The Wisdom of the Women Doctors of the Catholic Church

In this course you will learn about four wise women, Christian mystics, who are also Doctors of the Catholic Church.  I have entitled this course the Wisdom of the Women Doctors of the Catholic Church because the feminine voice of Christian mysticism is relevant & has much to share with us today. Out of the 36 Doctors of the Church, there are only these four women & they deserve to be heard:  Teresa of Avila, Catherine of Siena, Therese of Lisieux & Hildegard of Bingen, all saints in the Catholic Church. "How can it be," you ask, "that these women who lived between 150 & 900 years ago have something to share with me?" Their stories of struggle, of disappointment, conflict with their contemporaries, including church leaders, & their desire to have an authentic relationship with the Divine allowed their voices to be heard which resulted in the betterment of the world around them, which is something we would all wish for ourselves. These women are models of prayer, wisdom & love,. They stood up to & denounced the corruption in the Church patriarchy. Their wisdom can help each one of us find our voices & lead us to a spiritual transformation they teach us to love as God loves. Won’t you join me in discovering the wisdom of these women in this course?

If you have a desire to become inspired, to learn more about Christian mystics, more about the great women Doctors of the Church and the effects they had on the evolution of Church theology and spirituality, then this is the course for you. These four women are companions for your spiritual journey and can offer you support as you walk your path to get closer to God and to live out a life of love. They can act as guides for you as you traverse through the burdens and blessings of life.

In this course you will learn about :

- Christian mysticism

- who the four women Doctors of the Church were

- the benefits of having women as Doctors of the Church

- what a Doctor of the Church is

- & the life, times, spirituality, & legacy of each of these magnificent Christian gurus, if I can borrow a word from our Hindu & Buddhist friends.

You will see how these 4 women:

-  broke out of their expected roles as quiet nuns & religious women.

-  broke through the confines of time & place so as to bring to us, in the 21st century, their sage insight.

- were contemplatives in action, as they courageously spoke truth to power.

Each of these women were scripture-oriented and believed in the Trinitarian God: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They trusted the guidance they received that came  through visions, or locutions from the Holy Spirit. It is that Spirit who enlivened them and gave them strength, knowledge & verve to perform actions that moved not only their contemporaries but moves the Church even today along with all of those who dare to listen intently to their stories.

As an aficionado of Christian mysticism & the Christian mystics, I have had the opportunity to present their stories on many occasions. The audience is often quite captured & amazed at how God works in such an extraordinary manner in & through the lives of these women. Each person in the audience may glean some element to take home & ponder, & perhaps be moved to some new action or deeper reflection or relationship with God; a change of heart & mind that transforms his or her life.

Throughout the course, you will:

- get a glimpse at the particular culture & society of each of these four women mystics

- be exposed to some of their works, visions, & life experiences, enough so you can confidently tell their stories to others, if you wish.

- have reflection activities within the course as well as handouts of pertinent information & the works cited, all for you to access & download.

With a Master’s degree in Pastoral Studies and a focus on Christian Spirituality, I fell in love with the Christian mystics back in 2005 and it is a love affair that just won’t quit. I have authored a book, Awakening the Mystic in You, Messages of Light from the Christian mystics (you can find it on my personal website you'll find at my Instructor Profile) along with an inspirational card deck entitled, The Wisdom of the Christian Mystics, and have penned a journal article, Ten Steps to Awaken Your Inner Mystic. I am a practicing spiritual director and work for my local Catholic diocese. I have several other classes on this course website concerning Christian mystics and have given many presentations on the Christian mystics as well.

I hope you will find this course helpful to you. I am happy to respond to any questions that you may have. You can submit questions on the course website. I will respond within a week but usually much sooner than that. If you would like more information before purchasing the course, there are free previews on the course website as well as a promotional video. Thank you for considering this course.

May you be blessed abundantly as you continue on your spiritual journey.