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Let us be an oasis of grace in the desert

Posted on Tuesday, July 27, 2021 by Johnnette Benkovic Williams

May the peace and love of Our Risen Lord Jesus Christ be yours today and always!

Here we are closing in on the end of July and Fall is fast approaching! We are excited about what is on the horizon for these coming three months, and I am confident much will be attained for the glory of God with your continued partnership. In addition to a virtual online retreat we are planning for October, our first IN PERSON retreat since the Pandemic is happening in September, and I’m delighted to give you the inside scoop! This will be an event planned, sponsored, and executed by Women of Grace for YOU!

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Meet the Team: Susan Brinkmann, OCDS

Posted on Monday, July 26, 2021 by Kate Mathis

It's time to meet the team that makes Women of Grace the impactful apostolate that it is!
Today we're featuring Susan Brinkmann, OCDS, who is our Director of New Age Research. We hope you enjoy learning more about Sue from her answers to the questions below. Stay tuned for regular "Meet the Team" features!
 

1 How long have you been on the Women of Grace team and how did you begin? "I began working here on January 2, 2008. Johnnette and I knew each other when I worked as a reporter for the Catholic Standard and Times of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. I used to interview her from time to time about New Age subjects. During one interview, I asked her if she knew anyone who was looking for a Catholic writer who does not compromise the faith. She said, 'I am!' The rest is history."

2 What do you love best about Women of Grace's apostolate? "My favorite thing about the Women of Grace apostolate is how it empowers women and cuts through all the confusion of our time. Our culture has a very disingenuous approach to women. It professes to be standing up for their rights, but at the same time, it promotes practices that are very destructive of women’s self-esteem such as promiscuity, abortion, birth control. These are presented as hip and liberating, even though women’s lived experience proves that the flip side of these practices – the broken relationships, the lifelong regret, sexual abuse (#MeToo) – is closer to reality. While pretending to stand up for women, our culture is actually doing the exact opposite, which is especially true for women on the ideological right who are treated like backward bimbos whose voices are deliberately stifled and/or misrepresented. All of these conflicting messages are a source of great confusion to women, which is why Women of Grace’s message - that our dignity comes from being a daughter of God, not from what this or that political group determines- is so encouraging for women. It lifts them above the politics and reminds them of who they really are, regardless of how the world wants to define them."

3 What is your favorite devotion? "My favorite devotion(s) is Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary and also Divine Mercy"

4 Who is your favorite saint? "My favorite saint is St. Therese of Lisieux."

5 If you could have lunch with Jesus today, what would you want to talk about? "If I could have lunch with Jesus, I would talk His ear off because He’s my BFF and I’d ask Him about all the things we’re working on together – my vocation as a Carmelite and a writer, my interior life, my prayer life. Everything!"

 

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Do you not care that we are perishing?

Posted on Wednesday, July 21, 2021 by Isabelle Liberatore

“On that day, as evening drew on, he said to them, 'Let us cross to the other side.' Leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, 'Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?' He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, 'Quiet! Be still!' The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them, 'Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?'" -Mark 4:35-40
Do recent events in the world or in the Church have you terrified?

We see in the above scripture passage that even the apostles, those who were closest and spent the most time with Jesus, experienced fear, doubt, and terror. When it seemed that Jesus was asleep in the boat as it was being battered by the storm, He assured them that He was with them, and instantly calmed the storm.

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Kateri Tekakwitha: Lily of the Mohawks, Daughter of God

Posted on Wednesday, July 14, 2021 by Isabelle Liberatore

“I am no longer my own. I have given myself entirely to Jesus Christ.” Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
Today is a special day here at Women of Grace. We celebrate the feast day of one of our patron saints, St. Kateri Tekakwitha, aka “Lily of the Mohawks,” who is the first Native American saint. She is the patroness of our Young Women of Grace study program.

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Do You Have a Daily Ritual?

Posted on Wednesday, July 07, 2021 by Isabelle Liberatore

“Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy." -Exodus 31:13

Do you have a daily ritual?

The Lord gives us many examples of rituals in sacred scripture: God instituted the sacrificial covenant ritual with Abram (Gen. 15:8-21); He gave us the ritual of observing the Sabbath (Ex. 8:20); He asked the people of Israel participate in the Passover each year (Ex. 12:27: 1-14); Jesus taught the apostles to pray the Our Father (Mt 6: 9-13); and He instituted the Holy Eucharist (Lk 22: 14 - 20)

We are bombarded by distractions and growing "to-do" lists. God knew that we needed routine in our lives to keep us focused on Him. Rituals help to reserve our mental and spiritual energy for what is most important.

