WOMEN’S WORK
Women do, and have done throughout the ages, important work that is unrecognized in history books. It is the kind of work not usually associated with women. Women resist military murder with their lives, defend families and peace, spend time in Nazi prisons, provide services to the dying and suffering, and speak truth to popes and powers.
The artist and activist who designed the image above, Mary Lynn Sheetz, believed women deserved a place around Christ’s table.
Women’s Work features the following amazing women, starting from left to right
Dorothy Day – Nonviolent activist for peace and social justice, founder of the Catholic Worker’s Movement.
Mary Luke Tobin – Founder of the Thomas Merton Center, Auditor at II Vatican Council; leader of renewal for women religious; lifelong peace activist.
Aung San Suu Kyi – Nobel Peace Prize winner and leader of democracy movement in Burma. She was put under house arrest from 1989 – 2010 by the Burmese Military Junta.
Mary of Nazareth – Mother of Jesus Christ. Stood against mob at the foot of the cross with a small group of women when all others fled.
Thea Bowman – Franciscan Sister, born in Mississippi poverty. Visionary speaker, voice of African Americans in the church.
Priscilla – (Acts 18, Romans 16, 1 Cor 16, 2 Timothy 4) One of the women who presided at the Eucharistic celebration in the early Church. Paul records his epistle that she risked her life to save him.
Ruth Fitzpatrick – Coordinator of Women’s Ordination Conference, long time activist for human rights, working for the discipleship of equals.
Catherine of Sienna – 14th Century Dominican Tertiary, mystic and indefatigable servant of the poor. She was also a political activist and reformer with the Church who convinced Pope Gregory XI to return to Rome. Named Doctor of the Church.
Edith Stein – Mystic, Jewish convert to Catholicism who became a Carmelite nun, refused to leave Germany occupied territory under Nazi occupation. Killed at Auschwitz.
Rigoberta Menchu Tum – Quiche woman of Guatemala, winner of Nobel Peace Prize for her work organizing the indigenous people of Guatemala to resist military violence and oppression.
Teresa of Avila – 16th Century Spanish Carmelite reformer. Mystic and great spiritual writer who was named Doctor of the Church.
If you want to purchase cards with her image, please email Mary Lynn Sheetz at http://www.bravotees.com.
The artist and activist who designed the image above, Mary Lynn Sheetz, believed women deserved a place around Christ’s table.
Women’s Work features the following amazing women, starting from left to right
Dorothy Day – Nonviolent activist for peace and social justice, founder of the Catholic Worker’s Movement.
Mary Luke Tobin – Founder of the Thomas Merton Center, Auditor at II Vatican Council; leader of renewal for women religious; lifelong peace activist.
Aung San Suu Kyi – Nobel Peace Prize winner and leader of democracy movement in Burma. She was put under house arrest from 1989 – 2010 by the Burmese Military Junta.
Mary of Nazareth – Mother of Jesus Christ. Stood against mob at the foot of the cross with a small group of women when all others fled.
Thea Bowman – Franciscan Sister, born in Mississippi poverty. Visionary speaker, voice of African Americans in the church.
Priscilla – (Acts 18, Romans 16, 1 Cor 16, 2 Timothy 4) One of the women who presided at the Eucharistic celebration in the early Church. Paul records his epistle that she risked her life to save him.
Ruth Fitzpatrick – Coordinator of Women’s Ordination Conference, long time activist for human rights, working for the discipleship of equals.
Catherine of Sienna – 14th Century Dominican Tertiary, mystic and indefatigable servant of the poor. She was also a political activist and reformer with the Church who convinced Pope Gregory XI to return to Rome. Named Doctor of the Church.
Edith Stein – Mystic, Jewish convert to Catholicism who became a Carmelite nun, refused to leave Germany occupied territory under Nazi occupation. Killed at Auschwitz.
Rigoberta Menchu Tum – Quiche woman of Guatemala, winner of Nobel Peace Prize for her work organizing the indigenous people of Guatemala to resist military violence and oppression.
Teresa of Avila – 16th Century Spanish Carmelite reformer. Mystic and great spiritual writer who was named Doctor of the Church.
If you want to purchase cards with her image, please email Mary Lynn Sheetz at http://www.bravotees.com.
The humble, indispensable women leading the Catholic Church you’ve (probably) never heard of
Coleen Heckner grew up immersed in Catholic culture. From her parents and her devout grandfather, who served as an usher in his parish, to the Daughters of Charity and the Sisters of Mercy, who educated her in grade school and high school, she was surrounded by examples of faith. A member of the Vatican II generation, she was influenced by St. John XXIII and became passionate about issues of social justice, in part because the peace activists Daniel Berrigan, S.J., and Phil Berrigan were among the speakers brought to her Baltimore classroom. “I grew up in a really neat time to have all these folks touch my life in some way,” she said.
