In our parish, the course "Women of Grace" developed by Janet Benkovic is ongoing. The course invites women to explore authentic womanhood and their vocation as daughters of God, consists of eight themes and can last from 8 to 42 weeks with regular meetings in small groups. Participants have the opportunity to pray together, discuss lessons and share experiences in a cozy atmosphere. The purpose of the course is to support women in their dignity, to help them understand the Divine mission and to inspire them with the example of the Immaculate Virgin Mary. The course has already been successfully launched in the Diocese of Chicago and is growing in popularity. The priest of the course in our parish is Fr. Bohdan Nalysnyk.
About the training course "Women of Grace"
Janet Benkovic's "Women of Grace" training course is a training course on the gift of avtentic femininity and the "genius" of a woman, which consists of eight topics. Topics are studied according to the schedule agreed by each group separately. The course can last from 8 to 42 weeks.
The meeting format is a small group of women (no more than 12) who meet once a week or once a fortnight to pray together, discuss lessons learned and share their testimonies in a relaxed atmosphere over tea or coffee with cakes. These meetings bear many fruits for each participant - a mature spiritual friendship is born between the participants, each of whom receives answers to her questions, prayer support of the group, and also becomes a source of inspiration and encouragement for other participants.
The purpose of this training course:
To affirm women in their dignity and vocation as daughters of God;
To make women able to identify and accept the Divine mission that God has entrusted to them, giving them a certain state of life, circumstances and vocation.
To give birth in women to reverence for the Immaculate Virgin Mary, who is the best example for all women, to identify and eliminate misunderstandings, obstacles that may stand on this path;
To show women a spiritual path that they can follow, so that it is in complete accordance with the Holy Scriptures and the teachings of the Catholic Church.
"Women of Grace" in the Chicago Diocese of St. Nicholas
The first course of "Women of Grace" was held at the parish of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Pure Virgin Mary, in the town of Palatine, Illinois. It lasted from March 30, 2023 to June 2024. It was initiated and conducted by Olya Orishchak and the priest of the course, Fr. Mykhailo Kuzma.
Currently, three new groups have started a course in our Diocese, two in Palatine and one in the parish of St. Joseph the Bridegroom on Cumberland, in Chicago.
Interview with the founder of the "Women of Grace" course in Ukraine - Oksana Osadchuk
- Oksana, please tell me how you found out about the "Women of Grace" course?
- From time to time I watch EWTN programs in English, they inspire me, support me in faith, remind me of unity with the Universal Church. It was back in 2012, when I accidentally came across one of these programs called "Women of Grace". I really liked the name of the program, and later I went to the website of the mission "Women of Grace", where I learned about the course, the founder of which is Janet Benkovic Williams.
- How did this course appear in Ukraine?
- I wrote a letter to Janet asking her to send me the course materials. When I received the books, I experienced great joy, I had a feeling that this course would bring many fruits for Ukrainian women. However, I did not immediately start to translate it and put it into practice: historical events in the country, as well as family affairs did not allow me to dare to start. I just prayed and asked God to tell me the time. I remember one moment during the Liturgy on the Feast of the Annunciation (it was 2015), when the priest said during the sermon that we should look at Mary and, like her, say “yes” to God, that God needs thousands of people who will say like Mary God has his "yes". And at these words, something in my heart seemed to ignite, I remembered the course, and in front of me appeared an "army" of women who, like Mary, will say their "yes" to God. And this "army" will change our families, our society and the world.
- How is the "Women of Grace" course currently being distributed in Ukraine?
- The course began at the "Apostle" mission. The materials in Ukrainian were published by the "Apostol" publishing house, they were approved by the bishops of the UGCC and the RCC. In the first group, we invited women who we knew might be interested. The first participants took the course for a year and a half and they became the animators of the groups of the next set. Currently, 17 groups operate in Ivano-Frankivsk. There are groups in Lviv, Uzhgorod, Chortkiv, Starokostyantynov, and Tysmenytsia. Father Vasyl Zakharus held two presentations in Cyprus, we hope that women will start their meetings there too! We are open to presenting a course in Ukraine, as well as for Ukrainian women abroad. We are looking for willing women who could lead such groups in their parishes with the blessing of the pastors, or in other environments, for example, in various organizations or at workplaces. To help the animators, there is a special guide that explains in detail how to conduct meetings.
- Who helps you achieve your goal?
- The participants of the first group of the course in Ukraine became my support, inspiration and helpers, especially the girls who work in the "Apostle" mission and perform the lion's share of all the work in this ministry for women. I am very grateful to Fr. To Ihor Tuzyk, who agreed to take spiritual care of us! Thank you for his prayer, blessing, teaching, leadership advice! And I also thank my husband Ivan Osadchuk, who supports me in every way in this service, without him I would not have dared to start. He shares with me this vision of women of grace in Ukraine - the creation of a 25-strong "army" of women who will influence various areas of our country, pray for the world, whose voice and opinion will have an impact in society. He plans to start a course for men this year. The first group will probably start in March.
- What inspires you as a woman of grace?
- The most important things are the Holy Mysteries, daily prayer, reading the Word of God and spiritual books, my male family (we have three sons), my parents, meetings in the "Women of Grace" groups, my work at the "Apostol" publishing house. These are the places of my strength, what inspires and enlivens me.
