ROME — “Biblical Women Who Turned Their World Upside Down” is the theme for this year’s program for the Vatican Ambassadorial Women’s Association (VAWA).
VAWA has been meeting monthly at The Lay Centre to reflect on biblical passages since 2016. At the height of the pandemic, when in-person meetings became impossible, Lay Centre Director Dr. Donna Orsuto and Lay Centre scholar Monica Prandi were keen to keep these meetings going and managed to do so by opting for online sessions.
However, the 2021-22 program began with in-person meetings Nov. 9, respecting all the necessary protocols. Orsuto and Prandi, a doctoral candidate at the Pontifical Biblical Institute, helped guide participants in a reflection on the first theme of the series, “Esther (Women, Politics, Power and Salvation).”
The themes for the next sessions in the program include:
January A Woman Restored to Life (Overcoming Prejudice and Taboo)
February Tamar (The Right to Motherhood)
March A Sinful Woman (The Body and Unconditional Giving)
April Ruth (Outside and Inside the Community)
May Mary Magdalene (The Unexpected Witness to the Risen Lord)
The underlying message of the series is of the Magnificat — a message of hope that echoes in the stories of the six biblical women in the series. Their world was “turned upside down” because of their faith and their complete trust in God, who did great things in their lives.
The Lay Centre was delighted to welcome VAWA members from the Czech Republic, Ghana, Guatemala, Monaco, Senegal, Slovenia,Turkey and the United Kingdom.
Photo courtesy Lay Centre staff