Mary, our Blessed Mother, Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, Mary and Martha, Lazarus’ sisters; Veronica (from the Catholic tradition), Mary Magdalene…these are women whose stories I have heard and some that I have proclaimed since my early years as a confirmed Catholic.  These are women in whom I have seen pieces of myself throughout my development as a devout Catholic. These are saints who have inspired my spiritual journey along with those closer to my times, like Mother Teresa and the Servant of God, Sister Thea Bowman.

I, however, had not sat with the words in Romans 16; 1-2, until I attended prayer services with Discerning Deacons:

“I commend to you our sister…receive her in the Lord…for she has been a benefactor to many…”

I felt a recognition of these words deep in my being. I thought of the Phoebes in my life:  my grandmother Isabel, my religion teachers- lay and nuns; my mentors in youth groups, my role models in young adult ministries; the mothers of the Church in my Germantown, Philadelphia parish; my own mother, and then I even dared to look at myself. 

I find joy in service as something that I am called to do, whether I am interpreting, proclaiming, praising in song and dance, teaching or offering reflections; distributing communion, visiting the sick, supporting individuals in mental health crisis and women confronting abuse; counseling parents of neurodivergent children or holding and feeding babies in the intensive care nursery. I just want to be of service, taking Jesus to everyone and encountering Jesus in everyone, for the glory of God, and in gratitude for what God has done in me. 

Therefore I march on, celebrating St. Phoebe and discerning diakonia, locally and nationally, with many more like me, for many more like me, guided by the Holy Trinity. We are serving the discernment, listening, rethinking, imagining, hoping, praying, doing…for a Church that truly welcomes everyone who surrenders to God’s love.