Women’s Advent Retreat 3.0

 

Eating brunch and getting to know one another. Sister Mary Joseph jokes around with sisters Rachel and Katelyn

 

It’s nearly a modern miracle: convincing people to give up part of their weekends (especially during Christmas shopping season) in order to slow down and pray. And maybe eat some great food, meet some new people.

That was the order of the day this past Saturday at the Fiat House’s Women’s Advent Retreat. As you can see from this carefully selected picture, our main presenter (some might use the word “keynote speaker”) and guest of honor was Sr. Mary Joseph of the Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus, based in New Ulm, MN. Also with her (and in the bottom left portion of the picture), were two postulants from the Order, Allison and Kayla. (A postulant is someone who lives with the Order in the first stages of inquiry, but is not yet a member who has taken first or final vows).

Both single and married women (and 1 baby!) attended, and our cozy living room was nearly busting at the seams with 23 bodies in attendance. We ate some DELICIOUS food (Thank you, Kristin!) as women continued to arrive. Then we moved into a time of prayer using Praise and Worship music, complete with a classic Marian hymn and the old faithful Adventian “O Come, O come, Emmanuel.”

Kristin and April leading the Praise and Worship music

Sister Mary Joseph then gave an inspiring talk about the disposition we take towards God in this Advent season, especially modeling ourselves after the Blessed Mother. Many pens were aflurry with journaling as she spoke. Everyone was allowed some time to reflect, pray and continue writing when she had completed.

So far we have fellowship, prayer, eating, journaling, ooh-ing and ahhh-ing  at the baby, singing….what else could be missing from this event?

A CRAFT!

We rounded out the day with a time to make rosaries. This was a ton of fun, and very lively! Everyone had to pick out their colors, string the beads, and then find someone to make the final knots.

The ladies on the couch focus on finishing their rosaries

 

And with that, the Advent retreat concluded. Thank you, ladies, for making it so meaningful and so much fun!!

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The Joy of Emptiness – Women’s Advent Retreat

Last Saturday, the Fiat House hosted our second annual Women’s Advent Retreat. And thanks to the 11 women (and 1 baby!) who carved some time out of their precious December weekends (those are golden), it was a success!

The order of the day was as follows:

Gather/talking, light breakfast, introductions, Praise and Worship, presentation, prayer, lunch, and more fellowshipping/talking (we’re women). We even had a fancy hot chocolate bar.

We had asked Father Aaron Nett (newly-ordained and placed as Associate Pastor at St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud) to come and speak, with the only stipulation that it be something Advent-y. His topic: The Joy of Emptiness.

Perhaps not initially perceived as a positive, he proved that it is a blessed disposition of the heart to be empty so that it can be filled with Christ. Emptied of things that would be counter to God’s love, or an unnecessary distraction to His promptings. When we give God ourselves, emptied of the things we think please Him and fully give Him our hearts, then He fills it with His best gift: Himself. An therein lies the joy! The prototype of this disposition is none other than the Blessed Mother, whose emptiness was so fruitful that it physically bore Christ.

His presentation was a perfect companion for our Advent reflections, and although anyone could gain something from it, it was specifically catered to women. I know I personally loved this quote of his, and I heard others say how much they liked it:

Women have special access to the heart of Jesus

I snapped some photos that caught a glimpse of the crowd. I didn’t get everyone, and they aren’t the greatest, but it gives a little taste of the day.

You can’t see because her back is to the camera, but Kristin is holding baby Isaac, the one male who stayed and survived the entirety of the retreat. I think he liked it.

Chit-chatting during lunch

More good discussion

Sarah utilizes the hot chocolate bar!

Thank you for coming, Deb, Kate, Sarah, Jenny, Shaina, Kara, Laura, Ann, Melaine, Leah, and Nicole/baby Isaac!