'Spirituality of Saint Paul' retreat is open to all

Image courtesy of the Mystical Humanity of Christ, Inc.

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The Diocese of Salt Lake City is invited to a one-day retreat, ?The Spirituality of Saint Paul,? to be held at the Skaggs Catholic Center, Dec. 6. Patrons of the retreat will discover the fullness of Saint Paul's vision of the Eucharist, and his powerful sense of living in Christ. Together we will explore St. Paul's mysticism, the sours of his courage, and his self-confidence.

SALT LAKE CITY — Discover the fullness of Saint Paul’s vision of the Eucharist, his powerful sense of living "in Christ" with a heightened awareness of His indwelling presence, and the way of prayer Saint Paul proposed for all followers of Jesus Christ.

The Most Rev. John C. Wester of the Diocese of Salt Lake City invites you to attend a one-day retreat, "The Spirituality of Saint Paul," Saturday, Dec. 6, presented by The Mystical Humanity of Christ, Inc. The retreat will be held at the Skaggs Catholic Center, 300 East 11800 South, Draper. Doors will open at 8 a.m., with a prompt start a 9 a.m. Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Wester. This will be a bilingual retreat.

Following Mass, Father Terence M. Moore, pastor of Saint John the Baptist Parish will receive the Jesuit Father Frank Parrish Person of Faith Award. This is the highest honor the Mystical Humanity of Christ can bestow on someone. Co-founder Michael McDevitt said, "It is fitting acknowledgement of Fr. Moore’s dedication and leadership.

"We are acknowledging Fr. Moore as a person of faith as demonstrated by his life long commitment to Christ, his humility and joy. These were the virtues which most stood out in the life of our founder, Fr. Parrish (1911-2003).

Past recipients of the Faith Award include the late actress June Haver MacMurray, Archbishop George Niederauer of San Francisco, and Bishop Wester.

A light lunch will be provided. At 1 p.m. Michael McDevitt will present "The Great Lion of God." The day will conclude with a closing prayer and a special blessing.

McDevitt said, "Jesus in His Mystical Humanity always deals with the Risen Christ. The divine indwelling is about our role in continuing our work of the Incarnation. Living with a heightened awareness of the living indwelling presence of Jesus is a form of prayer that resonates with people today."

McDevitt said at the retreat we will explore Saint Paul’s mysticism, the sours of his courage, and the self-confidence of this man who was so firmly grounded in the truth. Saint Paul dubbed himself "Apostle" and became the most influential teacher and theologian in Church history. This event promises to enlighten and encourage you on your spiritual journey.

"The core teaching of our retreat is what Saint Paul said, "You are a temple and the spirit of God dwells in you," said McDevitt.

"We feel like Saint Paul’s understanding of how to live our faith is profound," said McDevitt. "So on this retreat, we will be focusing on the spirituality of Saint Paul. We will discuss his conversion story and the real meaning of that experience for him. We will talk about the sacrifice of Christ and Saint Paul’s vision of the Eucharist, which really gives us the notion of the sacrifice of Christ being present in the Eucharist.

"We will also talk about the mystical body of Christ and the mystical humanity of Christ, meaning the indwelling of Christ," said McDevitt. "We will be answering the question, how do we acquire such a depth of spirituality that Saint Paul had? Because Saint Paul said, ‘It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.’ How do we acquire that type of spirituality and understanding? We will explore that at the retreat. I will teach it and we will practice it.

"People will walk away from this retreat with a great awareness of the living indwelling presence of Jesus in their daily lives," said McDevitt. "That is the prayer and the hope for the retreat. These are the teachings of Saint Paul. It is what we call the Mystical Humanity of Christ. We invite Jesus to dwell within us and we take him with us wherever we go.

"I believe the divine indwelling may be the least understood idea in all of Christianity," said McDevitt. "It was beautifully articulated by Saint Paul. It is the centerpiece of the Gospel of John, many saints have written about it, yet it often remains omitted from daily prayer, and consequently out of reach of Christians who lack awareness and understanding. The intention of our retreat is to lead people to this way of prayer, living daily with the indwelling Spirit in mind. The purpose is to develop a deeper and more active relationship with Jesus.

"We chose Saint Paul because this is the Year of Saint Paul chosen by Pope Benedict XVI," said McDevitt.

McDevitt held a retreat in Salt Lake City in October 2001, at Saint Vincent de Paul Parish. That retreat was centered on the Gospel of John.

"Our retreats are designed to be conducted by lay people; to be dependent on priests only for their eucharistic elements," said McDevitt. "We like priests to be part of our retreat, but we know how busy their days are.

McDevitt’s spirituality is based on being raised in a deeply religious family, heavily influenced by his uncle, Fr. Parrish, his mother’s brother.

McDevitt said he has learned over the course of the past 17 years that he can do anything because Christ is with him.

Intermountain Catholic Editor Barbara Lee recently reviewed the book "The Unseen Power of Prayer," written by McDevitt.

"Barbara mentioned in her review that I relate to the writing of Cora Louisa Yorgason Evans (1904-1957)), a woman from Salt Lake City, and a former member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She converted to Catholicism by listening to "The Catholic Hour," a radio program hosted by then-Msgr. (later Bishop) Duane G. Hunt, and studying with then-Father (later Msgr.) William E. Vaughan. A mystic, Evans was baptized in 1935 in St. Joseph Catholic Church in Ogden.

The Mystical Humanity of Christ’s commitment and ministry is to create a heightened awareness of the indwelling presence of Jesus in our lives.

"For this retreat, Bishop Wester is extending an invitation to all the faithful of the Diocese of Salt Lake City to attend," said McDevitt. "We are influenced by Saint Paul and nourished by the Eucharist. So Mass and the Eucharist will be the corner stone of the retreat. Bishop Wester will be the celebrant and Fr. Moore will concelebrate with him in the Saint John the Baptist Elementary School Chapel, 300 East 11800 South, Draper.