How many ways are there
of being a Catholic woman?
Let me count the ways...
daughter, mother, wife, grandmother, auntie,
married, divorced, widowed, nun,
unable to have a child,
straight, bisexual, lesbian, transgender,
traditional, feminist, faithful dissident,
daily communicant, returning Catholic,
recovering Catholic, agnostic, atheist,
seeking the Feminine Divine, theologian, lay minister,
contemplative, athlete, handicapped, convict,
alcoholic, recovering alcoholic, drug-addict,
prostitute, beggar, homeless, abuser, abused,
homemaker, caretaker, student, volunteer, on welfare,
blue-collar worker, white-collar worker,
executive, banker, unemployed,
self-employed, market vendor,
working part-time, working two jobs,
doctor, journalist, engineer, scientist, mathematician,
soldier, firefighter, pilot, police officer,
farmer, artisan, artist, ballet dancer,
teacher, retired,
fund-raiser, entrepreneur, millionaire,
conservative, liberal, green, leftist, Republican, Democrat,
pro-Life, pro-Choice, pro-war, peace activist,
black, brown, yellow or white,
powerless or empowered,none of the above.
Whoever you are...
And Welcome!
Before moving to the next page,
see the Madeleva Manifesto,
the message that fills me with hope & courage.
Check also the Vow of Nonviolence
The Ravensbruck Prayer
O Godde,
remember not only the men and women of good will
but also those of evil will.
And in remembering the suffering
they inflicted upon us,
honor the fruits we have borne
thanks to this suffering
— our comradeship, our humility,
our compassion, our courage,
our generosity, the greatness of heart
that has grown out of all this;
and when they come to the judgement,
let all the fruits that we have borne,
be their forgiveness.
Anonymous
I Want New Saints
I want new saints
saints with birch-tree souls
whose leaves turn color and fall
whose cruel winters freeze their
naked branches.
I want saints with sunrise eyes
whose Springs awaken sweat-sweet fertility.
musk lusty,
played out on sodden sheets,
whose golden Summers bake
their bodies brown.
I want angry saints
with molten wills
who squeeze their carbon hearts
in rage and
bring forth diamonds,
weary saints,
torn by countless beatings.
Saints who make
extravagant mistakes
and laugh,
certain that, more than perfection,
Godde desires truth.
Mary A Bowen
WomenPsalms, 78
A Psalm for Everywoman
Choir 1 Who will retrieve our stories
from the world of the unremembered?
Choir 2 Who will believe we were who we are
and did all the things we do?
Choir 1 I have seen women breaking bread
and taking the cup of salvation.
Choir 2 I have heard women preaching the word
and teaching theology.
Choir 1 I have met women in mission abroad,
restructuring church and society.
Choir 2 I have met women here at home
doing much the same.
Choir 1 I have sung songs that women have written,
but seldom in church on Sunday.
Choir 2 I have even prayed to my Mother God,
but not in the sacred rites.
Choir 1 Where are the books to record the deeds
of the prophets of the present.
Choir 2 Where are the ones who will keep and preserve
the truth of women’s ways?
Choir 1 Who will take the time we have taken
to find the lost lives of our sisters?
Choir 2 Who will seek us and find us?
Who will remember our names?
Miriam Therese Winter,
WomanWord, 266