As we wrap up a month-long celebration of St. Phoebe there’s a distinct feeling of “the overflow“–an expression Pope Francis uses to describe the experience of grace when a way, at last appears, often after a season of patient waiting. Our hope was to stoke the flames of devotion to St. Phoebe and awareness of […]
Barbara Pegg, a lay Dominican, shared this image and title of Phoebe with the circle of women preparing to reflect on the Word at my home parish in Durham, NC this weekend. It brings to mind the many women preachers I have known – Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Episcopalian, non-denominational, United Methodist, Pentecostal, AME – I […]
The week of the Opening Mass for the Synod in Rome back in October 2021, Ellie and I found ourselves in an educational meeting with a member of the Dicastery for Divine Worship. We were curious to understand what the path might look like for St. Phoebe to be restored in our calendar of saints, which would […]
As many of you have heard – the working document for the global synod called the Instrumentum Laboris was published three weeks ago. We have been overjoyed with the extraordinary good news – that the state of the question of women’s roles in the Church was indeed named as one of the priority themes to […]
Responsorial Psalm: The Lord hears the cry of the poor (Psalm 34:7) Two weeks ago the Instrumentum Laboris–the document that will guide the Church in the next phase of the global synod–was released in Rome and shared with the world. I was driving in a truck in Rondônia out of Porto Velho, Brazil on our […]
Greetings on this Feast of the Visitation! Today seems like a fitting one to share good news with you friends, pilgrims, and fellow discerning deacons…I’m expecting! In our household, this is a source of tremendous delight and anticipation. My about-to-turn 11 and 9 year-old keep track of the baby’s developments, and they eagerly await the […]
Resurrection | St. John’s Bible | Donald Jackson Reflection for Tuesday, Octave of Easter She saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus. Then she mistakes him for the gardener – actually, she accuses him of being a grave robber “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and […]
Our friend Elizabeth Young in Australia had a chance to interview Sr. Nathalie Becquart while she was in Australia as part of the Oceania continental assembly. Check out the full interview here. I’ve reprinted an excerpt here that inspired this week’s reflection! Elizabeth: Through this synodal process, how do you see the promotion and expansion of the […]
The USCCB has been working in concert with the Canadian Catholic Bishops to carry out 10 virtual sessions (only a few remaining!) and formally consult with bishops and lay delegates during the continental stage of the global synod. The USCCB will also host a listening session for national organizations that are contributing to the process in “Region […]
Venerable Henriette DeLille, founder of the Sisters of the Holy Family, a community of African American women, pray for usSt. Gertrude the Great, writer and mystic with a love for the heart of Jesus, pray for usSt. Margaret of Scotland, encourager of Church synods, pray for us One of the gifts of participating in a […]
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