Catholic Women go on strike for Lent, but women priests-led communities don’t! https://www.ncronline.org/news/catholic-women-go-lenten-strike-highlight-their-work-church

Happy International Women’s Day- Catholic Women go on Strike and Catholic Women Priests led Communities welcome all to celebrate Eucharist/ Mass with us.

https://arcwp.org/ministries/inclusive-catholic-communities/

Join inclusive Catholic communities led by women priests during strike and after!

Join our MMOJ community on Saturdays at 4:00 pm Eastern time.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/93473708926?pwd=VHFKZGJ5N3ljbzZtVU1qQVRZY1lodz09

Meeting ID: 934 7370 8926

Passcode: 552967 

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Theme: A Lent of Wellbeing and Witness

https://8irde5bab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001r3LxZQYmNUjHuqgvo-9GhDqEGxOjA9CQc2YOH9zkNMhMtR3mgiH15LFVLtWe4eo8bgy-M-wz5uFUCwH1zoeX-2Qrv-C2HOFmmmQSu2O4QEqubT3k3roe-1OT7VWMS50gqTZF0FXDkmYtdUQEeObzvY59OzkvbJMu8nj4HzhKORxpMTggFisgspWw-pLGJ2cqInWWK698KAS-T15Tj7eOSrQCLEmJdKCVHHIE5GWf_afYqSTMhklJ-g==&c=F8O-PDgpIpQUVLVhR-ZSgx4TCt4nXn2I4AGvu8qATAPvZL0Eq_JZZQ==&ch=iB3zSCR2qFKAmSV3YWx5AB7T9BvU2E2rAA6d_074dNsScv30re1CVg==

 As Lent began on Ash Wednesday (March 5), Catholic women frustrated over being disenfranchised by the church despite promises of greater recognition are going on strike, withholding numerous services and ministries to their Catholic parishes, schools and universities.

Organized by the Women's Ordination Conference, a 50-year-old group based in Rome that advocates for women to be made priests, bishops and deacons, the Catholic Women Strike is planned to go through Easter, April 20. It also includes a day of action on March 9, where women are invited to protest and advocate for greater inclusion and influence in the church.

"We're calling the women of the Catholic Church to join together in striking from sexism by withholding labor, time and financial resources from the church during Lent, " said Kate McElwee, executive director of the Women's Ordination Conference.

Catholic women urged to 'strike' over inequality in the church

The conference has prepared a toolkit to answer questions about how to participate in the strike, suggesting that women refrain from attending Mass, send letters to their local priest or bishop highlighting the need for recognition of women's roles or withhold donations and work. According to church data, women perform the vast majority of the work in churches and dioceses and make up 80% of lay ecclesial ministers.

The recently ended Synod on Synodality, a three-year-long global consultation of Catholic faithful called by Pope Francis in 2021, raised hopes that the church might open the door for women to be ordained as deacons, who may perform some of the church's seven sacraments and preach at Mass. Women's roles in the church was among the top concerns of Catholics in the consultation that went on in parishes and dioceses, with most saying they'd like to see women have a greater say in decisions.

But before the synod's final meeting in Rome, where women were given a vote in the proceedings alongside bishops and other clergy, the pope put the brakes on the push for women deacons, saying the question "was not yet mature." He instead created a study group to further discern the church's options. 

"Following the Synod on Synodality and the lack of concrete actions for women and women's greater participation in the life of the church, there was a lot of disappointment, anger and heartbreak," said McElwee.

Why I’m fasting from the church for lent

 https://uscatholic.org/articles/202503/why-im-fasting-from-the-church-for-lent/

By Kathleen Bonnette

Sometimes, healing requires fasting from a harmful situation in order to reclaim our humanity. To this end, I have decided to join the movement underway, organized by Catholic Women Strike, that invites “women of the church to join us in striking from sexism by withholding time, labor, and financial resources from the church during Lent 2025.”

For me, this will look like cancelling a Sunday morning discussion group on social justice that I had planned to offer, despite believing that the class would be meaningful. At this moment, it is too painful to volunteer my time and energy to lift up the social teachings of our church, while institutionally it undermines them. I hope that this practice of fasting from the church will help me gain a sense of healthy boundaries, which will enable me to participate in the life of the church without becoming exploited…”

Cultivate your mystical soul with a wild God

John O ‘Donohue believed that Meister Eckhart’s idea of God was “ that there is nothing closer to us than God. That is what made the Church suspicious - a down to earth God- “an incredibly wild kind of God.”

Prayer practices for Lent:

Pay attention to the divine presence within you  and within  creation. The mystery is not the ladybug,  the ladybug is the mystery!

Be aware that everything and everyone has their origins in the heart  of God. Be at- home  in the universe.

Delight in the wonders of a down to earth God!

Ashes to Go- Prayer Service and Distribution of Ashes on March 5, 2025

 https://youtu.be/2C-1U8g6h5k

Ash Wednesday Service Prayer

Loving and Gracious God,

On this Ash Wednesday, we pause to remember our place in the great story of creation. We are stardust and breath, formed by Your love, sustained by Your grace. In this season of Lent, we turn our hearts toward You with a longing to be transformed by Your boundless compassion.

 

As we receive these ashes, let them be not only a sign of our mortality but also a symbol of renewal—a reminder that from stardust, You create new life. May this be a season of deep reflection and courageous love. Where there is brokenness, may we seek healing. Where there is injustice, may we work for peace. Where there is suffering, may we be a presence of hope.

 

Help us to release what no longer serves Your vision of wholeness and love. May our fasting be a practice of justice, our prayer a deepening of connection, and our giving a response to Your abundant grace.

 

Lead us in the way of Jesus, who walked with the outcast, lifted up the weary, and embodied Your radical love for all people. As we journey toward Easter, may we be renewed in spirit, ready to rise with Christ into new life.