What do you think?
Rate this book
Discovering the Feminine Genius: Every Woman's Journey
Discovering the Feminine Genius presents a framework in which women can discover and understand their human and spiritual journey as a daughter of God, a woman, a unique individual, and spouse of the Spirit. Katrina Zeno, renowned speaker on the theology of the body, explores the role of women in our complex world.
Based on an immensely successful womens retreat that Katrina Zeno has been offering for the past decade, Discovering the Feminine Genius continues Zenos exploration of women seeking to understand their own journey.
Previous edition titled Every Woman's Journey
Based on an immensely successful womens retreat that Katrina Zeno has been offering for the past decade, Discovering the Feminine Genius continues Zenos exploration of women seeking to understand their own journey.
Previous edition titled Every Woman's Journey
166 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
14 people are currently reading
103 people want to read
About the author
Katrina J. Zeno
7 books4 followersKatrina J. Zeno, MTS, is an international speaker, retreat leader, and author dedicated to the legacy of St. John Paul II. Her expansive list of talks include the genius of women, the distinctive gift of men, the single life, marriage and marriage prep, pro-life topics, the New Evangelization, Argentine tango and the spiritual life, and, of course, "Theology of the Body for Everyone" including grade school, high school, young adults, parents, catechists, clergy, and senior citizens!
Katrina is especially gifted in reaching a diverse audience as a keynote and conference speaker as well as training catechists, religious educators, seminarians, and priests at the Diocesan and seminarian level. Her dynamic speaking style and clear writing appeal to all ages and states in life. She also assists dioceses, parishes, and organizations with creating a customized program to train speakers/teachers and to integrate theology of the body into every level of catechesis.
Katrina is especially gifted in reaching a diverse audience as a keynote and conference speaker as well as training catechists, religious educators, seminarians, and priests at the Diocesan and seminarian level. Her dynamic speaking style and clear writing appeal to all ages and states in life. She also assists dioceses, parishes, and organizations with creating a customized program to train speakers/teachers and to integrate theology of the body into every level of catechesis.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
April 26, 2020
There is a reason this book does not have a nihil obstat. It is written by a divorced Catholic who mentions several romantic relationships after her divorce. This right there should be enough to stop reading but I bought it so I pressed on. She mentions observing Passover dinner, it is a sin to practice observances from the Old Rite. She references how useless the appendix is. God gave it to us for a reason, if science has not figured out the reason yet, that does not make it useless. There seems to be an undertone of belittling motherhood that rubbed me the wrong way. My advice is to skip this book.
November 23, 2024
A friend recommended this to me when I told her I couldn’t quite figure out what Saint John Paul II meant by “feminine genius.” This book made it very clear, and the whole idea is absolutely beautiful - to extrapolate a gender’s unique calling and gifts from its physical characteristics, its biological truths.
The book was also concise and laid out in a way that made it easy and fun to read. The format was excellent! The content was brilliant!
My biggest complaint is the chapter about men. I don’t think the author has a good understanding of men, probably because she’s not one and doesn’t seem to have interview any or done much research on masculinity, and so she probably just should have bypassed that chapter. It was okay, but also a little offensive and certainly fell short in my opinion.
The only other thing I didn’t thing was good about the book was that much of what she implied is a unique calling to women is actually also a calling of men. I found myself writing, “this also applies to men,” in the margins. For example, she wrote, “a woman’s being and personality fully blossom when she experiences within herself the cross and the incarnation, when she bears Christ to the world while participating in the sufferings of Christ.” It’s not untrue by any means, but it’s also not specific to the feminine genius.
Overall, it was great and I am so happy that I finally understand what Saint John Paul II was talking about when he talked about the feminine genius.
The book was also concise and laid out in a way that made it easy and fun to read. The format was excellent! The content was brilliant!
My biggest complaint is the chapter about men. I don’t think the author has a good understanding of men, probably because she’s not one and doesn’t seem to have interview any or done much research on masculinity, and so she probably just should have bypassed that chapter. It was okay, but also a little offensive and certainly fell short in my opinion.
The only other thing I didn’t thing was good about the book was that much of what she implied is a unique calling to women is actually also a calling of men. I found myself writing, “this also applies to men,” in the margins. For example, she wrote, “a woman’s being and personality fully blossom when she experiences within herself the cross and the incarnation, when she bears Christ to the world while participating in the sufferings of Christ.” It’s not untrue by any means, but it’s also not specific to the feminine genius.
Overall, it was great and I am so happy that I finally understand what Saint John Paul II was talking about when he talked about the feminine genius.
December 31, 2021
I read bits and pieces of this book while coleading a small group in college. It was great for dialogue and conversation with young women who hadn't had any exposure to theology of the body before. Every chapter has reflection questions and the bringing together of many experiences and wounds led to wonderful discussion. Reading it now on my own is very different. Another reviewer said it feels over-simplistic and immature at times and I have to agree. I think as an introduction to theology of the body or for a small group it could be very helpful because of how simple it is, and it also has a few "apologetic-disclaimers" to affirm Catholic belief, but for someone at all familiar with theology of the body I'd skip it.
October 16, 2018
This was a great book! Every chapter had it's own helpfulness in the further developing of a woman's Catholic faith. I really enjoyed the section on women as priests. The way in which the author presents the facts, helps the reader to better understand the true roll of women and men in the church. There are many references to Pope John Paul II, and how he viewed women, and how women were to be acknowledged. It is a great book to further develop your belief system and your connection with personal challenges to enrich your faith.
February 7, 2017
Overall an excellent read. Sometimes she stretched a little too far with her analogies; in terms of best translator of JPII's Theology of the Body teachings, Christopher West is still better.
There's also a chapter in there for the men.
