An inspiring lineup of speakers at the 15th annual Catholic Women’s Conference urged the 2,700 in attendance on Saturday, Feb. 18 to embrace their role as faithful servants of Christ as part of their uniquely feminine vocation, to pray with fervor, trust in the Lord and never give up hope.
The conference in Kasich Hall at the state fairgrounds attracted women of all ages from throughout Ohio and surrounding states to a full day of activities that began with a Mass celebrated by Bishop Earl Fernandes and ended with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
The packed schedule included presentations by Paula Umana, a former professional tennis player and mother of five who was stricken with an illness that left her quadriplegic; Father Michael Denk, a priest from the Diocese of Cleveland and an international speaker and writer on prayer; Father Rob Galea, a priest from Australia who as a singer and songwriter travels the world inspiring young people in particular to draw closer to the heart of God; and Danielle Bean, an author, podcaster and host of a weekly Catholic women’s television show.
Providing music during the conference was contemporary Catholic Christian artist Hannah Schaefer. The Columbus St. Joseph Cathedral Schola, directed by Sharon Silleck of Lancaster Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption and accompanied by cathedral organist Amanda Renee Mole, provided music for Mass.
Debbie Georgianni, the co-host of the daily Take 2 show on EWTN Radio, served as the emcee.
The sacrament of reconciliation was made available through 37 priests, and an Adoration Chapel was open throughout the day.
The attendees also could visit with more than 50 organizations in the vendor area ranging from religious orders to publishers to local ministries.
Newark St. Francis de Sales Church served as the host parish. Its pastor, Father David Sizemore, concelebrated the Mass, and altar servers from the parish assisted at the Mass and with Adoration.
Umana led off the speaker lineup with an emotional talk.
“You’re not going to remember anything I say when you go home today or in 20 years, but I want you to remember two things – this ball and fiat,” Umana said, holding up a tennis ball.
The former No. 1 tennis player in her native Costa Rica and 281st in the world in doubles was afflicted with a nervous system disorder called CIDP after the birth of her fifth child, Charles, that left her quadriplegic.
She told the women that her response to the unexpected illness was “fiat.” As the Blessed Virgin Mary’s fiat at the Annunciation was a surrendering of her will to God’s, Umana also said “yes” to God’s will for the illness in her life.
“Mary’s answer was a word we say in Latin – fiat. It means surrender, let it be done, amen,” Umana said.
She said that surrendering was not easy. When first diagnosed with the illness, Umana said she was confused and thought that prayers were not working as she lay paralyzed in bed.
“I was asking God, ‘Where are you?’ I was so confused.”
Performing household chores became a dream. Umana recounted feeling angry, jealous and fearful as difficulty entered her life and medical bills piled up. In those moments, she said, the enemy crept in.
“Evil came into my life. ‘See, Paula, you are not useful for anything,’” she said, remembering the words the enemy spoke to her.
After a priest visited her in the hospital, Umana said, she learned to offer her suffering to God.
“I realized the Blessed Mother is there waiting for you,” she said of her decision to live the fiat every day.
Umana showed the audience a video of her standing up from her wheelchair, which occurred on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes about a year after her diagnosis. One of her daughters was in Lourdes, France, praying for her recovery at the time.
Umana recounted the miracle of regaining her ability to walk.
“My son Charles asked me, ‘Mom, are you going to be able to walk again?’ I said, ‘I don’t know, Charles. Ask Jesus,” to which her youngest child walked to a crucifix and asked the crucified Christ if his mother could regain her ability to walk.
Umana said that after a trip to Seattle she returned home able to walk. She said that Charles, who was 3 at the time, was waiting for her at a window. After witnessing his mother walk, Charles ran to the crucifix and said “thank you” to Jesus.
“God has a purpose in all things,” she said.
Umana’s daughter Clarita accompanied her to the conference. She joined her mother on stage near the end of the talk and gave her a hug. Umana asked if there was anything she would like to say to the audience.
“The amount of faces is shocking,” Clarita said, breaking down in tears. “I didn’t think, when I would sit there and feed my mom, that I would see all of these people.”
Umana said she and Clarita travel throughout the United States together telling her story to students, conferences and corporations.
Hitting tennis balls into the crowd, Umana encouraged the audience to respond with a fiat to the areas of darkness in their lives.
“Someone at home has a disability,” Umana said, hitting a tennis ball into the crowd.
“Fiat!” The audience cheered.
“I am growing older and getting weaker,” Umana said as she hit another tennis ball.
“Fiat!” the audience chanted again.
Umana said that audience members can respond “fiat” to areas of darkness in their lives. She said that Jesus is the light, and His coming would not have been possible without the Blessed Mother’s own fiat.
In addition to sharing her story, Umana is the founder of the company Coach Paula Tennis and the author of 40 Gifts of Hope, a story of the ill who found their way out of darkness.
Father Denk, the founder of Prodigal Father Productions, which communicates to audiences through new media the importance of developing a strong prayer life, touched on several topics during his talk and used music, playing his ukulele and singing I’ll Be There, to capture the audience’s attention.
The priest related a story about the power of the Holy Family Prayer Medal that he developed and went on to describe guided, meditative and contemplative prayer, stressing the need to see and hear God by talking personally to Him, listening and visualizing His presence while focusing on a Scripture passage.
He explained that he discovered meditative prayer through his spiritual director, whose spiritual director was St. Padre Pio, and Father Denk shared several profound encounters in prayer with God.
The author of the Pray 40 Days book, Father Denk presented his five P’s for prayer: prepare, place, presence, posture, presence and passage.
