Women inspired to hope despite suffering, struggles and loss
HAMMOND – One speaker rejected a life of crime and debauchery to become a devoted priest, another battled sudden paralysis with faith to return to her feet, and a third found a new life and career through a religious conversion – all inspiring more than 400 attendees at the fourth Northwest Indiana Catholic Women’s Conference hosted by the Diocese of Gary on April 2 at Bishop Noll Institute.
The morning’s keynote speaker, Father Donald Calloway, M.I.C., was a high school dropout who had been institutionalized and jailed after a stint with the Japanese mob that got him deported. Thinking about suicide at 20, Father Calloway embraced a profound faith after picking up a book about the Blessed Mother and had a radical conversion to Catholicism.
“The chains that I could not break, God cut,” said the transformed degenerate who changed his life completely. “I was in love; I couldn’t get enough of Jesus. I felt called by God to become a priest.”
“He was led to go from here to here to here, and finally a magazine (about Mary) changed his life,” said Jackie Krilich of St. John the Evangelist in St. John. “It shows that things that you wouldn’t think of can have an effect on your life.”
Addressing those in his audience who, like his own mother, prayed for years for her son’s conversion, Father Calloway said: “God knows your situation, he knows your pain … God has a plan, but in his time. Pray, and he will take a bucket (of grace) and pour it on your children. Don’t give up hope.”
The popular author of “Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father” and other books, Father Calloway also presented a breakout session titled “The Year of St. Joseph is Over. Now what?”
“His message was that “’It’s never over,’ said Joan Grace, a fan of Father Calloway’s from St. John the Evangelist. “He talked about how he had written to Pope Francis in 2019, then to all U.S. bishops, asking for a year dedicated to St. Joseph, and then it happened in 2021.”
“Father Calloway also tied each of the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary to St. Joseph,” added Coreen Grace, also of SJE.
The closing keynote was given by Paula Umana, a former Costa Rican tennis champion who married, opened a tennis academy and, after giving birth to her fifth child, was struck by a sudden and devastating nervous system disorder that left her a quadriplegic. Titled “Hope in Suffering,” she questioned God – “How can you paralyze the mother of five?” – and received inspiration from her young children.
Adopting the mantra “Put it at the feet of Jesus,” Umana turned her life around and began to recover. At a supermarket in her wheelchair, a fellow shopper told her about a leg device that might help her walk again, and after two weeks in Seattle learning to use the devices, she returned home to Atlanta, and her young son Charles, who had stood before a crucifix and asked Jesus to heal her. “He had never seen me walk before,” said Umana, who offered copies of her book, “40 Gifts of Hope,” free to those who could not afford to pay.
“My book is the best gift to give to someone who is suffering - full of short stories and prayers and resources,” she said. “Sometimes the miracle we want doesn’t come, but that’s when we learn about Divine Will.”
“She left me with the feeling of hope, that Jesus answers prayer, that Jesus is there for us, especially in suffering and during difficult times,” said Mary Jo Muha, a parishioner at St. Mary in Griffith. “We just have to ‘put it at the feet of Jesus,’ as Paula said.”
Umana also presented a bilingual breakout session on “Empowering Your Womanhood Through the Example of Mother Mary.”
A breakout session by Father B. Thomas Celso, B.V.D., addressed Divine Will through the writings and life of Luisa Piccarreta, Servant of God.
“It was good to be reminded of the values of God the father and what he wants for us, and to reflect on what we need to work on in our daily lives,” said Rita Malriska, who attends a Lithuanian church, Blessed Jurgis Matulaitis Mission, as well as Ss. Cyril and Methodius, in Lemont, Ill.
Dalia Jodwalis of Beverly Shores, who attends Queen of All Saints in Michigan City, said Father Celso’s talk reminded her “that we are the most blessed people of any generation, and we will regain what Adam lost (through Divine Will). There is always hope.”
Offering two breakout sessions – one on finding spiritual rest by allowing God to heal the wounds women suffer from feelings of “rejection, abandonment and worthlessness,” and the other on the power of The Magnificat – was Sonja Corbitt. Raised as a Southern Baptist, she was an active radio personality and evangelist before converting to Catholicism and writing “Unleashed,” a book about how the Holy Spirit is freeing her from a toxic and self-medicating lifestyle.
“She really tried to speak to our inner hearts, saying that we will repeat (our struggles) until we learn the lessons God has for us,” said Sherrie Peters of Highland and Our Lady of Grace parish. “I will now be looking for times when my emotions rise, and seek what God is trying to say to me, a way to depend more on his daily ‘manna.’”
Husband-and-wife team Father Andrew Summerson and Laura Ieraci of St. Mary Byzantine Catholic Church in Whiting presented “Money and Marriage,” a breakout session on the financial pitfalls couples face from a Catholic perspective.
“They said that 70% of couples split because they aren’t financially on the same page, and it has a lot to do with their backgrounds. It matters whether their parents were open in talking about money, or were anxious about finances,” said Rosemary Linas of Cedar Lake, a Holy Name of Jesus parishioner who found the program enlightening. “If they were open in dealing with money, you are more likely to be that way, too.”
Referring to the story of sisters Mary and Martha that inspired the conference theme, “Choose the Better Part,” Bishop Robert J. McClory acknowledged the busy lives of women during the opening Mass. “I commend you for saying, ‘I’m going to be giving some time back to Jesus (today).’ We can be preoccupied with many things, but we may be missing just being with God,” he said.
Serving God “is not a transaction, it’s a relationship,” added the bishop, who suggested women can enrich their prayer life in simple ways, “by arriving early for Mass to pray to God for an extra five minutes, or taking a quiet moment during the day … to encounter the Lord.”