For young adults, Lenten retreat fortifies the faith

Intermountain Catholic

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Alejandro Barraza leads a discussion during the young adult retreat. IC photo/Marie Mischel

CEDAR CITY — Gathering with others of their age and faith was an opportunity to deepen their convictions as well as meet new people, said the young Catholic adults who attended the March 23 retreat at Christ the King Catholic Church in Cedar City.

The retreat was organized by the Diocese of Salt Lake City Youth and Young Adult Ministry. The retreat master was Alejandro Barraza, director of Hispanic Ministry for the Diocese of Las Cruces.

About two dozen young adults attended the retreat, which included presentations, silent time for contemplation and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, ending with Mass.

Sara Vega, who attends Mass at Our Lady of Light Mission in Beaver, was invited to the retreat by Father Rick Sherman, associate pastor of Christ the King Parish, which administers the mission. Vega recently began a religious education program that includes studying the Bible because, she said, she is Catholic only because her parents baptized her, and "now I want to know what my religion really brings to me."

The retreat "gave me perspective on what I want in my life in this place where I’m at right now – to make decisions that are going to be good for me and my faith that I haven’t made before," she said.

Four of the presentations were given by members of the Southern Utah University Newman Center, including Miguel Ovies.

"I always like to give my insight into things," said Ovies, adding that he attended the retreat "to share my insight and to hang out with Catholic people in Utah for once."

One aspect of the retreat that Ovies enjoyed was having a speaker from outside Utah, particularly because of Barraza’s background, he said. "A lot of things hit home to me due to his ethnicity."

After attending the retreat, Ovies plans to "re-implement the Beatitudes and taking one and try to incorporate that into my life and carrying it out and applying it to the community around me or my friends so they can hopefully catch on," he said.

Like Ovies, Marlene Thaitumu of Saint Joseph the Worker Parish in West Jordan enjoyed gathering with other young adults. "I met new people, learned a few things about them. I loved it!" she said, adding that at this point in her life she’s not attending Mass or reading the Bible as much as she believes she should, and "I’m hoping this will re-energize my interest in Jesus, in God and in the Church."

The retreat focused on conversion, with various segments concentrating on living with Christ, seeing Christ in everyday life, saying "yes" to God, and taking action.

"I think we just need breathers once in a while to bring us back to Christ," said Anne Leibold, Newman Center president, explaining why she enjoyed the retreat.

At the retreat, Barraza shared his personal story. He was born in a Mexican border town, where there are "a lot of opportunities to live not a Christian life," he said. His family wasn’t particularly religious, and it wasn’t until he moved to the United States that he practiced the faith.

"What drew me to Christ was that I found an answer and I found something beyond that for me. That’s what I want to share with you today," he said.

The first step of conversion is to look inward and ask, "Who am I?," he said. "The first step of conversion is not to become someone you’re not, because a lot of people feel that meeting Jesus and being with Christ makes you somebody you’re not, but on the contrary, you have to look inward to who you are. … God doesn’t want us to be somebody else, he wants to come into our lives where we are and meet us where we are."