In celebration of “Galentine’s” Day, Fiat and the Sisterhood of Service collaborated for Fiat’s monthly event in the Sacred Heart Chapel in Holy Cross Hall from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Friday. During the event, Sister Mary Amata and Sister Fiat spoke on the importance of supportive woman friendships through biblical reference to Mary’s visitation with Elizabeth.
Amata began the event with a short prayer before offering insight on what fulfilling friendships look like between two people. Amata used both Elizabeth and Mary’s journeys with pregnancy as talking points and relayed these references to examples in her personal life.
“Their joy multiplies in sharing it, that Elizabeth cries out in joy at the coming of Mary, Mary receives Elizabeth's joy and they share the joy of their pregnancies,” Fiat said. “One of my sisters and I, who I travel with a lot ... that would happen in the car to us often. We just call it a laugh tax ... I just think that’s a cool image of what it means to share our joy with one another, that it grows in being shared and we can share that when we feel safe with our friends.”
Fiat then transitioned her discussion to another lesson the story showed in terms of service, including Mary supporting the deliverance of Elizabeth’s baby. Fiat relayed the story’s message to advice her friend gave her in college about the need to receive and give acts of selflessness to others.
“I had a friend in college who would always tell me ‘If you don’t receive a gift from another, then you rob them from the grace of giving you a gift,’” Fiat said. “That’s what John Paul said, we find ourselves most sincerely in a gift of self.”
Along with affirmation, Fiat also highlighted transparency in Mary and Elizabeth’s friendship. Fiat stated this was a crucial aspect of Mary and Elizabeth’s trust in each other, to which she related this to her friend’s action on her wedding day.
“I was reminded of that when another one of my roommates my senior year … on her wedding day, I woke up in our home to this little note under my door that she had written to me and that she did to all of our housemates, just affirming us and thanking us for walking with her in this journey of preparation for her wedding,” Fiat said.
Amata then led the audience in singing the first line of the Magnificat in Latin, which was followed by general announcements from senior Elle Houin, president of the Sisterhood of Service and communication lead of Fiat.
Houin then noted the opportunity to create Valentine’s crafts and cards in Holy Cross Parlor, which would be delivered to Hope Ministries. The organization houses 100 people without homes, including 40 unhoused children.
“Hope Ministries caters to the homeless, and they offer residency for individuals. We really wanted to find an organization that we could send Valentines to and really help make a difference in someone’s [life], even if it is just a sweet note from a stranger,” Houin said.
Junior Kyndal Christy, who does social media and marketing for the Sisterhood of Service, stated the purpose behind the collaboration between Fiat and the Sisterhood of Service was due to similar core values between organizations and what they aim to provide to the community.
“We all have very similar values and very similar things that are important to us. Service is [an] important thing to both groups,” Christy said. “It just made a lot of sense that we can make a bigger impact when we work together.”
Junior Sara Caniglia, vice president of Fiat, spoke on the wider purpose of Fiat Fridays and to how Friday’s event aligned with “Galentine’s” Day.
“Fiat Fridays is just a time to grow in fellowship with one another through Mary, ultimately to Jesus. The idea of this specific event was to have a little ‘Galentine’s’ Day, looking at the relationship of Mary and Elizabeth as a role model for what a ‘Galentine’ can look like,” Caniglia said.
Event attendees noted how the event was helpful for encouraging reflection on personal relationships and developing connections.
“I think it's just a good opportunity to reflect on all of my own friendships and evaluate how I’ve been spending time with my friends,” senior Jocelyn Porter said.
Freshman Lilian Lewen shared a similar sentiment, seeing the event as a way to grow her friendships throughout her first year of college.
“It was nice to learn more about how to deepen friendships, especially as a freshman, when forming friendships in college is so important,” Lewen said.
