Catholic Women Preach

Preaching for the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, Sharon Chipman offers a reflection on our invitation to join the Trinity in the dance of life even in a time of pandemic:  

"We are being saved, and we are being called to save others in every possible way we can. Keep dancing my sisters and brothers. Follow the hesed steps of the Creator and Redeemer, and may the music, the rhythm, the kiss and the love of the Holy Spirit Be with you!"   

Sharon Chipman is a retired Lay Ecclesial minister who has served in Campus Ministry and Parish ministry for over 40 years.  She earned her Masters of Divinity degree from the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley, CA, and her MA in Theology from The Graduate Theological Union, also in Berkeley.  Sharon has done much preaching over the years in retreat and liturgical settings. She has worked in a variety of ministry settings and with every age group from kindergarteners to seniors.  

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06072020 to learn more about Sharon, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for Pentecost, Dr. C. Vanessa White offers a reflection on listening to the Holy Spirit during a time of Pentecost, while weaving African American Spirituals throughout:  

"Like those first disciples in the Upper Room, may we be open to the coming of the Holy Spirit during this time of pandemic to use us and transform us for the good of all."  

Dr. C. Vanessa White is Associate Professor of Spirituality and Ministry  as well as the Director of the Certificates in Pastoral Studies and 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.    

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05312020 to learn more about Dr. White, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Solemnity of the Ascension, Cathe Shoulberg, RSM offers a reflection on what the readings for the Ascension might offer to our uncertain and frightening times:  

"This feast speaks so directly to each one of us amid these uncertain and frightening times - WE are called like the Apostles, WE are being sent, to open our hearts to Jesus; to stand, serve and be with the poor among us; to welcome the marginalized, to help the sick, to forgive one another – simply put, to LOVE as Jesus; to make our World a dwelling as envisioned by Jesus – united with one another, in love.  Most importantly, Jesus lets us know, in no uncertain words, that he will send the Holy Spirit to us.  Jesus, promises not to leave us orphans for he will be with us, all day, every day until the end of time! "  

Cathe Shoulberg, RSM, is a Sister of Mercy of the Mid-Atlantic Community.  Born and raised in East Norriton, PA, Sister Cathe, she received a BS in Education from Gwynedd Mercy University and a Master’s in Education from Arcadia University. For fifteen years, Sister Cathe taught First Grade in various parish schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Diocese of Camden.  She was the principal of St. Elizabeth School in the diocese of Allentown for five years and in June, 2018 completed a thirty year tenure as Principal at St. Helena School, Blue Bell.

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05242020 to learn more about Cathe, to read her text or view her video, and for more preaching from Catholic women. 

Preaching for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mary Ann Hinsdale offers a reflection on hope, particularly at a time of pandemic:

  "...these precarious situations caused by the Coronavirus pandemic: joblessness, food insecurity, our elders and veterans dying alone in nursing homes and hospitals, exhausted parents trying to balance working at home and overseeing their children’s education, seeing the future plans we have made or the provisions for our retirement collapse and disappear.  All of these are stressors and have a bearing on whether we are able to 'give an accounting for our hope.'  At best, we may feel resigned; at worst, we simply feel paralyzed. And yet, for me, the reading from John’s Gospel for this Sixth Sunday of Easter offers us some 'good news,' – and a reason for our hope, even though we are living  with painful situations."   

Sr. Mary Ann Hinsdale, a member of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Monroe, MI), is an Associate Professor of Theology at Boston College.  She received her B.A. from Marygrove College (Detroit), her M.A. in religious education from the Catholic University of America, and her Ph.D in Systematic Theology from the University of St. Michael’s in Toronto. Her academic specializations are in theological anthropology, ecclesiology, and feminist and ecological theologies.   

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05172020 to learn more about Sr. Mary Ann Hinsdale, to view her video or read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Sr. Donna L. Ciangio, OP offers a reflection on making Christ present wherever we are:  

"These two lines that I heard in the Gospel today -- 'Where I am you also may be' and 'Whoever believes in me will do the work that I do' -- [are] essential for us. We bring Christ wherever we are. We are given the work to carry on the mission of Christ in our time and in various ways."  

