Woman of Grace: St. Josephine Bakhita (1869 – 1947)
It is natural to express thanksgiving for being released from difficult trials and circumstances. But who would be grateful for those who cause such difficult trials or circumstances? This is the stuff of saints — the very stuff of which Saint Josephine Bakhita was made. Read the rest…
Today is our 25th Anniversary in Catholic communications. I can’t believe it! What a joy it has been to proclaim the Good News of Our Lord, Jesus Christ around the world! And what an absolute pleasure and privilege it has been for both Fr. Ed and I to work together in this apostolic work. We appreciate your love and support! Read the rest…
There was little mention of the March for Life from main stream media and if reported at all, the numbers were inaccurately described as in the “thousands. There were no counter protesters, although reported as such, but only joyful, prayerful, massive pro-life crowds!
I pondered these things in my heart as I participated in the annual March for Life on Monday. It was the 39th sad memorial of the passage of Roe V. Wade. Since that date over 53 million babies have been lost, mothers have been scarred for life and families devastated.
Determined to make a difference, walking shoulder-to-shoulder, umbrella-to-umbrella the massive March for Life crowd was jubilant, hopeful…and YOUNG. Those who had attended in prior years returned in 
solidarity and renewed vigor; those who were attending for the first time were in awe and uplifted.
We marched as Women of Grace in full knowledge that “for such a time as this” we were created for a specific purpose and to impact the culture. We marched with the director of our local Christian pregnancy resource center, who was overcome with emotion and thanksgiving for the presence of God she was witnessing. We marched with a young Polish priest, in our country for just 5 months, who was amazed by the hundreds of thousands of peaceful, prayerful, joyful people he encountered.
As we approached the Supreme Court building our young priest searched for the precise words to express the moment. “I am full, and I struggle to control my emotions. This (legalized abortion) is Satanic!”
“For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths.” –2 Timothy 4:3-4
My dear sisters in Christ please continue to be heartfelt, determined Women of Grace, nurturing life to the full. Pray for God’s grace and mercy to be manifest in our country. Ask Our Mother to guide you and give you her heart to transform our culture.
I pray that it would be unnecessary to March in 2013. Perhaps, however, we should consider marching together next year as Women of Grace full of joy, hope and grace?
Your thoughts?
Peggy Pritchard is a Women of Grace® facilitator and Regional Coordinator. She and Vicki Crispo conduct studies in York, PA and will be hosting the Women of Grace Healing the Wounds of the Heart Retreat and are both lay associates of the Missionaries of the Gospel of Life.
Ven. Thecla Merlo (1894-1964)
Venerated January 22, 1991 by Pope John Paul II
Meditation on Sacred Scripture and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament have been the foundation of prayer for many women destined to be great spiritual mothers. Such was the case with Maestra Thecla, first Superior General of the Daughters of St. Paul founded by Father James Alberione. Teresa Merlo was a pious young Italian woman whose family was alive with Catholic piety and devotion. She had been trained as a seamstress but desired to enter religious life. Her brother, a seminarian, introduced her to Father Alberione who was looking to form a feminine congregation dedicated to spreading the Gospel through the press. With faith and trust in God, Teresa said “yes” to Father Alberione’s suggestion that she join the group of women he was forming. In 1922 she was consecrated to serving the Lord along with nine other women. This new order, called the Daughters of St. Paul, was forging new apostolic ground in the area of mass communications and women religious. Teresa chose the name “Thecla” in honor of St. Thecla, the early follower of St. Paul. Read the rest…
“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given.” –Isaiah 9:6
My Dear Friends in Christ,
As we enter the final days of Advent and begin our journey into the season of Christmas, we joyfully anticipate the great gift of the Christ Child and all that His birth has meant to humanity. Our hearts are filled with gratitude for this unfathomable gift.
