Recently, we celebrated the Feast of St. Charles Lwanga and twenty one Ugandan martyrs. Charles and his young companions converted to Christianity from paganism. Sentenced to death under king Mwanga, who felt threatened because they would not bow to him, make sacrifices to his pagan gods or succumb to his sexual advances, they exhibited the kind of courage, strength, and fortitude necessary to be witnesses for Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in a moment when great sin abounded.
It’s May! And parishes around the world are a flurry of sacraments. First Holy Communions and Confirmations testify to God’s continuing presence among us and leave us filled with that lasting Easter joy and bursting hearts. It’s that time of the liturgical year when God dishes out graces and gifts with generous hands and more places are set at the banquet table. Our own son Daniel received his first Holy Communion and the sacrament of Confirmation this spring, and although this was our fourth child to be so blessed, I still felt awed at witnessing the young life that’s been entrusted to us be saturated with and transformed by God’s own life.
St. Rita Catholic Church in Alexandria, LA, under the mentorship of Reverend Craig Scott, Pastor, graduated 110 women from the Women of Grace® study program on the evening of May 4, 2015. Friends and family were in attendance for the Mass, graduation ceremony, and dinner to witness the women as they rejoiced in the Lord, who had called them to complete their Lenten journey for 2015.
May is one of the months that Catholics around the world celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary in a special way. Women of Grace® encourages this ancient tradition and many of our facilitators lead their study groups in a May Crowning ceremony.
This year’s Women of Grace® Retreat, which will be held from July 17-19 on the historic 120-acre campus of Orchard Lake Schools in Orchard Lake, Michigan, is the ideal setting for an encounter with the Architect of your life.
Entitled, "My Grace is Sufficient for You: Woman and God's Divine Plan," this retreat will feature Johnnette Benkovic, Fr. Philip Scott, FJ and Dr. Monica Miller in an intensive three-day immersion in what it means to be a daughter of God, and how to live out that call in this our day and time. These restful grounds, which were so dear to the heart of St. John Paul II, are the perfect place to escape the world and acquire the spiritual and emotional nourishment you need in order to empower you to engage in the unique cultural battles of our time.
“The Women of Grace Retreat always awakens what has been hiding inside of me,” says Mary Dillenback of Fishers Landing, New York. “I leave with renewed courage and joy – grateful to know I am a daughter of the Most High God and that much closer to who God needs me to be!” The retreat will be preceded by the Benedicta Leadership Institute for Women onJuly 16 – 17. Johnnette and Dr. Miller will discuss, “The Authority of Woman: Her Influence, Effect, and Power."
In January this year I sat in my kitchen early one morning, bleary-eyed after a fractured night’s sleep. (And I’m using the term “sleep” quite loosely.) The former night’s guilty parties, ages 2 and 5, lounged – in varied stages of consciousness themselves – on the couch, while I clutched a mug of coffee and scrolled through the day’s news stories. Suddenly I was wide awake, as I came upon the headlines of several Catholic sites: “Pope says Motherhood is Martyrdom.” Whoa.
Nine years ago I went for a walk with Alice von Hildebrand. The lovely Catholic philosopher and theologian had come into Phoenix to give a talk on God’s love, and desiring to enjoy the weather and the views around Camelback mountain, she found me a willing companion. Our conversation turned to my uncle, who had recently died after a terribly painful battle with stomach cancer. I had described his life to her, and then she stopped me, looked into my eyes, and said in her beautiful accent, “You’ve got to write that.” Firmly. And I knew I should, not just because when Alice von Hildebrand tells you to do something, you probably should, but also because deep down I knew it was true. So…it took me nine years, but here goes, and intentionally in time for the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, May 1st.
Brian Patrick sits down with Bishop Denis Madden (Archdiocese of Baltimore), Bishop Wolfgang D. Herz-Lane (Delaware-Maryland Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church), Rabbi Scott Nagel (Temple Oheb Shalom), Bishop Eugene Sutton (Episcopal Diocese of Maryland), and Rev. S. Todd Yeary (Douglas Memorial Community Church) to discuss the underlying issues behind the recent street violence.
We recently received the exciting news from Regional Coordinator, Monique Russo, who is based in Gibraltar, of the successful completion of our very first Women of Grace Foundational Study program in Spain.
We are forwarding this request that was shared with us by a faithful friend. Please join us in praying.
"Imagine what might happen if every Catholic in the world would pray a Rosary on the same day! We have an example in October of 1573, when Europe was saved from the invasion of the mighty Turkish fleet, by the praying of the Rosary by all Christians!
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Recently, we celebrated the Feast of St. Charles Lwanga and twenty one Ugandan martyrs. Charles and his young companions converted to Christianity from paganism. Sentenced to death under king Mwanga, who felt threatened because they would not bow to him, make sacrifices to his pagan gods or succumb to his sexual advances, they exhibited the kind of courage, strength, and fortitude necessary to be witnesses for Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in a moment when great sin abounded.
