PORT ST. LUCIE | It was a day of inspirational praise and worship, spiritual growth and fellowship as women from all over the diocese attended the Called by Name, Women’s Encounter 2024 conference July 27, 2024, at St. Lucie Parish in Port St. Lucie. The theme this year was “Know Thyself.”
It was the third year for the event with the largest attendance thus far. Emcee Rachel Sparks jubilantly said, “Three years later, I never dreamed in a million years that this is where we would be and have this many women here.”
The day began with the celebration of the Eucharist, presided by Conventual Franciscan Father Paul Gabriel, parochial vicar at the parish. Later, continental breakfast and lunch were included, and there were opportunities for Eucharistic adoration and the sacrament of reconciliation in the afternoon.
Catherine and Nathan Shrake from St. Bernadette Parish led the women in uplifting music. Marie Maneos of St. Bernadette said, “The music was so beautiful that it made me cry with joy.”
The keynote speaker, Rachel Bulman, is an author and contributor to the Word on Fire blog and co-host of the podcast “Meet the Bulmans” on YouTube, and presently leads a marriage novena with her husband on the Hallow app.
Bulman opened by citing an ancient reference. “In the ruins of the temple of Apollo, located at Delphi, Greece, there are three maxims that are engraved on the temple pillars as you walk in the door,” she said. Bulman named the three maxims: “Nothing in excess”; “Give a pledge and trouble is at hand“; and “Know thyself.”
Her presentation focused on the third maxim, the day’s theme. She explained that it is important because, “as Catholic Christians, knowing yourself is absolutely an avenue for you to know who God is because you cannot know yourself outside of knowing who he is.”
Bulman said there are three ways that we know ourselves. “The first way is through God, and the second way that you can know yourself is through relationships with other people, and the third way is through self-knowledge,” she said.
Bulman quoted from Redemptor Hominis (“Redeemer of Man”), an encyclical by St. John Paul II. She read, “Man cannot live without love; he remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself; his life is senseless if love is not revealed to him …” Bulman explained that “love with God is eternal” and “it is not temporary.”
When things are not going well, she said, “you should be able to go to someone, your spouse, your friends, your parents, and say, ‘I think I need you to remind me of who I am,’” adding that “Fear keeps you from knowing God, and if you give it all to God, he will give you more than your heart can handle.”
In the afternoon, there was a question-and-answer session with a panel consisting of Sparks, Bulman, Father Joshua Martin, parochial vicar at St. Anastasia in Fort Pierce, and Beth Zanotelli, family life coordinator for the Diocese of Palm Beach. They fielded questions that were written by the attendees earlier in the day.
One of the questions was, “My mother will be called home soon. How can I prepare for her passing?”
Father Martin said, “You can do your best to prepare for something like that to happen, but no one is ever ready for something like that to happen.” He advised, “Do the best that you can, like being with them, recollecting all of those beautiful memories,” and when “this person has gone to heaven, go through the grieving process” and “don’t isolate yourself,” but be sure to “invite God into the midst of it all.”
Answering a question about ending a relationship, Zanotelli said, “When you need to discern and think about a relationship, step away from it to gain some perspective. See how you feel when you are away, and then come back to make a decision.”
A few mothers attended the conference with their babies, including Claire Kondziola, a member of St. Helen in Vero Beach, who brought along Mary Claire. She said, “Having Mary Claire with me at adoration, I could really feel Christ’s presence.”
For more info about the keynote speaker, visit her website: www.RachelBulman.com. To learn more about the diocese’s Family Life Ministry, go to www.diocesepb.org/ministriesoffices/ministries/marriage-family-life-faith-formation-youth-ministry/family-life-ministry/ or email bzanotelli@diocesepb.org.
