Prayer to Our Lady of Victory
O sweet and gentle Lady, Immaculate Mother of God,
we beg you to be our Mother now and all the days of our life.
shield us Mother Mary with your holy mantle that nothing of the
enemy could harm or molest us.
Ask your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ to spare us
from any calamities that will cause our life misery.
Pray for us that we may lead a life pleasing to Him,
and when our end comes present us to Him and
may we live in His kingdom forever and ever,
Amen.
Our Lady of Victories, please pray for us.
It is with great joy and zeal that Women of Grace® presents its new groundbreaking website (www.womenofgrace.com) to the women of the world today, on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. We hope that you will help us to share the good news about this exciting new extension of the Women of Grace® apostolate.
The new website uses various aspects of electronic communications to complement our mission to transform the world, one woman at a time, by affirming women in their dignity and vocation as daughters of God and in their gift of authentic femininity. Through on-line video and audio presentations, podcasts, document libraries, blogs, and dozens of other resources, Catholic women will find the information and the inspiration they need to live out their feminine genius in their marriages and families, professions and careers, and in the world at large.
One of the most exciting features of this groundbreaking new website is GracePlace, a social communications network that unites women from around the world in a virtual community setting. Women of Grace® is one of the first Catholic women's outreach to use this high-powered social network platform. It marks a significant moment in the history of the apostolate and its ability to achieve its mission.
In GracePlace, women can network with other sisters in Christ as near as their own parish communities or with women who live half a world away. Discussion groups, a shared resources library, leadership development, training tips, and events calendars provide just a glimpse of how faithful daughters of the Church can come together for encouragement, inspiration, instruction, information, and restoration. Simply stated, we are confident that all Catholic women will find a home at GracePlace.
Updated daily, there is always something new at the Women of Grace website. I hope you will visit us often!
I faithfully remain, your sister in Christ,
Johnnette Benkovic
During a fundraiser in St. Louis earlier this week, President Barack Obama bragged about a new regulation that will force religious institutions to provide birth control coverage for their employees, a rule the U.S. bishops have denounced as an "unprecedented attack on religious liberty."
Because of her long history of religious provocation, Catholics are rallying across the country to convince the NFL not to feature Madonna during Super Bowl XLVI.
Brenda Dooley of Lafayette, LA summed up her conference experience by stating, "In a profound and spiritual revelation I realized that God heals the child in me in order to mature my womanhood/motherhood and in turn how He can touch a small insignificant life like mine and use it to heal the world beginning with one person, one family, one community, one country."
Women in attendance represented three continents (North America, Africa, and Europe) and four countries (the US, Canada, Ghana, and Ireland) and, though geographically diverse, all of the women were united in the common bond to imitate Our Lady by giving their "fiat" to God's will for them.
"This conference has changed my way of thinking and feeling about a lot of things. It has inspired me to be a better mother, wife, sister...to be a woman of Grace!" said Monica Gonzalez of Florida.
The conference was preceded by the Benedicta Leadership Institute for Women conducted by Johnnette Benkovic. A maximum group of 80 women attended the Institute. The theme was "The Building Blocks of Catholic Women's Leadership." Based on the virtues, attributes and guiding influence of the Blessed Virgin Mary, this foundational offering of the Institute helps women find a truly Catholic response to the issues, circumstances, and challenges they face in today's world both personally and corporately. The Institute's dynamic utilizes a variety of modes of communication. Part lecture, part discussion, part workshop, and part participant presentation, women attendees discover a Catholic lens through which to view the gift of their authentic femininity and the influece it can have to "aid humanity in not falling."
And the effect is contagious. Women of Grace co-facilitator. Michaelyn Hein of the Diocese of Metuchen, received a dose of holy zeal from her mother's attendance at the Benedicta Leadership Institute. She comments in GracePlace, "My mom just came home from the leadership institute in Florida so invigorated and inspired, and I'm getting fed again off her enthusiasm and passion. It's exciting me for the kickoff of another year's Full of Grace study in our parish as I help her facilitate."
The first nine regional coordinators of Women of Grace were installed at the Conference's opening liturgy. A tenth regional coordinator was installed the following weekend in Buffalo, Wyoming. The Women of Grace movement is growing and expanding throughout the United States and beyond.
For more information about the Conference including pictures taken by conference attendees, go to GracePlace and log-in. [gallery]
MM asks: "If energy medicine and other alternatives are scientifically unsubstantiated, why are so many of them showing up in U.S. hospitals?"
Living His Life Abundantly International, Inc.® / Women of Grace® has provided inspiring and informational content for FREE through our blog for more than twenty years. To continue our mission, we need your help. We are seeking a one-time contribution or a monthly donation to support the continued growth and expansion of this free resource. We are abundantly grateful for your support.
