Diocesan Advent retreat inspires, challenges

Friday, Dec. 11, 2015

DRAPER — Offering equal parts encouragement and challenge, Father Ken Vialpando presented the 2015 Diocese of Salt Lake City Advent retreat in English to almost 200 people at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church the morning of Dec. 5.

The diocesan Advent retreat in Spanish, which was in the afternoon, was given by Fr. José Barrera Hernández, parochial vicar of St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish. More than 200 people attended.

Advent is “a time to say ‘Here I am, Lord, do with me as you will,’” said Fr. Vialpando, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Ogden.

The title of his presentation was “Taken, Blessed, Broken and Given.”

“Our mission is to look at these four words throughout this retreat and to recognize how God has already blessed us, anointed us, consecrated us and sent us out into the world as missionary disciples,” he said

Pointing out that the theme of the Gospel reading for the first Sunday of Advent  is “Be prepared, be vigilant, stay awake,” Fr. Vialpando said, “We have a savior who is coming to seek and to save what is lost. He is coming to grab you and me; he want to take you and me into the kingdom of heaven. It is our Lord who is knocking on the door of our hearts now and every day of our lives.” 

The Gospel says people will die of fright at the Second Coming, but “the Lord isn’t talking about his disciples, he’s not talking about followers, he’s not talking about those who love him, he’s talking about the enemies,” the priest said, urging those at the retreat to “stand erect, stand tall, stand firm, hold your ground” because the Lord will lead the battle against the enemy.

“Jesus is calling us into a season of Advent, a season of faith, hope and joy as we await his second coming. Advent should not fill us with fear and trembling, but with joy as we prepare to celebrate his birth, his second coming, and our own personal death. Are we fearful or joyful? Pick one. Jesus is calling us to awake from our slumber,” Fr. Vialpando said.

Although sin can keep Christians from standing tall, with the grace of God they can reject evil inclinations, he said, and gave practical ways to stay true to the faith: attending Mass, praying the rosary, spending time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and going to confession. 

“The Sacrament of Reconciliation is not only a good idea or a great suggestion, it is a mainstay and a must for the presence of God in our soul,” he said. “Shame paralyzes us emotionally and spiritually. Jesus was literally nailed to the cross in order to give us mobility.”

With that encouragement, Fr. Vialpando then challenged those at the retreat to live their baptismal call. “Just like John the Baptist, you and I are called to go out and serve the Lord. No excuses,” he said, adding that all Catholics, regardless of age or station in life, are needed in the Church and are agents of evangelization.

“We all have a vocation from God, and we need to commit ourselves to that vocation so that we can be strong and stand tall, stand erect, stand firm and hold our ground,” he said. Although people aren’t perfect, God “can take us, bless us, break us and give us out into the world. All you and I have to do is trust and say, ‘Here I am, Lord, send me.’”

Christians must be willing to reach out to everyone, he said. “If Pope Francis is adamant about anything, it is this: We need to be a church for all people, especially those who live on the fringes of society, who will never have the Good News preached to them unless you and I take it to the streets. It’s not enough for us to hear the Good News, to feed ourselves with God’s word, body and blood, and to store up those riches for ourselves while asking God why doesn’t he feed the hungry of the world. Why doesn’t he send us more ministers? Why doesn’t he send us English-speaking priests? Why aren’t you doing your job? And Pope Francis point blank points out to us the words of the Lord, ‘Give them something to eat yourselves.’ Pope Francis wants a church that opens the doors.” 

The retreat inspired St. Therese of the Child Jesus parishioner Mati Jones “to pay more attention to my commitment and be more committed to my faith and to helping out,” she said. 

Holy Family parishioner David Cooper had a similar reaction. “We need to realize how lucky we are to be Catholic,” he said.