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It is a standing date that I look forward to every other Sunday afternoon with great excitement.
My dear friend MC and I meet at a cozy cafe in Detroi. There we splurge for a delicious drink (and, OK, maybe a sweet treat too).
We begin our time by unpacking our lives.
We share our hearts about current joys, sorrows and everything in between.
We talk about dating and marriage, work and careers. We discuss things we are reading that are inviting us to grow, our struggles with the church — and where we find hope anew
This holy time blesses me in more ways than I can describe.
Part of the reason MC and I meet with such frequency is that we have created an intimate little book club.
We discuss Catholic Women Preach: Raising Voices, Renewing the Church by Elizabeth Donnelly and a wide assortment of incredible female voices.
It is both life-giving and challenging. It bears fruitful conversations for us as friends and as two laywomen willing to ask deep questions. We consider what we believe, what we struggle with and where we find our place in the church.
Catholic Women Preach meets a sacred yearning.
This is to have and hear women’s voices in the church through the unique perspective of their preaching.
This book was born from the good work of organizations like FutureChurch and Catholic Women Preach.
They answer a call to lift up the voices of women in the church.
This is one of the primary themes emerging from the synod on synodality called forth by Pope Francis. The timing of this is not a coincidence.
The book is based on the Lectionary of the Sunday readings in Cycle A.
That is the current cycle of the liturgical year. Every week a different female writer, theologian or teacher breaks open the Scripture readings. She shares her own wisdom and perspective, while connecting to the current world we live in.
No topic is taboo for these women; they face it all head-on with a grace and honesty that invites the reader to make connections to their own lives.
I look forward to reading it each Sunday morning with my cup of coffee as I reflect on the Scriptures before going to Mass. My own copy is dog-eared and marked up.
These voices have become my companions in my spiritual walk, and I feel grateful for them.
Each woman featured in this volume is in many ways a “spiritual midwife”.
She is birthing something new and necessary into the world. Midwives support women in the middle of the birthing process — encouraging and supportive, they help bring about a new reality: a baby. In the same way, these women are bringing about a new reality through their teaching words.
In hope, we trust that these spiritual mothers, midwives and teachers will help bring about change and reform when it comes to women’s roles in the Catholic Church.
- Patty Breen is a writer, storyteller, improv actor and lay minister based in the metro Detroit area. With over a decade of ministerial experience, she is currently serving as a ministry formation manager for Ascension Michigan.
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