CCW Jubilee Year in review

by Lila Schmidt

Jubilee Year! Was it? Yes, it was. Pope John Paul II proclaimed this a Jubilee Year. During the year, many pilgrimages were made. The Church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and Mary’s Garden located in Washington D.C., was one of many pilgrimage sites. Mary’s Garden is supported by contributions of members of the National Council of Catholic Women. Bishop Raymond A. Lucker, bishop of the New Ulm diocese, in union with our Holy Father, proclaimed March 25 to be a Jubilee Day for Women. Many parishes celebrated this day for women, "Women Saying Yes to God", a reference to the Feast of the Annunciation when Mary said yes.

In April at the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women Convention, we gathered to support, empower, and educate all Catholic women in spirituality, leadership, and service. In the year-end reports of the commission and committee coordinators we saw how women of the diocese worked to carry out the mission of NCCW. We were privileged this year to listen to Father Mark Stang as he shared his personal story. He told us how he was called to the priesthood, how adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and devotion to Mary helped him to discern God’s will in his life and he told about the miraculous disappearance of the large tumor in his abdomen. He also said yes to God’s will.

Women of the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women say yes to God by carrying out the goals and objectives of NCCW which is driven by the commitment to making the world a better place. You have opened wide the doors of your heart. At Christmas may you experience Jesus’ birth as a door that opens for you. Step inside!

Lila Schmidt is from Marshall and is the New Ulm Diocesan Council of Catholic Women President.