In 2018, nearly 900 women gathered at the Hyatt Regency Pittsburgh International Airport for OVERFLOW. Father Boniface Hicks, OSB spoke on a feminine style of holiness, an expression used by Pope Francis. He echoed Pope St. John Paul II’s statement that women have unique and unrepeatable contributions to offer humanity.
During the homily, Bishop Zubik encouraged the women to consider their virtues and God-given gifts and to think about how they can use these gifts to help people see the face of God in their own face. “It’s God’s overflow of grace that must be our overflow of thanks back to him,” Bishop Zubik said. Sister Bernadette DLJC spoke on healing and said that when faced with even the most horrendous or daunting situations, we are not powerless. We have the cross, where Christ’s life was not taken from him; he gave it freely there for our sake. She offered tools to help women combat the giants in their lives and said that we are most powerful when we are on our knees in prayer. “If you never go to the well, how are you going to get the overflow?” she asked. Barbara Heil encouraged women to drink deeply of God’s grace and encounter Jesus in a new way. Their witness will help others to find meaning in their own lives. “Don’t witness to people by bringing them information,” she said. “Witness to people by bringing them into an encounter.”
Andrea Thomas addressed the moments when the well runs dry and we feel abandoned by God. She used the example of a person at the beach during an overcast day who surprisingly finds herself tan the next day; we do not have to feel God in order for Him to be working hard on us. She encouraged women to go to Mass, adoration and the sacraments, even when they do not feel like it. “In his relentless pursuit of us, God uses the darkest moments for the greatest glory,” she said. “We need only look to the cross.” The day concluded with adoration, during which Father Anthony Sciarappa encouraged women to bare their brokenness to the Lord and receive the depths of His love.
2018 OVERFLOW Photo Gallery
(coming soon!)
2018 Schedule
Saturday October 27, 2018 7:30 AM Registration opens/Refreshments 8:00 AM Praise and Worship 8:30 AM Morning Session - Father Boniface Hicks, OSB 10:00 AM Holy Mass 11:15 AM Lunch 1/Breakout Session 1 - Barbara Heil 12:15 PM Lunch 2/Breakout Session 2 - Sr. Bernadette 1:15 PM Lunch 3/ Breakout Session 3 - Andrea Thomas 2:00 PM Afternoon Session - Barbara Heil Adoration, Praise and Worship, Prayer Teams 4:30 PM Closing Remarks 5:00 PM Conference ends
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