On the canonisation of four women on 13 October 2019.

• Marguerite Bays, Swiss dressmaker and laywoman, who served her parish community.
• Dulce Lopes, Brazilian sister nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize twice, who founded a charity for healthcare and education.
• Mother Mariam Thresia, and Indian mystic who founded the Congregation of the Holy Family and worked with the sick.
• Mother Giuseppina Vannini, Italian sister who founded Daughters of St Camillus and served the sick.

Loving God, we give thanks for the lives of these and all women who, through faith, lived the Gospel humbly and simply. We remember inspirational women in our own lives who have shaped us as we grow in faith and love. We give thanks for courageous women and men who challenge stereotypes and work for reform wherever there is injustice. Let us look to Mary as model of strength and inspiration, standing in faith against social pressures to do the work of God. Let the Spirit guide us where she wills.

Photo by Melanie Wasser on Unsplash