Catholic young adults reflect at Lenten gathering

IC photo/Laura Vallejo

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Jaime Zuazo, a Sts. Peter and Paul parishioner, leads the Stations of the Cross during the young adult gathering on March 18.

SALT LAKE CITY — The diocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry sponsored a gathering on March 18 to talk about the meaning of the Stations of the Cross.

The gathering started with a prayer and reflection of what Lent means for each one of the participants, who came from the parishes of Saints Peter and Paul in West Valley, Santa Ana Mission in Tremonton, Saint Therese of the Child Jesus in Midvale, Our Lady of Guadalupe in Salt Lake City and Saint Francis Xavier in Kearns.

They viewed a video that explained that Lent is “the time for conversion that the Church has to prepare us for the great event of Easter; it’s a time to repent from our sins and change something in us so we can live closer to God.”

“It is also a time to reflect on the great mystery of the Cross and what is means … all the sacrifices, all the love for us,” said Junuee Castro, director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry.

In addition to the video, Marta Chadaz, a parishioner of Santa Ana Mission, presented a talk titled  “Stations of the Cross … The Way of the Cross.”

Chadaz  said that is a great responsibility “but also a great blessing when Our Lord calls us to share some-thing. We are all growing up and learning about God. We never stop learning. When we recognize that Jesus is our Lord, we start on a conversion path that takes us through our lives.”

Using some of the points Pope Francis has given about Lent, Chadaz said that each year the Holy Father offers a new message about the liturgical season.

“In this year’s message Pope Francis tells us that Lent is the sacramental sign of conversion and the Lord gives us this time of grace to keep the flame of love in our hearts and to arrive at Easter resurrecting with Him,” she said.

Pope Francis based this message on the verse from Matthew 24:11-13 – “Many false prophets will arise and deceive many; and because of the increase of evildoing, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who perseveres to the end with be saved.”

“When we see all the things that are going on in our world, we see that those words are true,” Chadaz said. “Remember that the liturgy is hope, and it says that  hope is always alive and we have to fight so the bad becomes good.”

Also during the gathering, Jaime Zuazo, a Saints Peter and Paul parishioner, led the Stations of the Cross. The prayers at each station  were based on the needs of immigrants.

Zuazo explained that this Stations of the Cross narrated the path that immigrants follow in their exile from their countries.

“Each Station has an image; they were created and painted by the youth of Sts. Peter and Paul Parish,” said Zuazo, adding that each Station/image made an analogy between what  immigrants suffer and what Jesus suffered on his way to the Cross.

For example for the First Station, Jesus is condemned to death, the prayer was for “The poverty that forces people to immigrate.” For the Second Station, Jesus carries the Cross on His way to Calvary, the prayer/meditation was on “Immigrants have to migrate: the exodus from fields to cities.”