Women gather to be inspired by virtues of the saints

By DAWN PROSSER
Director of Communications
 
About 160 women attended the first Women’s Gathering held in Fort Dodge at St. Edmond School and Holy Trinity Church. Author, and retreat leader Elizabeth Kelly served as speaker for the day with the theme of Love Like a Saint, based upon her book of the same name.
 
Bishop John E. Keehner offered a welcome and blessing for the women to kick off the all-day event.
 
In addition to Kelly’s talks, Women’s Gathering attendees participated in small group discussions, confessions and adoration. A coffee truck and various vendors were available 

Bishop John E. Keehner offered a welcome and blessing.

throughout the day. At the conclusion of the day, participants could participate in an optional social at a local winery. 

Saints and virtues
Kelly explained that writing Love Like a Saint was her project during COVID. She knew she wanted to write it for women.
 
“I wanted to write it in particular for virtues that I think women struggle with in the world that we can help pray with. And I wanted to write about women who embody these virtues. I chose people I didn’t know very well,” the speaker said.
 
Kelly pointed out that she paired one or two virtues to each woman highlighted in her book. Throughout the event, the speaker hoped the women in attendance would be inspired by the saints, those on the journey to sainthood, and the virtues they represent.
 
“I included saints, blesseds, venerables. I wanted to show the entire course of growing in holiness. Not just the end game but how we get there,” she said. “The Lord gives us the saints in order for us to understand that this is a process.”
 
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Kelly pointed out, teaches that growing in virtue “is a long and exacting work.”
 
“I think this is part of why he gives us the saints and the holy men and women of God so we can sort of learn how they did it. We can practice the way they did,” the speaker said. “I also think the Lord gives us the saints so that they can intercede for us because there is no more powerful prayer warrior than someone who knows, someone who gets it, what it is we’re struggling with…”

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The speaker introduced the virtues of humility and magnanimity and how these play into the saints’ lives. Although God created humans “for greatness, to do great things,” each person must recognize their smallness and greatness through him.
 
“Humility is not to say that I am dirty, I am just not God,” she explained. “It’s thinking rightly who God is and place my littleness to his greatness.”
 
Magnanimity is “seeking what is great and striving to be made worthy of it by God,” Kelly said, noting that saints are both humble and magnanimous.
 
Sharing a copy of the Litany of Humility to pray with the retreat attendees, she pointed out the prayer helps the faithful not focus on ourselves but to be hidden so that others can be praised, preferred and chosen. The women discussed during the retreat how to demonstrate this type of humility, the speaker said.
 
“It’s a real method to freedom to do all the father would ask. Allow yourself to be entirely loved by him and to receive the grace you need to do the work he has given you to build up the kingdom,” Kelly explained. “The women we are going to be talking about today really knew this deep in their bones. They would love and they were made for greatness in God alone.” 

Joy of the Good Shepherd
In the second session, Kelly focused upon “two lost souls,” emulating the Good Shepherd and the role of faith, hope and love in a virtuous life.
 Reflecting upon the Good Shepherd Scripture reading, the speaker reminded the women how people can be lost due to sin, illness, neglect, fear and others, but the Good Shepherd is always within reach. He is joyful when he finds the lost sheep. 

“I think we so often think of the Good Shepherd passage as Jesus coming to save us. Of course he does. But I wonder how often what he’s really doing is asking us to go in search of the lost in his place,” Kelly said.
 
She shared the stories of two women who understood the concept of a good shepherd – May Lemke and Eve Lavallière.
 
Lemke was asked in 1952 to foster a prematurely born infant with severe birth defects and had his eyes removed due to illnesses and was expected to die shortly. She “took her cue from the Good Shepherd,” adopted the boy and gave him extraordinary loving care as she had faith that the boy, Leslie, could live and thrive.
 
Leslie was autistic, could repeat a few phrases but could not have a conversation or express any emotion. He had severe spasticity in his limbs and was completely dependent.
 