In the years that have followed, Ms. Heckner’s faith commitment has not waned. While working as a psychiatric nurse practitioner, she has attended Mass weekly and has been active in parish life, having served as a member of a parish council and a eucharistic minister to the homebound. Her adult son spent some time in seminary, and she enjoyed her visits there. She would love to be a deacon someday and has a devotion to Mary (“I’ve always believed if you want to get something done you give it to a woman”). In 2011 she earned a master’s degree in pastoral studies from St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry in Albany, N.Y., which allowed her to serve as a chaplain resident at Albany Medical Center and now as a pastoral associate at a nearby nursing home. |
Notable Women Working In Many Fields Today
Chaplain. Teacher. Hebrew Bible Scholar. Catholic Feminist.
"My work as a Chaplain, Teacher, Bible Scholar and Catholic Feminist emerges from two core beliefs: that human consciousness can always grow, and that divine consciousness is both loving and accessible."
Read more about Lizzie Berne DeGear, PHD and her work. |
Sister Norma Pimentel
Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley in Texas and a longtime advocate for immigrants and refugees, will receive the University of Notre Dame's 2018 Laetare Medal at the school's graduation ceremony May 20.
"Jesus said, 'When I was a stranger, you invited me in.' Sister Norma Pimentel has given her life to welcoming Christ in the immigrant and refugee," Holy Cross Father John I. Jenkins, Notre Dame president, said in announcing the award March 11. Read More. |
Virginia Sloyan
'Heart and Soul' of the Liturgical Conference
Virginia Sloyan, a writer and editor who for decades produced materials to help the Catholic Church implement liturgical changes after the Second Vatican Council, died March 11 at age 87.
Sloyan never forgot that "the dimensions of the liturgy are about the shaping of people to serve the world, not just to have a beautiful service or a good time," said Gabe Huck, who worked with Sloyan in the Liturgical Conference of Washington. "It was about shaping people to serve as she did." Read More. |
What Women Theologians Have Done for the Church
Click the button above for a mini-post in honor of International Women’s Day, March 8, giving us as good a reason as any to promote and celebrate the contributions of the many excellent women theologians to the church, academy, and society.
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Catholics can thank women theologians for 70 years of building up the church.
Kathy Barkdull started her career in parish ministry the same way many others have: The director of religious education at her parish tapped her on the shoulder and asked if she would teach a class. With a willing spirit and not much more, she agreed. Twenty-five years later, Barkdull is pastoral associate at Holy Spirit Catholic Community in Pocatello, Idaho, and oversees evangelization and discipleship programs, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), and other ministries at the 1,200-household parish. Over the years Barkdull received training through the diocesan certification program, workshops, and seminars, and eventually graduated from the Ministry Extension program at Loyola University in New Orleans. But Barkdull began to understand her work in a new light after she attended a conference of the National Association of Lay Ministers (NALM) in 2004 and heard Zeni Fox, a professor of pastoral theology at Seton Hall University, talk about the theology of lay ministry. Something clicked. Read More. |
Four Doctors of the Church
A brief introduction to the life and works of:
Catherine of Siena Therese of Lisieux Teresa of Avila Hildegard of Bingen |
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St. Katharine Drexel
If your father is an international banker and you ride in a private railroad car, you are not likely to be drawn into a life of voluntary poverty. But if your mother opens your home to the poor three days each week and your father spends half an hour each evening in prayer, it is not impossible that you will devote your life to the poor and give away millions of dollars. Katharine Drexel did that.
Born in Philadelphia in 1858, she had an excellent education and traveled widely. As a rich girl, Katharine also had a grand debut into society. But when she nursed her stepmother through a three-year terminal illness, she saw that all the Drexel money could not buy safety from pain or death, and her life took a profound turn.
Learn More.
Born in Philadelphia in 1858, she had an excellent education and traveled widely. As a rich girl, Katharine also had a grand debut into society. But when she nursed her stepmother through a three-year terminal illness, she saw that all the Drexel money could not buy safety from pain or death, and her life took a profound turn.
Learn More.
St. Brigid of Kildare c.452-525
Brigid of Kildare is a patroness of those who have a care for the earth, for justice and equality, for peace and reconciliation. She is a model for a contemplative life.
A great resurgence of interest in all aspects of our Celtic heritage is leading many individuals and groups to rediscover – and draw inspiration from – the lives of the early Irish saints. St. Brigid, the patroness of Ireland, is emerging as one whose life has relevance and inspiration, especially as we try to face the issues that confront our world at this time. When we look at the life of Brigid and at some of these issues we can see more clearly why she continues to be relevant today.
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