A Catholic Monthly Magazine

Tag Archive for ‘women’

Sunday 19 December

4th Sunday of Advent Micah 5:1-4; Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-44 Blessed are you among women Elizabeth is not the first person to pronounce this particular blessing. Israelites prayed it over Jael in the time of the Judges. Joakim prayed it over Judith when Assyria was the dominant Middle Eastern power. Both […]

Friday 17 September

1 Timothy 6:2-12; Psalm 49; Luke 8:1-3 The role of women Today we hear that Jesus went to many places proclaiming the Good News. Women are identified as being there “as well.” Fortunately, the women “had been cured of ailments and evil spirits” and had therefore made the cut to be there. These same women […]

Sunday 15 August

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (S) Apocalypse 11:19, 12:1-6, 10; Psalm 45; 1 Corinthians 15:20-26; Luke 1:39-56 Blessed among women We honour Mary especially today. Our early missionary, Bishop Jean-Baptiste Pompallier, in the Hokianga in 1838, celebrated his first Mass in Aotearoa and dedicated our land to Mary in her Assumption. So, we remember […]

The Annunciation and Us

In his General Audience of 23 October 2013, Pope Francis said, At the Annunciation, the Messenger of God calls Mary ‘full of grace’ and reveals his plan to her. Mary answers ‘yes’, and from that moment Mary’s faith receives new light: it is concentrated on Jesus, the Son of God, who took flesh from her […]

8 February: Day of Prayer Against Human Trafficking

St Josephine Bakhita was born in Darfur, Sudan, in 1869. She was nine when she was kidnapped and sold as a slave, so traumatised by the experience that she could no longer remember her name. Her captors named her ‘bakhita’, which means ‘fortunate’. In 1882, she became the property of the Italian consul, whose family […]

Wednesday 25 December

Christmas Day (S) Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalm 98:1-6; Hebrews 1:1-6; John 1:1-5, 9-14 We saw his glory The true light that enlightens all women and men has come into the world. So brilliant, the darkness cannot overcome it. We have seen his glory. Or have we? A strange and mystifying splendour it is — a helpless […]

Friday 20 September

STS ANDREW TAEGON, PAUL CHONG HASANG AND COMPANIONS (M) 1 Timothy 6:2-12; Psalm 49; Luke 8:1-3 The women who followed Jesus What a beautiful passage! Not only Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Susana but many other women followed Jesus with his apostles! We might recall that, apart from the beloved disciple, it was only the women […]

MM 50 Years Ago

As we see it … the “giant leap for mankind” All of us would echo the words of the Holy Father in his dedicatory inscription that was placed on the surface of the moon: “For the glory of the name of God who gives man such power, we pray and wish well for this marvellous […]

Sunday 23 December

4th Sunday of Advent Micah 5:1-4; Psalm 79 (80):2-3, 15-16, 18-19; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-44a Knowing what God has done for her Often biblical women are unnamed. Elizabeth is extraordinary. Not only is she named, we are told she is from the priestly tribe of Aaron. After she becomes pregnant, her lifelong relationship with God […]

Friday 21 December

Song of Songs 2:8-14 or Zephaniah 3:14-18; Psalm 32 (33):2-3, 11-12, 20-21; Luke 1:39-45 In their bodiliness When she heard Mary’s greeting, the Spirit-filled Elizabeth offers the first of the many blessings in this gospel. She blesses Mary in her own person first, in her own right, and then after that blesses the fruit of […]