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Sts. Perpetua and Felicity died on March 7, 203

The annals of the Church are full of examples of courageous Catholic women, but few can rival the tale of a young nursing mother and a pregnant woman who showed such fierce courage in the face of death that even the hardest Roman soldiers were brought to their knees.

The story of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, whose feast we celebrate today, was recorded by the hand of Perpetua herself as well as others who knew the women. This account, known as "The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity," was so popular in the early centuries that it was often read during liturgies.

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Woman of Grace: St. Katharine Drexel (1858 - 1955)

It's only fitting that as we march forward in the battle for religious freedom, we have the opportunity to celebrate the Feast of St. Katharine Drexel, a pioneer of civil rights and activism.

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Woman of Grace: St. Scholastica (480 – 543)

St. Gregory the Great recounts this story from the life of St. Benedict’s beloved twin sister, St. Scholastica, which shows how expressing our petitions to God with childlike faith and confidence sometimes yields immediate and amazing results.

After Benedict founded a monastery for men, Scholastica remained very close to her brother, founding a convent for women some miles away. Every year Scholastica went to visit Benedict at a little place just outside the monastery gate.

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Woman of Grace:  St. Josephine Bakhita (1869 – 1947)

It is natural to express thanksgiving for being released from difficult trials and circumstances. But who would be grateful for those who cause such difficult trials or circumstances? This is the stuff of saints — the very stuff of which Saint Josephine Bakhita was made.

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Today is our 25th Anniversary in Catholic communications. I can’t believe it!  What a joy it has been to proclaim the Good News of Our Lord, Jesus Christ around the world!  And what an absolute pleasure and privilege it has been for both Fr. Ed and I to work together in this apostolic work.  We appreciate your love and support!

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There was little mention of the March for Life from main stream media and if reported at all, the numbers were inaccurately described as in the “thousands.  There were no counter protesters, although reported as such, but only joyful, prayerful, massive pro-life crowds!

I pondered these things in my heart as I participated in the annual March for Life on Monday. It was the 39th sad memorial of the passage of Roe V. Wade. Since that date over 53 million babies have been lost, mothers have been scarred for life and families devastated.

Determined to make a difference, walking shoulder-to-shoulder, umbrella-to-umbrella the massive March for Life crowd was jubilant, hopeful…and YOUNG. Those who had attended in prior years returned in solidarity and renewed vigor; those who were attending for the first time were in awe and uplifted.

We marched as Women of Grace in full knowledge that “for such a time as this” we were created for a specific purpose and to impact the culture. We marched with the director of our local Christian pregnancy resource center, who was overcome with emotion and thanksgiving for the presence of God she was witnessing. We marched with a young Polish priest, in our country for just 5 months, who was amazed by the hundreds of thousands of peaceful, prayerful, joyful people he encountered.

As we approached the Supreme Court building our young priest searched for the precise words to express the moment. “I am full, and I struggle to control my emotions. This (legalized abortion) is Satanic!”

“For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths.” -2 Timothy 4:3-4

My dear sisters in Christ please continue to be heartfelt, determined Women of Grace, nurturing life to the full. Pray for God’s grace and mercy to be manifest in our country. Ask Our Mother to guide you and give you her heart to transform our culture.

I pray that it would be unnecessary to March in 2013. Perhaps, however, we should consider marching together next year as Women of Grace full of joy, hope and grace?

Your thoughts?

Peggy Pritchard is a Women of Grace® facilitator and Regional Coordinator.  She and Vicki Crispo conduct studies in York, PA and will be hosting the Women of Grace Healing the Wounds of the Heart Retreat and are both lay associates of the Missionaries of the Gospel of Life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ven. Thecla Merlo (1894-1964)

Venerated January 22, 1991 by Pope John Paul II

Meditation on Sacred Scripture and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament have been the foundation of prayer for many women destined to be great spiritual mothers. Such was the case with Maestra Thecla, first Superior General of the Daughters of St. Paul founded by Father James Alberione. Teresa Merlo was a pious young Italian woman whose family was alive with Catholic piety and devotion. She had been trained as a seamstress but desired to enter religious life. Her brother, a seminarian, introduced her to Father Alberione who was looking to form a feminine congregation dedicated to spreading the Gospel through the press. With faith and trust in God, Teresa said "yes" to Father Alberione’s suggestion that she join the group of women he was forming. In 1922 she was consecrated to serving the Lord along with nine other women. This new order, called the Daughters of St. Paul, was forging new apostolic ground in the area of mass communications and women religious. Teresa chose the name "Thecla" in honor of St. Thecla, the early follower of St. Paul.

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"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given."  -Isaiah 9:6

My Dear Friends in Christ,

As we enter the final days of Advent and begin our journey into the season of Christmas, we joyfully anticipate the great gift of the Christ Child and all that His birth has meant to humanity.  Our hearts are filled with gratitude for this unfathomable gift. 

We are also filled with gratitude for all that you have done to support the mission of Women of Grace and all of our outreaches.  We wish all of our benefactors, customers and friends the peace, joy and love of Jesus Christ and pray that the He will fill your hearts with His Love and Peace!  May the coming New Year bring you "every spiritual blessing in the heaven!" (Ephesians 1:3)

All of the staff of Living His Life Abundantly® and Women of Grace® offer our prayers for you and your intentions during this Christmas season.  We ask you to please remember us and the efforts of our apostolate during your times of prayer!  I would also ask you to prayerfully consider making a sacrificial year-end donation to assist us in our mission of evangelization for the coming year. 

May you and your families have an even greater experience of the presence of the Child Jesus and His Holy Mother, Mary in the deepest recesses of your soul this Christmas and always!

God bless you!

With gratitude,

Johnnette S. Benkovic and Staff

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To all Women of Grace  Facilitators, Members, and those thinking about becoming Facilitators:

I had an experience one recent morning that I knew was meant not for me alone, but for all Women of Grace . . .

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450 women gathered at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in Indialantic, FL the weekend of September 23-25 for the Women of Grace 11th National Conference. It was a time of prayer, healing, hope, and inspiration. The Conference theme was "Healed for Holiness: Mending the Wounds of the Heart." Johnnette Benkovic (president and founder), Father Edmund Sylvia, C.S.C. (chaplain and theological adviser), Father Philip Scott, F.J. (conference speaker), and Mary Jo Anderson (Catholic journalist and commentator) gave poignant talks and testimonies concerning the transformative power of God the Father's love, the gift of the Blessed Virgin Mary's spiritual beatitude, and today's culture's urgent need for the feminine genius to be lived and expressedin families, institutions, and the public square.

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]

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