Women’s Morning of Prayer and Reflection focuses on Sacred Heart

By Elizabeth Pardi

On Saturday, Feb. 20, Westerville St. Paul the Apostle Church hosted a Women’s Morning of Prayer and Reflection, which featured musical performances and talks by sisters of the Daughters of Holy Mary of the Heart of Jesus from Steubenville. 

Emily Jaminet, Columbus-based author and speaker, and Stephanie Rapp, director of the diocese’s Marriage and Family Life Office, also spoke. All of the talks centered on the importance of enthroning homes and organizations to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

The morning opened with Mass celebrated by Father Jonathan Wilson, pastor of St. Paul and Jaminet’s brother. In his homily, Father Wilson told the women to “allow this to be a day of encounter with the Lord in your heart.” 

He said that to help others experience Christ’s mercy, love and healing, the women must first make themselves vulnerable to Him.

After Mass, Sister Maria Ecclesiae, H.SMCJ, spoke about forming a relationship with Jesus. She focused on Matthew 11:28, in which Jesus says, “Come unto me and I will give you rest.” 

Sister Maria Ecclesiae emphasized the importance of establishing “a vital relationship with the Lord,” which she said is necessary  to practice true Christian charity. 

“It’s not a one-time encounter,” she said. “It’s an everyday encounter.”

She also challenged the women to trust in Jesus and expect nothing other than a relationship with Him. “(We should not say,) ‘I trust in you, but I expect this of you,’ but simply, ‘I expect only you.’”

After Sister Maria Ecclesiae’s talk, she joined one of her fellow sisters who played guitar while they both sang two songs, I Will Be with You and Christ, Now That I Am Yours.
Sister Ingrid de Maria, H.SMCJ, took the pulpit next to give a talk titled “Making Jesus King.”

Her message contained the repeated exhortation to the women to “choose life” for themselves and their families, instead of allowing sin to creep in and destroy. 

“We are here to help you walk out of this church feeling empowered with the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” she said. She urged her listeners to be aware of the things in their homes through which Satan enters, such as social media and TV.

Sister Ingrid de Maria’s talk, as well as the rest of the event, was an appeal to those in attendance to perform the Sacred Heart enthronement in their homes, inviting Jesus in to bring life to them and their families.

Although Ohio’s branch of the Daughters of Holy Mary of the Heart of Jesus is based in Steubenville, the sisters regularly travel to Columbus to run a program called DOYMAR, which offers prayer and spiritual education for children as young as first grade. 

More information, and opportunities to donate to their order, can be found on the sisters’ website, hsmcj.org.  

Jaminet spoke next, centering her talk on the notion that the faithful require Christ to renew them daily or else they become depleted. 

“We need to awaken our hearts so that we feel and we see with our hearts, so that we can love in a way that is renewed every single day,” she said. 

She said that, as a mother of seven, “(I) can wake up all happy (thinking), ‘Jesus loves me. Life is great,’ and then at the end of the day, I’m (cranky) and back on my knees (praying), ‘Jesus, please renew me. Renew all things with your perfect love.’ 

“My vessel runs empty without Jesus, and that’s the same for you. That’s the purpose of this day … to be restored and renewed.”

Jaminet, who is the executive director of the Sacred Heart Enthronement Network, also encouraged the women to enthrone their homes. 

“It’s really about you and your family seeking these graces,” she said. “Of course, it’s wonderful to invite family and friends and a priest over to witness the enthronement, but the truth is, we are in a pandemic, and we need the grace now, and we don’t want to wait until life gets quiet again. 

“This is the time. We’re in the storm. We need these graces tremendously.”

After her talk, Jaminet introduced Rapp, who said, “Our diocese actually was consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It actually was in 1873 by our very first bishop … and then Bishop (Frederick) Campbell, our last bishop before Bishop (Robert) Brennan, reconsecrated it in 2015.” 

She acknowledged that having an entire diocese consecrated to the Sacred Heart is “a big deal.”

The event concluded with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, giving the women the opportunity to ponder and pray about all they had learned and whatever was on their hearts. 

Elizabeth Pardi blogs at www.lovealwaysliz.com. Follow her on instagram @lovealwaysliz