Speaker encourages women to look at things through eyes of Jesus

Musician and composer Jan Novotka of Scranton, Pa., combines music and reflections in her faith-filled presentations. She was the keynote speaker for “Spring Into Life,” the seventh annual Catholic Women’s Convocation on March 14 at St. Christopher Parish in Indianapolis. (Submitted photo)

By Trudy Bledsoe (Special to The Criterion)

Sacred. Contemplative. Hopeful.

St. Christopher Parish’s seventh annual Catholic Women’s Convocation on March 14 in Indianapolis was all that and more, according to some of the 140 participants from many parishes and cities in Indiana who enjoyed the Lenten day of reflection.

Musician and composer Jan Novotka of Scranton, Pa., expressed her love for creation rooted in spirituality during her keynote presentation for “Spring Into Life.”

Novotka also is a spiritual director, pastoral associate and master gardener.

Her CDs include “Together in the Great Work,” “Lovers of Life” and “In the Name of All that Is.”

The women began the day of reflection by singing “Everyday God,” the convocation theme song, which set the tone for a contemplative, meditative day.

Next, Novotka sang “All Is Holy, All Is One,” which continued the meditative flow of music interspersed with Scripture passages read by several women who assisted with the reflection. Many of the participants cried during the song and prayer response.

Novotka challenged the women to look at each other as if looking though the eyes of Jesus in order to realize that Jesus lives within each person.

She also discussed ways to experience God, rejoice in the reality that God is everywhere and focus on living in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

God calls people to build unity with each other, she said, not to build walls of separation.

“Lose yourself,” she emphasized, “[and] you will find life in the Kingdom of God. … Become transformed by the presence of God in the risen, shimmering Christ.”

To reinforce that message, she sang “Everywhere We Go, We Are in God’s Presence.”

Novotka also talked at length about living our lives as if we are truly in God’s presence.

“For it is really true,” she said. “How would life be different if we lived in that way? If every conversation, action and place we went was in God’s presence? A truly living faith would arise and life on Earth would change.”

Novotka concluded the day of contemplation, meditation and celebration with musical selections expressing sacredness and hope.

Nancy Meyer, a pastoral associate at St. Christopher Parish, said “some of the women said this was the best convocation ever” because of the richness of the keynote presentation and workshops.

Meyer said Novotka is a gifted contemplative musician and composer as well as an insightful spiritual director.

“In her keynote presentation, she certainly brought all that together to lead the group of women into a prayer of God being present in every moment, in every breath, in every day,” Meyer said. “She had a wonderful, gentle way of leading the group into prayer, and allowing us to sing, to listen, to reflect and to share God’s presence in our life.”

(Senior reporter Mary Ann Wyand assisted with this story.) †