God's Call to Women: Twelve Spiritual Memoirs

Mugridge introduces this 12-chapter collection as personal thoughts and testimony on the Church and the Catholic faith that demonstrates "the unique feminine presence and contribution active today." The authors, Catholics by birth or through conversion, came of age between World War II and the 1980s. They write from many perspectives: marriage, motherhood, widowhood, consecrated life. A number are founders or early members of such groups as the Focolare Movement and Family of America. Several hold doctorates and teach at universities. All have a strong devotion to the Blessed Mother as the model for Catholic femininity, and many express deep admiration for Pope John Paul II and gratitude for his acknowledgement of women's vocation in the Church and the world. Though their ministries often involve issues that are controversial, even among practicing Catholics, their overriding common message, as Mugridge points out, is one of hope and celebration. And all of the contributors offer inspiration for women working out their salvation in the modern world, as shown in the following examples. In A Deeper Purpose, Maureen Roach writes, "I am finding my purpose by knowing, loving, and serving God, as his beloved and in my calling to love and serve others as a wife, mother, grandmother, and friend." In God Writes Straight on Crooked Lines, Joy Shiroi writes, "I am happy to be a woman in the Church in these years of change. I think we have a very special job to do, using our feminine gifts--our love, our womanhood--to bring peace to our families, to our friends, and to our parishes."