Diocese's Lenten retreat focuses on God's love

Intermountain Catholic

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Dominican Father Wayne Cavalier presents the English-speaking Diocesan Lenten Retreat for parishioners from throughout the diocese. IC photo/Christine Young

SALT LAKE CITY — In this Year of Faith, parishioners from throughout the Diocese of Salt Lake City were given an opportunity to deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ and to recognize that this relationship is the core of their faith at the diocesan Lenten retreat held at Saint Vincent de Paul Catholic Church March 1.

The English-speaking retreat was presented by Dominican Father Wayne Cavalier, Ph.D, director of the Congar Institute for Ministry Development in San Antonio, Texas. He has been a frequent presenter in the diocese since 2007 for spiritual formation, enrichment and guidance.

The Year of Faith, declared by Pope Benedict XVI to run from last October to this coming November, recognizes the 50th anniversary of Vatican Council II and the 20th anniversary of the publication of the "Catechism of the Catholic Church." Also, "they are put together in the theme of the ‘new evangelization,’ which is really about living in a new day and a new time," said Fr. Cavalier. "And what ties all of this together is the Holy Spirit – the breath of life."

"God is relationship. It is like a triptych, or three panels put together: creation, the anointing of Jesus in the temple and Pentecost."

The new evangelization isn’t new, just a new way of thinking about how to approach the mission, said Fr. Cavalier. "Vatican II recognized that all of the baptized are called to ministry and to participate in the mission of the Church."

Quoting Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Fr. Cavalier said that ‘lay people are co-responsible for the being and activity of the Church.’

"We learn from Revelation that God is community and the very foundation of God is relationship: Father, Son and Holy Spirit," said Fr. Cavalier. "God created us out of love to be in relationship with him. He gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit.

"God loves us and created us for himself," Fr. Cavalier said. "Jesus came to restore that original intimacy. He was the incarnation of God’s love. The Holy Spirit was present at the incarnation. We then have each of us who were anointed by the Holy Spirit at baptism."

God’s relationship is not limited to humanity, Fr. Cavalier said. "He embraces all of creation," he said. "In being anointed, Jesus is making that promise of relationship come true. Jesus is the very incarnation of the love with which God created. In order to love us God had to make us free and we chose to use that freedom to move away from God. Jesus is God’s first step of reconciliation, and we join ourselves to God in obedience. There is no way to encounter God without being changed."

Encounters with God bring people to the Church – those who followed Christ were transformed by him, Fr. Cavalier said. "Through Jesus’ anointing with the Holy Spirit, God’s original intention of love for humanity, the Church becomes the continuing incarnation of God’s love," he said. "In response to God’s call each of us has been given gifts to respond to that call. From the very beginning God has known us from before we were made and loved us and chosen us to co-create on our faith journey."

During the retreat were times for group sharing, which revealed that people are at different levels of relationship with the Holy Spirit, and as adults coming to retreats "we need to be nourished by each other and take time away from our daily activities," said Sharon Stetz, a Salt Lake County Hospice chaplain and Saint Vincent de Paul parishioner.

What helped Anthony Wakefield, from Saint Thomas More Parish, was the exercise that had participants write their faith journey in 10-year increments, he said. "I could see through my life trajectory that the Kingdom of God has been throughout my life even though I might not have realized it."

"The Kingdom of God is here now, but not yet fully," agreed Tino Valles, a Saint Patrick parishioner and director of religious education.

"I liked hearing ‘God is relationship,’ and also ‘to see with new eyes;’ to me, that is conversion," said Devery Dwyer, a Cathedral of the Madeleine parishioner.