I have often been amazed at how God answers a particular question, responds to a petition, or gives me guidance on a specific issue through Sacred Scripture. The reality of this points to a great truth — God is always seeking to reveal Himself and His will to us. In fact, one spiritual writer tells us that God already had us in mind when He inspired the evangelists in their writings. Consider this as you pray the Scriptures using Lectio-Divina. Read the rest…
Hopefully, your experience of praying Holy Scripture using the Lectio-Divina form of prayer was a good one. However, it can take a bit of perseverance if this is new to you. Do not be discouraged, but continue to call upon the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Read the rest…
The ancient prayer form called Lectio-Divina is a perfect way for us to enter into an ever deepening relationship with God, and the season of Advent provides us with the perfect opportunity to use it. The following six steps lead us in this beautiful method of prayer: Read the rest…
The following blog is being reposted from the teaching series that I gave previously. I hope that you enjoy it!
Great events are marked by great preparation. A wedding, the coming of a new baby, graduations, special anniversaries, significant birthdays, and celebrations of all sorts are often months in the planning. Read the rest…
St. Teresa of Avila shows us it is never too late to get serious about our prayer life. Born Dona Teresa Sanchez Cepeda Davila y Ahumada, Teresa was an active child with a big imagination and great sensitivity of heart. Little Teresa and her brother Roderigo were intrigued by the lives of the saints and the martyrs, and often sought to imitate their holy example. Read the rest…
Thank you for your ongoing support of Women of Grace/Living His Life Abundantly. You truly are helping to transform the world by partnering in our mission and I am abundantly grateful.
Recently, we celebrated the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. This title of the Blessed Mother is particularly meaningful for me and holds much significance. As many of you know, Our Lady was my constant spiritual companion as I sojourned through the pilgrimage of pain I experienced when my son, Simon, was killed in a vehicular accident and then, when my late husband, Anthony, journeyed through the cross of terminal brain cancer.
The next two days mark the feasts of two great saints of the Church, a mother and a son, whose lives give testimony to a sure-fire method of evangelizing those we love.
St. Monica (August 27) is the mother of St. Augustine (August 28), though Augustine was no saint when Monica began her earnest intercession. At that time he was a pagan and a member of the heretical Manichean sect. He was known to be a carouser who lived with a woman to whom he had fathered a child. A brilliant mind, he was “devoted” to his views and his lifestyle, and had no intention of converting to the Catholic faith.
St. Monica was distraught about her son’s dissolute ways and decided to do something about it. She prayed. And in the end, her prayers won the soul of her son.
What was it that made St. Monica’s prayers so effective? I think five strategies are primarily responsible. Perhaps you can implement them as you seek to evangelize those you love.
We’re at the halfway point of 2020 and your prayers and support have done much to help us in accomplishing our mission to transform the world one woman at a time, especially during these challenging times globally and in the Church. Read the rest…
In these turbulent times, we continue to press forward with our mission to transform the world one woman at a time. As I prayerfully sat with the Lord this morning asking Him about the many situations confronting us, two words were impressed on my heart – “remain steadfast.” With your help, we intend to do just that. When the enemy presses hard, the only good response is to press harder. Scripture reminds us of this with the admonition, “Resist the devil and he will flee” (James 4:7). Another passage that comes to mind is “Fear is useless. What is needed is trust” (Luke 8:50; Mark 5:36). These are Jesus’ own words. My personal acronym for “trust” is True Resolve Under Severe Testing. It is clear we are in a time of testing. May we all persevere in the resolve to remain steadfast, to ward off discouragement, and to press on toward the victory Jesus has already won for us.
During this very challenging time, let us ponder anew the grace that God has given to us, and let us pledge our lives in complete fidelity with those graces as we place ourselves in the footsteps of Our Lady, who always teaches us the way in which we should go.
