Oct. 20-21, 2023 • Catholic Women's Conference
We learned so much about St. Zelie Martin, Mother of St. Thérese, this weekend as each of our speakers took the opportunity to dig in and learn how she carried on bravely ... and joyfully ... in a life filled with loss and hardship, to become a Saint and great intercessor for all of us.
Susanna Parent spoke of discernment in all aspects of our lives and to be open to God's Will. He speaks to us in the gentle breeze, not the forceful wind, or as Susanna aptly explained, by following the bread crumbs along the path and being attentive to the small and often subtle ways he shows us His desire for our lives. Yes, there will be challenges. There will be suffering, but as St. Zelie shows us, these allow us to be forged in the fire of His love for us.
Dr. Rebecca Genuis spoke of St. Zelie's perseverance throughout her life ... in the little ordinary things. She shared her love for another saint in our church, St. Josemaria Escriva, who had so many words of wisdom on this virtue. She spoke of growing in perseverance by beginning each day well, rising when we ought, morning offering, daily prayer, daily Mass when possible, frequent confession, strong devotion to Our Lady, aspirations, and ending with an examen that includes resolutions to do better tomorrow.
It was also great to meet Susanna's family who joined her on the journey of this adventure in her life. Keep an eye on our CFM YouTube Channel as some or all of these talks will be posted there once they are ready for viewing.
Susanna's published work can be found at: https://fiatandalily.blogpost.com
Then she spent time speaking about her passion in life, besides her family of course, which is environmental medicine. The overwhelming problem so many women have with infertility, miscarriage, debilitating cycles is NOT natural. Her goal is to help women find the root causes of these and many other illnesses so that we can be healthy, happy and strong. And in the area of infertility, as a physician she will exhaust all the possibilities to find answers and at the very least, guide women and their children on the path to healthier lives.
Amanda Marleau also spoke on aligning our will to God's and on suffering. Because she is a psychologist, she knows the suffering of mental illness is rampant today. She shared many stories of her life where she struggled with depression and knew she wanted to help others understand there are resources and people available to support us through these health issues. She spoke on setting goals and though it will always be a struggle to live in God's Will instead of our own, we can follow the example of Mary. We can always count on God's mercy but need to find the courage to make changes to grow closer to Him.
As our Mass celebrants, these two wonderful priests encouraged us to live well our dignity as women.
Several other Men in Black were available to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation as well. Thank you!
Fr. Frank Sharma
Fr. Jim Corrigan
