Exceptional thought-leaders and practitioners
Pre-Congress Workshops
Resilience: The “Secret Sauce” of Health and Holiness
Presenter: Sister Mary Pat Garvin, RSM, PhD
Resilience, the capacity to engage life’s challenges and not be crushed by them, may just well be the “secret sauce” of health and holiness! Current explorations in the fields of psychology and spirituality highlight the role resilience plays throughout our entire human/spiritual journey. In times past, resilience was often understood as a given; you either had an ample supply… or perhaps not. Today, resilience is known to be both a human capacity and a grace that can be cultivated and strengthened over a lifetime.
This pre-Congress workshop is designed for vocation and formation ministers, life-long formation ministers, and congregational leaders. We will explore resilience from both a psychological and spiritual perspective. Specifically, we will consider how resilience, the “secret sauce” of health and holiness, may be identified, nurtured, and strengthened during vocation discernment and the formative journey (which, in reality, lasts a lifetime!).
Sister Mary Pat Garvin, RSM, PhD, a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, serves as an educator, consultant, and facilitator for national and international conferences of religious, as well as religious congregations worldwide. Her other ministerial experiences over the years have included: a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Institute Leadership Team (2011-2017); co-designer and instructor in the UISG international program for the preparation of formators; and educator in primary, secondary, and higher education, including the Gregorian University where she received a doctorate in psychology and served on the faculty for eight years. Currently, Mary Pat is a member of the national boards of the Religious Formation Conference (RFC) and the Inter-Congregational Collaborative Novitiate (ICCN). In 2017 she received the Penet Award from the RFC for her contribution to the ministry of initial and ongoing formation. In 2025, Mary Pat received the Outstanding Leadership Award from the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR). Her research interest is the interplay of spirituality and psychology in the promotion of a healthy and holy living of religious life.
Synodality: Now What for Consecrated Religious?
Presenter: James Chukwuma Okoye, CSSp, LSS
This workshop will tease out the theological and historical foundations of synodality and explore some of its implications for a vibrant religious life in the United States; particularly, how synodality might inform religious formation.
Recommended reading:
- Synodality: A New Way of Proceeding in the Church by Rafael Luciani
- Reforming the Church: A Synodal Way of Proceeding by Serena Noceti
- Understanding the Synod on Synodality, 2023 Session: A Community of Mutual Empowerment by James Chukwuma Okoye
James Chukwuma Okoye, CSSp, LSS (PIB, Rome, 1975), MA Biblical Languages (Oxford, England, 1977), D.Phil., Targums (Oxford, 1980) is professor emeritus of Old Testament Studies. He was a member of the International Theological Commission (1986-1991) and held the Carroll Stuhlmueller Chair of the Old Testament at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago. His latest publications include Understanding the Synod on Synodality, 2023 Session: A Community of Mutual Empowerment, Genesis 12—50: A Narrative Theological Commentary, and “In the Person of Christ": Reflections on Priestly Spirituality. He has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles and chapters in books. Father Okoye is also general editor of the African American Catholic Youth Bible and the editor of Spiritan Horizons.