Catholic Women Preach

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Catholic Women Preach episodes

May 17, 2024 May 19, 2024: "Becoming a people" with Maureen O'Connell
Preaching for Pentecost Sunday, Maureen O'Connell offers a reflection on becoming a people:
"A people are those who share a vision and a desire to work together toward it. A people decide to go through hard things together, confident they will be different on the other side."
Maureen O'Connell is professor of Christian ethics at La Salle University in Philadelphia and director of synod and higher education engagement for Discerning Deacons.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05192024 to learn more about Maureen, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
8 min
May 10, 2024 May 12, 2024: "The Call to Become" with Martha Ligas
Preaching for the Solemnity of the Ascension, Martha Ligas offers a reflection on proclaiming the Gospel by following the example of creation:
"Our invitation, then, is not to tell others how they are to live. Instead, we are called to lean into our own becoming. The more we can learn to live boldly as ourselves, with integrity, with confidence, and with purpose, the more we will become the Body of Christ that our Christian faith compels us to become. This is how we are to evangelize— by demonstrating what it means to be embodied, fully alive, and rooted in purpose."
Martha Ligas (she/her) serves as the Pastoral Minister at the Community of St. Peter in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Communications Coordinator at FutureChurch. Both spaces give her room to ride the coattails of the Spirit by reimagining what it means to create faith communities of belonging. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Ministry from Fordham University. Martha lives in Cleveland, OH with her partner and their pets.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05122024 to learn more about Martha, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
6 min
May 03, 2024 May 5, 2024: "God's Expansive Love" with Meghan Larsen-Reidy
Preaching for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Meghan Larsen-Reidy, offers a reflection sharing the expansiveness of God's love:
"When we open our eyes to see the expansiveness of God’s love in the people that surround us, we draw into a deeper relationship with the Divine. We cannot always anticipate the impact that each new relationship will have on our lives and vice versa. God is calling us to be open to the love that is waiting for us and to share that love with others. Our small acts of love may make an impact that we only hear about from heaven."
Meghan Larsen-Reidy lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and four children. She currently works as a Campus Minister at three colleges in the Pittsburgh area. Meghan received a Masters of Arts in Teaching at the University of Portland and simultaneously did a service-teaching program. She currently attends the Franciscan School of Theology at the University of San Diego where she is getting her Masters of Theological Studies in Franciscan Theology. She attended Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame where she received a BA in Religious Studies and credits much of her success to the leadership opportunities she had at an all women’s college.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05052024 to learn more about Meghan, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
5 min
April 26, 2024 April 28, 2024: Remaining In God's Love with Lisa Mersereau
Preaching for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Lisa Mersereau offers a reflection on remaining in God's love from her perspective as a hospice chaplain:
"The stories I hear about how a dying person has maintained a prayer life are as amazing as God is. Many reflect upon how God is with them and how they know God is with them in their final illness. There is an unwavering belief that there’s mutual love flowing between them and God. By Jesus saying, 'Remain in me, as I remain in you,' we can interpret that as, 'Know that love is present to you now and will be forever as I remain in you and you remain in me.' This is one of the many things I have learned at the bedside of my patients."
Lisa Mersereau, CT is a graduate of Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, IL, with a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies degree. Recently, she became a Certified Thanatologist with the Association for Death Education and Counseling by being certified in Thanatology: Death, Dying, and Bereavement. Lisa is employed at Uni Care Hospice in Escondido, CA as a Chaplain and Bereavement Coordinator and is an active ministry volunteer at Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala. She happily lives in the San Diego area.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04282024 to learn more about Lisa, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
4 min
April 19, 2024 April 21, 2024: "Why Care?" with Sharon M.K. Kugler
Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Sharon M.K. Kugler offers a reflection on what believing in a Good Shepherd God means for us:
"If we believe in a Good Shepherd God then we are, each one of us, held as we navigate through the shadows of life, as we encounter illness of body or mind in ourselves or others, as we see despair and try to ease it, as we see the absence of justice and respond. These are the things that our God is acutely aware of and is constantly tending. We look to the Good Shepherd God to show us the way and we look to one another each of us, sheep, to follow, to care."
Sharon M.K. Kugler became the seventh University Chaplain to Yale in July of 2007 and retired in June of 2023. She came to New Haven from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore where she had served as the University Chaplain since 1993. Sharon received her Masters degree from Georgetown University and is a member of the Theta Alpha Kappa National Honor Society for Religious Studies and Theology.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04212024 to learn more about Sharon, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
9 min
April 12, 2024 "Bringing our Doubt and Questions to Faith" with Mary Erika Bolaños
Preaching for the Third Sunday of Easter, Mary Erika Bolaños offers a reflection on bringing our doubts and questions to faith:
"Like the disciples, we often find ourselves troubled by doubts and questions. We may struggle to reconcile the complexities of life with our beliefs, or we may feel overwhelmed by the challenges we face. In these moments, Jesus’ words offer us both comfort and challenge. The gospel reminds us that faith is not immune to doubt but can coexist with it. We are invited to confront our doubts honestly and openly, trusting that Christ will meet us in our vulnerability."