Sr. Donna is a Dominican Sister of Caldwell, New Jersey and holds a doctorate from Drew University.  She is the director of Church Leadership Consultation and works internationally and nationally in promoting parish vitality and pastoral direction, congregational and leadership development, faith formation, Small Christian Communities, consulting with parishes and dioceses, and in many other areas.   

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05102020 to learn more about Sr. Donna, to read her text or view her video and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Maryknoll Lay Missioner, Susan Nagele reflects on the familiar shepherd imagery of the readings through the lens of her experience in East Africa:  

"The responsorial psalm is very comforting, 'The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.'  But let’s be practical.  Jesus left this earth many years ago and it takes more than words to keep people and the animals alive.  We, ourselves, must be the body of Christ.  I think Jesus is telling us that there is nothing we shall want and we will have abundant life if we take care of one another the way a good shepherd takes care of the sheep."  

Susan Nagele is a Maryknoll Lay Missioner and Family Physician who began working in East Africa in 1985.  Her service provided primary health care in Tanzania for six years, Sudan for 12 years (all during the second war in what is now called South Sudan) and Kenya for 14 years. She returned to the USA in 2018 and continues to work for Maryknoll Lay Missioners doing medical consultancy, mission education and promotion in the Midwest.  

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05032020 to learn more about Susan, to read her text or watch her video, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Third Sunday of Easter, Mary J. Novak offers a reflection that illuminates restorative justice practices with the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus:  

"Feeling guilty, infuriated, overwhelmed with grief: we all experience the spiritual desolation that can accompany these feelings in our world and Church today.  What can we do besides turn away and run?   We can walk alongside one another and listen deeply, restoratively.  As we listen in circle, when we feel the healing love of Christ in our midst, slowly, the desolation can turn, widening our perspective.  We may even experience spiritual consolation, a sense that our hearts are burning as we listen to each other.  From this encounter, we might even begin to trust that a way forward will emerge as it did for the disciples on the road to Emmaus."  

Mary J. Novak serves in Washington, D.C. as the Associate Director for Ignatian Formation at Georgetown University’s Law Center and School of Continuing Studies where she also serves as Catholic Chaplain and Adjunct Professor of Law.  She is also chair of the Board of Directors of Catholic Mobilizing Network.   

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04262020 to learn more about Mary, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Second Sunday in Easter, Joanna Williams offers a reflection on savoring God's abundance: 

 " ... the invitation is to a mentality of abundance and not scarcity. As we practice this discipline of cherishing it is not because we are ignorant of suffering, evil, and darkness."  

Since 2015, Joanna Williams has been the Director of Education and Advocacy at the Kino Border Initiative (KBI), a binational Catholic and Jesuit ministry in Nogales, Arizona and Sonora that works to promote humane and just migration policy. In her role, she works to ensure that the migrants who arrive to KBI’s aid center are heard by US communities, including schools and parishes, and by policymakers.  

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04192020 to learn more about Joanna, to view her video or read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for Easter, Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, reflects on what resurrection means for community: 

 "But over the years, as the community has reflected, we have moved away from that individualistic conception of resurrection and the afterlife into one of personal transformation, of being able to move past our ego and our selfishness into a state of love and into a state of community."  

Sister Helen Prejean is known around the world for her tireless work against the death penalty.  She has been instrumental in sparking national dialogue on capital punishment and in shaping the Catholic Church’s vigorous opposition to all executions. A Sister of Saint Joseph since 1972, she is the author of "Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States," "The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions," and "River of Fire: My Spiritual Journey."  

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04122020 to learn more about Sr. Helen, to view her video or read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for Good Friday, Joan Dawber, SC, offers a reflection on loving like God: 

"Good Friday is clearly about deep, faithful, steadfast, merciful love. Jesus shows us how to love, to love like God. Jesus' whole life, ministry, and death show us how to love. The question is, what do we do with so great a love?"  

Joan Dawber, SC, incorporated LifeWay Network, Inc. in 2007 as a Not-for-Profit Corporation collaborating to combat human trafficking and  has recently retired from her position as Executive Director. She is a member of the Sisters of Charity Halifax and lives in New York City.   

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/04102020 to learn more about Joan, to read her text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.