Recently, I took a two-week vacation. My husband and I went on a road trip from Florida to New York and back again. I must admit that being on vacation, I really slacked on my daily routine and I felt a noticeable increase in frustration, agitation, impatience, and lack of peace.

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed my vacation but now that I'm back home, I'm working really hard to dust myself off and pick back up on my spiritual routine. Here is a list of a few things that I do my best to practice daily. The nice thing about having rituals/routines is that when you get off track, you can always return to them.

Morning routine:
  • Rise early
  • Praise and thank God upon waking up and say morning prayers: St. Michael, Guardian Angel, Renew Consecration to Jesus through Mary, Cardinal Mercier's Prayer To The Holy Spirit, and Memorare to St. Joseph
  • Praise music while getting ready
  • Coffee and prayer time with husband
  • Morning prayer
  • Daily mass (Several times per week, preferably daily)
  • When time permits, a short time of adoration after mass and prayer of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy
  • Daily Angelus at noon
  • Litany of Humility prior to beginning work
Evening/Nightly routine
  • Rosary
  • Quiet time of meditation with sacred scripture
  • Examen
  • Gratitude journal
  • Plan for tomorrow asking for God's wisdom

Do you have a set of rituals that keep you focused on the Lord? We'd love for you to share them with us in the comments.

Please join us for our Women of Grace Rosary Crusade, when we will take part in one of the most beautiful and powerful spiritual practices that our Catholic Church has given us.

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Click the image below to join and if you've already registered, you should receive a reminder link directly from Zoom. Please be sure to share the information below with your friends and family!

 

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St. Joseph: Counter-Cultural Example of Chastity

Posted on Wednesday, June 16, 2021 by Isabelle Liberatore

Chastity is counter-cultural. It's probably THE most counter-cultural virtue there is.
It is no coincidence that in the month that the world glorifies “Pride,” God has elevated a man whose chastity is to be revered…St. Joseph. And today, many Catholics across the globe celebrate personal devotion to his Most Chaste Heart.
What is chastity? In short, the Catechism of the Catholic Church describes chastity as follows: “Chastity means the successful integration of sexuality within the person and thus the inner unity of man in his bodily and spiritual being. Sexuality, in which man's belonging to the bodily and biological world is expressed, becomes personal and truly human when it is integrated into the relationship of one person to another, in the complete and lifelong mutual gift of a man and a woman. The virtue of chastity, therefore, involves the integrity of the person and the integrality of the gift.” CCC, 2337
Aside from Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph is the pre-eminent example of chastity. To guard the virginity of both his son and his wife, St. Joseph had to live out the virtue of chastity more perfectly than any other man. He was integrated, body and soul, and his life and sexuality were a lifelong gift in service to God, to Our Lord, and to Our Blessed Mother. A total gift of self.
Though not a liturgical feast day, many Catholics observe the first Wednesday after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in devotion to the Most Chaste Heart of St. Joseph. This personal devotion goes back as far St. John Eudes in 1600 and has also been referenced by St. Bernardine of Siena, St. Francis de Sales, and St. John XXIII.
There has even been a recent investigation and approval by the local ordinary of an apparition of St. Joseph to a young college student in Brazil to whom St. Joseph reportedly gave many promises to those who revere his Most Chaste Heart. This apparition has not received magisterial approval but is another indication of God's desire to highlight St. Joseph, for such a time as this.
Even if we choose not to embrace this personal devotion, we can certainly honor St. Joseph as a model of chastity. In a world that seems to grow more upside down and inside out every day, we need St. Joseph's counter-cultural example of chastity now more than ever.
St. Joseph, Most Chaste, pray for us.
To learn more about St. Joseph and the virtue of chastity, please enjoy these resources.
Please join us for this week's week’s Women of Grace Rosary Crusade.
---------------------------------- Click the image below to join and if you've already registered, you should receive a reminder link directly from Zoom. Please be sure to share the information below with your friends and family!

