Lisa Marino very suddenly became verklempt. Tears rose in her eyes, and her voice caught as she tried to continue speaking.  It was about 20 minutes into our conversation. We were sitting at a picnic table in the warmth of the sun on a bustling college campus where students and staff were hastening about on the first day of the academic year.  Marino, the assistant director of evangelization at St. Pius X Parish in Granger, traveled to campus in order to share about a new women’s ministry, She Shall Be Called Woman (which Marino abbreviates as “SHE”), which kicked off in mid-September. In our conversation, she shared her excitement about SHE’s beautiful content and focus, the genesis of its presence at St. Pius X, and how she has already seen the Lord at work through the leadership team.  Photos Provided by Lisa MorenoLeadership team members for the new women’s ministry, She Shall Be Called Woman, pose for a photo at a registration event at St. Pius X Parish in Granger. SHE’s format incorporates videos, and as Marino began to share about the first video of the series, she is cut to the heart.   “When I was watching part of the beginning video, I really had” she said, her voice breaking off. “I’m going to do it now,” Marino continued as she recovered slightly. “I had tears come to my eyes. SHE’s hitting on what I have seen in ministry for 30-plus years: The number one struggle I have witnessed – that is very deep, and some people do not admit, but it comes out in one way or another, and many people do come out and say –  is a struggle to really believe how much God loves us, or that He loves us at all.” Marino noted that she encountered this a lot through her work in OCIA programs (and, previously, RCIA programs), then told Today’s Catholic: “For us who have been Catholic for a long time, we sometimes have that same struggle, but we’ve been walking in that for so long in different ways that it’s kind of covered, and we might not even recognize that’s part of the struggle we’re having. But it comes out. … I’ve seen it in other adult faith formation ministries and in youth ministries that I’ve been involved in: this real struggle – that God could see me and want me and love me and interact with me – can be shocking for people. But this program begins by mentioning this and inviting women to consider, ‘Where are you with this?’ and ‘Who are you really?’ And I think if we are open to hearing what they’re saying, we’ll find it very powerful.” Leadership team members for the new women’s ministry, She Shall Be Called Woman, speak with and register women for one of the events at St. Pius X Parish in Granger. She Shall Be Called Woman is a new ministry from Paradisus Dei, the same organization behind That Man Is You (TMIY), a men’s ministry that has been at St. Pius X since 2019. “The way that this really began at St. Pius is that a few women heard that this was going to be starting [from Paradisus Dei] because their husbands were in TMIY and they approached Ashley Logsdon of Adult Faith Formation at that time and said, ‘We want to do this,’” Marino shared.  When Marino began her position at St. Pius X on June 1 this summer, the initial interest form responses had just come back for SHE.  The results: More than 200 women expressed interest in the program. So Marino assembled a team. “I can see the movement of the Holy Spirit in this whole endeavor already,” she told Today’s Catholic.  New to the parish, Marino didn’t yet know many parishioners, but the team quickly materialized through women who volunteered to help. “Sometimes in ministry it’s hard to find the people. And my experience thus far at St. Pius has been: I’m not having any problem finding the people,” Marino shared.  “The women who ended up coming together on this core team, as we talked about all the tasks that needed to be done, every woman had a different gift and a different task that she could offer to fulfill. We could not have planned it any better. It was amazing,” Marino told Today’s Catholic.  As with That Man Is You, creating a space to journey together in Christ is at the heart of She Shall Be Called Woman. The ministry is open to adult women of all states of life, and child care will be provided for those who need it.  Women will be assigned to a table group when they join the program, enabling them to continuously go deeper together through their discussions throughout the nine weeks of the program. “We are trying to help the women in the parish see how many sisters we have here who are open to following Christ, wanting to be led by the Spirit, seeking community in doing that,” Marino shared.  The meetings at St. Pius X will be held on Wednesday evenings. Doors will open at 6:45 p.m. for fellowship and the meetings will run from 7-8:30 p.m. There is an option to purchase a companion devotional, but nothing is required to participate in the program other than to show up.  “We don’t want women to feel like they have to bring lots of things and prepare for lots of things,” Marino shared. “They can come as they are, and they will receive something and be able to participate in something that’s very good. … We are working very hard to make the entry point easy without losing substance so that women can engage on a deeper level in their relationship with Christ but in the midst of a community of meaningful people.” Although it officially began on September 18, women are welcome to join at any time, and videos will be available online if they miss a session or two.  Like That Man Is You, SHE’s content is dictated by themes, and the videos feature well-known speakers such as Mari Pablo and Alicia Hernon. This fall’s theme is “Masterpiece of Creation,” and it will examine Pope St. John Paul II’s “The Feminine Genius.”  “It’s Scriptural,” Marino said. “Already, I can see it’s deep into John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. And it’s helping women ask the good questions of, ‘Who am I before God?’ so that we can kind of open up and be more ready to receive the free grace that we’re offered. We can be more ready to receive the forgiveness and the love. In the midst of a world that tells us we have to be everything to everyone, and earn things, and constantly be doing, this program focuses on being. So, I think that makes it very unique.” Marino further clarified: “It does not fall into the trap of focusing too much on self. … The focus is on Christ and letting Him shape our world. So it works perfectly as we’re kind of walking into this evangelization vision at St. Pius.” Marino said: “She Shall Be Called Woman invites women to remember what we have maybe forgotten as we’ve gone through all of the ministries that we’ve been involved – in the ministry of sisterhood, and the ministry of motherhood, the ministry of taking care of others, always providing for our families in many different ways. This takes us back to taking a deep breath and remembering on a deep level, kind of that original main basis from Theology of the Body: ‘Who are we?’ Not what do we do; not what do we provide; not what our characteristics are; but ‘who are we?’ And then, how do we act in the world based on that identity?” The post St. Pius X Launches ‘She Shall Be Called Woman’ appeared first on Today's Catholic.