Catholic Women Preach

Preaching for the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jocelyn A. Sideco offers a reflection on liberation:  

"We know the world is far from perfect or ideal. AND we know that Jesus’ teachings, Jesus’ example, Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection give us an opportunity to live in a way that is most liberatory, most free, most loving.  To live and to love is not to subjugate yourself under the weight of the cross. To live and to love is not to subjugate yourself to 'it’ll get better later' of suffer now, experience peace in heaven 'later' mentality."  

Jocelyn is a Catholic-Episcopal minister with a background in training leaders in deepening their cultural competency, educating to enhance diversity and multicultural awareness, and building a skill set of social justice practices that promote the dignity of each person and the common good. She is currently both the Pastoral Associate at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Burlingame, CA and Associate Executive Director at Catholic Volunteer Network. She holds a Masters in Theological Studies from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley and lives with her spouse and two daughters in Burlingame, CA.  

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10172021 to learn more about Jocelyn, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sarah Attwood Otto offers a reflection on welcoming others:  

"Today’s readings make clear that our joy, as well as our salvation, is to be found in welcoming and being in relationship with each other...There is no path to God that we can take independently of our spouse, our children, or our neighbor – the Word made flesh in those around us."  

Sarah Attwood Otto is a retreat director and spiritual director at Ignatius House Jesuit Retreat Center in Atlanta, GA. Prior to retreat ministry, Sarah worked in college campus ministry at Providence College and directed the Newman Catholic Center in Chico, CA. She earned her Master of Divinity from Boston College School of Theology and Ministry.  

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10032021 to learn more about Sarah, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Jacqui Rémond preaches for the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time - the Fourth Sunday of the Season of Creation:  

"Until the human family can embrace what Pope Francis calls an integral ecological conversion, can cut out of our lives the sinful, destructive patterns of living on Earth that are driving climate change, we will continue more and more to face the fiery abyss, the unquenchable flames that are the contemporary incarnation of Gehenna. Are we willing to change lifestyles so that we stop participating in systems that constantly fragment God’s interconnected creation and make real our commitment to God’s gift of life here on Earth?"  

Jacqui Rémond is the Former National Director of Catholic Earthcare Australia, the ecological agency of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (2007-2017) and Co-Founder of the Global Catholic Climate/ Laudato Si’ Movement.   

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09262021 to learn more about Jacqui, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Rose Marie Berger preaches for the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, reflecting on this time of transformation in light of the readings:  

"Today, all of us are living in a Great Transformation. The old is falling away. A new center is emerging. Let us draw one another close and find new ways of building that put Jesus’ foundational people at our center. Let us be intentional in choosing our leadership role. Let Lady Wisdom teach us how to come through this process of dying and rising, this Great Transformation, and to come through it well and in the name of Jesus. Amen."  

Rose Marie Berger is a Catholic poet, writer, and peace activist who has worked for social change movements for 40 years. She is poetry editor and senior editor for Sojourners, a magazine whose mission is to inspire hope and action by articulating the biblical call to social justice.   Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09192021 to learn more about Rose Marie, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mary C. McGinnity offers a reflection on overcoming our illusions about ourselves and the world and to act:  

"...We are challenged to look at the realities of those who suffer and address them.  No illusions.  We are challenged then to look at our own suffering and the sufferings of others and address them – address them properly.  We are asked to look deeper, see beneath illusions and act with love and care. "   

Mary McGinnity is President and CEO of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps, a national service corps that enlists men and women over the age of 50 in service assignments in non-profit service agencies meeting needs of people in low-income communities across the US.  

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09122021 to learn more about Mary, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Ann Carr offers a reflection on our need to be opened by Christ:  

"To hear, to speak, to breathe.  What does it mean for us to have our own grace filled, life transforming encounter with Jesus in this time of epochal change?  Do we have the courage of the deaf man and his community of companions to approach the Christ and be opened? "  

Ann Carr is a long time member of the Maryknoll Affiliate movement and has twice served on the Maryknoll Affiliate leadership board.  Her undergraduate work at Bucknell University was in Religious Studies. Currently, she works as a pediatrician in Philadelphia, PA with children with special health care needs.  She also works part time with the team at a children’s home in Macuelizo Honduras.  Her areas of interest include liberation theology, the integration of contemplation and mission, evolutionary consciousness theology and trauma informed care for children.  

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09052021 to learn more about Ann, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the September 3rd Feast of Saint Phoebe, Carolyn Osiek, RSCJ offers a reflection on Romans 16:1-2, which never appears in the Roman Catholic Lectionary:  

"Phoebe is another woman silenced in the lectionary, but who was not so silent in her own context. She was a woman of influence: minister, deacon, and sponsor of one of the earliest churches. Phoebe was a woman who used her social status and power for the good of others and for the spread of the Gospel. We remember her, even though she was thought not important enough—or perhaps too important—to be included in the lectionary. Perhaps we could reflect on how we use whatever social power we have, to influence, to provide resources, to call out injustice, to come to the aid of the needy, to further the proclamation of the Good News. If we do that, Phoebe will be proud to have us as her successors."  

Carolyn Osiek, RSCJ, was professor of New Testament at Catholic Theological Union at Chicago for 26 years, and is professor emerita from Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University. She retired in 2009 to become provincial archivist of the Society of the Sacred Heart, United States-Canada Province. She is the author or editor of many books and articles on topics of New Testament and Early Church, and of the early history of the Society of the Sacred Heart.  

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/09032021 to learn more about Osiek, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Lisa Frey offers a reflection on passing on the treasures we've been given:  

"How are we keepers of the fire? How are we adapting and reinterpreting the teaching for a new generation…in our home and in our church and in our nation? The role of bishops is to preserve the tradition of the church, yes. But the letter from James says today, the word has been planted in you. Welcome it, and live it. 'Be doers of the word and not hearers only.' Welcome the word. Welcome the tradition and the ancient teaching. Welcome it to grow, and change, prune with discipline, die back in winter, nurture it again with life."  

Lisa Frey has served in ministry at the Church of the Resurrection in Solon, Ohio since 1991. In addition to shared pastoral care, faith formation, and administration of the parish, her areas of responsibility include social justice, outreach, wellness and bereavement. A lifelong learner, 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/08292021 to learn more about Lisa, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Elise Dubravec preaches for the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering a reflection on staying in the Church despite difficult teachings and practices:  

"How can I stay when our readings tell me to subordinate to patriarchy, or when I see LGBTQ+ Catholics fired from their jobs, or when women are still denied a place at the altar, or when Catholic parishes and schools serving black communities are closed more than white schools and parishes? These teachings and practices that I do not accept tell me to leave. But I stay because of the one thing that made those disciples walk away. I stay in Eucharistic solidarity because it compels me to find hope and to fight for others. I stay because there is work to do."   

Elise Dubravec is in her last year as a Master of Divinity student at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley, CA. She has centered her studies on advocating for women’s leadership and ordination along with LGBTQ+ ministry.   

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08222021 to learn more about Elise, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Molleen Dupree-Dominguez, M.Div, preaches for the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, offering a reflection on Mary's (and our) power to embody the will of God:  

"Alongside Miriam and Judith and Deborah, heroines of the Jewish tradition, today our Mary takes her place in an established lineage of rebel women who exercised their own power in order to accomplish the will of God. "  

Molleen Dupree-Dominguez is a teacher, writer, and minister living in the beautiful Bay Area of northern California. She earned a Master of Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University in 2003, along with a Certificate in Spiritual Direction in 2004.  

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08152021 to learn more about Molleen, to read her text, and for weekly preaching from Catholic women.