So, this was my first year to attend the annually held Oklahoma Catholic Women's Conference. It was held in Oklahoma City and I was able to ride the bus from our parish along with 50 other Catholic women. It was an early start to a long day as we had to leave the parking lot by 5:45 AM. But, when all was said and done, it was well worth the loss of sleep!
I spent the time on the bus ride down there reading my book, Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. I'm truly enjoying it and figured that I'd need something occupy me on the way there and back. Perhaps even throughout the day, who knows. I knew a few women on the bus, but not many. I was allowed a seat to myself toward the back and I was grateful for that. After reading for some time, I became a little tired and drifted in and out of light sleep. We arrived at the hotel where the conference was being held around 7:45 AM. After disembarking, we made our way into the lobby, got our name tags and looked for a place to seat ourselves.
The day began with Mass held by the Archbishop. I had some trouble, I must admit, staying alert during Mass. At one point, while bowing my head in prayer, I nearly fell forward as my body attempted to regain some sleep. Needless to say, I was quite alert for the remainder of Mass.
Afterwards, we had about an hour break. In the halls outside the conference center was a sea of tables filled with various Catholic vendors. It was nice to walk around and look over everything. I restrained myself, however, knowing full well that there was nothing there I could justify purchasing with our already limited funds. God is great at keeping your priorities in front of you and I was thankful to have been listening to Him! :-)
Our first speaker of the day was Teresa Tomeo (her web site is: www.teresatomeo.com), an Italian Catholic who had spent more than 20 years working in the secular media. As a result of her career and falling away from the Catholic Church for so many years, she nearly lost her marriage as well as her soul to the non-Christian focused world around her. She entertained us with anecdotes, but also brought forth a powerful message. "The media IS trying to affect our culture!" Teresa warned against allowing the media to be the things that helped us form our conscience. She reminded us that The Mother Church MUST be incorporated into our daily lives.
In addition to her references to secular media and the way it can affect our lives if we're not careful to take it in moderation, she spoke to us about our responsibility as Catholic women. Men and women are meant to WORK TOGETHER...not against one another. We're meant to be one. The Church does NOT work to oppress women - on the contrary, Christ was the FIRST Women's Libber!!! Wow...powerful stuff and really, when you read the accounts of Jesus Christ encountering women in the Bible, you'll see that He never made them LESS...He always brought them forward to be signs of light and Grace.
We, as women, also need to hold onto our dignity. We've lost it...lost our way. As Teresa spoke, it all came together...We have been fooled into believing that being "objects" and sexual predators is what we were meant to do. There's no dignity in lessening the worth of our bodies by putting all the focus on how we appear, physically. It only takes away from who we are and who we were meant to be in Christ's eyes...nurturers, givers, counselors, care givers, protectors, pillars of strength, guides and examples to others. Pornography, extreme sexuality and the lust created by those things is only a way to further enslave us to the secular world and what it believes we should be to everyone...things...nothing more. It comes to us falsely as "empowerment" and "independence" - however - what we are left with after it all is nothing more than a shell of ourselves and who were meant to be.
Teresa's message really hit home with me. I was so lifted by her words and devotion to our faith as well as to our Mother Mary. Mary, who was the truest example of Grace, strength and love and is often disregarded by the masses. Teresa gave us a quote and I so loved it...
"When we are who we are meant to be, we will set the world ablaze." - A Quote by Saint Theresa of Avila.
All this came from the first hour of the conference. Wow...just wow! I can't wait to share what came next and will do so, soon. Be blessed!
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