On Saturday, October 25, Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Clermont, Florida presented a Women of Grace One-Day Conference in conjunction with Living His Life Abundantly' outreach for women. It was a remarkable day in the Lord as more than 250 women gathered at the parish to hear about the great gift of authentic femininity and God's mission for them in this 21st century.
Read the rest
Good Day Everyone!
Other than yesterday's post, it has been a number of days since I last blogged. It isn't that I haven't had anything to share, it's just that I have been out of town, back in town, out of town again for the past couple of weeks.
At any rate, I was eager to get out the post yesterday because the topic has been burning in my heart. I have spoken on it at recent speaking engagements as well as on radio, and I wanted to get it out to you. Be sure to read the post,
Are You Concerned?
Today I thought I'd give you a potpourri of thoughts and findings I have been collecting for you over the past few weeks. I am going to post them under a variety of subject headings. As you read, remember me, Living His Life Abundantly, and Women of Grace in your prayers.
Read the rest
I don't know about you, but I am concerned about the upcoming elections. Opportunity seems to be staring us in the face -- a real chance to move forward to restore a culture of life -- but yet many Catholics just don't seem to get it. And this gets me frustrated -- but not discouraged! God is in control, and He does have a plan. But that plan involves you and me. We have got to do our part.
Read the rest
It has been an edifying weekend in the Lord. We have had an opportunity to witness the abundant ways in which God is working through the Women's Care Center and the number of babies who have come into this world as a result of their efforts. May God continue to bless all those who make this happen including director Theresa Claybaugh, Terry, Giovanna, Denise, Mary Jo, Ginny, and their valuable team of volunteers who have "mothered" many new lives into the world. And, to the Board of Directors of the Women's Care Center whose advice, counsel, guidance, and leadership have provided much to Rochester community. My prayer is that we might all be encouraged by the witness and the example given to us through this apostolate. Thank you, also, to St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Greece who welcomed us to participate in their Life Chain and their prayer service for the unborn. What a grace all of you are to the Kingdom of God! Incidentally, I came to discover that the Life Chain grew out of the Women of Grace Foundational Study -- may God be praised!
Read the rest
I am in Rochester, New York, this morning eager to be with the young women and their moms who will gather this afternoon at the Diplomat Banquet Center on Lyell to speak at a Tea for Teens about the "Gift of Authentic Femininity." The Tea begins at 1:30 PM and ends at 3:30 PM.
Read the rest
I just love Catholic radio and feel so privileged and blessed that I can be part of this beautiful "electronic community" that joins people together in unique and sometimes startling ways. Yesterday's
Women of Grace Live program was especially graced and I was awestruck at the movement of the Holy Spirit through the air waves.
Read the rest
Women of Grace Outreach Coordinator, Joanne Kane, just couldn't throw away the names of the Kalispell, Montana women even though she needed to reuse their lanyards for the participants of the upcoming Women Of Grace National Conference in Sacramento, CA September 19-21. They had attended the Women of Grace One-Day Conference August 2 sponsored by St. Matthew's Catholic Church in Kalispell.
"I just couldn't throw those names away," Joanne said. "They represented the beautiful women, our sisters in the Lord, that we met there." So, heeding an internal nudge, she put the Kalispell names in the lanyards along with the names of the women who would be attending the WOG National Conference.
At the event, Joanne explained her decision to the conference attendees and suggested they pray for the Kalispell woman whose name had been entrusted to her. Thus began "Ribbon of Grace," a new prayer ministry of Women of Grace which "ties" WOGs together in a special bond of prayer and intercession.
This past weekend, the Ribbon of Grace was wrapped around the women attending the Women of Grace One-Day Conference sponsored by the Diocese of Fort Wayne/South Bend, Office of Spiritual Development and Evangelization. There, WOG attendees received the names of the Sacramento Conference participants, many of whom wrote special prayer requests on the back of their name cards. The idea was met with a standing ovation expressing the women's enthusiastic response.
While all of the women seemed delighted with the idea, for one conference attendee the Ribbon of Grace was particularly poignant. She had unexpectedly received her daughter's name who had attended the Sacramento Conference the weekend before. This delightful surprise amazed Joanne Kane who had given no attention to the Sacramento names she was slipping into the lanyards for the Indiana attendees. "This must be of the Holy Spirit," said Joanne, "I couldn't have come up with this!"
Participants coming to the Women of Grace One-Day Conference in Clermont on October 25th will receive the names of the ladies who attended the Indiana conference. And thus, the Ribbon of Grace will continue to unite Woggers nationally. In '09 those ties will become international ones. A Ribbon of Grace tying the women of the world together in prayer and intercession for each other. What a concept!
Read the rest
I just got home last evening from Winona Lake, IN where the Diocese of Fort Wayne/South Bend hosted a Women of Grace One-Day Conference at Grace College. It was a glorious day in the Lord as the capacity crowd of 350 women gathered together to experience the blessings God had in mind.
I again want to extend my thanks and gratitude to Bishop John M. D'Arcy and to Ginny Kohrman, Director of the Office of Spiritual Development and Evangelization, for their dedication and enthusiasm in sponsoring this conference and in making it a day filled to the brim with God's love. From beginning to end it was indeed grace-filled.
Thank you aslo to the women who gave of themselves so generously by participating in the many committees whose efforts made the day so special. And, of course, thank you to the many women who came to the event. What a blessing you were to me! May God bless all of you abundantly.
Our next Women of Grace One-Day Conference is October 25 at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Clermont, FL. For more information, go to
www.womenofgrace.com, click on "Speaking Engagements" and scroll down to the October 25th date. If you would like to find out about sponsoring a Women of Grace One-Day Conference at your parish or in your area, just give us a call at 1-800-558-5452 and ask for Thea at ext. 237.
Read the rest
Life just has a way of interrupting our plans, doesn't it?
I wanted to get back to you yesterday with some of the details of the Women of Grace National Conference held in Sacramento, CA last weekend but as it turned out, the day seemed to have plans of its own and suddenly it was midnight and my task was left unaccomplished. Do you know what St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) had to say about just such occurrences in her life? She said:
"When night comes, and retrospect shows that everything was patchwork and much that one had planned left undone, when so many things rouse shame and regret, then take all as is, lay it in God's hands, and offer it up to Him. In this way we will be able to rest in Him, actually to rest and to begin the new day like a new life."
And so, beginning this "new day like a new life," I now share with you about the Women of Grace National Conference.
Women Gather for Weekend of Grace
Nearly five hundred women gathered at Sacramento's Hyatt Regency Hotel located across from the Capitol for the Women of Grace National Conference the weekend of September 19-21. The Conference was preceded by the Benedicta Leadership Institute for Women.
Presenters for the Conference weekend were Catholic journalist and UN watchdog, Mary Jo Anderson; Healing the Culture's president, Camille Pauley; radio show host and Catholic journalist, Teresa Tomeo; founder and president of Real Love, Inc., Mary Beth Bonacci; Women of Grace founder and president, Johnnette Benkovic; and chaplain and theological advisor for Women of Grace and Living His Life Abundantly, Father Edmund Sylvia, C.S.C. EWTN's Raymond Arroyo was the keynote speaker at the banquet dinner on Saturday evening.
Read the rest
My Dear Sisters in Christ,
I am so eager to share with you about our most recent Women of Grace National Conference that was held in Sacramento, CA this past weekend, but I am about to head out the door to speak at St. Raphael's Catholic Church in St. Petersburg, FL. in just a few minutes, so --- I will blog about it later today. Suffice to say that it was an amazing conference! I'll be back with you later, so take a look.
Blessings in Jesus and Mary,
Johnnette
Read the rest
