DeAnn Brandel has a devotion to St. Thérèse of Lisieux that continues to inspire her through the daily challenges of being a mother. An employee of St. Patrick in Edina, Brandel wants to help other women learn more about this saint and three other female doctors of the Church. She has organized a retreat for women that will take place at 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 14 at St. Patrick, and she will give a presentation about St. Thérèse, St. Hildegard of Bingen, St. Catherine of Siena and St. Teresa of Avila.
Realizing she “always had a great devotion to many male saints” but “not too many female saints,” Brandel thought it would be beneficial not only for herself, but for other women to learn more about these saints, whose writings are considered treasures of the Church.
Brandel joined “Practicing Catholic” host Patrick Conley to discuss the retreat and offer some thoughts on these four holy women. Does she have a favorite among the four?
“St. Thérèse of Lisieux, because I have six children, and she teaches so much about patience and love and doing the little things every day that matter,” said Brandel, office and communications manager for St. Patrick. “What I take from St. Therése is that if you don’t do these things with great love, you’re missing that merit, you’re missing the grace, you’re missing the opportunity to become holy, to become a saint.”
Yet, as much inspiration as Brandel gets from this saint, she has found plenty to like about the other three holy women as well.
“Each of the four women doctors offer great insight to our faith through their spiritual writings, through their examples, things they’ve left for us,” Brandel said. Though they lived as many as 1,000 years ago, Brandel thinks they are people modern Catholic women can relate to, all having lived through times of political upheaval. And, in the midst of turmoil, “they are women who made change,” Brandel said. “Courage is what I learned most about these saints, the courage to do what’s right. And, that has never changed, no matter what era, what time we are in.”
Brandel thinks women will find inspiration and strength in the lives of these four holy women. That is what she hopes will happen at the retreat.
“You can do what’s right and still be a woman in this world,” Brandel said. “You can still be feminine. You can still raise your family, or be single, or become a nun. Whatever God has called us to do, we will receive those graces and be able to live that out fully. We just need the courage.”
To learn more about the retreat and these four female doctors of the Church, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which debuts at 9 p.m. Sept. 29 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and repeats at 1 p.m. Sept. 30 and 2 p.m. Oct. 1.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Tyler McCollum and Father Kevin Finnegan, who discuss a Young Professionals group at Our Lady of Grace in Edina, where Father Finnegan serves as pastor; and Father Leonard Andrie, pastor of St. Therese in Deephaven, who discusses St. Thérèse of Lisieux family relics that are coming to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at anchor.fm/practicing-catholic-show.
