I am pleased to announce that I will soon be publishing my first book, Women Give Voice to Wisdom: Praying Lectio-Visio Divina. Book launch is currently scheduled for July 12, 2025.

Have you been trying to begin a contemplative path but struggling to calm the mind and find an approachable focus? Women Give Voice to Wisdom pairs spiritual words of wisdom from women across the ages with original artwork that can be used for prayer or meditation. Simply sitting with the artwork and quotes in this book will help you slow down and develop a meditative approach to your journey toward wholeness. Women Give Voice to Wisdom also provides instructions for a prayer method that combines the ancient practice of lectio divina with a visual element: visio divina. Standing at the intersection of wisdom, feminism, and contemplative Christian spirituality, this book calls you to hear the voice of Sophia Holy Wisdom and to respond to Her in your heart.

This book I will be publishing contains my own monoprints that are paired with spiritual quotes by women I admire and that I have collected over the years.  I began actively working with these quotes in the early 2000s, when I began hosting a ritual celebration of Mary Magdalene’s July 22 feast day every year at my home.

For four years, I had celebrated the Mary Magdalene feast day with a group of women at my local parish.  However, one year the image (shown here) of her speaking to a group of disciples (Mary of Magdala, Apostle to the Apostles by Emer O’Boyle) was displayed in the narthex (foyer) of the church to publicize the celebration.  Objections were voiced by some parishioners, so I invited the women to move the feast day celebration to my home. I hosted and led the celebration every summer for over a decade, evolving and adapting the ritual, and throwing in a champagne breakfast afterwards.

I have been a collector of quotes for a long time, going all the way back to my college and young adult days when I began to tape quotes and images on my mirrors and on the inside of my cabinet doors.  So it felt natural to include in the Mary Magdalene ritual quotes from wise women that have come down to us over the centuries.

I provided colorful cards with wisdom quotes (from both medieval mystics and more contemporary women) for individuals to select from as we were gathering.  Part of the ritual included going around the circle with each woman reading aloud her quote.  Each reading was followed by a response from the group of, “God speaks Her Wisdom through our voices.”

Somewhat to my surprise, this part of the ritual created a great deal of energy, and the quotes began to take on a life of their own.  Women would come early to find just the right quote or would bring in favorite quotes of their own.  It was an incredibly strong and joyful experience to speak women’s wisdom out loud with our own voices and to acknowledge our connection to Sophia, Holy Wisdom.

Beginning in 2006, I became interested in visual art and its use in expressions of faith and spirituality.  I attended an art as spirituality workshop and began exploring images and creating artwork of my own, as part of spiritual direction.  During this time, I started looking to art images for meditation/prayer, such as those found in Painted Prayers by Jody Uttal.  Sitting with the quotes and artwork in that book was helpful to my prayer life and, lacking any similar books, I became interested in the idea of matching the Mary Magdalene quotes I was collecting with the creatively and soulfully felt acrylic monoprints that I was making.

Image: “Mary of Magdala” by Emer O’Boyle, copyright We are Church Ireland, used with permission.  Prints of this painting may be ordered online at http://wearechurchireland.ie/.