Catholic Women Preach

Preaching for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Crystal Catalan offers a reflection on our call to be "bread" for others:  

"No doubt right now, there is division in our world, tremendous sadness, a desire to be seen or heard, there is loneliness, and loss caused by the twin pandemics of this time with racism and covid-19. And still, regardless of our individual circumstance, we are all invited to the table to be compassion, to be forgiveness, to be love, and to be kindness to others."  

Crystal Catalan currently serves as the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Presentation High School in San Jose, CA. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of San Diego and an M.A. in International Development from Eastern University. She is currently pursuing her M.A. in Pastoral Ministries with an emphasis in Restorative Justice and Chaplaincy at Santa Clara University, and the Certificate in Restorative Justice Leadership and Facilitation through the University of San Diego.  

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08082021 to learn more about Crystal and her ministry, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Lisa Abad-Brown offers a reflection on Jesus' familiar words, "I am the Bread of Life":  

"Jesus is giving us bread provided by the very author of love, the God who brought us into being and loves us far more than we could ever imagine - without boundary or breaking point. This love is that eternal ingredient that Jesus very personally, and at great cost, comes to deliver to us right here in our very own history."   

Lisa Brown serves as the Director of Religious Education and The Office of Family Ministry at Christ the Redeemer Catholic Community in Lake Orion, MI. She holds a master’s degree in Theology from Loyola University of Chicago and is a trained spiritual director.   

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/08012021 to learn more about Lisa and her ministry, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Ellen Buelow offers a reflection on the feeding of the multitude in light of her efforts to solve food insecurity:

"Most of all from this story of the multiplication of the loaves and fish, we can be open and grateful for endless possibilities. Jesus told us 'You yourselves,  give them something to eat.' How can we fulfill that command? Encourage everyone to be as generous as the boy who gave what little he had. Then God can multiply the work in our communities to end hunger."

Ellen Buelow is a retired teacher who enthusiastically gives back to her community in Albuquerque, N.M. As a Bread for the World member https://bread.org and the advocacy chair for the Interfaith Hunger Coalition http://interfaithhungercoaltion.org she joins others to solve food insecurity in New Mexico.

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07252021 to learn more about Ellen and her ministries, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Feast of Saint Mary of Magdala, Rita Houlihan offers a reflection on the need to preserve and tell her true story:  

"We must preserve and pass on Mary Magdalene’s pivotal role in bringing the story of the Resurrection to us. If our bishops, cardinals, priests and pope cannot see her, can they see me, can they see you? Without her witness, where would we be? " 

Rita is a member of Ascension parish in NY, NY. She had a 32+ year career at IBM, in sales and Change Strategy Consulting. She is on FutureChurch’s Board of Directors and is committed to restoring our historical memory of early Christian women leaders with a special advocacy for Mary Magdalene.   

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07222021 to learn more about Rita, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sr. Jennifer Berridge offers a reflection on the image of the Good Shepherd,   

"Living an integrated life in God, with God, for God, and sent by God, at our best selves, we are both.  We are sheep and shepherd, ultimately listening to the one voice of the good and gentle shepherd who calls out to us so tenderly."  

Jennifer Berridge, CSJ, is a Sister of Saint Joseph in the Congregation of Saint Joseph in the Wheeling, West Virginia community. She currently provides case management services at Catholic Charities West Virginia in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.  Through a collaborative partnership, she ministers at Wheeling Hospital to provide resources and supportive counseling to the most vulnerable.    

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07182021 to learn more about Sr. Jennifer, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Natalie Terry offers a reflection on our authority and responsibility to go to live our calls among God's people:   

"Our authority is not in doctrine or canon or religious rule, it is in love. A transformative love that we embody and that we have the ability and responsibility to share."  

Natalie Terry is a minister, preacher and educator with an ever-evolving call to accompany people and communities in their spiritual journeys. She currently serves as the Assistant Executive Director of Villa Maria Education & Spirituality Center in Northwestern Pennsylvania. In her ministry journey, Natalie has served as the director of an Ignatian spirituality center, as a faith-based community organizer and as a high school campus minister and philosophy teacher. She received a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley.  

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07112021 to learn more about Natalie, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Emily Southerton, MA, offers a reflection on our authority and responsibility:  

"So when you are misunderstood just like Jesus in his hometown of Nazareth, and when you are asked, 'where does your authority come from?' what will be your response? For me, I have found my authority comes from the call. That just as the Spirit entered Ezekiel, so too has the spirit entered me and, I believe, enters each of you through the Sacrament of Baptism." 

Emily Southerton serves as a Catholic Chaplain delivering spiritual care and support at Phoebe Ministries- a faith based, long term, assisted care facility in eastern Pennsylvania. Originally from Michigan, Emily graduated from Aquinas College with a bachelor of arts, double majoring in philosophy and theology. She holds a Master's degree in theology and a certification in pastoral ministry from Villanova University.  

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07042021 to learn more about Emily, to read read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Bridget Deegan-Krause offers a reflection on the importance of women's lived experiences:  

"My hope is that we can spend time thinking about and appreciating the living and dying and rising that happens in women's lives over and over again, including in their bodily experience, something that is absolutely core to our Christian story."  

Bridget Deegan-Krause has served for 25 years in professional ministry in Catholic healthcare and higher education. A sought-after retreat facilitator for boards and teams, she provides executive leadership formation and coaching with a wide variety of professionals in healthcare, government and other not-for-profit settings.  A former Jesuit Volunteer (’91-’92), she holds a Master of Divinity degree from Notre Dame with a BA in its Great Books program and is a board-certified chaplain. She currently serves as a sponsorship trustee for Bon Secours Mercy Health System's Northern Ohio region, and as a national advisor for the Discerning Deacons project.  

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06272021 to learn more about Bridget, to reach her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Danielle Vella offers a reflection on our call to enter into the raging storms that refugees and displaced peoples are navigating:   

"Ultimately, however, they hope not only in the mercy and compassion of God Almighty but also in the mercy and compassion of their fellow human beings. It is this hope that propels them to go on those boats, to risk dying to live."  

Danielle Vella is Director of Reconciliation Programs for the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), an international humanitarian organization that serves refugees in more than 50 countries worldwide. A journalist, Danielle has also has written extensively about the experiences of refugees struggling to find a new life and future. One of Danielle’s most recent projects was writing Dying to Live: Stories from Refugees on the Road to Freedom, which was published by Rowman & Littlefield in February 2020. To interview refugees to share their stories, Danielle travelled extensively in Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the United States. Her work has taken her to remote refugee camps, to land borders, to the seashore where migrant boats arrive, to immigration detention centres, and even to war zones.  

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06202021 to learn more about Danielle, to reach her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching  for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Gina Scaringella, OP, offers a reflection on the expansiveness of God's reign and our role in building it:  

"So, people of God, keep building! All of our efforts mean something. Ultimately, God is the one who will grow life, ever so patiently, from tiny seeds and little branches. So, plant the seed. Welcome the green leaves. Pray 'Thy kingdom come,' and know that your prayer will be answered. Life insists because God insists."  

Gina Scaringella, OP, is a Sister of Saint Dominic of Caldwell, New Jersey, who professed first vows in August 2019. She currently provides editorial and research support for the study of the restoration of women to the diaconate. As a Dominican, she embraces the sacred call to preach God’s love with hope that others will receive and embody this love. She preaches through both spoken and written word in parish and retreat settings as well as for her Caldwell congregation. She has served in campus ministry, retreat ministry, RCIA, hospice, ESL study, and communications.   

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06132021 to learn more about Gina, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.