Lenten retreat will challenge perceptions of the season

Courtesy photo

+ Enlarge

Father Ray John Marek, OMI

SALT LAKE CITY — Lent is a season of penance, almsgiving and prayer, "but if that’s our only concept of Lent, it really doesn’t serve the orientation of the Church’s liturgical year or our spirituality," said Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate Father Ray John Marek. "First and foremost, we are an Easter people. We are people who have been redeemed by the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Lent, liturgically, moves us to the celebration of Easter."

Fr. Marek, who teaches homiletics at the Oblate School of Theology, will present the annual diocesan Lenten retreat. His topic will be "Living Lent with Easter Hope."

Catholics do well with the penitential aspect of the 40 days of Lent, but "when we come to those 50 days of Easter – the Church’s high holy days – we can barely sustain one week of it," he said. "If we only do Lent well, and we don’t do Easter, I think we fail in who we, as individual Catholics, are called to become. We are called to become living images of Christ. If that doesn’t take root in us, then Lent becomes ‘Let’s beat ourselves up again.’"

Lent is a preparation for Easter, for an encounter with the risen Christ, Fr. Marek said. "Yes, there is penance, prayer and almsgiving, but there’s a reason for it, and it’s not really about us. Lent that only serves to help us lose weight or get over a bad way of acting – that’s rather narcissistic and self-serving."

Rather, Lent is meant to focus Catholics on our call to respond to Christ’s mission and how we live that out, he said. "It’s the journey of becoming more like Christ. That’s why we go through it every year."

Fr. Marek was asked to lead this year’s Lenten retreat because "he has an ability to reach the people in the pews," said Susan Northway, director of the diocese’s Office of Religion Education. "He is a person who can facilitate conversation and stimulate a deeper reflection on the issues."

All Catholics are invited to the retreat, which will be a time to reflect on Lent, Northway said. "They should come because it’s like a little respite in the desert. It’s a day to get away from the calls that everybody has on the weekends and just take time for their spiritual life. It’s a gift to yourself."

The retreat will offer something for everyone, including those who feel dissatisfied with the Church and are looking for a deeper level of answers to their spiritual questions, Fr. Marek said. The day will include reflections and discussions, and will end with a vigil Mass.

In addition, a pamphlet containing Lenten reflections by Dominicans of the Southern Province will be distributed. Fr. Marek is associated with the Dominicans because he sits on the board of directors of the Congar Institute for Ministry Development, a ministry run by the Southern Dominican Province.