Would recommend 12+ .
There's also a chapter in there for the men.
Would recommend 12+ .
February 25, 2020
Completed this book for woman's group & the journey with this book was made all the more fruitful because of the ladies I read it with chapter by chapter. Highly recommend at both an individual level but also as a women's book club!
December 31, 2020
Great book! I thought it was an awesome read and helped me see where my feminine strengths may lie. I thought that the last two or three chapters of the book were unnecessary to the feminine genius piece of the book. Overall, I would recommend!
September 25, 2017
I was given this book as a follow-up to Theology of the Body, and as such I found it over-simplistic and even immature at times.
February 9, 2018
A refreshing take on theology of the body and a very quick read. Every time I thought, "But what about...?" for any particular topic, boom, the next chapter would word-for-word address it!
October 2, 2019
Great content but at times felt like it dragged and was hard to get into. Reading in short stints was the way to digest it best!
July 6, 2022
This amazing book helped me to see myself more clearly. My poor self-image was refreshingly replaced with the richness and beauty of an image created by God. Empowering to read...once wasn't enough!
August 8, 2011
This summer I agreed to take part in a reading series hosted by the mother’s group at my church. The ladies that chose to take part in the program voted on the books they’d like to read, and then the books were selected based on the votes. The second book I’ve read for the series, >i>Discovering the Feminine Genius is so good, I knew I had to review it for my blog.
The author takes the principles from Pope John Paul II’s writings – especially from Theology of the Body – and puts them in a highly readable and personally applicable format. I’ve always felt that a good faith-based book should do three things: draw you into a closer relationship with God, teach you more about your faith, and finally, help you further along your faith path by giving you some practical suggestions to help you in your day to day life. This book clearly does all three.
Our American culture is so contradictory to the tenets of the Catholic faith – I would dare say to most religious beliefs. Zeno’s book is an important counter to the misinformation fed to us by modern media. It discusses the divine purpose of womanhood (and indeed all humanity) as one of union and communion. With each other and with God. That said, she also stresses that all women “are called to spiritual motherhood because motherhood is knit into the very structure of a woman’s being.”
The beauty of this book is that it so eloquently affirms woman’s role in God’s grand design. It explains the teachings of the Catholic faith as it relates to women and relationships in a way that makes perfect sense. In this day and age, when American culture’s misunderstanding of the Church’s positions is so prevalent, a book like Discovering the Feminine Genius is so important.
The author takes the principles from Pope John Paul II’s writings – especially from Theology of the Body – and puts them in a highly readable and personally applicable format. I’ve always felt that a good faith-based book should do three things: draw you into a closer relationship with God, teach you more about your faith, and finally, help you further along your faith path by giving you some practical suggestions to help you in your day to day life. This book clearly does all three.
Our American culture is so contradictory to the tenets of the Catholic faith – I would dare say to most religious beliefs. Zeno’s book is an important counter to the misinformation fed to us by modern media. It discusses the divine purpose of womanhood (and indeed all humanity) as one of union and communion. With each other and with God. That said, she also stresses that all women “are called to spiritual motherhood because motherhood is knit into the very structure of a woman’s being.”
The beauty of this book is that it so eloquently affirms woman’s role in God’s grand design. It explains the teachings of the Catholic faith as it relates to women and relationships in a way that makes perfect sense. In this day and age, when American culture’s misunderstanding of the Church’s positions is so prevalent, a book like Discovering the Feminine Genius is so important.
June 7, 2016
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. I wasn't expecting very much, since I've never heard of it before. I thought I would have come across it in my exposure to gender-specific books about spirituality. Well, I was wrong. This was pretty delightful. It gave me a lot to think about, including about men's spirituality and how it fits within the framework for women's spirituality that Katrina establishes. Although I don't wish anyone pain, I think her experience as a previously-married single mother contributes a lot to her understanding of women's spirituality. It's not so closely tied to marriage (since hers ended), although it is deeply connected to motherhood. And hey, I feel way better about my being only a spiritual mother! Everyone wins!
Read my full review at ATX Catholic.
Read my full review at ATX Catholic.
March 22, 2011
Though provoking writing that examined how we as women can use our God given strengths in our everyday lives. Things like mothering, serving, etc, that can be applied not just to mothers, but to any woman. Many books on this topic that I have read are more conservative and less realistic for our modern culture. However, Zeno, as a divorcee herself, provided applicable examples for modern women. Quick and thoughtful read.
August 23, 2010
A good read but very much like all the other pro-Catholic feminism books I've read lately. More fluffy though (if that makes any sense)
Alice von Hildebrand is MILES above this - but it still has encouraging words on how to live a good, spiritual life as a Catholic woman.
I do love the theme of "daughter first, then a bride".
Alice von Hildebrand is MILES above this - but it still has encouraging words on how to live a good, spiritual life as a Catholic woman.
I do love the theme of "daughter first, then a bride".
May 26, 2012
I read this one in Spanish and it is just a jewel for every woman of every time. Katrina as usual delivers a clear message based on the Theology of the Body, that will open your eyes to the great Gift you are.
November 17, 2016
This was the first book I read that made me aware of spiritual motherhood. As a woman who doesn't have children, I found it insightful to learn that as women we are all called to motherhood in some form. This book helped me to discover how my womanhood and spirituality are connected.
April 7, 2017
Some really good themes and points introduced, but they get repeated again and again in later chapters without that much depth or elaboration. This book is probably meant to be more of a springboard for women to examine their own spirituality in light of their identities and their bodies, but they will need to look to other books or sources if they want a truly deep dive into these topics.
April 14, 2017
Good introduction to Theology of the Body from a woman's point of view. Particularly suited for small group or individual study.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews