With temperatures already soaring near 100 degrees before noon, girls attending FIAT Summer Camp were undaunted.
Moments after attending holy hour, there wasn’t a cell phone in sight as the campers found ample shade on the campus of Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Md. Some journaled, others chatted with religious sisters, and some sat alone, meditating near a fountain. “Right now, I’m reflecting on how I can grow and make peace with myself,” said Sofia Garcia, of All Saints Catholic Church in Manassas. “Sometimes I struggle, but being here reminds me of how grateful I should be.”
The vocation discernment camp July 14-18 attracted 84 high school girls to the historic campus that was founded in 1808. The camp combines spiritual exercises, daily Mass, sports and games, and a chance to enjoy fellowship with religious sisters.
Zoey White of St. John Bosco Church in Woodstock said she is considering a vocation. “It’s really fun to talk to all the sisters and to have so much time in adoration,” she said. “I like how happy the sisters are. It’s been really great.”
Sitting on a hill in between two girls, Sister Agata, of the Apostolic Sisters of St. John said that camp is as much of a blessing for the sisters as it is for the campers. “I’m so inspired by all these beautiful young ladies we have at this camp,” she said. “We sisters need this. We need to see young women so on fire for Jesus.”
FIAT was a special homecoming for Sister Mary Agatha of the Children of Mary, who experienced the call to religious life at FIAT before her sophomore year at John Paul the Great High School in Potomac Shores in 2016. She remembered the exact moment she heard the call. “There was a moment in the chapel when a sister walked by my pew and I felt deep in my heart that Our Lord was asking me, ‘Would you live this life for me, and would you be my bride?,’ ” she said.
Eight years later, she’s guiding other young women in their discernment. “I’m helping them commit to prayer,” she said. “Often at home their life is so crazy, they don’t have time for peace and quiet to read the Scriptures, pray the rosary and to build those habits of prayer, to really hear the Lord’s voice.”
In contrast to the unpeaceful news swirling outside, peace and joy prevailed amongst campers. “Just being in nature, hearing the birds, looking at the sky, reminds me of God’s creation and how wonderful he is,” said Ava Malanga of St. Patrick Church in Fredericksburg. “The sisters are so filled with joy and you can see in everything they do that the Lord is shining through them. The Lord’s love is reflected upon everyone who is around them.”
“It’s really hard for me to find silence at home,” said Ava Grasso, who attends St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church in Fredericksburg. “In the silence I can hear God’s voice, and right now, with the wind blowing, sitting on this hill, I feel like I can hear his voice.”
Grasso is just now thinking about what religious life means, but after two days of camp, she feels an “inkling” after seeing how joyful the sisters are. “I’ve never interacted with sisters before, it’s really eye-opening,” she said. “They are so funny and full of life. They have peace in their heart, and they bring everything back to God. I want to explore this more.”
