Fly Revival // Blessed is She

Last weekend, my sisters and I attended a Blessed is She revival night. Now, we all had to travel a good distance so we were only able to attend one night. But it was completely worth it! It was two hours of praise, worship, confession, and adoration. Nell O’Leary was the guest speaker, and she touched on many ways for us to build our relationship with God. We were all excited to take part in a night like this. And I was practically bouncing as we pulled into the parking lot. We took a few pictures, grabbed our goodies, and made our way into the church.

Now, everyone’s experience is different. And while I was excited about the event I had also been dealing with feelings of turmoil. However, as the introductions began I started to feel calm. But about mid-way through I had a huge jumbled mess of emotions welling up inside. Then as the monstrance came closer to us the tears just began to pour out of me. And that was my cue - I needed to get up and go to confession. So, I made my way to the back of the church to patiently wait for my turn. As I finished up I told the priest, “There’s so much more, but this is all I can say out loud right now.”

Because lately, there’s been a lot on my heart. I feel like I’m breaking a little bit. I feel like some of my prayers are going unanswered because of my choices. I feel like sometimes I’m wasting time, and others like I’m just going through the motions. I feel like I’m stuck. I feel like I’m trying to scream but no one can hear me. And I feel really sad too. While I know depression shows up in my life from time to time this feeling has felt like a completely different kind of sadness. And it’s kind of hard to explain. So, as the night drew to a close, I made a mental note to pray on the thoughts and feelings that surfaced while I sat there in that church. Keep seeking. Keep praying. Keep trying. Keep learning. That’s all I can really do.

Afterward, we were able to make a few purchases and I was able to preview the new planners that BIS is offering. I get the yearly version instead of the academic one so it won't be out until the end of the year. But the highlight of the night for me came in the form of a Franciscan Friar by the name of Fr. Mark-Mary! He’s one of the hosts on the "Poco a Poco" podcast, which I love. This was my very first time meeting a friar, and I got a hug out of it so that was pretty great! We were able to speak with him for a few moments and then take a picture before heading out.

Overall, it was a really great night! I’m happy I was able to experience it with my sisters too. If you ever get a chance to attend one of these events, definitely do so! It was just two hours, which fit really well into our schedule. The atmosphere was welcoming. And it was just wonderful getting to be around other Catholic women. I really hope that they start having more throughout the year because it was a beautiful experience!