 

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Sacred Heart: Love That Crushes Evil

Posted on Friday, June 11, 2021 by Guest Blogger

by Kathleen Beckman

“Sacred Heart devotion isn’t our devotion. It’s God’s. It’s God’s devotion to us,” writes Fr. James Kubicki, S.J., in his book, A Heart on Fire. He also reminds us that the Sacred Heart devotion didn’t begin in the seventeenth century with revelations to a Visitation nun named St. Margaret Mary Alacoque—it began “before time, in the eternal Heart of God.” This truth aids the joyful rediscovery of God’s perfect love for us. God doesn’t need our love in return, but in the mystery of divine mercy, He desires our reciprocal love. God intends an abiding, loving communion with us. While our hearts are often fickle, forgetful and fearful, His heart is intently focused on us.

In the present culture, so lacking in love, our concept of love is easily distorted, distracted, and destroyed. Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a powerful provision against the destruction of authentic love. Christ is present, living and active and his Sacred Heart beats a love song that is uniquely personal.

The devil, our ancient enemy (cf. Eph 6:11-13, Job 2:1-7, Zech 3:1-2, 1 Thes 2:18, Rev 12:10) methodically plots the crushing destruction of authentic love of God and neighbor. Diabolical temptation is aimed at the distortion of God’s image, distraction from our eternal goal, and the destruction of love. When the soul experiences the absence of authentic love, it readily succumbs to the seduction of diabolical liaisons. In the Church’s ministry of deliverance and exorcism we see this repeatedly. A heart on fire with and for divine love repels the demons.

The Catechism addresses the reality of evil and our need to “fix our eyes of faith on him who alone is its conqueror”.

“God is infinitely good and all his works are good. Yet no one can escape the experience of suffering or the evils in nature which seem to be linked to the limitations proper to creatures: and above all to the question of moral evil. Where does evil come from? “I sought whence evil comes and there was no solution”, said St. Augustine, and his own painful quest would only be resolved by his conversion to the living God. The revelation of divine love in Christ manifested at the same time the extent of evil and the superabundance of grace. We must therefore approach the question of the origin of evil by fixing the eyes of our faith on him who alone is its conqueror.”

When we fix our eyes and heart on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we perceive that God’s heart is loving, omnipotent, omniscient, and protective of beloved creatures. The Sacred Heart burns with incomprehensible power to create good and destroy evil. Our focus is always the Eucharistic heart of God, not the work of the devil. Though we perceive the spiritual battle all around us, and discern well the spirits within and without, our hearts must commune with the Sacred Heart. During terrible temptations and worse diabolical onslaughts, the Sacred Heart is a refuge. Especially in Adoration, we can gaze, pray, converse, refresh, discern and be filled with the fuel of grace to resist the devil and proclaim Christ’s victory.

I’d propose seven ways that devotion to the Sacred Heart protects us from sin and evil.

1. Sacred Heart: Incarnational War broke out in Heaven at the revelation of God’s plan for the Incarnation of the Word. The rebellion of one third of the angelic beings (now called demons), occurred because they would not accept that the Son of God would become “flesh” in the lowly form of a creature born of a “woman”. Devotion to the Sacred Heart cultivates incarnational love. Honoring the human heart of Jesus Christ, loving the Incarnate Word’s living heart, empowers us to imitate Him in loving the Father, self and others. This thwarts the devil’s plan to draw us away from our Creator with doubts that God is impersonal and disinterested. Our heart united to Christ’s heart becomes an impenetrable fortress. Demons may surround the fortress but they cannot enter.

2. Sacred Heart: Eucharistic We enter the epic drama of the greatest love story ever through communion with Jesus in the Eucharist. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread. Rekindling Eucharistic amazement is a term that Pope John Paul II used in his encyclical, “Ecclesia de Eucharistia.” This amazement of the human heart enkindles the fire of divine love within. Demons despise the Humble Host. According to the saints, demons fear the disciples who live an intentional Eucharistic life. The Sacred Heart is the vessel from which flows the life-saving Precious Blood. The devil works tirelessly to keep us from Holy Communion. To the dismay of demons who curse, Eucharistic life forms a garment of praise that blesses.

3. Sacred Heart: Revelation Jesus Christ Incarnate reveals the face and heart of our Father in Heaven. We desperately need this revelation of truth for knowledge of who we are: children of God. When we accept the revelation of Jesus Christ, we know our dignity and destiny. These ground us in the truth so that when the Liar, Deceiver and Thief assails us, we stand firm in the revelation of God’s mercy. Devotion to the Sacred Heart helps us to remember the revelation; the Gospel of love. The devil methodically plots to distract us from the revelation and its relevancy. When the devil tempts us to doubt God’s existence or insinuates that He is mean or punishing, we can fly unto the protection of the Sacred Heart, remembering the revelation of divine love. Knowing who God says that I am strengthens me to resist the devil’s lies.

