Leading Together - Facilitator Development Series Read More …

Leading Together - Facilitator Development Series Read More …

This session provides facilitators with a preview of the new Moments with Mary: Who is Mary? study and an opportunity to practice the study format. We watched an excerpt of the weekly teaching video by Johnnette and Fr. Hugh Gillespie and then meditated on a sample daily reflection regarding how Mary's fiat was instrumental to salvation history. Mary's example demonstrates how the Lord works powerfully within us when we practice obedience to his teachings. We then watched Johnnette's video reflection for that day and shared how the Lord was speaking to us in this reflection. Read More …

This session examines the essential role of prayer for Catholic women leaders in keeping our gaze fixed on Christ, hearing his voice, and then taking immediate action. The themes explored reinforce teaching from the foundational study Full of Grace Chapters 2 and 3 related to prayer. We learn that we cannot achieve our human fulfillment of growing in holiness unless we commune with God in prayer, which helps us to move from "knowing about God" to "knowing God."  Read More …

This session continues to explore key themes from Chapter 1 of the Full of Grace Foundational Study, focusing on women's roles as influencers who put themselves at the disposal of God -- to be beacons of light in the world. Facilitators are encouraged to reflect on the gifts they have been given by God and call on our Blessed Mother Mary to help them grow in self-knowledge and understanding of how to use their gifts to grow in holiness and help bring those entrusted to them to the Lord. Pope Saint John Paul II's encyclical MULIERIS DIGNITATEM on the dignity and vocation of woman and the feminine genius provides a beautiful opportunity for reflection on women's role, including a powerful image of women entrusted by God with the task of being "sentinels of the Invisible."  Read More …

In this session we delve deeper into key themes from Chapter 1 of the Foundational Study. To be effective Catholic women leaders we need to grow in our understanding of authentic femininity, looking to the Virgin Mary as our model. Doing so involves being open to learning new information and relying on Our Blessed Mother to assist us in our work through the gifts of receptivity, trust and surrender. The concept of receptivity was explored in more detail. Read More …

As Catholic women leaders we are sent by God to help keep light on the path to Jesus when there is much darkness in the World. We must hold on to hope, summarized in the acronym of H - "hold on to the truth of faith," O - "own the challenge," P - "persevere with prayer and patience," and E - "expect God's intervention." Johnnette Williams shares her prayer reflection that Our Blessed Mother has sent a special outpouring of grace upon all our facilitators to add them in this important work. Mary Dillenback reviews key teaching points from Chapter 1 of the Foundational Study of lessons that we learn from Our Blessed Mother, including maintaining a spirit of peace and joy as we pursue our mission to help bear spiritual life to the world. Facilitators are encouraged to watch a Women of Grace TV Christmas special (WGR11100) that includes a beautiful rendition of the song "You Raise Me Up" sung by Barbara Padilla. Read More …

In honoring the feast day of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we recall how Mary gave herself entirely to God forever and provides a model for us in dealing with hardships through a life of faith, hope and love. We grow as Catholic women leaders when we remain devoted to her and imitate her virtues. This session focuses on the Cardinal Virtue of Prudence, which the Catechism defines (CCC1806) as having God as our first priority; everything else then falls into place. Read More …

Growing as a Catholic Woman Leader requires us to focus on what God desires us to be. We begin by following in the footsteps of our Blessed Mother and can gain great insight by staying in the present moment with Jesus at each step as did Mary. We benefit from focusing on beauty which was always on the heart of the Blessed Mother. One fruitful practice is using Visio Divina -- or "sacred seeing" -- where meditating on the visible (i.e., Sacred Art) helps make the invisible more apparent in a powerful way. As disciples of Christ, we need to ask: "What keeps me from following Jesus? What do I need to leave behind?" Be confident that Jesus wants to transform our hearts. Read More …

Starting off the second year of this series, we explore how to attain and maintain peace in our lives by placing ourselves into the Immaculate Heart of Mary and our trust in the Lord. We need solitude and a consistent prayer life to experience peace and then share that peace with others: "Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God." (Gal 3:15) Our session includes a Visio Divina exercise, helping us to gain insight and inspiration from Joan of Arc's example. We pray for the grace to hear and respond to God's call to step forward in faith, demonstrating a magnanimous love and humility to achieve great things for the Lord. Read More …