Lenten retreats, consecrations offered

Friday, Mar. 31, 2017

By Donna Masek

Special to the Intermountain Catholic

WEST HAVEN — Several recent events made St. Mary Catholic Church in West Haven a center for spiritual refreshment during this Lenten season. 

On March 11, the Militia of the Immaculata (MI) Villages offered their annual silent Marian Lenten retreat. This year’s theme, “100 Years of History and Mission,” highlighted the centennial anniversaries of the founding of the MI by St. Maximilian Kolbe as well as the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima.

Guest retreat master Father Gregory Dick, O. Praem focused on the Holy Spirit and the practical application of the spirituality of Total Consecration to Our Lady. His four talks were interspersed with periods of prayer and reflection that included the chanting of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and Eucharistic Adoration.

On March 25, the parish commemorated Feast of the Annunciation in two ways. Beginning in the morning, the parish hosted its first couples’ retreat, led by Steve and Jessica Sandoval. Participants heard three talks and renewed their commitment to one another through the recitation of a Prayer of Marriage Consecration. 

Also, after the 5 p.m. Mass, the Spanish community concluded their study of the book 33 Days to Morning Glory with a Rite of Total Consecration to Our Lady and the formation of a new Spanish Marian prayer group.

With a mission to help the faithful deepen their relationships with God and one another, St. Mary Parish has planned a women’s retreat in June and a men’s retreat in August. Information will be forthcoming on the parish website, www.stmarysutah.org.