My Secret is Mine
“Secretum meum mihi,” (“my secret is mine.”) was St. Edith's Stein's cryptic response when her best friend asked why she converted. We serve up interviews, historical sketches, Bible studies, book reviews and essays for Catholic women. MY SECRET IS MINE is for women with an audacious hope: that the Messiah makes all things new.
A Testimony to her Loved Ones
A Testimony to Her Loved Ones by Kristen West McGuire For the next year, My Secret is Mine newsletter will be centered on the autobiography of Dr. Edith Stein, Life in a Jewish Family. Canonized in 1998, she is now known by her Carmelite name of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, co-patroness of Europe. Many apostolates today have St. Teresa as their patroness, including My Secret is Mine. This series will explore the Jewish roots of the Catholic faith found in the Old Testament and...
Read: The Town Beyond the Wall, by Elie Wiesel
The Town Beyond the Wall, by Elie Wiesel Reviewed by Margaret McGuire For the next year, My Secret is Mine newsletter will be centered on the autobiography of Dr. Edith Stein, Life in a Jewish Family. Canonized in 1998, she is now known by her Carmelite name of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, co-patroness of Europe. Many apostolates today have St. Teresa as their patroness, including My Secret is Mine. This series will explore the Jewish roots of the Catholic faith found in the Old...
Meet Simone Rizkallah
MEET SIMONE RIZKALLAH by Kristen West McGuire Simone Rizkallah is the Manager of Jewish-Christian Partnerships at Tikvah and a founding member of Catholics Against Antisemitism. A first-generation American of Egyptian-Armenian descent, she was raised in Southern California in the Armenian Catholic Church. Simone lectures on a broad range of theological, spiritual, and cultural topics, including Jewish-Catholic relations, religious freedom, Christian identity, the feminine genius, and the...
Join us for "Under Mary's Mantle: The Feminine Soul"
Dear friends, I am so excited to share with you a unique six-week study by Genevieve Kineke: Author, radio/TV host, and veteran speaker Genevieve Kineke will lead a six week study on discovering your feminine genius this fall! Mary perfectly embodies the feminine vocation, and calls us to build the virtues that will last. This online course is for all women of all vocations. Over six weeks, we are going to take our place at Mary’s hearth and learn from her. She is meek and humble of heart,...
Pray for Women Converts to the Catholic Faith
Pray for Women Converts to the Catholic Faith by Kristen West McGuire Dr. Edith Stein had stopped praying in her teens, adopting a laissez-faire atheism. She was not unusual among her peers at the university. Even some of her siblings were more agnostic than orthodox. Yet, her family was Jewish, her mother was deeply devout. Edith’s nursing experiences during the First World War had heightened her awareness of the strength that Christians found in Jesus Christ. Still, she had not been moved....
The Daughter of Zion Suffers
The Daughter of Zion Suffers by Kristen West McGuire For the next year, My Secret is Mine newsletter will be centered on the autobiography of Dr. Edith Stein, Life in a Jewish Family. Canonized in 1998, she is now known by her Carmelite name of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, co-patroness of Europe. Many apostolates today have St. Teresa as their patroness, including My Secret is Mine. This series will explore the Jewish roots of the Catholic faith found in the Old Testament and...
Flowers in a storm
Flowers in a storm Published on July 22, 2026 Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedThe rain to the wind said “You push and I’ll pelt,” they so smote the garden bed, that the flowers actually knelt and lay lodged though not dead— I know how the flowers felt... --Robert Frost Every month, we will post a new photograph with a few words to ponder. Thanks for reading My Secret is Mine! This post is public so feel free to share it. Share Subscribe now New!...
Meet Katie Gordy
Meet Katie Gordy Published on July 21, 2026 (Katie Gordy served as a Pastoral Associate at St. Monica parish in Oklahoma City. The mother of five girls, she has six grandchildren. She has a masters degree in human relations with an emphasis on chemical dependency, and taught at junior and senior high schools. This interview was completed in 2007. Mrs. Gordy died in 2022.) This interview is a reprint. Kristen: Where did you grow up? Katie: In the Catholic ghetto in Oklahoma City, right across...
Back to the Garden
Back to the Garden Published on July 14, 2026 Albrecht Durer, Adam and Eve, MOMA. Genesis 2:15-25 And the Lord God took man, and put him into the paradise for pleasure, to dress it, and keep it. And he commanded him, saying: Of every tree of paradise thou shalt eat: But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat. for in what day soever thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt die the death. And the Lord God said: It is not good for man to be alone: let us make him a help like unto...
Praying Like a Child
Praying Like a Child Published on July 8, 2026 By Genevieve Kineke Madonna del libro, Botticelli, Museo Poldi Pezzoli Many decades ago, I committed to praying a portion of the Divine Office. Morning and Evening Prayer are recommended for Benedictine Oblates, and I have always appreciated the larger structure it provides to one’s prayer life. Giving the day to God in the morning, and closing out the day in gratitude is foundational to our faith, and knowing that I’m praying with the Church...
“Secretum meum mihi,” (“my secret is mine.”) was St. Edith's Stein's cryptic response when her best friend asked why she converted. We serve up interviews, historical sketches, Bible studies, book reviews and essays for Catholic women. MY SECRET IS MINE is for women with an audacious hope: that the Messiah makes all things new.