...at the 2016 Catholic Women of the Year Luncheon, a tradition established in 1968 and thriving joyously....and guest speaker Clare Asquith gave us a magnificent description of brave Catholic women of the 16th century who upheld the Faith and inspired William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale with its theme of honour finally vindicated and truth rediscovered...a reminder to us all of the heritage that has come down to us, the valour needed to uphold it, the moral and spiritual needs of our country today...
Every year, nonminations for Britain's "unsung Catholic heroines" are invited, and they flow in from across the country: a committee drawn from representatives of Catholic lay organisations votes for four of them, and they attend a Luncheon where they recieve flowers and where large numbers of Catholic ladies meet to celebrate, network, and honour the Faith.
This year's four women include a Sister in the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, a doctor specialising in natural fertility awareness and marriage preparation, an academic pioneering training for catechists, and a young musician campaigning on behalf of unborn and disabled children. You can read about them all here...
The atmosphere at this annual gathering is one of shared faith and values. Among much else, it's a joyful, talkative place with lots of useful networking and swapping of ideas and news on plans and projects. It's also an astonishingly moving event: it's amazing to discover how much good work, neighbourly help, and useful enterprising activities are initiated by Britain's Catholic women...
It's a very traditional event: Grace, a letter from the Holy Father (this year's referred, of course to the Jubilee of Mercy and its importance), the Loyal Toast to HM the Queen...my happy task was to give the vote of thanks to our speakers, which I did with a glad heart...
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