Catholic speaker Maura Byrne recounted her story of 15 years of physical and sexual abuse and struggles with an eating disorder in her talk, "Courage and the True Value of Beauty."
"It took a toll on my body and my self-esteem and how I viewed myself," Byrne said Wednesday evening.
About 400 stundets showed up to hear Byrne and sat in Pruis Hall in complete silence, listening to her tell her story. The event was hosted by Fellowship of Catholic University Students in conjunction with the St. Francis of Assisi Newman Center.
Byrne detailed her life experience, sharing how she was near death in eighth grade while fighting an eating disorder, weighing 35 pounds less than what she does now. She recovered, but later in college, issues from the past resurfaced and Byrne almost committed suicide.
After that "pivotal moment," Byrne became a FOCUS missionary and changed her life, but sill found herself suffering. She said she was reluctant to go to therapy to deal with the 15 years of abuse she had experienced but was convinced when a doctor told her she had post-traumatic stress disorder "worse than a prisoner of war coming home from Iraq." After two years of intense therapy, she said she was able to forgive her abuser and let go of the pain in her life.
Byrne recounted coming full circle in her healing after praying the rosary for 60 days. On the final day, her abuser came and asked for forgiveness and she made peace with him.
"No matter what you've done, God wants you and he's waiting for you to come to him," Byrne said, closing her speech. "He wants to show you his love. You are his child and your worth, your value all stems from him because you are beautiful, you are valuable, you are enough. You are made in the image and likeness of God."
After hearing her message, students asked Byrne questions about being able to forgive and how she has since moved on with her life. Byrne lives in Nashville, Tenn., and writes a blog called "I fight Him with love." She runs the non-profit organization Made in His Image, which she started a year ago and her ultimate goal is to use the foundation to build the first Catholic medical center to help women recovering from abuse.
One student asked what she takes away each time she speaks for others, and Byrne said she has learned to be humble.
"As I was driving here, I had tears in my eyes," Byrne said. "I should be dead. What a miracle, to stand here and share [my story] with you, [it] gives me goosebumps. I take so much from speaking."
Ball State freshman Mandy Cochran said the event was inspiring and was glad she attended.
"I'm going to take away the fact that forgiveness really helped her," Cochran said. "It was extremely powerful and she was really helpful."
Although predominately females attended the event, a number of males came out to hear Byrne speak.
Ball State freshman Sam Weiss said he chose to attend the event to learn more about the problems surrounding abuse.
"I know girls that have been through sexual abuse situations," Weiss said. "I feel like guys get such a bad rap because girls get abused, and I wish there was some guy for the good guys to prevent it from happening."
Bryne left the audience with three pieces of advice for daily life that helped her along her journey - to tell oneself they are beautiful because they are made in God's image, to place Bible verses in places they see often and to practice forgiveness.
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