Story by Dorothy K LaMantia | Correspondent

It was a prayer-filled day of personal testimony to faith and healing at the annual Catholic Women of Zion rally as more than 200 women gathered to praise God and honor the ministry’s 29-year history.

Photo Gallery: 2018 Catholic Women of Zion Rally

Women from around the Diocese and beyond came together Sept. 15 in Holy Family Church, Lakewood, where the homily by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., dovetailed with the rally theme, “Come, Follow Me.”

“There is no love on earth that can compare with the love of a mother for her children,” the Bishop said, his homily addressing the theme of healing. “There is no sorrow that can compare with others when her children suffer. At the foot of the Cross, we see that reality, love and suffering unfold before us. Jesus gives us his mother and gives us to his mother. That loving relationship reaches through time to the present day and to the painful experiences of the Church.  Let us pray that Mary will help the wounds of her children and her Church heal.”

Bishop O’Connell, who concelebrated Mass on the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, was joined by Father Michael Sullivan, pastor of St. Mary of the Lake Parish, Lakewood; and Father Thomas Maher, pastor, and Father James Redstone, weekend assistant, both of St. William the Abbot Parish, Howell.

Letting God In

With a vibrant “open your hearts and mouths in thanks,” Maria Vadia, a leader in Miami’s Catholic Charismatic Renewal,  evangelist and author, opened her keynote address offering the multigenerational audience comfort, healing and a challenge.

“Let Jesus become the passion of your lives,” she said. “If you suffer from disease, self-hatred or rejection, the Lord will break those chains. If you don’t love yourself, you cannot love your neighbor. Let the Lord heal you.”

Vadia invited women to invigorate and renew the Church. “Whoever said being Catholic means going to Mass on Sunday then going home?” she said. “We’ve got to take the Gospel outside the walls of the Church. We’re here to change nations, impact the culture.  It’s never too late to start, to accept that God made you for greatness.”

Other speakers included Mary Ann Collett, rally organizer and CWOZ cofounder, and Colleen Kelly-Rayner, full-time lay evangelist and parishioner of St. Veronica Parish, Howell, both of whom shared personal experiences of life and faith. Music was provided by Joyful Praise and the diocesan BLD Philippine Music Ministry. Maki Polish Children’s Dance Group also performed.

Collett called the day healing and inspirational and expressed gratefulness for Bishop O’Connell’s attendance.

“People received peace and hope,” she said. “The bishop’s presence brought the community together as women came together to be formed as ministers. He worshipped with us and affirmed us. We serve the Church, and the Church affirms us as we came together to serve.”

Finding Strength

This was the second year Sanndy Balseca of Ascension Parish, New Milford, attended the rally. “It feeds my spirit. I come here to stay strong and to keep my faith strong,” she said. “I love to see and hear other people and to be encouraged by their stories of healing. It’s a sisterhood I share in.

“As Maria said, my faith isn’t just about going to church on Sunday,” she continued. “It’s about filling my spirit with his love and mercy.”

Theresa Addeo, Mother of Mercy Parish, Asbury Park, a longtime CWOZ member, said she sees the event not only as beneficial to herself but to the Church as a whole. 

“It gives depth to my faith life,” she said. “I need the camaraderie. Because of CWOZ, my friends and I have evolved in the faith, and the Spirit keeps nudging us to do more, and so we have been part of a number of Church ministries together. We’re reaching out and bringing people in.

“It’s important in today’s environment,” she continued. “The Church relies on us to spread the faith. This ministry is still growing, and more people participate every year.”

Joanne Leichte of St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Brant Beach, agreed. “It’s a fellowship, a bond between women sharing the burdens of the heart that are special to women as wives and mothers. When I entered the building, I overheard someone say, ‘I am home again.’

“It’s a place to seek healing for ourselves and loved ones, for physical or emotional needs,” she continued. “You don’t get that everywhere. It’s not like talking about your problems. It’s bringing them to a sacred, holy space many people are seeking and yearning for. Taking the time for our relationship with God is the greatest and only gift we can give him.”