Women of Grace

Posted by Adrienne

Swim team is (finally) over.  The school supplies have been in stores for several months now.  You’ve signed the kids up for all of their fall activities.  School must be right around the corner…

So how about you?  What are your plans for the fall?

Treat your soul to a wonderful deepening of your Catholic faith and prayer life.  The Women of Grace Study draws upon Sacred Scripture, magisterial teaching, Church doctrine, lives of the Saints and the Catechism.  The study uses DVD lessons, a workbook and small group discussions.  The study focuses on the Church teaching of authentic femininity, our Blessed Mother as the perfect example of spiritual motherhood and how we can each shine with the light of Christ.   Click here to preview the first two chapters of the workbook.

 Over 50 women of all ages (20s to 70s!) have participated in past Women of Grace studies at St. Raphael and all said they would recommend the study to a friend!  Here is what some of the women had to say about the study:

• “The study is a great refresher in our Catholic faith. The materials help you learn about all of the great resources you can draw upon during the study and for the rest of your life. 
• Meeting and knowing more women of all ages in the parish is a wonderful experience!
• It was an opportunity to carve out the time to concentrate on my spiritual life
• The study helped my faith come alive which is invaluable as I work to pass on our Catholic faith to our children!
• It's a wonderful way to spend time with other women who are striving to grow their spirituality and to deepen own personal faith.
• I learned things that I don't remember being taught in Catholic School, I loved the structure and the formation of the content, I plan to "re-do" the entire study on my own, I believe this class could be taken over and over again, and you would still find value.
• All of it worked together. What made it excellent was that it included the saints, Catechism, encyclicals. It is the truth of our faith. It helped us move out of ourselves and look into the deeper meaning of who we are as women. 
• One cannot walk away from this study without some growth.
• Everything - each chapter -  seemed written specifically for me.” 

A handful of St. Raphael women who have participated in the study over the past three years have brought friends from other Christian faiths who just delighted in learning the truth and richness of our Catholic faith - praise God!

The author of the Women of Grace study is EWTN presenter, Johnnette Benkovic.  If you’ve ever seen Johnnette's Abundant Life or Women of Grace tv programs, you know how devoted she is to our Blessed Mother and how much she treasures our Catholic faith.  You can read more about the study at Johnnette's web site.  

The eight-session study at St. Raphael will meet every other Friday morning in the Youth Center at 9:30am-11:00am from September 21, 2012 – January 11, 2013 (with time off for the holidays).  Each participant uses a book and a workbook which together are $41.  Scholarships are available. 

We also have a plan for working women so you won’t miss out on this wonderful faith-building experience!

For more information, or to register, contact Adrienne at 301-340-9695 or at StRaphaelGrace@aol.com

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