The Woman's Book of Prayer. Becca Anderson

      “Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it, possibly without claiming it, she stands up for all women.”

      —Maya Angelou

      “Though the sex to which I belong is considered weak, you will nevertheless find me a rock that bends to no wind.”

      —Elizabeth I

      “I do not wish women to have power over men, but over themselves.”

      —Mary Shelley

      “God may be in the details, but the goddess is in the questions. Once we begin to ask them, there’s no turning back.”

      —Gloria Steinem

      “There is no limit to what we as women can accomplish.”

      —Michelle Obama

      “It seems to me that I cannot afford, as a self-respecting individual, to refuse to do a thing merely because it will make me disliked or bring down a storm of criticism on my head.”

      —Eleanor Roosevelt

      “You are enough. You are so enough. It is unbelievable how enough you are.”

      —Sierra Boggess

      “Don’t complain about what you don’t have. Use what you’ve got. To be less than your best is a sin.”

      —Oprah Winfrey

      “We are all of us stars, and we deserve to twinkle.”

      —Marilyn Monroe

      61

      For All Women through the Ages

      Spirit of the realm, God of many names, and one transforming and abundant love, we turn this month in our nation’s life to reflect on the stories, the heritage, and the struggles of women throughout the ages. We seek to learn from all those voices that have been left unheard. May we pause before the silences of the ages, find who has been left out, and craft new ways of inclusion for every week and every month. May this spiritual practice bring out the voices of all those struggling, all those left apart. May we let go of our assumptions and cold comforts [and] of what is the normal to live by, unless it be a standard that is rooted in compassion, in inclusivity, in diversity. May this month of reflection teach us to search for those stories that are different from our own. Mother of possibility, in the finding, may we come to know ourselves changed. Renewed where we are dry, hopeful where we are lost, and open where we are shut.

      —Revered Jude Geiger

      62

      When You Need Help, Turn to Her

      O, most beautiful flower of Mount Carmel,

      Fruit of the Vine, splendorous of Heaven,

      Blessed Mother of the Son of God,

      Immaculate Virgin,

      assist me in this my necessity.

      O Star of the Sea, help me

      and show herein you are my mother.

      O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth,

      I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart

      to succor me in my necessity.

      There are none that can withstand your power,

      O show me here you are my mother.

      O Mary, conceived without sin,

      pray for us who have recourse to Thee.

      Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands.

      Amen.

      —Catholic Liturgy

      63

      My Wish for You

      Whatever you choose, however many roads you travel, I hope that you choose not to be a lady. I hope you will find some way to break the rules and make a little trouble out there. And I also hope that you will choose to make some of that trouble on behalf of women.

      —Nora Ephron

      64

      A Prayer for Women’s Equality

      By a woman and a tree the world first perished;

      I wish, O Son of the living God,

      eternal, ancient King,

      for reconciliation between the sexes

      that I might answer your calling.

      I pray, O Son of the living God,

      eternal, ancient King,

      for—

      I wish—

      that—

      Mother, Child,

      Goose of the Wild,

      Keep me from despair,

      Hear my prayer.

      I pray, O Child of the living God,

      eternal, ancient Queen,

      for compassion in men’s hearts

      that they could view women as clean.

      I strive, O Child of the living God,

      eternal, ancient Queen,

      For a new paradigm, not princess or b*tch,

      that views women as strong and not mean.

      I hope, O Child of the living God,

      eternal, ancient Queen,

      for society to know women have worth

      after their children are weaned,

      or at least after the age of eighteen.

      I long, O Child of the living God,

      eternal, ancient Queen,

      for rest within the body that is me,

      that I may be serene.

      —Kate Rae Davis

      65

      Women Can Do Anything

      Men never fail to dwell on maternity as a disqualification for the possession of many civil and political rights. Suggest the idea of women having a voice in making laws and administering the government in the halls of legislation, in Congress, or [in] the British Parliament, and men will declaim at once on the disabilities of maternity in a sneering contemptuous way, as if the office of motherhood was undignified and did not comport with the highest public offices in church and state. It is vain that we point them to Queen Victoria, who has carefully reared

      a large family, while considering and signing [laws]…

      —Elizabeth