Catholic Women Preach

Maria McGuire preaches for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering a reflection on allowing ourselves to be open to God's healing and to be open to the needs of others:  

"The invitation before us today is to open ourselves to God and recognize our need. Open ourselves to the one who sees us, hears us, and longs to touch and connect with us. And when this happens, it changes something inside us. God’s touch opens us to see with new eyes- to see and hear those around us who feel separated- those who long to be seen, heard and touched. When we see and hear the need of those around us, we take on the mind of Christ. And the mind of Christ says this, 'I am yours and you are mine- imperfect, yes- but highly valued and beloved.'"  

Maria McGuire is a Chaplain with Hospice, recognizing thee sacredness of every season of life. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and her Master's in Theology and Religious Education from Loyola University, New Orleans. She eearned a Spiritual Direction Certificate from Mercy Center, Buringame. She has worked in various Church ministries over the years, most frequently in RCIA, Adult faith Formation, and collaborating with retreats and workshops.   

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02142021 to learn more about Maria, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholi women.

Preaching for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Kimberly Lymore offers a reflection on living as disciples at all times -- but particularly in times of suffering:  

"In this time of the pandemic of COVID, the pandemic of violence, the pandemic of police brutality, the pandemic of injustice and racism, the pandemic of poverty and food insecurity, the pandemic of poor educational systems, let us remember that through our Baptism, we are called into missionary discipleship to evangelize and preach the unadulterated Gospel of Christ in season and out of season, when convenient and inconvenient."  

Kimberly Lymore is a member of The Faith Community of St. Sabina, where she was appointed the full-time Pastoral Associate by the Rev. Michael L. Pfleger on September 1, 2000. She is Associate Convener of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium and Director of the Augustus Tolton Pastoral Ministry Program at Catholic Theological Union (CTU). Dr. Lymore received her Masters of Divinity with a concentration in Word  from CTU and she received her Doctor of Ministry from McCormick Theological Union.   

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/02072021 to learn more about Kimberly, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Christina R. Zaker offers a reflection on opening ourselves to the voice God "in the stuff of this world":  

"Life is messy, yet that is exactly what we need: to be engaged in the stuff of this world - the sights, the tastes, the smells - distracted by all of it, because all of it is God!"  

Dr. Christina R. Zaker is the Director of Field Education and teaches in the Spirituality and Pastoral Ministry department at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. As a practical theologian, she focuses on theological reflection as it intersects with justice and family spirituality. Christina received her Master’s degree from the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University, Chicago and her Doctorate in Ministry from Catholic Theological Union. She is a frequent speaker and retreat director, has written numerous articles in both scholarly journals and mainstream magazines and has recently published her book, Surprised by God: Teaching Reflection through the Parables (Rowman & Littlefield 2020).  

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01312021 to learn more about Christina, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mumbi Kigutha, CPPS offers a reflection on responding to our own "call within the call":  

"What kind of invitation is God proffering to you as we begin this year? What do you need to leave behind in order to follow Christ? How better can we love God and neighbor? What is the call within the call for each of you? I am convinced the answer lies in a process of the heart, in discernment, so that we may clearly hear God’s call separate from all the naysaying that our brains may distract us with. Just as Jonah, James and John, listened, trusted and responded, may we listen, trust and respond. What ails your heart, and what will soothe it? "  

Sister Mumbi Kigutha was born and raised in Kenya. She has worked with diverse vulnerable populations including stints with various UN agencies and currently resides on the southside of Chicago  orking as a part-time International Consultant for Jesuit Refugee Services under the Reconciliation and Social Cohesion Department. Sr. Mumbi is also a regular contributor to the Horizons column of the Global Sisters Report and was also recently appointed as the organizing secretary of the Pan-African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network. Sr. Mumbi graduated from CTU with a Master of Arts in Justice Ministry and a Certificate in Pastoral Ministry in addition to her previous MBA in Marketing. Her theological interests center around Womanist and Africana interpretations, reconciliation, racial and gender equity and their intersection with other areas of social justice.  

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01242021 to learn more about Sister Mumbi, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jeanne Fielding Lord offers a reflection on awakening to our vocations "at this extraordinary moment in our lives, at this extraordinary moment in our world:"  

"So, let’s not forget the lessons of this year. Let’s raise our voices together on behalf of those whose voices are silenced, and say, with joy and courage: Here I am, Lord. I come to do your will."  

Jeanne Fielding Lord serves as Associate Vice President and Dean of Students at Georgetown and has been professorial lecturer in the Department of Catholic Studies and currently teaches in the Designing the Futures program at the University. She holds a J.D. from The Catholic University of America and an Ed.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.  

 Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01172021 to learn more about Jeanne, to read her text, and for moree preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Rachelle Kramer offers a reflection on our participation in Jesus' mission and ministry of bringing justice and light to the world: 

 "The light of one individual may be small, but it has the potential of growing exponentially when it spreads to others. Rosa Park’s light spread to an entire nation. Jesus’ light spread to the whole world. Let us be a light to the nations by the choices we make each day. We never know the impact it may have."  

Rachelle Kramer is currently editor and content creator of the Prayer Corner for Wisdom’s Dwelling (wisdomsdwelling.com), a new online space for Catholic women, women seeking faith, and women who seek. Rachelle holds a D.Min. from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, Illinois where her research focused on fostering the holistic development of college students at Catholic Universities. She has master’s degrees in theology (St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota) and music (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) and twenty years of experience leading liturgy and music programs in university and parish settings. 

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01102021 to learn more about Rachelle, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Epiphany, Marie Dennis offers a reflection on "the kind of global paradigm shift that the arrival of the Magi portends":  

"As the global community struggles to respond to the crises of our time, a fundamental shift is needed from systems of exploitation and domination toward a new order of universal communion toward which this feast, this manifestation of the universal inbreaking of the reign of God points. Laudato Si’ calls it an ecological conversion, a shift to a new normal in which the infinite worth of every person is honored, the earth is healed, and the primordial unity of all beings is recognized."  

Marie Dennis is senior advisor to the secretary general of Pax Christi International. She was co-president of Pax Christi from 2007 to 2019 and serves on the executive committee of Pax Christi’s Catholic Nonviolence Initiative.   

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01032021 to learn more about Marie, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Dr. Kim R. Harris offers a reflection on Mary and Jesus and “the talk” and Black and brown Mothers and “the talk”:  

 "We must remember the glorious Mother, raising her child in a dangerous land, to help us all be free. Then we must spend our time, our energy, our prayers, and our actions, working to help all people be free."   

Dr. Kim R. Harris is the Assistant Professor of African American Thought and Practice in the Department of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University. In addition to teaching courses on Black liberation and Womanist theologies, Harris leads music in a variety of liturgical and academic settings. She is a liturgist, composer and recording artist, presenting lectures on the music of the Black Catholic experience, the spirituals of the Underground Railroad and the freedom song of modern Civil Rights Movement.  

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/01012021 to learn more about Dr. Harris, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Feast of the Holy Family, Bridget Burke Ravizza offers a reflection on the character of Christian families:  

"From a Christian perspective, of course, it is not enough to care for the needs of our own family members. We belong to them, yes, but not only to them. We belong to the wider body of Christ, and we are called to be light to the world. The gospels very clearly push us in this direction--moving beyond exclusive identity with birth-kin and toward expansive identity as brothers and sisters in God, a new family to whom we are spiritually and materially accountable. This is why the fruitfulness of Christian families expands to enrich the wider society. This is why Christian families are deliberately outward-facing and justice-seeking."  

Bridget Burke Ravizza is a Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin. Bridget earned her doctorate in Theological Ethics at Boston College, and her work focuses on sexual ethics and the ethics of marriage and family. She is co-author (with Julie Donovan Massey, M.Div.) of Project Holiness: Marriage as a Workshop for Everyday Saints.  

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12272020 to learn more about Bridget, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for Christmas, Kayla August encourages us to find the glorious even in our simpler Christmas celebrations this year:  

"This Christmas, may need to be a simpler time than ones in the past...But, in these seemingly simple moments, let us not miss the miraculous in our midst. The small moment when the GLORY OF GOD is around us and we are awakened to the miraculous hidden in the ordinary. A moment filled with deep peace and great joy." 

Kayla August serves the Notre Dame University (South Bend) community as the rector of Lyons Hall, an all-women’s and historic halls of Notre Dame. Originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, she received her bachelors from Loyola University of New Orleans followed by two years of service work with Americorps. She then worked in Loyola’s Mission and Ministry department as a graduate student intern while working toward her masters in pastoral counseling from Loyola University’s Institute of Ministry. Kayla is now pursuing a doctorate in preaching as a way to serve God by giving her voice to the church. She also plans to use her education to lift-up and empower marginalized voices of those often overlooked in the universal church and in our world. She dreams of a Church truly alive with Christ, and she believes her vocation is working toward making that Church a daily reality!

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12252020 to learn more about Kayla, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.