Catholic Women Preach

Preaching for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Beth Ford McNamee offers a reflection on embracing our call to be a part of God's unfolding reign of justice:   

"Consider your calling, Paul says. Can we show up for this upside-down reigning of God? Can we place ourselves in spaces where we are not trying to be first, best, or boasting before God and others? Can we place ourselves instead in marginal spaces, place ourselves in humility before the sacredness of one another, to become people of authentic encounter, kinship, and relationship?"   

Beth Ford McNamee is Associate Director of Saint Joseph's University (SJU) Campus Ministry, where she oversees local community service, social justice programs, student leadership formation, and a Campus Ministry Associate program. She is a triple graduate of SJU (B.S., Psychology; M.S., Psychology; Ed.D., Higher Education Leadership). She served as a Jesuit Volunteer in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania with Loyola High School, ‘00-‘02, and completed a Masters in Pastoral Studies at Washington Theological Union, ‘06. Her dissertation research (’22) explored influences of Ignatian formation for higher education social justice leadership. She and her spouse Jeremy are busy enjoying life with their 8-year-old son.   

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01292023 to learn more about Beth, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Karen Ross offers a reflection on the radical vision God has for God's people:  

"Since God is an active God working in and through the lives of those who suffer, we can be assured that this new world is not only possible, but that she is already on her way. May we have the grace and bravery not only see this light amidst the darkness, but be that light to guide the way for others."  

Karen Ross, PhD (she/her/ella) is a graduate program director, theology and ethics professor, and yoga and mindfulness instructor. She currently works at Catholic Theological Union as the director of the Pathways@CTU program, which seeks to engage young people- especially those from marginalized communities- in co-creating the church of tomorrow. She received her PhD in theology and ethics from Loyola University Chicago, and her research focuses on feminist ethics and Catholic sexuality education, particularly of young women and girls.

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01222023 to learn more about Dr. Ross, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women. 

Preaching for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Lisa Frey, offers a reflection on our calling to give witness:  

"At family tables or meeting tables, at bedsides or on laptops… testimony needs to be lifted up everywhere there is a hunger for it. It is not the time for shrinking, for protests of inadequacy, unprepared, overwhelmed, too young, too old, not the right gender or race or orientation. No, testimony is our call. Testimony from the margins, denied the authority of office or ordination, when all that we have is our witness… you know how powerful that sometimes simple, authentic witness can be."  

Following a thirty-year career in parish ministry, Lisa Frey currently serves hospice patients and their families as a spiritual care coordinator with Hospice of the Western Reserve in the Cleveland, Ohio area. She earned her Master of Arts in Theology at St. Mary’s Seminary in Cleveland and Doctor of Ministry in Homiletics at the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis.  

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01152023 to learn more about Lisa, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Feast of the Epiphany, Stella Baltazar reflects on the call to unite all humanity in cooperation with Nature and the Divine toward a new reality: 

"[The Epiphany] is a call to humanity to  enter the circle of life and breathe as one. The journey of the wise men is an act of regeneration to a new existence. This is the discovery made by the Magi. Their keen observation of the natural signs and their sensitivity led them to the discovery of the divine manifestation on earth."  

Stella Baltazar, fmm is a member of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, Ootacamund Province, Tamil Nadu, India. She holds a master's degree in sociology and theology from the University of Mysore and is passionate about educating and empowering women, especially widows, for collective action for change.   

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01082023 to learn more about Stella Baltazar, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Lauri Przybysz offers a reflection on Mary's love and concern for all individuals and families, and particularly those are are victim to violence:  

"Mary was chosen for the role of Mother of God, to make God present in the world. Someone experiencing a dangerous home situation may choose you – when they seek guidance and help. They may need you to reassure them that they are not alone. Many abused people, women and men, seek help first from the Church because they see it as a safe place. Even if their abusers isolate them from other social contacts, they may still allow them to go to church. You may be that person at church, the person of faith that they know and trust. Do you know how to help?"  

Dr. Lauri Przybysz is Education Director of Catholics for Family Peace, http://www.catholicsforfamilypeace.org/, an education and research initiative that aims to inform everyone on ways the Catholic community can promote family peace and prevent and respond to domestic abuse. Dr. Przybysz received her Doctor of Ministry at the Catholic University of America, specializing in adult faith formation. She is retired Coordinator of Marriage and Family Life for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and she is past-president of the National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers (NACFLM). Her book, Catholic and Grandparenting: 5 Challenges and 5 Opportunities, is published by ACTA.  

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01012023 to learn more about Dr. Przybysz, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Nontando Hadebe preaches for Christmas, offering a reflection on being "Christmas People":  

"So Christmas is not a once-off event that happens on the 25th of December, but it is a calling at the very core of our identity to be a Christmas people...Christmas cannot be celebrated without people experiencing the mercy and the love of God in tangible ways. And the only way they can do that is through us. We are Christmas. Christmas is waiting to happen through us."  

