Our Women’s Prayer group met for the 1st time on Friday, July 17, 2020. We met in one of our backyards in Biloxi, Mississippi. Like many of you, we were struggling with all that 2020 continued to bring. We felt isolated from each other and had worries for our families. Many of us had been separated from the Eucharist, from our church activities, from family outings, from school and work, from any sense of normalcy. There were many changes happening in our church and religious lives that left us wondering where our place was in the world.

 

That evening we gathered as women and mothers, with our daughters, and used our voices to cry out to God for guidance, for wisdom, for comfort and for purpose. We prayed and sang to God out loud, surrendering our worries and fears, asking for Him to show us His will; praying for our families, for each other, and for our world. Not every woman among us normally felt comfortable sharing their thoughts and feelings out loud, yet that evening, surrounded in safety by the love and encouragement of each other, every person spoke.

 

Under God’s beautiful night sky, we felt God’s incredible love for each of us. The more we spoke His name, read, and proclaimed His word, the more we wanted to know Him. God revealed to us that night the knowledge that He has given unique and individual gifts to each of us. He gave us the ability to love and support each other and the hearts that desire to include, encourage and welcome other women too.

 

After almost 7 months, seeking to love and serve the Lord in Women’s  ministry, God has revealed a name for our Women’s prayer group. A name that reflects the hearts of service to each other, to which He blessed us. It seems fitting, that on “An Evening with Mary”, with the beautiful example of service our Blessed Mother has given us, that the name shown to us, would be revealed.