Praying in a church or an Adoration Chapel are the best places to pray, he said, but it’s not always possible.
If there’s not a regular spot at home to pray, “make that place by Ash Wednesday,” he said, adding that fasting is critical during Lent to enter into a deeper relationship with the Lord.
During the noon hour, Schaefer got the crowd on their feet as she performed a few of her songs, including Fire, My Champion and Turn This Ship Around. She performed Faithful, a song of trust and celebration of God’s goodness, during Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
After more than a decade in the music industry, Schaefer said that performing at events such as the women’s conference is her dream.
Schafer also revealed a personal area of darkness in her life.
“I am going to reveal something to you that I have not revealed publicly,” she said. “For the past four years of my marriage, my husband and I have struggled with infertility.”
She described the darkness as a place of pain and uncertainty, where she said that all she had left was to trust in God.
“God wants to meet you here in the most beautiful way possible – in Adoration tonight,” the singer said.
Reminding the audience that light shines in the darkness, Schaefer said, “Know that He is not done yet. We believe that we have to be sanctified.”
Schaefer shared with the audience that she and her husband are now expecting their first baby in July. “There is hope after the dark night.”
Schaefer’ song Faithful is a reminder of God’s faithfulness to His people. She said that God is a God of miracles and unconditional love.
“You are loved, and you have something to give to this broken world.”
Father Galea’s lively afternoon presentation featured the former contestant on Australia’s version of X Factor playing guitar and singing while relating his journey from wayward teen back to the Catholic faith and eventually to the priesthood.
He began by saying to the women, “If you’re messed up, you’re in the right place,” to make his point that everyone has difficulties in their lives.
For him, those difficulties began at age 14 in his native Malta when he became addicted to alcohol, drugs and stealing as a way to get the attention of his peers. He left his loving home and continued to live a life of vice until he eventually found his way back home and returned to the Catholic faith at age 16.
He has recounted his story in Breakthrough, a book that’s being turned into a movie. In the book, he attributes his return to the faith to his mother’s persistent prayers for him.
“My mom prayed, and she continued to pray,” he said. “She said, ‘Every time you slammed the door, I would fall to my knees outside your room. And I would pray. And sometimes I would pray so much that I would be in tears because I would hear your pain.’”
A mother’s prayers are powerful, Father Galea shared with the women in the crowd.
“I am here today because my mom never gave upon me,” he said. “Realize the promise of God over your life. “Recognize that you need to be a warrior … raising your voices, screaming at the devil.
“Know that you are a warrior woman and that you are called to change lives. Sometimes we stop praying, we give up and we don’t realize how strong we are.
“And even though things get worse, keep praying, because your prayer will be answered. Many prayers are lost because they’re prayed once, twice, 1,000 times, 10,000 times instead of a million. Keep praying and recognize the promise that God has for your life.”
Bean, the final speaker of the day, offered practical tips for prayer and making the most of Lent.
She covered six tips from her book Whisper: Finding God in the Everyday, which encourages slowing down and experiencing the whispers of God.
Bean, the creator and host of The Gist on CatholicTV, offered tips for finding God, including by taking time for prayer, trusting rather than fearing, finding God in weakness and taking time to rest.
Bean said that, when it comes to hearing God’s voice, “you’re not going to find it if you look for it in these dramatic ways.”
She connected her talk to the story of the prophet Elijah, who was seeking the voice of God in 1 Kings. Elijah hears the voice of God not in the earthquake or fire, but rather in the silence.
Bean challenged the audience to set aside time for prayer each day to hear God’s voice in the stillness and silence.
“Jesus would go to deserted places to pray. He was built for relationship with the Father and needed to seek it out,” she said.
Bean said that fear and a lack of prayer can hold women back from God.
“Nobody is more afraid of a praying momma or a praying woman than the enemy. He knows what a force for good we are,” she said.
Bean offered practical ways to pray, including beginning with five minutes a day of sitting in God’s presence.
She said that faults can hold one back from God, but they also have the capacity to bring people closer to God.
Bean suffered a torn ACL during a skiing trip in Vermont, which was a Christmas gift from her husband. She said that she came to see her weakness as the very way to connect with God. It was a gift, Bean said, to be forced to sit and be unable to do many routine activities.
She touched on 2 Corinthians 12:9, echoing the words of St. Paul, who says that God’s power is made perfect in weakness.
“You are never stronger than when you know how weak you are,” Bean said.
She encouraged the audience to rethink their approach to prayer. She said that prayer does not change God but those who pray.
Bean shared a story of when her prayers to God were “bratty.” She said that when pregnant with her fourth child, limited finances meant that she and her husband, Dan, couldn’t afford a minivan for their growing family. She prayed to God, saying, “Please give me a minivan, even though I know You aren’t going to.”
To her surprise, her husband pulled up in a minivan when she was 8 ½-months pregnant. The priests her husband worked with, unaware of the situation, were changing their vehicles and asked Dan if he would like to take their minivan.
“Know that God can work with you right where you are, with your weakness,” Bean said, encouraging women to pray no matter the status of their heart. She said to pray even if the prayers are “bratty.”
Bean spoke of finding God by taking time to rest, especially in a culture where productivity is prioritized.
“Mary shows us the value of being rather than doing. No one needs rest more than a busy woman in today’s world,” she said.
Bean encouraged women to say “no” to some things in order to say “yes” to their relationship with God.
She said that “we are called always to surrender ourselves to Him,” to which she mentioned that “‘no’ is a complete sentence” and “balance is a myth.”
She said that this Lent she wants each woman to “find the space to be still and know that He is God.”
