When homeschooling mother Ursula Ruiz was first inspired to create a Catholic conference, she thought her target audience would be confined to fellow, homeschooling parents. Drawing from her attendance at parent conferences hosted in a neighboring state, she envisioning a local forum that would include dynamic Catholic speakers as well as offer a wealth of information about the Catholic faith. God had bigger plans.
Bigger Plans
When those early plans of hers were not working out, Ursula realized the vision of a Catholic conference was meant to cast a wider net. It was meant to extend throughout the Diocese of Raleigh. Recognizing God’s bigger plan to ignited the hearts of people from all walks of life, she reached out to friends like Christine Sulzen for help.
I remember telling her (Ursula) that the conference needed a name and she looked in her Bible and found Luke 12:49. -Christine Sulzen
I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!
A Patroness
That took care of the name for the conference, but with so many details to arrange and schedules to coordinate, Ursula and Christine knew the event also needed a patron saint. Our Lady of Perpetual Help assumed the role.
During our first year, it (the title of Our Lady of Perpetual Help) was the name of speaker Shelley Mecum’s school about which she wrote her book. (Then) at a Christmas dinner that Ursula and I attended, in an unexpected way, we received as a gift (an) icon (of Our Lady of Perpetual Help). This was a sign that we knew she was supposed to be the patron saint of IBT. -Christine Sulzen
Indeed, in the years since that first Ignited By Truth Catholic Conference, God’s plans have continued to increase and Our Lady of Perpetual Help has remained the steadfast patroness of the event. Therefore, it is only fitting that preparations for the 17th Ignited By Truth Catholic Conference, scheduled for 2020, include a novena to IBT’s patron saint.
Please, join in petitioning Our Lady of Perpetual Help for the guidance, protection and inspiration needed to continue setting hearts ablaze. Starting on June 18th, 2019 and ending on the Feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, June 27th, pray for those who will be called to speak at the 2020 conference and for those who will work behind-the-scenes as volunteers.
Ignited By Truth Conference Prayer
Dear Lord, thank you for enlightening our minds to realize the great gift You have given us in our Catholic Faith. Thank you for enkindling our hearts with a desire to share this gift with others. Thank you for the opportunity you have given us to unite in the Ignited By Truth Conference.
We ask for your blessing upon the conference. Call those needed to make it happen and guide their efforts in accomplishing Your Will. Bless the speakers, that they may be effective instruments in conveying Your Teaching. Inspire all who hear their words with a desire to know more and share their knowledge with others. Draw all hearts to a deeper conversion and conviction to live according to the teachings of the Catholic Church. Bless all who are touched by the conference with a deeper love for You and zeal for the salvation of souls.
Amen.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help, pray for us!
Become A Prayer Warrior
If you’d like to become a year-round prayer warrior for Ignited By Truth register on the IBT Vounteer page. And if you’d like to make a pilgrimage in honor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, take a trip to Rocky Mount, NC and attend Holy Mass at the parish that bears her name, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church.
