Utah Catholic Conference draws more than 800 of the faithful
DRAPER — A day of faith formation, fellowship and Mass with Bishop Oscar A. Solis drew more than 800 people to the Skaggs Catholic Center in Draper for the Utah Catholic Conference on Sept. 21.
“Let us remember the power and potential that our faith holds,” Bishop Solis wrote in his message in the program, reflecting on the theme of the event, “Our Faith Moves Mountains.” “Just as mountains, steadfast and majestic, stand as symbols of strength and endurance, so too does our faith serve as a foundation upon which we build our lives and our communities. It is this faith that propels us forward, guiding our actions and inspiring our hearts to reach new heights in our spiritual journey.”
During his homily at the bilingual Mass that preceded the conference, Bishop Solis welcomed the faithful, saying they were “called to renew and strengthen our faith as a community of Christian disciples and heralds of the Gospel.”
Numerous priests of the diocese concelebrated the Mass, including Father John Evans, vicar general, Father Langes Silva, judicial vicar; and Father Kenneth Vialpando, vicar for clergy.
Bishop Solis concentrated most of his homily, which he gave in English and Spanish, to exegesis on the day’s Gospel reading, about the call of Matthew the tax collector. Jesus, the bishop said, “is more interested in our future and in our possibilities than in our past and liabilities. … Two thousand years later, today, Jesus continues to call unlikely men and women like you and me. He knows you and me personally and he calls each of us to leave behind everything that keeps us from him, for only then can we live life fully and become people of faith who can move mountains and change the world.”
After the Mass, those attending split into two groups: the youth and English-speaking adults attended a keynote address by Jon Leonetti, and the Spanish-speaking adults went to a presentation by Dr. Jose Antonio Medina.
Medina is an instructor at University of Santo Tomas in Houston, Texas and the Center for Studies for Religion and Spirituality at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Calif.
“When we really have faith, we can do anything,” Medina told those who attended his keynote address, which had the theme of how faith moves mountains.
Later in the day, he gave a second presentation in Spanish on the topic “Missionary Disciples Going Forth with Joy.”
More than 300 Hispanic Catholics attended the conference; their workshops focused on topics such as the Diocesan Pastoral Plan, the upcoming 2025 Jubilee, the new pastoral vision for Hispanic ministry in the United States, the importance of donations and offerings, and the guidelines from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for music in the liturgy. All of the Spanish-language workshops were standing room only.
The keynote in English for the adults had been scheduled to be given by Mark Hart, an author and chief innovation officer of Life Teen International, but an emergency kept him from attending. Leonetti, a well-known Catholic speaker, author and radio host, agreed to combine the audience for his talk rather than speak only to the youth, as was originally planned.
Like Medina, Leonetti spoke about the ability of faith to move mountains, and urged those present to become saints. Not all saints are canonized by the Church, he pointed out; rather, a saint is any person who is in heaven.
Pride is the foundation of all sin, he said, because it is the rejection of God, because it leads people to say, “I did it my way – what I want, when I want, however I want.”
Lucifer fell from heaven because of pride, Leonetti said, and the Evil One is afraid when people make the Sign of the Cross because in making that gesture and saying that prayer, “we renounce evil, we renounce Satan, we renounce his rejection of God and identify ourselves as our truest identity, which is men and women of the Cross. Jesus says, Luke 9:23 – ‘if you want to come after me, if you want to be my disciples, you must take up your cross and follow me.’”
Leonetti said he had one message for those attending the conference: “There is no other meaning, reason or purpose to your life than to become a saint. Nothing. No other meaning, reason or purpose to this life than you live to become a saint.”
“You now have a mission, and that is to get holy or die trying to become a saint,” he added.
In addition to the keynote address, those attending the conference had the opportunity to hear speakers in English on a wide range of topics, including the Blessed Mother, mental health, ministry to youth and teens, stewardship, and a Catholic understanding of miscarriage, stillbirth and infant death, among others. More than 30 sessions were offered; attendance at many of them was standing-room only.
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