May is one of the months that Catholics around the world celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary in a special way. Women of Grace® encourages this ancient tradition and many of our facilitators lead their study groups in a May Crowning ceremony.
This year’s Women of Grace® Retreat, which will be held from July 17-19 on the historic 120-acre campus of Orchard Lake Schools in Orchard Lake, Michigan, is the ideal setting for an encounter with the Architect of your life.
Entitled, "My Grace is Sufficient for You: Woman and God's Divine Plan," this retreat will feature Johnnette Benkovic, Fr. Philip Scott, FJ and Dr. Monica Miller in an intensive three-day immersion in what it means to be a daughter of God, and how to live out that call in this our day and time. These restful grounds, which were so dear to the heart of St. John Paul II, are the perfect place to escape the world and acquire the spiritual and emotional nourishment you need in order to empower you to engage in the unique cultural battles of our time.
“The Women of Grace Retreat always awakens what has been hiding inside of me,” says Mary Dillenback of Fishers Landing, New York. “I leave with renewed courage and joy – grateful to know I am a daughter of the Most High God and that much closer to who God needs me to be!” The retreat will be preceded by the Benedicta Leadership Institute for Women on July 16 – 17. Johnnette and Dr. Miller will discuss, “The Authority of Woman: Her Influence, Effect, and Power."
St. Rita Catholic Church Lenten Women of Grace CommencementOn the evening of February 9, 2015, St. Rita Catholic Church in Alexandria, Louisiana gathered 110 women who have committed to the journey of a Lenten Women of Grace® study program. These women are inspired by the life of St. Rita, a woman who well interpreted the "feminine genius" espoused in the study, by living it intensely in day-to-day life and particularly in her gift of spiritual motherhood. The Women of Grace study program is their path to a deeper understanding of their God-given, unique feminine gifts, and the discovery of their particular role in bringing Jesus Christ to the world.
Claire Dwyer and her family.In 1995, I was nearing graduation as a student at the Franciscan University with a degree in theology when I learned about the tragic impact of the radical feminist movement in Beijing, China. My father was a lobbyist at the UN conference on Women in Beijing and I remember sitting on the floor of my dorm room as he told me with great concern about their move to redefine gender. I knew this was wrong, very wrong, and I wanted to find out more about what the Church, in her wisdom, had taught about authentic femininity.
Pictured from left to right: Dr. Theresa Wilfert, Vickie Adams, Regional Coordinator Brenda Dooley, Facilitator Karen Brown, and Pam BilliotKaren Brown has been Catholic Charismatic Renewal of New Orleans (CCRNO) retreat devotee for 20 years. Karen answered the "call" to become a Women of Grace Facilitator at the 2014 CCRNO Retreat. She recalls, "I desired to do more to share what I had experienced in my life through the Holy Spirit." Karen’s desire and her heartfelt "yes" has certainly born the fruit of that response. The Women of Grace in attendance at this year’s CCRNO Retreat definitely agree as do all the participants from St. John's Parish. We are grateful for the faith-filled support and encouragement of Father Robert Cavalier, Pastor of St. John the Baptist's Parish whose support is indispensable!
My name is Diana Salsman and when I became the Women of Grace Regional Coordinator for Texas, I was humbled and yet eager to help all women in Texas discern the specific mission entrusted to them by Our Loving Father. As I meet many of the women during their time of learning, as well as at their Going Forth Celebrations, I am edified at the beautiful ways Our Lady and her spouse, the Holy Spirit, guide them. I recently attended a Spanish Women of Grace Going Forth ceremony. I was blessed to be among such beautiful Women of Grace, and witness deep transformations and conversions of faith. I wish to now introduce you to a couple of these women as they share their personal stories of transformation through the Women of Grace study program.
Women of Grace Christmas Caroling with the home-bound.Our Lady of Fatima Church in Lafayette launched its Women of Grace study program during Lent of 2014. The fruit of the Lenten program and the newly added Advent program has borne an evangelical sisterhood of 175 women. Through this sisterhood, the parish family is reaping the fruits of what these women have received through their “Women of Grace” study experience.
This week we will be celebrating the #WeekofGrace. It is a week to highlight the ways that women of grace are transforming lives around the world. We will feature testimonials that have been submitted on our website and via the radio program. Johnnette will be interviewing several individuals who will share their stories of hope and transformation.
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