This makes me think... about the things I might pass on to my daughter.

In general, I would want to witness to my daughter that it is worthwhile to "lay down one's life" for others in imitation of Christ. I would hope she would see from my own example that one does not need to be perfect to be a wife and a mother. Nor need one be perfect to be a single woman for Christ or to be a consecrated religious -- for Christ is all-forgiving, eager to erase the past and give us fresh energies to bear the burden of our womanly roles.


By being close to Christ, in the sacraments and in prayer, we can fulfill our great feminine vocation: to live our our love for others day by day in faithfulness.


Finally, I would have my daughter steep herself in Marian devotion and frequently read the lives of women saints so that she could see how beautiful they were in their feminine warmth, charm, and faithfulness...


I would want my daughter and all women to study John Paul II's apostolic letter "On the Dignity and Vocation of Women" (Mulieris Dignatatem). It is a remarkable document...


It this letter, the Holy Father insists that no matter how badly treated a woman may be, her essential dignity comes not from attitudes of weak and often sinful human beings, but from union with God. "This dignity consists in the supernatural elevation to union with God. (n.4)" Indeed, how many times have we faithful women of the Church found ourselves, after being beaten down by the world, kneeling in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament sensing gradually that, no matter what, we are beautiful in the eyes of God.

--Ronda Chervin, Feminine, Free, and Faithful, (1995)

Got saints? Here are some great podcasts on the saints.

Happy All Saints Day!

We love the saints around here. If you're looking for some of our previous shows on saints, check out these:

AW 113 with Lisa Hendey, talking about her new book A Book of Saints for Catholic Mom

AW 51 with Ronda Chervin, discussing her Treasury of Women Saints. 

AW 17 with Gina Loehr, conversing about Real Women, Real Saints. 

 Of course, Among Women has an entire master index/archive listed by the saints we have covered.

And don't forget the Saint Cast with Paul Cammarata - an archive of over 140 podcasts!

Among Women Podcast #72: Feminine, Free, and Faithful

Among Women 72 features another look at modern feminism in light of the feminine genius -- this time, philosophy professor Dr. Ronda Chervin  sheds light on the subjects as we delve into her book, Feminine, Free and Faithful.


We also discuss Pope Benedict's papal visit to the UK and the beatification of John Henry Newman, as well as take inspiration from one of the great mother-saints of history, the queen St. Margaret of Scotland, whose image is reflected in the stained glass you see here.

Among Women Podcast #51

Among Women 51 celebrates the first anniversary of the podcast with feed back from listeners and a free drawing for Among Women coffee mugs.  (Send Pat feedback via email at amongwomenpodcast@me.com or facebook to enter your name.)

This week, Pat's guest is Dr. Ronda Chervin, a professor of philosphy with over 50 book titles.  Today's conversation focuses on the Treasury of Women Saints.

We also take a look at the life of 4th century Christian martyr, St. Catherine of Alexandria.