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.

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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.

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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 on July 16 – 17.  Johnnette and Dr. Miller will discuss, “The Authority of Woman: Her Influence, Effect, and Power."

Click here for further details and to register.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Dear Friends,

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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Dear Friends,

We are sharing the urgent prayer request below from EWTN's Facebook page:

Urgent prayer request from Sister Monica, Daughter of Charity in Paris: "Members of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in Syria were kidnapped, along with their wives and children. The children were isolated and put into cages. Adults who do not deny their faith will be decapitated, and their children burned alive in the cages. Let us remain fervently united in prayer, and have as our intention the welfare of all brothers and sisters in our Christian faith who are being held hostage. Mother Mary, please console them, and protect them all from harm! O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." EWTN Prayer Warriors, please share this with everyone you know.

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Commentary by Mandy Howard

It felt righteous. I was speaking God’s Truth and I was standing up for the life of the most defenseless. “Abortion is murder,” I said with strength and courage, “murder is not the same as natural death!”

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