“Purgatory is where you will have the capacity to see how the world would have been (your family, your neighborhood, your community, your world) had you done what God called you to do,” so said presenter, Mary Jo Anderson to the nearly 60 women who gathered yesterday for the first day of the Benedicta Leadership Institute for Women being held here in Sacramento, CA.

The Institute is an outgrowth of Women of Grace and seeks to identify, educate, develop and train Catholic women to be active leaders and mentors of the day in accord with their state in in life. Its hope is that Catholic women will infuse the institutions, organzations, and governmental agencies of our day and time with Catholic moral and social teachings so as to bring about the culture of life.

The presenters of this year’s Institute are Catholic Journalist Mary Jo Anderson and Camille Pauley, President of Healing the Culture.com. Yesterday both speakers encouraged the women to enter the marketplace of ideas armed with Catholic truth and ready to help make converts out of secularists who seek to separate the society of man from a godly perspective and godly principles.

Today, Pauley has led the women through a workshop experience in which they can apply the principles they have learned to real life situations. This practical application helps the women develop communication skills and team approach efforts to resolve issues and problem-solve solutions.

Demographically, the participants range in age from early thirties to mid sixties.

Following are some quotes from yesterday’s session that seemed particularly poignant to me. I hope they will give you pause for pondering and reflecting:

“Communities do not reflect the values of the people who live there. They reflect the values of the people who participate.”

“Separation of Church and State originated from the French Revolution and literally meant the separation of the State (France) from the Catholic Church.”

“Don’t view the secularist as your enemy, but rather as a potential convert.”

“It is not permissable for anyone to remain idle.”

The Women of Grace National Conference opens later this afternoon with a liturgy celebrated at the downtown Cathedral by Bishop Soto.

Check my blog for further updates this weekend live from Conference headquarters.

We are busy preparing to leave for the Women of Grace® National Conference to be held at the Hyatt in downtown Sacramento. The event begins with the Benedicta Leadership Institute for Women Thursday, September 18 to Friday, September 19. The conference itself begins Friday evening the 19^th and runs until Sunday afternoon, September 21. I will be blogging to you from the conference to keep you informed of all of the events and highlights. Please remember Father Ed, our staff, and myself in your prayers. May every woman who attends experience the peace, joy and delight that only Jesus Christ can bring!