Three-day women's retreat
Friday, May. 22, 2015
Intermountain Catholic
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All women in the diocese are invited to the upcoming retreat at St. Mary Parish in West Haven.
WEST HAVEN — Saint Mary Parish in West Haven is inviting women from throughout Utah to its three-day retreat, “There are Women and There are Women,” based on the book by Father Luigi Faccenda.
The retreat will be held June 12-14; women will camp at St. Mary’s in trailers and recreational vehicles. They must be 18 or older to attend, but they don’t have to be Catholic, said Father Gustavo Vidal, pastor.
The goal of the retreat is to build a stronger spiritual relationship with God and each other, and to become more like the Blessed Mother, said Fr. Vidal. The retreat is three days because “we hold a three-day camping-style retreat for the men, which changes their lives; the women want to experience that as well,” Fr. Vidal said. “Participants will have time for personal silence, prayer, Stations of the Cross, recreational activities, meditation, recitation of the rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, games and campfire talk. All women are asked to bring their Bible, rosary beads, writing materials and a friend.”
The retreat master will be Ann O’Donnell, a Father Kolbe missionary of the Militia Immaculata from California.
“I suggested the book written by my founder, Fr. Faccenda, because every chapter begins with the dignity and vocation of women; in our work, we take the teachings of the Church and apply them to our lives. We find throughout the book that the Blessed Mother is the model of true womanhood,” O’Donnell said.
For the retreat, participants will take chapters from the book, act them out and create activities, Fr. Vidal said; O’Donnell will offer reflections on the theme for each chapter as well.
“The purpose is for the women to take ownership of the retreat,” Fr. Vidal said. “I hope the women are transformed by the experience they are going to have with the Lord because it is going to be Christ-centered and also about our Blessed Mother.”
WHAT: Women’s retreat
WHERE: Saint Mary Parish, 4050 South 3900 West, West Haven
WHEN: From 2 p.m. Friday, June 12, to 1 p.m. Sunday, June 14
The cost is $50, which includes the book There are Women and There are Women.
To register, visit www.stmarysutah.org. For information, email stmarywomansretreat@hotmail.com or call Colleen Pike, 801-586-6070.
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