some girlfriends at church have started a ‘Fiat’ club for 14-35 year-olds in an attempt to foster a group geared more toward us young adult girls. we are just getting started and we thought it’d be a good idea to come up with a mission statement so that if/when people show an interest we have a response for what it is we stand for. at this time we are simply answering ‘what does Fiat mean?’ in short, the foundational idea is ‘let your will be done unto me.’
right now it’s just 3 of us ‘big’ girls ages 24-30, one single, one married/no kids, one married w/ kids. we would really like to get more girls our age (most of them are married mommies), but right now we’re basically just hosting get-togethers for the jr high/high shool-aged girls. we try to have a spiritual lesson at each event b/c that’s really our fundamental purpose is to help the young girls (and ourselves) grown in faith a social atmosphere and for them to have social support for their faith within the parish.
if anybody knows a good website with some templates or any other advise would be helpful.
many thanks
This is a wonderful idea, and an important one. I’d like to offer a few thoughts as a man and hence as something of an “outsider.”
First, God’s will for us all generally can be thought of in different ways, from different perspectives, but one way is this: God wills our holiness, our sanctification, our complete embrace in His perfect love or divine charity. Citing Vatican II’s
Lumen Gentium, the
Catechism teaches:
CCC 2013 “All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity.”<LG 40 # 2> All are called to holiness: “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”<Mt 5:48>
In order to reach this perfection the faithful should use the strength dealt out to them by Christ’s gift, so that . . . doing the will of the Father in everything, they may wholeheartedly devote themselves to the glory of God and to the service of their neighbor. Thus the holiness of the People of God will grow in fruitful abundance, as is clearly shown in the history of the Church through the lives of so many saints.<LG 40 # 2>
So I would urge you to include the process of seeking and growing in holiness and the perfection of charity as essential to the mission and the mission statement.
Second, I recommend an intentional focus on the specific creation and vocation of woman, as forming a foundation for finding the personal expression of holiness and love that God had “in mind” so to speak, when He created each of you individually. A good place to begin this is John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter on the
Dignity and Vocation of Women. He is not an “easy read”, but he is worth it. (In spite of the difficulties in reading him, I would still recommend him, rather than any of the many who have written about what he wrote and attempted to re-state and simplify his writings.)
John Paul II begins that document with this prophetic thought from Vatican II:
“The hour is coming, in fact has come, when the vocation of women is being acknowledged in its fullness, the hour in which women acquire in the world an influence, an effect and a power never hitherto achieved. That is why, at his moment when the human race is undergoing so deep a transformation, women imbued with a spirit of the Gospel can do so much to aid humanity in not falling”
I especially stress, “… women imbued with a spirit of the Gospel can do so much to aid humanity in not falling.” God created woman (Eve) a “helper”, a “help-mate” or “companion” suitable to man (Adam) because it was not good that he remain alone. These are dangerous, perhaps pivotal times for humanity, and the need of man is immense for the unique “help” that woman can give him! It is crucially important that women “imbued with the Gospel” find their true vocations - and in doing so, help mankind - humanity - who is in such profound need in this time.
May the Lord lead you in this apostolate.
Blessings and grace to you.