We are also filled with gratitude for all that you have done to support the mission of Women of Grace and all of our outreaches. We wish all of our benefactors, customers and friends the peace, joy and love of Jesus Christ and pray that the He will fill your hearts with His Love and Peace! May the coming New Year bring you “every spiritual blessing in the heaven!” (Ephesians 1:3) 
All of the staff of Living His Life Abundantly® and Women of Grace® offer our prayers for you and your intentions during this Christmas season. We ask you to please remember us and the efforts of our apostolate during your times of prayer! I would also ask you to prayerfully consider making a sacrificial year-end donation to assist us in our mission of evangelization for the coming year.
May you and your families have an even greater experience of the presence of the Child Jesus and His Holy Mother, Mary in the deepest recesses of your soul this Christmas and always!
God bless you!
With gratitude,
Johnnette S. Benkovic and Staff
To all Women of Grace Facilitators, Members, and those thinking about becoming Facilitators:
I had an experience one recent morning that I knew was meant not for me alone, but for all Women of Grace . . .
by Guest Blogger Peggy Stanton
It is an irony of the day that one has to dress with more class to sit in a courtroom than a church pew. When you receive a summons for jury duty you are instructed to wear “business attire,” and indeed on the day that you appear in court you are surprised to see how nicely clad most potential jurors are. Far better than many venues on the island.
No such requirements apparently are cited for church services. Congregants are dressed in everything from dungarees to tennis togs. Fascinating that we must show more respect for a criminal than our Creator.
Priests and ministers are not blind to the phenomenon, but they are embarrassed to broach the subject. Few pastors in America take the stance of the Vatican in Rome where ladies who dare to bare are physically barred from entering St.Peter’s Basilica. Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Jacksonville, however has posted a plea to all genders on the church door that reads in part, “Out of respect for our Lord and the edification of our neighbors, we beg men and women, boys and girls to appear in church modestly dressed … shorts, tank tops, low cut, backless and mini dresses, halters, bare midriffs, tight fitting clothes, etc., do not meet the norm of Christian modesty and respect.”
Whoever coined the phrase that American moral standards have descended to curb level must attend fashion shows. We women seem to be leading the descent. Bosoms are showing up in the boardroom and the bakery as much as on the beach. Cleavage at 10 in the morning is as common as it used to be at 10 in the evening.
Most recently, division of a non-political nature was revealed on the floor of the U.S. Senate, causing the linotype to light up at The Washington Post. “Showing cleavage in a setting that does not involve cocktails and hors d’oeuvres is a provocation,” declared the usually liberal newspaper, “… showing cleavage is a request to be engaged in a particular way.”
And perhaps in a way that is totally unintended. A recent Associated Press article claimed that juvenile sex offense cases have risen 40 percent in 20 years, leading some psychologists to lay the blame at the feet of a sex-saturated society. A teacher in Fernandina displaying more decolletage than decimals was seen seated at recess among a group of young male students, bringing to mind the comment of a teenage resident in a low-income neighborhood in Texas. He said that gang members are more likely to do physical violence to sexually provocative women than modest, motherly women because they have respect for the latter, but not the former.
One young girl surmised that women have become sartorially bolder in response to the nearly naked celebrities they view on television and in the movies. This raises the question, does every woman walking on the street have to look like a streetwalker?
However much a woman admires her body, its overt display does not necessarily draw similar admiration from more objective viewers. “They all look like hookers to me,” an older man commented to a younger male friend in Baltimore. The younger man laughed, and both men agreed that skin shows can be a turnoff more than a “turn on,” particularly when women of a certain age have cleavage surrounding the cleavage.
It is strange that this overt sexuality is concurrent with the modern woman’s desire to be respected for her smarts. Even men who might ogle the frame may wonder what’s under the dome of a lady so anxious to call attention to what’s below rather than above her neck.
Related articles and websites:
A Young Man Speaks About Modesty The Controversy of Dress BettyBeguiles.com PureFashion.comPeggy Stanton is a Catholic writer who resides in Floria.
Comment from Johnnette: Ladies, as the article above suggests, we women need to exercise prudent judgement regarding our attire. Look in the mirror and ask yourself these questions as you are selecting an outfit — and be brutallly honest:
“What message am I sending?”