Dr. Nontando Hadebe is a lay woman theologian and International Coordinator for Side by Side, a faith movement for gender justice. She was previously senior lecturer at St. Augustine College in South Africa, specializing in African Theology, Pastoral & Contextual Theology, Feminist & Womanist Theology, Liberation Theology and Pastoral Psychology. She is a member of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians as well as the TCCRSA Women's Caucus comprising Catholic women theologians in Africa.    

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12252022 to learn more about Dr. Hadebe, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Colleen Dulle offers a reflection on Mary's faith:  

"Mary, like every new parent in the face of very imminent physical and material fears, is still holding on to faith in the intangible thing that has been promised to her: That she will have a child, who will be a sign to her and to the world that God is with us."  

Colleen Dulle is a multimedia journalist covering Catholic and Vatican news. In her current position as Associate Editor at America Media, Colleen writes and edits Vatican news and analysis pieces, along with hosting and producing the weekly news podcast Inside the Vatican. She creates Vatican explainer videos for America Media’s YouTube channel and contributes to Sacred Heart University’s “Go, Rebuild My House” blog.  

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12182022 to learn more about Colleen, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Elisabeth Roman offers a reflection on Mary's model of discipleship:  

"But it is Mary who truly inspires us to go forward in faith; to say yes to God each and every day, as we care for those suffering still from the COVID 19 pandemic, for those mourning the losses of family members; to care for the sick, the poor, and the elderly. And the migrants who come seeking new life and bring with them their families, faith, and love of God."  

Since 2014, Elisabeth Román has served as the president of the National Catholic Council for Hispanic Ministry, a national organization of Catholic organizations established in 1991 to promote Hispanic ministry through advocacy, education, networking and leadership development. She is the former director of the Office of Hispanic and Ethnic Ministries in the Diocese of Joliet. She has years of experience serving in ministry in the Archdiocese of Chicago, including working with the Archdiocesan V Encuentro Process, and as Managing Editor of the Hispanic Ministry Resource Center with Claretian Publications. Elisabeth collaborates and works with national Hispanic ministry leaders and organizations on projects and programs targeted towards Latinos and diversity in the Catholic church. Most recently she was the national chair of the Raices y Alas National Catholic Leadership Congress held in April 2022 in Washington DC, which gathered over 400 Catholic leaders from the US, Latin America, Europe, and the Vatican.

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12122022 to learn more about Elisabeth Roman, to view her video or read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women. 

Preaching for the Third Sunday of Advent, Julie Hanlon Rubio offers a reflection on Prophetic Patience:  

"Patience is a theme in this week’s readings. A virtue. While patience seems appropriate when I’m thinking about resting in Advent rather than rushing to Christmas, when patience is presented as an anecdote to impatience with injustice, I worry. Though it may seem as if this week’s readings do exactly this, I wonder if something else is going on...Prophetic patience, it seems, does not mean settling."  

Julie Hanlon Rubio is the Shea-Heusaman Professor of Christian Social Ethics and Associate Dean at Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley, California. Previously, she taught at St. Louis University for nearly two decades. Her research focuses on Catholic social thought, family, feminism, and reconciliation. She is the author of four books, including "Family Ethics: Practices for Christians" (Georgetown University Press, 2010) and "Hope for Common Ground: Mediating the Personal and the Political in a Divided Church" (Georgetown University Press, 2016), and has co-edited two volumes of essays. Her new book, "Can You Be a Catholic and a Feminist?" will be published by Oxford University Press in 2023.  

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12112022 to learn more about Julie, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, Patricia A. Parachini, SNJM invites us to give consent to God's invitation in our own lives:  

"Consenting to God’s call in our lives can be a difficult process and sometimes even emotionally draining   It often requires a response based on very little information.   As you know from your own experience, consent requires a leap of faith and courage.  Think of the many ways throughout your life that God has invited you to consider something new."  

Patricia A. Parachini, SNJM, D.Min, is a Sister of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, living in Silver Spring, Maryland.  Pat is a theologian and spiritual director. Pat has ministered as a professor of pastoral theology, preaching and spiritual direction in several graduate schools of ministry, i.e. Loyola University in Baltimore, the Washington Theological Union (WTU), St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore and the Catholic University of America.  Pat has worked in various other ministeries: spiritual direction, hospital chaplaincy, campus ministry, catechetics, and teaching in elementary and high school.   Pat contributes reflections to the liturgical aid, Give Us This Day.  She has had two books published on lay preaching and has written two chapters published in edited books about preaching.  

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12082022 to learn more about Pat, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.