July 6, 2023 — What makes a prayer “feminist?”
Shannon Evans — author, retreat facilitator, and the spirituality and culture editor at National Catholic Reporter — is back on the pod today to reflect on exactly that question. She has a great new book out, a compilation of prayers, called “Feminist Prayers for My Daughter: Powerful Petitions for Every Stage of Her Life.”
And let me assure you, this book is for everyone. Not only does it provide spiritual accompaniment, but also demands that we ask questions like:
What would the Psalms have sounded like if they’d been written by women? What life experiences do we need to better integrate and lift up in our prayer? What images and understandings of God do we need now, in this moment, to better deepen our relationship with our Creator?
Shannon shares her reflections on these questions, as well as insight into her own writing journey — and some hot takes mystics and why they’ll be the topic of her next book.
A brief warning: There is mention of sexual abuse around minute 15 of this episode. No details are given, and the context is Shannon’s own surprise about the power of her book’s prayers in very challenging situations.
We invite you to check out the show notes to find links to Shannon’s website, books and Substack.
Additional Resources:
AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.
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