4. Sacred Heart: Word Pope Benedict reminded us, “We must never forget that all authentic and living Christian spirituality is based on the word of God proclaimed, accepted, celebrated, and meditated upon in the Church” (Verbum Domini, 121). From the beginning, the Word is love. The creation of mankind is deliberately orchestrated to draw all things to God wherein is the fulfillment of all desire. In the Scriptures, we read about Christ’s life on earth; His many human encounters where love manifested. His heart is touched, He weeps, heals, serves, sleeps, eats, prays—he understands men and women. This flies in the face of the devil who seeks to obliterate our awareness of the dignity given us by God. The Word has a heart of infinite love focused on you and me. The devil hates this reality because he exists in loneliness and alienation from love.

5. Sacred Heart: Altar of Sacrifice The Sacred Heart is a heart for others. Father Simon Tugwell, O. P., teaches, “The liturgy, faithfully celebrated, should be a long-term course in heart-expansion, makes us more and more capable of the totality of love that there is in the heart of Christ.” The perfect sacrifice of Christ’s love is perpetuated on the altar. This is also the proclamation of His victory over evil. The devil, personified pride, is undone by the humility of Christ on the altar of sacrifice. Love sacrifices; lays down His life. The Sacred Heart radiates love that is aimed at the other; the poor, forgotten, sick, and grieving. His heart dies and rises for our sake. Proud and spiteful, the devils envy Christ’s power to save through sacrificial love. Whenever we love sacrificially, our spiritual armor is strengthened.

6. Sacred Heart: Reparation “True devotion to the Sacred Heart depends on a proper understanding of reparation, an old theological term that is related to atonement, expiation, salvation, and redemption” writes Fr. Kubicki. In his “Jesus of Nazareth”, Pope Benedict XVI wrote, “God cannot simply ignore man’s disobedience and all the evil of history; he cannot treat it as if it were inconsequential or meaningless. Such ‘mercy’ would be that ‘cheap grace’ to which Bonhoeffer rightly objected in the face of the appalling evil encountered in his day.” Christ paid the debt of sinners. Sin continues. Believers can unite with Christ’s reparation and offer up our sufferings and sacrifices to help repair. Devotion to the Sacred Heart helps us to enter Christ’s reparative love. Thus, we reclaim territory, robbing the devil of so many souls that he’d carry to the abyss.

7. Sacred Heart: Union with Immaculate Heart The Church places the feast of the Sacred Heart on Friday and the feast of the Immaculate Heart on Saturday to reminds us their unity. Jesus Christ and His mother Mary are united in the will of the Father and they cannot be separated. Devotion and consecration to the Sacred Heart is spiritually complimentary to devotion to the Immaculate Heart. This holy liaison forms a powerhouse of protection against evil spirits. Between the Eucharistic Sacred Heart and the Virginal Immaculate Heart, there is a space reserved for you and me where no evil spirit dare to enter. Let us remain in the loving protection of the united Sacred and Immaculate Hearts where we are safe as we walk in the valley of death and evil.

Enthronement of the family to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is highly recommended by priests. For more information about this, I highly recommend Fr. James Kubicki’s book, A Heart on Fire.

Devotion affords spiritual benefits, for as Pope Benedict XVI wrote, “Our God is not a remote God intangible in his blessedness. Our God has a heart.”

To whom does your heart belong?

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Go into the world and proclaim the good news

Posted on Wednesday, June 09, 2021 by Johnnette Benkovic Williams

Johnnette Williams, Joanne Kane, and Isabelle Liberatore

May the peace and love of Our Risen Lord Jesus Christ be yours today and always!

Recently, I had the wonderful blessing to speak to a room filled with women for the St. Timothy Catholic Women's Retreat at the Bethany Center in Lutz, Florida. It was a joy to be back in our home diocese of St. Petersburg and to be reunited with so many beautiful, familiar faces and many new ones. This is one of our largest "live" events since Covid began. It was pure joy!!! If you were not in attendance, I wish you had been there with us!

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Have you embraced the battle?

Posted on Wednesday, June 09, 2021 by Isabelle Liberatore

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” -Ephesians 6:10 - 13

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