Catholic Women Preach

Preaching for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Meghan J. Clark offers a reflection on the Parable of the Good Samaritan as a call to a communal ethic of compassion: "God calls to us from the depths of our own hearts. Christ calls to us in our neighbor. How then can we together advocate for compassion and resist indifference, resist pretending nothing is wrong. That is the message I hear anew as I return once again to the parable of the Good Samaritan."Meghan J. Clark, Ph.D., is a professor of moral theology at St John’s University (NY), where she students inside and outside the classroom on diverse topics in moral theology and Catholic social thought. She has conducted fieldwork on human rights and solidarity in Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. She is author of The Vision of Catholic Social Thought: the Virtue of Solidarity and the Praxis of Human Rights (Fortress Press, 2014). Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07132025 to learn more about Meghan, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Nina Santos Laubach offers a reflection being peace makers in an uncertain world and church: "Our Gospel today is asking us to cross thresholds as peacemakers. A threshold is a boundary, a liminal moment where we experience crises, decisions, or change. And our task as peace-makers is to offer the possibility in these moments for Shalom, for restoration of wholeness, for fullness of humanity."Nina Santos Laubach is pursuing a Ph.D. in Practical Theology and Homiletics at Princeton Theological Seminary. Her doctoral interests focus on sacramentality within the Catholic imagination and how it is expressed in homilies and preaching for the contemporary church. She lives with her husband and two teenage children at The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, where she serves as an accompanist, liturgist, preacher and mentor for the Catholic community.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/07062025 to learn more about Nina, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Christine Monica Zuba offers a reflection on "what is possible" with the power of witness and encounter: "The LGBTQ+ community, and specifically the transgender and gender queer community, are likewise under attack, simply for who we are. At every governmental level, rights are being denied, as politicians strive to erase our very existence. And still, just as the apostles remained visible witnesses of Christ, we too remain visible in our neighborhoods and in our faith communities. We will not be erased."Christine Zuba (she/her) is a transgender Catholic woman from Blackwood, NJ. A lifelong Catholic, she is a Eucharistic Minister and a facilitator of LGBTQ+ ministry at her parish. She is also on the Board of Directors of Fortunate Families, Inc. Christine transitioned as her true self in 2015 and was one of four transgender women to meet Pope Francis following his monthly general audience in September 2024.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06292025 to learn more about Christine, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, Marianne Duddy-Burke invites to embody Christ's healing, compassion, and abundance by meeting the real needs of our world: "We are also the present embodiment of Christ’s ministry of healing, of accompanying one another, of feeding each other. We provide the lifeblood of compassion and hope. To live into this call, we must constantly be willing to share whatever loaves and fishes we have with anyone, moving beyond individualism, tribalism, nationality, or the prioritization of any other identity, to model true stewardship in service to all."Marianne Duddy-Burke is the Executive Director of DignityUSA, working for LGBTQ+ justice and equality in the Catholic Church and society. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, National Catholic Reporter, The Advocate, Washington Post, Huffington Post, and numerous other publications. In October 2023, Marianne met with Pope Francis in an historic encounter between the Pope and leaders of LGBTQIA+ Catholic organizations. She lives in Boston with Becky, her spouse of over 30 years, and their two adopted children, now young adults, one of whom is transgender.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06222025 to learn more about Marianne, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for Trinity Sunday, Madeline Marlett offers a reflection on the tension between suffering and hope and the call to co-create a world where love, acceptance, and the fullness of divine truth can flourish for all: "The role of the Holy Spirit here is to continuously bring that enlightened truth into the world as the world is ready for it. Just think what more good news is there to discover ahead of us all if we just make room for it!  So let us take this Sunday to remind ourselves that we are the hands of the Divine; we can shape a future driven by hope; that the Divine truths that were too vast for our reality will, in time, grow truly unbounded into eternity."Madeline Marlett (She/Her/Hers) is an LGBTQIA+ activist with a special focus on the intersection of LGBTQIA+ identities and faith identities.  As Co-Chair of the DignityUSA Young Adult Caucus, she works to create space for young adults to find queer affirmation and safety in an expansive Catholic context. Originally from the west coast, she now calls Boston, MA home and enjoys rock climbing, hiking, baking and growing community.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06152025 to learn more about Madeline, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for Pentecost, Yunuen Trujillo offers a reflection on how the Holy Spirit is calling us to unity, justice, intersectionality:

"Dear siblings: We have reason to be hopeful because the Holy Spirit—the Advocate—is calling us toward unity and intersectionality. She is moving the world in that direction—toward a refusal to let those who seek to divide us succeed. We will not take part in hate—because God is love."

Yunuen Trujillo is a Catholic lay minister, a faith-based community organizer, and an immigration attorney. She is the Religious Formation Coordinator (Sp) for the Catholic Ministry with Lesbian and Gay Persons of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and author of "LGBTQ Catholics: A Guide for Inclusive Ministry" which was published in 2022 by Paulist Press.

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06082025 to learn more about Yunuen, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Solemnity of the Ascension, Colleen Campbell Karchunas offers a reflection on transforming struggle and pain into testimony and purpose: "When we experience suffering or confusing and complicated events in our lives, it can be easy to turn away from asking deeper questions because of the pain we have experienced. However, the Ascension calls us to consider allowing what happens to us become a part of our story and call...What will you do with what has happened to you?"Colleen Campbell Karchunas is a pastoral minister passionate about formation and accompaniment, especially as understood by Pope Francis. She has served in various Catholic settings, walking with leaders, youth, and students on their faith journeys. Colleen holds a PhD in Catechetics and currently serves as a campus minister while studying Clinical Mental Health Counseling.Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06012025 to learn more about Colleen, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Dr. Kim R. Harris lifts up “Saintly Seven” African Americans on the path to canonization and asks how the Holy Spirit is calling us to widen our vision of holiness and belonging:"I am thinking about a vision of who we are. And thinking about that widening of the vision and shining of a spotlight on the many heritages of people who are Catholic in these United States and in these Americas...When we imagine what our beautiful city could become, will become… When we continue to pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit. How do we envision that beautiful city?"Dr. Kim R. Harris is Associate Professor of African American Religious Thought and Practice at Loyola Marymount University. A liturgist, composer, and recording artist, she teaches Black liberation and Womanist theologies and presents on Black Catholic music, Negro Spirituals, and Civil Rights freedom songs. She composed Welcome Table: A Mass of Spirituals and co-authored The Fire This Time: A Black Catholic Sourcebook. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05252025 to learn more about Dr. Harris, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Preaching for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Katharine Guerrero offers a reflection on rising to the challenge to love as Jesus loves:

"Let us think about how we are called to love. And that, though it may be hard work, we have support. We have community. We have others we can lean on. We have our faith to guide us. And so let us rise to that challenge. Let us accept the challenge of love."

Katherine Guerrero is Director of Mission and Belonging at Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy in California. She holds a master’s degree in education with an emphasis in service learning.

Mollie Wilson O'Reilly preaches for the Fourth Sunday of Easter - Good Shepherd Sunday: "If we are blessed to be sheep in the care of a Good Shepherd, we can trust that shepherd to keep us safe. It’s not our job to patrol the boundaries and keep trespassers out. It’s not in our power to take anyone out of Jesus’s hands."Mollie Wilson O’Reilly is editor-at-large and a contributing writer for Commonweal magazine, where she worked as an editor from 2008 through 2015. She grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Yale in 2003 with a BA in English Literature. She now serves on the board of trustees for the St. Thomas More Catholic Chapel and Center at Yale. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05112025 to learn more about Mollie, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.