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Writer's pictureProfiles in Catholicism
Jan 26, 202332 min read

Women’s Challenges and Leadership

Updated: Oct 4


A Message from the Editor


Women have been historically treated and second-class and third-class citizens in all countries by religions, governments, employers, and many men. There are many contributing factors, but one is the fragility of the male ego.


In this issue of Profiles in Catholicism we have featured women leaders from many countries. I hope that they will serve as role models for all women, especially the thousands of our readers who are young women in school or recent graduates.

Eileen Quinn-Knight the Vice-President of Profiles in Catholicism, a frequent contributor, and a close friend was severely injured in an auto accident and it will take her many months for her to recover. We have a prayer for her in this issue, and I hope that you will pray for her.


Alwin Rex Lazar, one of my closest friends, is seriously ill with a rare form of cancer. His brother recently died unexpectedly and he now takes care of two

families He has had to sell his house to help pay his medical bills and his medical

bills are mounting up daily. I am asking our readers to help him with a donation in any amount. Because of the exchange rate in India, $1.00 in U.S., Currency

is nearly worth $10.00 there. So any small donation from any country will help him immensely Donations should be sent to his wife’s PayPal account at Sowmiya Sowmiya @Sowmiya592. If anyone in the United States wants to make a larger tax-deductible donation, please send it to Profiles in Catholicism at https://www.catholicprofiles.org/donate and it will be forwarded to him. If you cannot send him a dollar or two, please prayer for hm. I will have a Mass said for all those who send him a donation.


Most of us have no understanding of the effect of extreme poverty on children and young people. Please read 10 Ways Poverty Affects Children by Compassion. Then read my interview with Father Julius Kanyike . He has developed a program that can reduce and reverse the impact of extreme poverty on young people in Kenya. I am asking all of our readers to send him a donation of one or two dollars. Because of the exchange rate in Kenya, a few thousand donations could support his program which could be a model for all of Kenya and other countries affected by extreme poverty.


Please read Father Hans Zollner, S.J’s Statement on women’s ordination.


A Quote to Remember


"When we speak of women, we speak in a functional way: a woman is for doing this, for doing, no! First, she is for something else: woman brings something without which the world would not be like this. She brings a richness that man and all of creation and all the animals do not have. When there is no woman, harmony is lacking. Without woman, there is no harmony.


This is a society with a strong masculine attitude. It lacks a woman’s touch. It is just that man does not bring harmony: it is she who brings that harmony that teaches us to caress, to love tenderly, and who makes of the world something beautiful. This is the future; this is what was missing. Woman comes to crown creation. She brings harmony to creation.”

by Pope Francis


Prayers



In your great mercy, Lord,

extend your hand of healing

to Eileen Quinn-Knight

and to all who suffer the aftermath of accidents

Give her courage, strength, and hope.

Guide with your wisdom the doctors, nurses, and therapists who care for her and all the sick.

And keep all of us mindful of your providential care that always accompanies us.

We pray in the name of Jesus who is Lord forever and ever. Amen



Lord God, We mourn the tragic death of your servant, Fr. Isaac. He faithfully served your Son Jesus, bringing your love to the people entrusted to his ministerial care. May the human hate responsible for his savage vanish from the hearts of the human community through the power of your Spirit.

It is through the power of that Spirit that we dare to speak that plea.



Lord bring peace and justice to the African people of Burkina Faso where our brother Father Jacques Yaro Zerbo has been murdered by men of violence. He lived for the people, he served the poor, he was an inspiration to all in his work for peace and truth, in his opposition to violence and death.


His life and death has not been in vain, he inspired many, he lifted up the poor, he was their friend, he fulfilled the Gospel message of Jesus, who said: "No greater love can anyone have than to give his life for his friends”. Lord help us to be your friends and have the courage and faith of Father Jacques to serve without counting the cost, seeking no reward, to be one with the people as you are one with us. AMEN.


A Prayer to Reduce Extreme Global Poverty


Heavenly Father,

We thank you and praise you for the gift of this life. Father at this moment we ask you to bless the humanity and lead us to the light. In this world, people are suffering from various disorders and ultimately the poverty came into existence and people are suffering in it, generations to generations.

