COLUMBUS – Immaculate Conception School’s 8th grader Lizzy Fields won 2nd place in the nationwide 2020 Maryknoll Student Essay Contest.
A Maryknoll representative presented the certificate and $300 prize to Lizzy, who recited from her essay during Tuesday’s mass. The essay centered on Thérèse of Lisieux and Lizzy’s mother who passed away after a 10 year battle with cancer.
“My mother showed selfless love and service and showed how to love with joy,” Lizzy said. “Spreading God’s love is so important because it shows why we should love each other. This is how we can swim against the tide and share Jesus and our faith.”
Jorge Rivera, a representative from the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, presented the certificate to Lizzy.
“Her personal touch with her mother and overcoming that – she really saw that from a perspective of love,” Rivera said.
Additionally, Rivera relayed a message from Maryknoll’s Superior General Father Raymond J. Finch, who found the essay “thoughtful and moving.”
With the foundation of the essay centering on Christus Vivit, Immaculate Conception’s Father Matt Hoover said it’s an essay that truly goes to the heart of our faith.
“In a world that seems to be full of anxiety and fear, we need to be unafraid to share God’s goodness and joy,” Father Hoover said.
Following the presentation, Lizzy’s father John Fields emphasized their focus on praying together every day.
“She’s a bright light – that’s her,” John said. “She loves Jesus and truly loves her faith.”
Maryknoll, a Catholic non-profit mission movement now comprised of four organizations, has been the heart and hands of the U.S. Catholic Church’s overseas mission work for more than 100 years.