“What is my purpose in wearing this outfit?”
“What comments or thoughts do I want people to make about me when they see me today/tonight?”
If the answer to these questions include the words “hot,” “sexy,” “smoking,” or any other of a variety of words that indicate “siren,” it would be wise to “retire the attire.” It is not in keeping with your dignity and vocation as a woman. You are worth more than that.
Consider this quote: ” Woman is the conscience of man.” –Soren Kierkegaard
Hmmm………………………………….
My name is Barbara Mancuso, a parishioner at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, Clermont, Florida.
Being a convert to the faith approximately 20 years ago, my journey continues. In my desire to learn the Catholic faith and my purpose as a Cathloic woman, I participated in the Women Of Grace Study program 4 years ago. It was a profound turning point in deepening my faith not only as a Catholic, but as a woman in the eyes of my Heavenly Father. I was hearing many theological truths about why God created woman and truly seeking my role in that plan. This to me was not just “another bible study”. So many answers to questions I didn’t know how to ask! Read the rest…
Six years ago, I had a heart attack due to stress, not blockage. Though my recovery was complete, I felt brokenness within my heart.
Looking back, I can see God’s hand during my recovery. His tenderness was felt in the eyes of my husband, Ken. His strength was experienced in the hands of the cardiac rehab staff.
While recuperating, I became an EWTN junkie. I watched The Abundant Life and later began watching the Women of Grace® TV programs and learned much from Johnnette, Fr. Ed and their guests. Johnnette’s enthusiasm made me yearn for peace and purpose.
One day, after prayer, I asked myself, “Could I become a woman of grace?” At daily Mass, a hunger for Scripture began to grow in my heart. I signed up for my first bible study at St. Timothy’s Church, on Revelation, and realized that I had jumped into deep waters. My table leader encouraged me to be persistent and watch the Holy Spirit work through the study. A few months into the study, Scripture began to come alive for me. The following year, I was asked to be a table leader. Though I had my doubts, prayer once again opened my heart and I gave a reluctant “yes.”
Immersing myself in the lessons, I sensed that God wanted me to have a more active faith. I began volunteering at St. Joseph’s Hospital and there I met a pastoral care volunteer who had a deep Marian devotion and an interior radiance. “Now there’s a woman of grace,” I thought. Little did I know, that only a few short years later, I would volunteer as a Eucharistic Minister at the same hospital where I went through cardiac rehab.
Last year, a bible study facilitator gave me a flier for the Women of Grace® study series at St. Lawrence Church in Tampa. I wasn’t sure what was involved, but knew I needed to attend. Once again, God was calling my name. The facilitators, Isabelle and Amy, modeled a spirit of receptivity, trust, and surrender. Through the study, I began to pray more before the Blessed Sacrament, to say the rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet. As a result, I experienced Our Lady as my spiritual mother and a deeper sense of peace and healing in my heart. It seemed that the Women of Grace study ended too soon but I knew it was time for me to leave the upper room and become an “apostle” for Jesus and Mary.
Spiritually transformed and energized, I was inspired to serve God as a Women of Grace facilitator. In May, I co-facilitated a small group in my home. At times it felt like I was on training wheels, yet the Holy Spirit worked through my imperfections and it was a blessing to bond with my spiritual sisters. In June, I co-facilitated a larger group at St. Mark the Evangelist. The scripture passage “And Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life….Instead, seek His kingdom…for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.'”
As a former corporate trainer, I learned that facilitating a spiritual study, like Women of Grace, is propelled by the Holy Spirit. When I surrender to God’s love, He does the rest.
I am grateful to Our Lady for the gift of a holy boldness. God truly qualifies the unqualified. How blessed I feel to play a small part in the anointed work of Women of Grace®.
Just got home from a very busy two weeks. Father Edmund Sylvia, C.S.C., Tom Sullivan, and I myself were in production at EWTN for the next several weeks of programming for Women of Grace®. And those seven days of production put a big smile on my face. What a wonderful array of guests and topics! You will not want to miss them. They are (not in airing order):
