Echoing throughout Oscar’s talk was the line “we all suffer differently.” He shared first about the suffering of his wife giving birth and his daughter having a headache. Then, Oscar reminded us that we never suffer alone. He described times when he sacrificed for his children and explained that his own sacrifices are nothing compared to the sacrifice that the Father makes for each of us. When God sacrificed His son for His children, He made the ultimate sacrifice. As Oscar says “God revealed Himself through the beauty of that cross.”

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During the session on relationships, Sarah outlined the ways that growing in virtue builds Christ-centered relationships.

Before diving into ways to build virtue, Sarah outlined what she calls the “emoticoaster.” It describes the pattern that a lot of people follow when they are getting into a relationship. She explains the journey from mental stalking to social media stalking to texting, flirting, and calling. Most people in the room raised their hands to say that they had seen someone riding the emoticoaster before. Sarah then walked through the many traps associated with the emoticoaster.

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“Jesus doesn’t work magic; He works miracles.”  Tonight, Sr. Miriam asked each of us to look at our own lives and ask ourselves what it is that we want of Jesus.

Sister told the story of the blind man Bartimaeus who laid all that he had on the line in order to call out to Jesus (Mark 10:47-52).  He called to Jesus in a way that no one had before.  Bartimaeus called Him the Messiah and thus acknowledged that He was the Son of God.  One of the promises associated with the Messiah was that the eyes of the blind would be opened (cf. Isaiah 35:5).

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Just before this afternoon’s dinner break, Cas shared about the ways that Confession has enabled him to more freely encounter Jesus in the Eucharist.

Quotables:

“Something spoke in my heart, and I went to confession to completely open myself up to the priest.  What I saw wasn’t the priest judging me, but was the Holy Spirit freeing me through the Eucharist.”

“The freedom from sin changed how I was able to receive the Eucharist.”

“There are still times that I walk out of Confession and I don’t feel different, but I still know that God is working in my life.”