Bilingual Advent retreat to focus on 'the words we sing and pray'

Intermountain Catholic

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By Laura Vallejo and Marie Mischel

SALT LAKE CITY — The beginning of the liturgical year, Advent calls Catholics to prepare for the coming of Christ, and the Diocese of Salt Lake City is offering a retreat for just this purpose.

Mary Frances Reza, who has served in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, N.M., as a pastoral musician, liturgist, teacher, composer, clinician and in Hispanic ministry, will conduct the retreat. Her theme will be "A Time for Reflection: The words we sing and pray through Advent."

"Sometimes we take the words that we sing for granted," said Reza, who is the secretary of the executive board of the Institute of Hispanic Liturgy and a member of the Southwest Liturgical Conference board. "The words we sing and pray enrich our Christian faith. It’s important to know that what we sing is enhancing our Christian beliefs."

Throughout the liturgical year, music guides Catholics to a deeper understanding of the mysteries of Christ, she said. In Advent, that music challenges us to turn to God and live the Gospel.

"This is a time to prepare so that we can be the people that God has called us to be," she said. "God has given us so many gifts, but one of the gifts that God has given us is the gift of song. God is the giver of song, and I think oftentimes [people] think, ‘Oh, this is only for the choir, or those that have a voice,’ but song is really the most lyrical and the most objective manifestation of the soul of any people of all cultures."

The retreat will be bilingual English/Spanish, reflecting the Catholic Church in the southwest United States.

"The retreat will be bilingual because in this time it can’t be anymore just in one language," said Maria Cruz Gray, director of the diocese’s Hispanic Ministry. "It’s a good way to show that we are a faith community of several languages but just one community."

Faith goes far beyond languages, Gray added. "We have one faith, we have unity in the diversity. It’s time that we all know that we Catholics can celebrate together and prepare ourselves for the arrival of our Lord."

Becoming one worshiping community is a challenge Catholics need to face, Reza agreed. "This is so easily done in choirs, but this is often lost in our assemblies."

The retreat will be a chance for the people of the diocese to gather with a spirit of understanding, she said. "The language of music is universal. It’s more than just simply making musical choices in the culture’s particular language. Our faith is more than that, so we not only appreciate the tradition of each community, but we take time to sing together. It’s not a lack of respect of the gifts of each culture, but we need moments to come together to celebrate unity."

Advent is a time to prepare to receive the Lord and, according to Gray, nowadays more than ever this is important, because people’s lives are getting very busy and they tend to focus on materialistic goods.

"We have to be prepared to receive Him and realize the importance of this Advent in our lives," Gray said. "It’s a little crazy that we go around shopping, trying to satisfy others in an effort to find friends. This is the time that we really need to stop and think, ‘How am I internally? Am I prepared? Is my priority wasting time thinking that collecting stuff is going to make us more important instead of taking care of the poor?’ What we have comes from God and we need to appreciate that. We need to put Him always first so our lives can follow his example no matter our culture, our skin color, our language."

The fourth annual diocesan Advent retreat is scheduled for Dec. 3 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Saint Joseph the Worker Parish, 7405 S. Redwood Road in West Jordan. Cost is $7. For information or to register, call 801-328-8641 ext. 363.