Catholic Women's Conference sold out

For the second year in a row the Worcester Catholic Women’s Conference has sold out, said organizer Corinn Dahm this week.
If you don’t have a ticket, you can sign up online to be put on the waiting list.
 Mrs. Dahm suggested that interested women should  go to the website –  www.worcestercatholicwomensconference.com –  and provide the organizers with contact information. They will be contacted if space opens up. If no space opens up, at least those who have signed up will be contacted early with details for the next conference, she said.
The venue at Assumption College can accommodate 450 people and the conference committee is discussing alternative space for the coming years. Mrs. Dahm said.
One of the featured speakers at the Nov. 23 conference is Kathleen Beckman, a published author and co-founder of Foundation of Prayer for Priests. The title of her talk is, “Building a Eucharistic Heart and Home.”
As a cradle Catholic, Kathleen Beckman was “formed and fervent as a youth, lukewarm after marriage and motherhood, and then set ablaze for God on pilgrimage to Our Lady of Lourdes, France in 1991.”  Formed in eucharistic discipleship, studying at Catholic institutes, and training in the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola and Carmelite spirituality, Kathleen’s faith and knowledge flourished.  For the last 25 years, she has served the Church and shared her passion with others by leading retreats, parish missions, conferences, writing books, hosting, or being interviewed on Catholic TV and radio.  Since 2003, she sits on the advisory board of Pope Leo XIII Institute, a deliverance and exorcism ministry.
She is the president and co-founder of Foundation of Prayer for Priests, an international apostolate of prayer and service for the holiness of priests.  No one is in more need of intercessory prayer than Catholic priests who battle on the front lines for the salvation of souls, she says.  And adds that lay people have a vital role to play in supporting priestly renewal and vocations.  
In her book, “Praying for Priests: An Urgent Call for the Salvation of Souls,” she explains the special vocation that we all have, with the guidance of Our Lady and the Holy Spirit, to pray for the sanctification of priests. She also suggests prayers and devotions that will shower graces upon the priesthood and help heal its struggles.
In 2017, Sophia Institute Press published Ms. Beckman’s book, “When Women Pray: Eleven Catholic Women on the Power of Prayer,” to inspire a new outpouring of prayer for healing and holiness.  Through poignant, personal stories and Church teaching, 11 Catholic women magnify the Marian vocation as living contemplatives in action, as they ponder, practice, and pray.  In the book, Ms. Beckman illuminates the nature of prayer, as seen in the example of the Blessed Mother.  She shares her journey from sitting wounded and numb before the Eucharist to being set aflame with Divine Love.
Having endured the tragic murder of a loved one, Ms. Beckman learned the healing power of forgiveness.  She wrote “God’s Healing Mercy: Finding Your Path to Forgiveness, Peace, and Joy” for those whose hearts are carrying a heavy burden and are desiring God’s healing.  She explains the power of, and our need for, Jesus’ Divine Mercy to heal and to be transformed. She also offers the scriptural spiritual exercises and strategies to create a plan to proceed.  Each chapter is followed by the story of a beloved saint who overcame such struggles by the grace of God.  
Our spiritual life relies heavily on forming a habit of prayer, but we often struggle at finding the time and ability to truly pray.  Kathleen Beckman has much to teach us about the importance of supporting priests, growing in spiritual motherhood, intercessory prayer, healing, and forgiveness.  In all her wisdom, her goal is simple, “My only desire is to magnify Christ – with Mary.”
If you would like to hear her speak, please attend the Worcester Catholic Women’s Conference: “The Eucharist: The Source and Summit of Our Faith” at Assumption College on Saturday, Nov. 23. For more information visit the website www.worcestercatholicwomensconference.com.
The conference begins with registration at 7:30 a.m., followed by Benediction and a music program. Confessions will be available during the lunch break held at noon. Lunch is included in the ticket price.
Bishop McManus will conclude the event with the celebration of Mass in the college’s Chapel of the Holy Spirit at 4 p.m. Also, there will be an opportunity to view a presentation on several approved eucharistic miracles.
Other featured speakers  include:
• Michelle Schmidt, who was active as a speaker for the Silent No More Awareness Campaign and worked with 40 Days for Life, will be presenting her talk, “Divine Life: The Profound Connection Between the Eucharist and Abortion.”
• Mother Miriam of the Lamb of God, O.S.B., who converted from Judaism and founded Daughters of Mary, Mother of Israel’s Hope, will speak about, “The Holy Eucharist: the Passover Fulfilled.”
• Tim Francis, an evangelist and revert to the Catholic faith, who speaks about eucharistic miracles, will be wrapping up the speaker’s program with his talk, “Signs From God: Miracles and Their Meaning.”