Intro
Hello, My name is Cindy, and I decided to go on the FIAT90 journey along with many other Catholic women across the US and maybe the world. I’m excited, anxious, and afraid. Excited because I would love to learn more and deepen my faith. Anxious because I am not totally sure what to expect. And I am afraid to fail.
So for those that do not know what FIAT90 is, it’s described as a “90 Day Novena Based on Marion Devotion and Virtue.” I’m not going to lie – I had no idea what that meant.
I heard about the FIAT90 from my ministry, the Los Angeles/San Gabriel Valley Search Young Adult Ministry, where some group members sent out a text to invite all the women in the “Core Team” to be a part of it. Being who I am, I immediately signed up. It’s free!
But I did see that the challenge was going to begin on January 1st, and I got the text while on New Year’s holiday with my hun’s family. So I didn’t think to do any prep.
WHAT A MISTAKE THAT WAS…
Things I did wrong
Oh, my goodness. First, I printed the downloadable booklet, and I totally fudged the print settings. My recommendation is to set it to “Flip on long edge.” Once I printed the booklet, I realized that the 54-day Novena was formatted differently than a regular Rosary. There were additional “intros” and “outros” to each mystery, and the Rosay doesn’t begin with the normal “Our Father.” I had to figure out the format, and it took me a hot minute to understand. That being said, I was not off to the best start.
I just realized that I didn’t answer a lot of things. I’m going to retrace my steps a bit.
Why, What, and How
What is FIAT90?
F.I.A.T. stands for Faith, Integrity, Accountability, and Truth, and it also means “Let it be done.” It was developed by two women going to a Catholic College who wanted to help themselves and other women to make lifestyle changes that would draw them closer to God. FIAT90 was designed to “mirror” Exodus, which is also a 90-day program designed for men, but the women wanted to design this program for women.
What are the expectations of FIAT90?
I don’t know if there are any expectations per se of FIAT90. It’s really up to the individual to figure out what lifestyle, physical, and spiritual disciplines to pursue. They have some suggestions listed in the brochure, and if you want to add or subtract items, it’s up to you. Below are some examples.
- Lifestyle Disciplines
- No gossiping, no complaining
- Limited TV and Movies
- Limit secular music/podcasts/media
- Physical Disciplines
- Fasting
- Getting up at the 1st Alarm
- Spiritual Disciplines
- 54 day Rosary Novena
- Marian Consecration
- Daily Mass
- Bi-Monthly Confession
Why did I decide to do FIAT90?
What really caught my attention was the 54 Day Rosary Novena and Marian Consecration. When I first read “90 Day Novena Based on Marian Devotion…” I didn’t quite understand what that meant. I really thought it was a 90 Day Novena. For those who don’t know, a Novena is nine days of prayer, usually asking for the intercession of a Saint or Mary. For non-Catholics and Catholics may need some clarifying info…we are not praying to the saints or to Mary. We ask them to pray for us. Father Mike Schmitz has a really thorough explanation of what a Novena is, where it comes from, guidelines, and Consecration to Our Lady in this video.
If the Novena is 54 days, then what happens on the other 36 days?
That’s where the Marian Consecration comes in. There is a book called 33 Days of Morning Glory, and it’s day-by-day prayers to Consecrate ourselves to Jesus through Mary.
What is Consecration?
To consecrate ourselves is to be made Holy, and to Consecrate ourselves to Jesus through Mary is to give Mary full permission to help form you. I really like the explanation by Michel E. Gaitley, MIC, in the 33 Days to Morning Glory book (pages 26-29). He explains that Mary wasn’t just chosen to give birth to Jesus; she was chosen to raise Jesus and, after the death of Jesus, to help the apostles and disciples in their own formation. Therefore we are all called to deepen our relationship to Jesus through Mary. I’m no expert. This is me paraphrasing…
Why go through 90 days?
Honestly, this sounds like an interesting way of nudging me to do the work. I completed Bible in a Year with Father Mike Schmitz through Ascension Press in December of 2023, and I learned so much about the Word of God and my Catholic Faith. It was done in a structured manner and with a Facebook Group community where I got to follow along with others. It was a nice community to belong to, and for me having a pre-built structure helps. With FIAT90, they have a pre-built structure and community, too. So, 90 days is good because I have a feeling that I’ll get so much out of it.
I created a workbook
All of this being said, I was having issues trying to understand the 54 day Rosary and how I was going to structure my 90 days. That’s when I decided to create a FIAT90 workbook. It’s not an official workbook…so I hope they don’t mind that I took liberties with their booklet, but I wanted to share it with others. This will specifically help when doing the 54 Day Rosary Novena. Feel free to download it. If you have any suggestions, send me a comment.
How have days 1-3 with FIAT90 been?
Well, here goes day #3. I’m already a little behind and not totally following the lifestyle and physical disciplines that I want to stick to, but tomorrow is another day. I know it’s all possible so long as it’s for God. I’ll blog more in detail about my personal goals and journey.