Diocesan Advent Retreat will be Dec. 14

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SANDY — This year’s Diocesan Advent retreat, with the theme “Preparing to be Pilgrims of Hope,” will take place Dec. 14 at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Sandy.

Bishop Oscar A. Solis chose the theme in preparation for the 2025 Jubilee, said Lorena Needham, director of the diocesan Office of Worship.

The Catholic Church celebrates a jubilee every 25 years. For Jubilee 2025, which will begin on Dec. 24, Pope Francis chose the theme “Pilgrims of Hope,” saying, “We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision. …”

Although Advent is a busy time for parishes and the People of God in the Diocese of Salt Lake City, “filled with so many festivities of faith, fun and family, it is good to stop and get perspective on our spiritual works and gatherings,” Needham said. “This retreat offers that opportunity.”

The retreat will start with a Mass at which Bishop Solis will preside.

“His messages of faith and hope are always uplifting and insightful,” Needham said.

Following the Mass will be the retreat. The presenter for the retreat in English will be Father Langes Silva, the diocesan judicial vicar.

“As a canon lawyer and our judicial vicar, Fr. Langes Silva uniquely sees our diocese from the perspective of people who most need encouragement and hope,” Needham said.

The Advent retreat is “an opportunity for our faithful to prepare themselves for the upcoming celebration of Christmas, the celebration of the birth of our Savior, our source of hope and salvation,” Fr. Silva said.

He added that the Christian faithful in the Diocese of Salt Lake City “make significant preparations for the celebration of Christmas: they travel to meet their families, decorate their houses, select gifts and cards for their beloved ones … and they also prepare themselves spiritually by attending the liturgical celebration in our churches, praying their novenas and posadas, receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. Our diocesan retreat is a primary source of spiritual preparation for Christmas and the Jubilee year.”

The retreat will start with the celebration of the Eucharist. “This is the most important source of sanctification and grace for our faithful,” he said. “I invite everyone from our diverse communities to attend our diocesan retreat as a sign of unity and joy and as a proclamation that our hope is in the Lord who made heavens and earth.”

The Advent retreat in Spanish will be presented by Father Victor Alvarado, parochial vicar of St. Joseph Parish in Ogden.

“Fr. Victor Alvarado has been tapped to give retreats across the diocese because of his special insights of faith and hope,” Needham said, adding that he is a “delightful speaker and has already developed a great retreat outline to help us prepare to journey as pilgrims of hope.”

The retreat will be an invitation to walk a holy path, Fr. Alvarado said. “This will be a time to proclaim with all our trust our faith in Christ, who is the anchor that holds our lives, (cf. Hb 6, 19),” he said.

Because a retreat is a time of grace, those attending “will be able to connect more deeply with God through listening to his words and through prayer,” Fr. Alvarado said. “Our Church offers solemn moments to do this, like at Easter and, in this case, Advent.”

People attending the retreat will be able to take some time to meditate on the meaning and truth of hope.

“In today’s world people confuse hope with what it is to decree that good things will happen just saying them,” Fr. Alvardo said. “People will have the opportunity to have a better understanding of hope as a virtue tied to the Scriptures and to the Church.”

Participants also will obtain tools “to live with hope despite the challenges and hardships of the society and culture that we live in,” he added.

Fr. Alvarado agreed with Fr. Silva that the retreat is a wonderful opportunity “in the diocese, because it is our bishop who invites all to attend. The bishop’s mission is to take care of his flock, so this is not an event to go to see a movie star or an artist, it is an opportunity to grow as Church, hearing the voice of our shepherd.”

WHAT: Diocesan Advent Retreat

WHEN: Saturday, Dec. 14, beginning with a 9 a.m. Bilingual Mass; Bishop Oscar A. Solis will preside.

WHERE: Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 9757 South 1700 East, Sandy

The retreat in English will be in the parish hall with Father Langes Silva. The retreat in Spanish with be in the church with Fr. Victor Alvarado.

Free and open to all. To register or for information, call 801-456-9357.