Feminist Prayers for My Daughter – Powerful Petitions for Every Stage of Her Life

Shannon K. Evans, a writer in the contemplative Catholic tradition, is the author of Rewilding Motherhood: Your Path to an Empowered Feminine Spirituality and Embracing Weakness. She is an editor for National Catholic Reporter, a writer and retreat leader for the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, and a regular contributor to Franciscan Media. Evans has written for U.S. Catholic, America, and Geez magazines. She speaks regularly at churches, small groups, conferences, and retreats on topics related to motherhood, prayer, and justice, and leads groups in guided meditation. She is a mother of five and lives in Ames, Iowa.

Contents

Relationships
for supportive female friendships
for daughterhood
for handling peer pressure
for her broken heart
for commitment
for consensual sex
for becoming a mother
for singleness
for rewilding motherhood
for a shame-free sexual ethic
Embodiment
for body acceptance
for seeing color
for when gender boxes are too small
for differing abilities
for aging
for celebrating breasts
for getting her hands dirty
for dynamic movement
for pregnancy
for miscarriage and infant loss
Spirituality
for an inner compass
for a lost sheep
for sacred listening
for a faith community
for embodied knowing
for seeing women lead in church
for curiosity
for the heart of a mystic
for an unquenched flame
for freedom
Womanhood
for making room for all
for a world without photoshop
for renewed language about womanhood
for the women who came before
for the women who will come after
for intersectional justice
for a feminine imaging of God
for taking up space
for vocational choice
for honoring mother earth
Wholeness
for trying and failing
for getting her butt into counseling
for wisdom
for welcoming grief
for befriending anger
for the creative life
for telling the truth
for healthy boundaries
for times of depression
for making decisions
Justice
for raising her voice
for leveraging her privilege
for making a home of welcome
for nonviolence
for the common good
for small activism
for doing the inner work
for loving her enemy
for protecting the vulnerable
for breaking bread with others
Equality
for equal pay
for promotions and leadership positions
for felt safety
for being mansplained
for a just maternity leave
for representation
for support in the face of sexual harassment
for marriage partnership
for women's ordination
for the global sisterhood
Milestones
for learning to walk
for starting kindergarten
for menarche (first menstruation)
for leaving home
for her wedding day
for childbirth
for her fortieth birthday
for menopause
for times of tragedy
for her death