 

Bless all the people those who are in utter poverty, and also bless all the rich people, so that they may help and bring up the poor. Dear lord in this world the problem is a lot of discrimination and also a lot of difference between the poor and the rich, always the poor becoming poorer whereas the rich becoming the richest. Bless this world and all the people in it so that all people can live a decent lifestyle, and having the basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter. So fill us with your Holy Spirit to work for the eradication of poverty; being guided by the Holy Spirit. We all work for the protection of all human values that we can dream of our world.


A Prayer to Prevent Antisemitism

Lord God, through the covenant you established with the Jewish People, we Christians have been grafted into this covenantal tradition according to St. Paul. But very often throughout history, we have shown ourselves ungrateful for this gift given us through Jesus who imbued in his teachings this Jewish covenantal tradition through acts of antisemitism. We join with Popes St. John Paul II and Francis in confessing our sins of antisemitism past and present. Through this prayer, we commit ourselves to the elimination of any remaining anti-Semitic teachings in the Catholic community and pledge to add our public voice in denouncing any manifestations of antisemitism in contemporary society. We ask your blessing so that we may have the strength to fulfill this pledge we make in your presence.


A Prayer for the Victims of Domestic Violence:


“Crowns”


Lord, you alone know what no one else knows;

You are beside me: Help me to remember you are there.


Oh Mary, I wore a crown of splendour, being chosen to be

Together, the bright sparkle of pleasure, dressing up

Looking to impress and to enjoy the other’s company,

Full of hope and the expectation of colourful days,

Small gifts, outings, cards and mutual helpfulness.


Lord, you alone know how being chosen, like a

Crowning, slips, little by little, on purpose or not?


Oh Mary, at first it seemed as if we upset each other and,

Bending the knee, as if apologies meant changes;

But then, like a circuit, we circle, wondering what

Will spark an outbreak, denting the crown a bit more,

Tilting it to slipping, wondering if we will lose it.


Lord, you alone know how a crown changes into a

Crown of thorns, the sharp ends upended and down.


Oh Mary, we are alone as our movements are tracked.

Our silence, bought by some unholy threat, is fragile,

As our every thought turns through the quagmire of

Escape, suicide, recapture, renewed torments, either

Verbal or worse, as the search for “out” goes “out”.


Lord, we hoped in change and change did not come,

Except that the thorns bit deeper and drew bloody tears.


Oh Mary, how slow we are to find the exit, as if its dark

And lightless, airless even, as we go about like dungeoned

Beasts, barely able to move unnoticed, but springing,

Like the new beginning we long for, at the opportunity

To suddenly go, begin again, get lost in a crowd and go

Lord, I know you are there, even if, at times I forget

You, for you came to make a home in me and stayed.


Oh Mary, St. Joseph, took the Holy Family to safety, take

Us, if we need to go, to a place out of reach, allowing healing-help

To come, bringing shelter from the blizzarding blasts of shame

Reproach, recrimination and withdrawal, hopelessly hoping

To forget what will not be forgotten but let forgiveness help.


Lord, I know you are both here and that you go ahead to

Where I cannot go alone, bring me the warmth of fellowship.


Oh Mary, visit the hearth of my heart, make it possible to love

Like you, in the darkness of faith, trusting in the mission of the

Church, seeking to succour us, and set a new crown upon our

Heads, signifying the enduring love that comes from you

And which will stay, night and endless day, blossoming life.


Lord, you sent your apostles into the world to seek out and

To heal illnesses, troubles and strife in all and in each of us.


Oh Mary, pass among us, opening doors and pointing the way,

Asking for our needs as you see them, inviting your Son and

His disciples to be present, to visit, to mend, to find a way to

Work together to do the good which needs to be done, undoing

The harm and transforming our experience into cutting edge help.


by Francis Etheridge, author of the now published!!!

Within Reach of You: A Book of Prose and Prayers:


be sure to check out Father Hans Zollner, S.J.’s comment on women’s ordination


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