I want to personally invite all of our sacred sisters to join me and women across the country on July 10th and 11th for our upcoming Women of Grace Online Summer Retreat themed “Made for Happiness, Made for Joy” with Father Peter John Cameron, O.P., Samantha Kelley, Kathleen McCarthy, and yours truly. The beautiful artists of Women at the Well will also be offering us a musical presentation. If you’ve never experienced our annual retreat at the Malvern Retreat House, this is the perfect opportunity to get a bit of a taste of it! Details are available at womenograce.com/events. It will be packed with inspirational instruction for such a time as this!
May the abundant life of Jesus Christ be yours and may God bless you!
I faithfully remain…
Your sister in Christ,
Johnnette Benkovic Williams
Founder and President
PS: I encourage you to enroll your fathers and spiritual fathers in our upcoming Novena of Masses. You may do so here. This is just one of the many ways we hope to bless you and your family.
“Who am I, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? The moment your greeting sounded in my ears the baby leapt in my womb for joy. Blest is she who trusted that the Lord’s words to her would be fulfilled.” -Luke 1:26-45
May is the month that we celebrate mothers and spiritual mothers. This role of spiritual maternity is very close to the heart of our mission to transform the world one woman at a time.
I remember a women’s retreat I conducted some years ago. In addition to the many laywomen present, there were a few religious. In one of my talks, I addressed the mission of Catholic women. When the talk was over, one of the sisters came up to me with a glow on her face and tears in her eyes. She told me she had been a religious for more than thirty years, and only that day had come to a full understanding of her vocation.
This religious sister is not alone. Many of us have questioned what it means to be a woman, and a Catholic woman at that. We know there is something dynamic and unique about it, but just what it seems to evade us. What is more, deep inside we sense that true fulfillment and happiness is somehow inextricably linked to our femininity. Where do we go to get the answer? To whom do we turn to find the way?
We need not look far. When we look to the mission of the Catholic woman, we look to our Blessed Mother. Luke 1:26-45 presents Our Lady’s Annunciation and her visitation to her cousin Elizabeth. When Mary arrives at the house of her elderly cousin Elizabeth, who is pregnant with her first child, Elizabeth cries out in greeting, “Who am I, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? The moment your greeting sounded in my ears the baby leapt in my womb for joy. Blest is she who trusted that the Lord’s words to her would be fulfilled.”
These lines tell us much. The leap of the Baptist and the assertion of Elizabeth proclaim that the fruit of Mary’s womb is the long-awaited Messiah and Redeemer. Mary, pregnant with Divine Life, carries that life to others. She is the Christ-bearer who brings salvation by her very presence. As the physical mother of the Savior, Mary is the spiritual mother of the elect (CCC #969).
As Catholic women, our call is to emulate the spiritual motherhood of Mary. Some of us will be physical mothers, but each of us is called to spiritual motherhood. Through receptivity, trust, and surrender, “women impregnated with a spirit of the Gospel can do so much to aid humanity in not falling” (“Letter to Women,” Vatican Council II). Imbued with the Divine Life and fortified by prayer, fervent reception of the sacraments, and virtuous living, Catholic women who assume their God-given call to spiritual motherhood will do great things for the Kingdom of God – we can indeed become the healers of the world.
This month, please join us in celebrating the gift of woman and her call to spiritual motherhood. Let us encourage women to embrace the truth of their identity and to be lights shining in the darkness of the day. Finally, let us share with them the exemplar of the true Woman of Grace, the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose “fiat” brought salvation to the world. May Mary, our spiritual mother, inspire the “yes” of our lives as we seek to be the women of grace God intends us to be.
May the abundant life of Jesus Christ be yours and may God bless you!
I faithfully remain…
Your sister in Christ,
Johnnette Benkovic Williams
Founder and President
PS: If you don’t already receive our Daily Gracelines, I encourage you to sign up and share them with others. This month’s topic is Mary’s Spiritual Motherhood. Go to womenofgrace.com/signup. You will also receive the latest updates from our apostolate by also signing up for our enewsletter.
