ATLANTA—At the next Magnificat gathering for women, Dianne Aube, a parishioner of St. Stephen the Martyr Church, in Lilburn, will be speaking of her faith journey.

The Magnificat meal will be held on Saturday morning, Feb. 21, at Holy Cross Church in Atlanta from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. All women are invited to attend the morning, which includes a seated, catered breakfast.

This is a morning of friendship, of faith sharing, and of the work of the Holy Spirit.

Dianne Aube

Donna Byron, who has attended the Magnificat gatherings regularly, urged women to give themselves the gift of coming and to bring a friend.

“It is a gift you treat yourself to because you are important,” Byron said. “Yes, you are giving up your Saturday morning, but boy, what joy you will receive in return. And oh the people you will meet that our Lord places there just for you.”

“You feel so good when you leave and look forward to next time,” she said.

“Our meetings are Spirit-filled,” Byron continued. “Bring a friend. Perhaps pay their way. Let them know someone cares about them.”

The inspiration for each meal is the friendship between Mary and her cousin Elizabeth, described in St. Luke’s Gospel. Magnificat is an international Catholic women’s ministry. In Atlanta, Magnificat meals are offered four times a year.

At the February gathering, guest speaker Dianne Aube will talk about her spiritual journey, which she says began when her parents took her to a Catholic charismatic renewal event at Notre Dame University when she was in middle school. She will share how through difficulties in her life, including bullying and the experience of miscarriages, she has felt the continuing presence of God and how in her work, her marriage and her son she has found fulfillment and joy.

Experience praise and worship with the music ministry and a time of intercessory prayer. This gathering comes at the very beginning of Lent.

Reservations are $15 apiece and have to be made in advance. Please send name, address, contact information and a check made payable to Magnificat Joyful Visitation to Jo Ann Rademacher, 1260 Mountain Ivey Court, Sugar Hill, GA 30518. Reservations must be postmarked by Feb. 14. No tickets will be returned. Check-in will be at the door for those with reservations only.

Priests and religious are invited to attend free of charge, but reservations are still requested to plan for the meal. Since the Magnificat is designed to speak to the hearts of women free of distractions, it is respectfully requested that young children not be in attendance.

Doors open early. Guests are encouraged to arrive by 9 a.m.

Holy Cross Church is located at 3773 Chamblee Tucker Road, Atlanta, less than a mile from the Chamblee Tucker Road exit on Interstate 285 outside the perimeter.

For more information, please contact Jo Ann Rademacher at 770-831-0693.

To receive an invitation to this or upcoming Magnificat meals by email, please send a request to joyfulvisitation@gmail.com.