The annual women’s Lenten retreat will occur on Sunday, March 28, in the Mauck Solarium from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Senior Lucy Vanberkum and sophomore Theresa DiFranco said they organized this event as an opportunity for women to pause, reflect, and prepare themselves for Holy Week and Easter.
“It’s a great time to take a step back from our crazy lives and come together as women of God to allow him to work,” DiFranco said. “If the retreat provides this place of rest, revival, and encounter with Christ, then we did God’s work and fulfilled the retreat’s purpose.”
Organized and run by women of the Catholic Society, the retreat will have praise and worship, a guided meditation and prayer, and a talk by senior Grace Schoenle. There will also be opportunities for prayer ministry at the end of the event.
“I hope that this retreat will give women the chance to stop and rest in Christ’s presence for an evening, to be refreshed as we enter the last stretch of this semester,” Vanberkum said. “I trust that he will lead the people he wants to this retreat, and I simply pray that we remain open to his guidance.”
This year’s retreat is themed “Deep Waters.” DiFranco said she received this theme idea in prayer and thought it would help women prepare their hearts for Easter.
“We thought it’s the perfect time to reflect on our experiences this Lent and look deeply into our hearts to discern what it is that Jesus is asking of us now,” Vanberkum said. “What are those deep waters that he wants us to step into? What is that obstacle in our life that he’s asking us to finally face up to? What is the wound that is keeping us back from allowing him to open our hearts to him?
Vanberkum and DiFranco both said they are excited to see how Jesus would present himself to the women at this retreat.
“I think what I’m most excited for, however, is seeing what it is that Jesus does in the hearts of every woman who comes,” Vanberkum said. “Ultimately, this retreat isn’t ours, it’s his, and I just can’t wait to spend three hours deeply immersed in his presence and serving his desires for the Christian community on campus.”
Students are encouraged to register for a nacho dinner preceding the retreat and the event itself. The registration form for the retreat can be found in the Student Activities Office newsletter.
