When I was a little girl, I was much more interested in reading, writing, and all things religious than I was in housekeeping or the culinary arts. However much my mother tried to impart to me the benefits of proper measuring and vacuuming-after- dusting, her efforts for the most part did little to arouse my interest or curiosity. But this in no way dampened her enthusiasm to engage me in the arcane sciences of domesticity. Read the rest…
Category Archives: Johnnette’s Blog
Introducing Lexi Conner – our newest blogger!
Hello,
I’m Lexi Conner and I am so excited to be part of the Women of Grace blogging family!
Perhaps you can guess from my name that I have a very special interest. I LOVE words! Some might say that makes me a “geek” or a bluestocking, bookworm, or highbrow (See! I just can’t help it!). But it was this very interest that Johnnette found so intriguing (compelling, captivating, fascinating, riveting, titillating – pick one!).
However, she was very specific about what she wanted me to present in this blog (I think she might have thought I’d go off on a “word tangent” or something). She has asked me to explore words that are part of our Catholic Faith. You see, I am a devout (zealous, passionate, ardent, faithful, fervent, earnest, orthodox) Catholic. I LOVE my Faith and I LOVE God and Our Blessed Mother and all of the saints.
Sometimes I will present you with words that are linked together by theme. Other times I won’t (I like to keep things exciting like this so you will never know exactly what you are going to get!). If there are any interesting features about the word – its history or etymology – I will let you know. If YOU have any interesting facts about the word, please let me know via” comment” and I will post it. It is all going to be so much FUN and we will learn so much about our Catholic Faith and its own special vocabulary!
I am looking forward to being your personal lexicographer (a compiler of a dictionary. Origin 1650-60. Late Greek. From “lexicon”—a wordbook or dictionary. Example: Noah Webster was a lexicographer. Interesting factoid: The definition for “Webster” comes from the Middle English. In its archaic sense it means “a weaver.” See how Noah’s last name reveals what he did – just like my whole name reveals what I do! He “weaved” together a book of words and I am providing you with a lexicon! Amazing! Can you already see how much fun we are going to have?!).
Speaking of names, I have a riddle for you. Oh yes, that is another interesting feature of the Lexi Blog (Don’t you LOVE it!): I will occasionally pose a riddle for you or a word jumble or a cute story or some other little exercise to keep your brain nimble and your funny bone tickled.
This riddle was told to my great-grandfather, whom I still have thanks to God, by his grandfather. That means it was my great-great grandfather who told it. See if you can figure out the riddle. If you think you’ve got it, post it in comments. The winner will receive a special gift courtesy of Women of Grace®(Johnnette told me it was okay). I will know who was the first to send in the correct answer (there is a way to do this, you know.). Comment submissions will be good until one week from today.
Okay. Here is the riddle:
An older German gentleman was walking across a bridge when a beautiful young fraulein began to walk across the bridge from the opposite direction. When their paths crossed, the gentleman tipped his hat and drew his cane, and in this story I told his name. What was it? (Hint: Remember the story was told, not written. That is important.)
I’m giggling already. Have fun! I hope we become good friends!
Linguistically yours,
What’s In A Name?
Well, after my last blog, I had the most interesting email from Peter O’Connor – a Brisbanite, which makes him a gentleman from Brisbane, Australia. Read the rest…
Lexi Conner’s Lexicon: Dogma
As you know, I am fascinated (enraptured, enthralled, intrigued, allured) by all things Catholic! And so, I really want to know what the Church teaches. One way to get a “bird’s eye view” (Don’t you just wonder where these phrases come from? I sure do and some nights I just sit up puzzling over it! Which I did for a spell [short period of time as in an instant, jiffy, little while, minute, second, stretch] on this one. You can find out what I discovered below. So many words, so many phrases, so much linguistic intrigue – and so little time! It near makes me batty – as in crazy or eccentric nuts or wacky– none of which really applies to me, thank goodness!). Read the rest…
Introducing Lexi Conner – our newest blogger!
Hello,
I’m Lexi Conner and I am so excited to be part of the Women of Grace blo
gging family!
