draw us from our comfort zones into mission. Service, they stress, implies learning to live within a new moral framework, challenging unjust social structures and excluding no one. This is a book for preachers and those bereft of good preaching. It offers models for memorable sermons grounded in theological education, pastoral experience and imagination." - Margaret McLean, Tui Motu InterIslands

From the Publisher