Parishes to host their own events for 2022 Diocesan Lenten Retreat

Diocese of Salt Lake City

Photo 1 of 3

SALT LAKE CITY — As Utah emerges from pandemic restrictions, Bishop Oscar A. Solis is encouraging parishes to use Lent to explore new possibilities and re-energize their faith communities. The 2022 Diocesan Lenten Retreat will be one such opportunity. Titled “Walking Together with Christ and Each Other,” the retreat is intended to be part of the local synodal process of preparing for the worldwide Synod of Bishops.

Rather than having the retreat at one central location as in the past, the event this year will feature video messages from Bishop Solis and the two retreat masters. Each parish is asked to host its own event on April 2 to gather parishioners to hear the presentations, then participate in small-group listening sessions. The feedback from these sessions will be included in the parish’s report on its synod process.

The synod process, as envisioned by Pope Francis, is intended “to inspire people to dream about the Church we are called to be, to make people’s hopes flourish, to stimulate trust, to bind up wounds, to weave new and deeper relationships, to learn from one another, to build bridges, to enlighten minds, warm hearts, and restore strength to our hands for our common mission,” the Vatican preparatory document states.

Each parish in the diocese is tasked with having several listening sessions for the synod process. The Lenten retreat will serve as one such session.

To facilitate the Lenten retreat’s small-group discussions at the parishes, the retreat masters will preach on topics related to the synod process. The retreat master in English, Father Ray John Marek, OMI, will present on unity in the midst of diversity.

Fr. Ray John, who has been a speaker at several past events in Utah, offers pastoral ministry at Lenox House of Spiritual Growth in Oakland, Calif. He also is a resource person for the Congar Institute for Ministry Development, which provides resources for the diocese’s Lay Ecclesial Ministry Formation Program. In addition, he is an instructor for the diocese’s new class in the Diaconate Formation Program.

The retreat master in Spanish, Fray Cristóbal Torres, OP, will speak on synodality and its importance both historically and in the present time.

Fray Cristóbal, a member of the Southern Dominican Province, serves as chaplain at Barry University, where he is completing a doctoral degree in ministry. An artist and illustrator, he designed the windows of St. Rose of Lima Chapel at Zanmi Beni in Port au Prince, Haiti; and a mural at Notre Dame du Perpétuel Secours de La Colline School in La Colline, Haiti.

For information about your parish’s Lenten retreat schedule, check with your parish.