Under this theme, a retreat for women will be held on November 20–22, 2026, at the Parish of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Konayev, Diocese of Almaty (Kazakhstan). The retreat will be led by Sr. Anastasis Omelchenko from the Petropavlovsk community of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy and Sr. Kazimiera Wanat of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth.
The participants will reflect on why things sometimes happen in our lives that overwhelm us and whose meaning we do not understand. Such experiences often provoke disappointment and resistance as our first reaction. As a result, we spend years living in the past, afraid to take a step forward. We fear accepting the course of events because they do not correspond to our vision of a happy life. Why does this happen? What holds us back, and how can we live with these experiences so that they begin to work for our good? The retreat participants will seek answers to these questions by reflecting on the life of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, as a disciple of her Divine Son.