BY KATHI STEARNS

Staff Writer

DUNWOODY-As the Olympic torch journeys to Atlanta for the 1996 games, over 300 women were challenged to carry their spiritual torches at a Magnificat prayer breakfast held May 4 at All Saints Church.

"As you walk the streets of Atlanta you can see the construction and the ongoing beautification projects as the city prepares for the games," said Olga Myers, founder of the Joyful Visitation chapter of Magnificat. "But the question that each of us must ask ourselves today is, 'Are we ready for our spiritual Olympics?' The torch for our spiritual Olympics is Jesus. The word of God is the source of our light. God brought us here today to light our torch."

Members of the Magnificat service team placed Bibles and prayer cards at each table as a reminder that while Jesus is the light of the world, his light shines in Scripture. Thirty minutes of song set the tone for the morning of worship and prayer. Songs such as "We Are Many Parts," "I Will Call Upon The Lord," "He Is Exalted," "Thy Word" and "Magnificat" echoed throughout the room. Elyse O'Kane and Mary Welch Rogers led the participants in song.

"Prayer leads us to the source of our light, our eternal flame, Jesus Christ," Myers said. "Today people are suffering from a hunger that can be satisfied by God's word which is found both in the Bible and in the sacred traditions of the Church." Citing Psalm 119:105 Myers said, "His word is a lamp unto our feet and a light for our path."

Madeline Estafen, a parishioner of St. Stephen the Martyr Mission, Lilburn, was the featured speaker at the prayer breakfast. Estafen has presented Walk Thru the Bible seminars at numerous parishes in the Archdiocese of Atlanta and throughout the southeast. She feels that God's word was the lamp which guided her to this ministry and remains present in her life as the light for her personal faith journey.

"I am not a Scripture scholar," she said. "I am someone who has a passion for the Scriptures. What I'd like for you to see in me is one beggar showing another beggar where the bread is. Teaching is one special gift that God has given me."

From 1976-1984 while employed as the financial administrator at St. Pius X High School, Atlanta, Estafen taught Old and New Testament classes using the Walk Thru technique. It was during this time period that she discovered that teaching Walk Thru was something she wanted to do.

"The first time I attended the seminar I realized that this was a way I could share my faith," she said. "I never could be comfortable going up to someone and saying 'Sister, have you been saved? That just isn't the Catholic way. The Walk Thru presented the perfect opportunity for me to share my faith and not feel like a geek."

However, Walk Thru the Bible allowed only ordained ministers to teach their seminars. On two separate occasions Estafen's application was denied. In 1995 the Walk Thru the Bible ministry agreed to recognize her master's degree in religious education from Loyola University as her prerequisite for leading the Walk and she became the first Catholic and the first woman to be so honored.

Walk Thru the Bible seminars provide participants, all of whom have different scriptural backgrounds, with keys to the facts, dates, names and places mentioned in the Bible utilizing interactive hand signs and body movements. Participants actually become geographical locations, people and events as they learn about the books and authors of Scripture. At the conclusion of the Old Testament Walk Thru, seminar participants should be able to recite from memory the 77 most important people, places and events found in the Old Testament. Almost two million people world-wide have taken the Walk Thru the Old and New Testaments.

"Catholics are not genetically inferior to Protestants when it comes to learning the Scriptures," Estafen said jokingly. "Protestants don't have a gene that we're missing. There is no reason why we can't learn the Scriptures and have fun doing it. Our approach to the Scriptures is different. Catholics are not, and never will be fundamentalists; we are not literalists. As Catholics we stress what was going on at the time Scriptures were written and focus on the point that was trying to be made."

Estafen said that while the Eucharist feeds our soul, the word of God feeds our spirit. She pointed out that there are seven benefits of reading Scripture which can be found in Psalm 119. Reading the Bible will help keep one from sin, be a source of strength, guidance, joy and wisdom, prevent one from stumbling and bring the reader back to God.

"There are methods that can check one's physical soundness," Estafen said. "We can look at your respiration, your temperature, your white cell count and your blood pressure. These tests tell human beings that the body is in good shape. But how do we know if our spirit is healthy?"

During her talk Estafen told the crowd of her personal battle with breast cancer which began April 1 of this year. With her husband Joe and daughter Jackie looking on, she said, "I cannot describe the extent to which this entire situation turned my life upside down. It was a Holy Week that I will never forget. But I have said to the Lord, and continue to say, 'If this is the price I must pay for my ministry, I am ready.'"

Since her illness she explained that a prayer from "Poem of the Man God" has had special meaning for her. She read, "Do as you please, Lord. I leave everything to you--my past, my present, my future. I owe you everything and I give you everything. Give to your servant what you know is best." She added, "I know that I am in good hands no matter what lies ahead."

Finally, Estafen challenged the women of Magnificat to continue their prayers. "There is no doubt in my mind that it is the daily prayer of women that keeps the Lord from turning his face from our country in tears," she said. "We are called to be warriors of prayer. We are also called to arm ourselves by learning and knowing his word. Nurture your spirit so that you can continue as a warrior of prayer and so that you can be a force for God not turning his face from us but turning his face toward us."

Magnificat, a Catholic ministry born out of the Catholic charismatic renewal movement in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, has been a focus for unity among women in the Church. The Magnificat breakfast, held quarterly, gathers women in an atmosphere of friendship and prayer to share a meal and to hear one woman's experience of the transforming love of God in her own life.

The next breakfast will be held Aug. 10 at Mt. Carmel Christian Church in Stone Mountain. For information call Myers at 1 (770) 775-3783.