On March 3 at the Schoenstatt Center in Opole-Winów, Poland, an event took place for the second time: “Saturday Conversations for Women.” The meetings are for all women: married women, mothers with children, but also single women, widows, and young women who are still looking for their way in life. The meetings are also attended by our sisters. So there’s a broad space for exchange, rich in experiences of the different vocations. The first encounter of this kind was in Advent. This second encounter had the motto: “The Almighty has done great things for me” (Luke 1:49). We wanted to pursue the traces in which we personally experience God as the best Father.
Sister M. Ewelina, who is responsible for the project, explains: “Together we discovered that the focus of our various tasks is always the person God gives us. We wondered why we distrust divine love and cannot believe that God accepts us unconditionally; that we do not perceive what he is doing to convince us of his love. Why do we not experience divine love with the heart, even though the mind knows it? We asked ourselves what God was doing for each one of us. In what ways did he touch our heart in our life story with his word, with an event, with an encounter in order to overcome our hopelessness and fear of him?”
The meeting began with the Eucharistic celebration in the Coenaculum Shrine, celebrated by Father Mateusz Buczma, coordinator of the Catholic Movements in the diocese of Opole. In his sermon he took up the role of the woman in the life of the family.
The encounter with Mary in the shrine strengthens us
One of the participants summarized her impression as follows: “The encounter with Mary in the shrine strengthens us internally so that we can find the way to ourselves. She helps us accept ourselves as women and shows us what is essential in everyday life: love and responsibility for one’s neighbor.”
After the encounter with God, we also had the opportunity to meet each other over coffee and cake. After an impulse, there was opportunity to talk together and share the experiences we have had in discovering our personal path to the heart of God. As a guest we welcomed Mrs. Sabina Gmińska, who gave a testimony. She told how she discovered the truth in her life that she is the beloved daughter of God.
Our meeting seemed to be too short – which might be the motivation to participate in the next Saturday talks?
Sister M. Ewelina explains the project: “We have deliberately named this new series of meetings ‘Saturday Conversations for Women.’ We want to give women time and space to exchange on a concrete topic, to ask questions, to experience fellowship and to trace the guidance of God in their lives. We believe that the Blessed Mother will draw their hearts so that they will increasingly discover the path to themselves and become more aware of their mission as women.”