Through her persistence and against all odds, the boy survived, eventually learned to walk, dress himself, feed himself and use the bathroom unaided.
 
Lemke introduced Leslie to “what it feels like to play piano,” and that changed his life. The boy was able to play any piece of music perfectly on the piano after hearing it only once. The spasticity left his hands when he sat at the keyboard. Over the years, Leslie performed concerts and was featured on television due to his gift. He is still alive and performing.
 
“Where in the world does faith, hope and love like that come from?” Kelly asked, referring toVendors and participants in the gym Lemke. “Well, the Catechism reminds us of this. It says the theological virtues, faith, hope and love are the foundation of all Christian activity … they are infused by God into the soul of the faithful.” 

Profound conversion
In her second example, Kelly said God provided a good shepherd figure to Lavallière, to help her convert from a life of sin and hopelessness to a life with Christ.
 
She had a difficult upbringing and lost her parents to a murder-suicide. Lavallière found an escape in theater and excelled in her craft. She had many lovers and became a heroin addict. Suicidal and experiencing a nervous breakdown, she headed to the French countryside. The local parish priest was her good shepherd and was instrumental in her conversion to Catholicism.
 
“Her conversion was authentic. And she began to pray earnestly, what, Lord should I do with the resources I have left?” Kelly relayed Lavallière’s story. “She longed to make this new faith, hope and love that had been given to her visible.”
 
Lavallière sold her belongings, served the poor and the sick, became a Third Order Franciscan. She became ill and died in 1929. Kelly pointed out that her gravestone has two lines, “I have left all for God. He alone is sufficient for me.”
 
Perseverance and friendship
Discussing Blessed Benedetta Bianchi Porro, Kelly said she wanted the young women and professional women at the Fort Dodge gathering to benefit from hearing Porro’s story of difficulties and how she navigated them, demonstrating perseverance and Christian friendship.
 
Porro contracted polio at a young age which left her physically handicapped. In her teens, she lost her hearing. However, she had a strong desire to become a doctor and was accepted into medical school. She was able to read lips and was able to excel in her studies.
 
She suffered from illnesses while persevering in her studies and eventually diagnosed herself with Von Recklinghausen’s Disease.
 
“This cruel disease attacks the nerve centers of the body, forming tumors on them and eventually causing deafness, paralysis, blindness and the loss of all senses,” from Love Like a Saint.
 
The progression of the disease forced Porro to abandon her medical studies after five years of a six-year program, Kelly said. Although infirmed, Porro inspired and encouraged friends and family through visits and letters. Eventually she could only communicate if someone signed the alphabet on her palm.
 
“While her loved ones were watching the diminishment of her body, they also witnessed her spiritual growth. She wouldn’t show discouragement or sadness, especially when people came to visit,” the speaker pointed out. “Benedetta received her suffering, blessed the burden and saw it much more as a gift from Jesus to join him on the cross.”
 
She died at the age of 27 with her final words, “Thank you.”
 
Feedback
Love Like a Saint attendees said they appreciated the opportunity to step away from their busy lives to spend time contemplating the saints and the virtues they emulated.
 
“It was a beautiful break from a lot of the busyness of our lives to dig into the lives of the saints and look at my life and be encouraged,” said Laurie Kellen of Le Mars All Saints Parish, adding that she appreciated the opportunity for the sacrament of reconciliation and eucharistic adoration. “It was an opportunity to come together with like-minded women and help each other and pray for each other.”
 
Marie Sheeder of Holy Trinity Parish of Webster County said every woman should consider attending a retreat like the Women’s Gathering to do something for themselves.
 
“You will walk away with something good,” she said.
 
Tami Langle of Le Mars All Saints Parish said Kelly’s talks were a highlight for her. She enjoyed the insights offered by Kelly.
 
“It was a beautiful day for women to gather together and focus on being the women Christ called us to be,” said Cheryl Sherry, parish life coordinator at Holy Trinity, and member of the event’s planning committee. “I look forward to the next one.”