I had the
opportunity to hang out with about 100 Catholic women over the weekend. Can I
just say how refreshing it is to hang out with women who share your belief and
your values? Being from the South, it doesn’t happen very often. This was my first time in attendance at the
Council of Catholic Women (CCW) Convention for the Diocese.
Things you may
not be aware of:
If you are a
woman, you are a member of CCW.
Dues are
voluntary, but are encouraged. ;-)
The Convention
kicked off Thursday night with a Memorial Mass for the deceased members. The
main celebrant was our Bishop with priests from the different deaneries as
con-celebrants. The Mass was beautiful (as always); the deceased women from the
different parishes within the diocese were remembered. After Mass, we had an
banquet with the Bishop in attendance. This was the first time I have had the
opportunity to meet our Bishop. He came around and put his zucchetto (I had to
look up the appropriate name for the “beanie”!) on various women. I was one of
the women who had the honor to have it on my head for a few brief seconds. A
picture was taken, but I don’t know how to get it from the photographer who was
taking pictures.
Beth & Bishop Stika. I need to mention that this was at a time when no one was speaking.
During the
banquet, Beth Mahoney, who is the Spirituality Commission Chair for NCCW, gave the
keynote address. She spoke of events in Mary’s life and how they relate to each
of us today.
Friday, I had the
honor of listening to Father Leo Patalinghug. I knew of Father Leo through the
Catholic Channel on Sirius Radio. He is the founder of the Grace Before Meals Movement. Even during periods when I wasn’t a
regular mass attendee, we always said grace before our suppers as a family. In this fast-paced world, many families don’t
even have supper together, much less say grace.
While Father Leo
was cooking, he was doing what he does: preaching. Some “words of
wisdom” from Father Leo:
About confession:
It’s easy to abuse confession. You should go because you’re sorry, not because
it’s the first Friday of the month. Everything we do should be manifested from
the heart.
The Church isn’t
a hotel for saints, but a hospital for sinners.
Not enough people
are saying “yes” to God’s will.
The belly button
shows that from the time of our conception, God has 1 plan: to feed you.
Mary is not
important to Catholics…she’s NECESSARY.
Priests are
called to feed people in a supernatural
way. Women have the ability to feed naturally.
At the end, he
talked about being beautiful. He spoke of what it meant to be beautiful; not on
the outside, but the kind of beautiful that comes from the inside and radiates.
To summarize, he made these points:
Remember that the
U.S.A.
Let God work for
you.
Teach the gift of
modesty & allow your body to be beautiful.
God is trying to
fix our brokenness if we let him.
If you’re having
a bad day, do something for someone else. You’ll be surprised at how your day will
turn around.
The last day,
Cathy Bonner gave a powerful presentation on domestic violence. Women Healing the Wounds is a domestic violence prevention resource guide. The
guide is free, and includes a page with tear-off tabs for each parish to put
information for their local shelter. It is also available in Spanish. They also have partnered with Verizon to
donate used cell phones. If you donate a phone, don’t forget the charger!
Check to see if your parish has an active CCW. If not, find out why & get things going.
I have been a member of CCW for nearly 20 years. I haven't been real active for the past couple of years and have never gone to convention. I have attended the leadership retreats and have been an officer twice. It is a great organization. Our Parish couldn't survive without us! :)
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