In the women’s session this morning, Sr. Miriam talked to the girls about experiencing complete freedom by allowing Christ to make them new.
We all long for freedom and adventure. Sr. Miriam saw that sense of freedom one day in the airport in a little three-year-old girl who stopped dead in her tracks to lay down on the floor and make imaginary snow angels. She was completely free from any fear of judgement or ridicule. She was totally herself.
The women spent their morning together sharing and praying about how to be “women in love.”
During the women’s session, Katie Hartfiel shared her own experience of learning to live as a woman in love with the Lord. She explains that to do that, our answer to Jesus must always be “yes.” That simple “yes” to Jesus that changes everything. He dwells within us, and we are called to radiate that love to everyone we encounter. Katie shared the example of a friend who was able to be a witness of her faith simply through her love of the Lord. When at a party, her friend was asked what it was that made her look so radiantly in love. She was single, but radiated the joy of a woman deeply in love. What followed was a long conversation about her love of Jesus- the source of her joy.
Of course it all began with Taylor Swift. We sang a little ‘Love Story’ because we love love songs. We know what real love is and we long for it. We also know what real love isn’t.
That’s because we were all made from love, by love, and for love, as Jackie Francois Angel pointed out. It all started in the beginning, when God created the world. We know from St. John that God is love, and love always has to go out of itself. God created the world out of love because He is love.
Katie Prejean started the women’s session with a Hail Mary and a simple prayer to call upon God’s truth, especially when it comes to our roles as His beloved daughters.
Katie shared that the fundamental part of who we are is that we are loved; it’s our greatest identity. We are wanted by the very God who forged us in his sacred image. This means that, even in our mess, when our breath smells and our hair is bedraggled, we are Jesus’ chosen image to represent beautiful, selfless love. We are love incarnate! It’s also our greatest purpose. We were created specifically to love others and to be loved by Him.
Whether we wake up in a dorm at a youth conference or in our beds at home to head to work or school, we can offer our day to the Lord, and so this morning, to get us started, Leah Darrow began with The Morning Offering prayer.
And if we listen to the voice of the One who loves us most, it’s a lot easier to ignore the voices of the world – the voice of competition, or loneliness, or validation. And these are the voices that steal our joy. But we are not each other’s competition and boys are not the prize – and no one else can give us worth. There’s so much more to life than that.