Mary Erika Bolaños, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Theology at the University of Santo Tomas Manila, Philippines, and concurrently serves as the Principal of UST Senior High School. She teaches at the UST Graduate School and the Institute of Preaching of the Dominican Province of the Philippines. She completed her Ph.D. Theology in UST with a concentration on the Biblical Paul and finished a Biblical Studies Certificate at the Israel Institute of Biblical Studies. In addition, she has written manuscripts, articles, and textbooks in Religious Education and Pauline studies.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04142024 to learn more about Dr. Bolaños, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
11 min
April 05, 2024 April 7, 2024: "Credible Witnesses" with Layla A. Karst
Preaching for the Second Sunday of Easter, Layla A. Karst reflects on our call to be credible witnesses to the Resurrection in today's world:
"We are an Easter people, a community of missionary disciples, beloved of God and witnesses to the resurrection. Ours is a church that is called to be radically inclusive. Our Easter joy is abundant enough to share with all and still have more left over. Our joy is deep enough to hold grief and sorrow and anger and doubt without fear. We are recognizable by our joy, yes, but also by our wounds, and by the Spirit within us that greets all with a word of peace."
Dr. Layla A. Karst is an assistant professor in the department of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University where she teaches and writes at the intersection of liturgy and ecclesiology. She is currently studying the theology and practice of lay preaching in Catholic communities and their implications for building a more synodal church. She holds a PhD from Emory University and an MDiv from the University of Notre Dame.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04072024 to learn more about Dr. Karst, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
7 min
March 30, 2024 March 31, 2024: "Run, Mary, Run - An Easter Witness" with Dr. C. Vanessa White
Preaching for Easter Sunday, Dr. C. Vanessa White offers a reflection on the power of women's voices proclaiming the Good News then and now:
"If women doubt their value, this telling and retelling of the resurrection story reaffirms the power of a women’s voice - for it was Mary’s voice that first testified to the Resurrection and whose story continues today...On this day, can we, like Mary, run and share the news of Jesus’ presence in our world? In spite of our doubts and fears, do we have the strength, the fortitude, the faith to go out like Mary and the disciples and share the news that Jesus has risen? This Good News can change our hearts and change the world, if only we believe."
Dr. C. Vanessa White is Associate Professor of Spirituality and Ministry as well as the Director of the Certificate in Black Theology and Ministry at Catholic Theological Union. She received her Doctor of Ministry and Master of Theological Studies degrees from Catholic Theological Union, with additional post-graduate work at Xavier University of Louisiana and Loyola University Chicago. She is also a member of the faculty for Xavier University’s Summer Institute for Black Catholic Studies in New Orleans where she teaches in both the Master’s degree and Continuing Education and Enrichment Program.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03313024 to learn more about C. Vanessa White, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
9 min
March 29, 2024 March 29, 2024: "Disrupting Power and Oppression" with Leslye Colvin
Preaching for Good Friday, Leslye Colvin offers a reflection on resisting systems of power and oppression:
"History teaches that those who speak from the margins are targeted to suffer cruelties, and, quite often, to suffer death. Jesus was a man with a target on his back. He was born and lived on the margins of a powerful and oppressive system that placed no value on his life. He resisted the dehumanization of this system by recognizing each person as being made in the image and likeness of his beloved Abba, and he acted accordingly. For him, this was God’s law written on his heart, and his life testified to this truth."
Leslye Colvin is a writer, spiritual companion, retreat facilitator, and contemplative activist. Inspired by the tradition of Catholic social teaching, she is passionate about encouraging diversity of thought especially as it relates to those often marginalized within the community. Currently in the apprenticeship program of the Guild for Spiritual Guidance, Leslye is a graduate of the Living School and the Haden Institute. She holds an M.A. in Communication from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and an undergraduate degree from Xavier University of Louisiana. Leslye serves on the Boards of FutureChurch, and NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03292024 to learn more about Leslye, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
10 min
March 28, 2024 March 28, 2024: "Jesus' Bold, Fierce Love" with Dr. Cynthia Bailey Manns
Preaching for Holy Thursday, Dr. Cynthia Bailey Manns offers a reflection on living God's bold, fierce love for everyone:
"In October, I will return to Rome to participate in the final assembly of this Synod. And although I will NOT be washing feet, I will follow the model of Jesus’ bold, fierce love as he cared for those he encountered. He was a healing presence to those he taught, listened to, guided and accompanied. I will be a healing presence to those I encounter, listen to, and accompany. I will love others with more empathy and without distinction. And I will love God more fiercely. Beginning today, I invite YOU to multiply and deepen your Holy Thursday experiences as you embody Jesus’ bold, fierce love in your sacred encounters with others and God."
Dr. Cynthia Bailey Manns is one of four lay people from the United States who were appointed by Pope Francis as the first lay women and men voting delegates to participate at the first general assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Synodality this past October and again in October 2024. She is the Director of Adult Learning at Saint Joan of Arc Catholic Community in Minneapolis—a community whose vision is to be a visible, progressive Catholic Community, compassionate and welcoming to all. She holds a Doctor of Ministry in Spiritual Direction from the Graduate Theological Foundation in Florida and currently serves as Adjunct Faculty at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/03282024 to learn more about Dr. Bailey Manns, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
7 min

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Catholic Women Preach offers the theologically informed perspectives of Catholic women on the Sunday readings readings and on some feast days. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org to view preaching…