Women are made for Theosis! We have a calling shown in our scriptures, prayers, saints’ lives and tradition to teach and evangelize. The talks on Saturday brought to light some buried truths about women and God, and I hope you found them encouraging.
Thank you for joining me at the OCW Retreat last Saturday! Below you will find the slides, handouts, and some sources from the talk.
Did you know that the Myrrhbearing Women were fulfilling prophecy when they were the first to bear the glad tidings of the Resurrection? Many English translations of Psalm 68 (67LXX) obscure this fact, but our Paschal Stichera remember it! Want to know more? Contact me at summerkinard at gmail dot com to have me come speak to your retreat!
We also talked about St. Veronica (follow this blog for an interactive lesson on her story in the Gospel of Luke 8, coming soon!), St. Irene, and St. Agatha. Other well known women saints known for their evangelism include Protomartyr and Equal to the Apostles St. Thekla and St. Nino Equal to the Apostles and Enlightener of Georgia.
In the second talk, “Great Was the Company of the Women Who Bore the Glad Tidings,” we learned that evangelism is bearing witness to what you know of God, to your personal experience of God with you. After looking at the lives of saints to see how we might share them as though they are real and examples of virtues, we participated in exercises to help us see our relationships with God more clearly.
For further reading:
Peter Brown, The Body and Society gives an overview of the pagan view of women that still persists to a degree in our culture. (amazon affiliate link)
Never settle for a vision of women less than Theosis. We are made in God’s image in order to grow into God’s likeness. That is reason for women: Salvation.
I was present and receiving this blog link was a real treat. You are so very generous❤ Thank you