What does it mean to be a woman today? Is there a one-size-fits-all answer? How can a woman be truly Catholic and truly feminine, hard-working and creative, and yet be at peace within? How does she nurture life at home, at school, on the job or in the culture?

In this profound yet practical guide, Genevieve Kineke invites women to consider the Church, the Bride of Christ, as the model for authentic Catholic womanhood. "The mission of women is inscribed in the mystery of the Church," Pope John Paul II said. The author explores facets of this mystery—the Church as mother, bride, spouse and teacher, as sacramental, as font of wisdom, source of culture, and life-giving sanctuary—and reveals how women mirror the Church in their core identity.

Faithful to this authentic identity, women will play a critical role in rebuilding a civilization of love and life.

GENEVIEVE KINEKE is a convert to the faith who has written extensively about the vocation of woman. She founded Canticle magazine as a forum dedicated to that topic. Genevieve and her husband, Charley, are the parents of five children.