Perhaps you can guess from my name that I have a very special interest. I LOVE words! Some might say that makes me a “geek” or a bluestocking, bookworm, or highbrow (See! I just can’t help it!). But it was this very interest that Johnnette found so intriguing (compelling, captivating, fascinating, riveting, titillating – pick one!). Read the rest…
Seven Steps to Discern the Will of God
(Taken from Full of Grace: Women and the Abundant Life by Johnnette Benkovic)
On yesterday’s Women of Grace Live radio program, I shared a teaching on di
scerning God’s will, much of which came from by book Full of Grace: Women and the Abundant Life. Here are the Seven Steps to Discerning God’s will, in case you missed the program or didn’t get a chance to jot them down. You can also listen to the program in it’s entirety at the podcast link here. God bless you!
1. Is the prompting fully in line with Sacred Scripture, the Ten Commandments, and the teachings of the Church? There is no contradiction in God.
2. Is the prompting proceeding from virtue or the flesh? “What is my motivation?”
3. Has this prompting been confirmed in other ways? God confirms His will for us in a variety of ways.
How Does God Speak To Us?
A. Through other people
1. Directly – someone speaks the prompting to us
2. Indirectly
a. a homily at Mass
b. radio
c. television
d. something we read
B. Scripture
C. Events of the day
4. Has the prompting withstood the test of time? There is a difference between enthusiasm and zeal.
5. Am I going through an emotionally difficult time or am I suffering from mental instability?
6. Have I sought the counsel of others — my spouse, provincial, superior, bishop, spiritual director?
7. Is the prompting or inspiration of grace in conformity with my state in life? There may be sacrifice, but there will not be conflict.
John Paul II — “Christmas is the Feast Day of Man”
When I came back to the Faith in 1981, one Scripture passage became the rudder of my spiritual life. It is Ephesians 1: 3-4. Through the years, this passage has spoken to me in many ways and has sustained me through many trials.
Verse 4 , however, is particularly relevant for this time of the year, and was echoed by Pope John Paul II in a Christmas reflection. It states this, “God chose us in him before the world began to be holy and blameless in his sight, to be full of love.” Those first five words tell us something about ourselves that is amazing and astounding — each one of us was distinctively and individually chosen by God to have life. Read the rest…
Advent Week Three: A Time for Sharing, A Time for Caring
In yesterday’s blog, we discussed the necessity of evangelization in the modern world and why this call applies in a special way to the lay faithful.
But the question remains, how do we effectively communicate the Catholic faith in the world today? This remains a challenge especially given the competing voices in today’s market place of ideas.
Indeed, secularism and relativism have captivated the mindset of the culture. However, St. Paul reminds us in 2 Timothy 4 that our mission is to preach the Gospel “in season and out,” and the reality is you and I have been chosen by God to do so in our day and time. And, in the end, truth is on our side.
Following are four steps that help us share the faith with others.
Advent Week Three: A Time for Sharing, A Time for Caring
The Incarnation of Jesus Christ has forever changed the destiny of mankind. Through His birth, death, and resurrection, the chains of death are broken, the gates of heaven are flung open wide, and eternal life has been restored to man. However, accepting the salvation Christ has won remains an individual decision to be made by each human being.
I remember well when I made that decision for myself. It all started with a woman who shared her faith in Jesus Christ with me.
Though she was going through an emotionally difficult time, she was certain God had a plan for her in the midst of it. Her trust stood in stark contrast to my own faith experience which had not recovered from my college years. Like living water flooding the landscape of my soul, her words and her witness brought me new life and led me back to Catholicism.
Woman of Grace: St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein, 1891 – 1942)
She was a brilliant scholar, a contemplative mystic, and a “liberated” feminist. At various times she was also a devout Jew, an atheist, a philosopher, a Catholic, and a Carmelite nun. Hers was a heart that hungered for truth, with a passion that burned with such purity and clarity that Pope John Paul II, whose own Mulieris Dignitatem and “Letter to Women” bear the unmistakable imprint of her spirit, canonized her less than fifty years after her death at Auschwitz. Read the rest…
