Two Advent companions

Intermountain Catholic

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Dominican Father Carl Schlichte, pastor of Saint Catherine of Siena/Newman Center, led the annual Diocese of Salt Lake City Advent Retreat in English. The Spanish section was led by Father Omar Ontiveros, pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Parish in West Valley City.

SALT LAKE CITY — Mary, the Mother of God, and Saint John the Baptist are wonderful companions for the Advent journey because each in a different way points to Christ, said Dominican Father Carl Schlichte, pastor of Saint Catherine of Siena/Newman Center, who led the annual Diocese of Salt Lake City Advent Retreat in English.

The retreat, on Dec. 1 at Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church in Draper, drew about 400 people, 127 for the English section and 275 for the Spanish, which was led by Father Omar Ontiveros, pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Parish in West Valley City. This was the largest attendance ever for the annual event, said Ruth Dillon, director of the Office of Liturgy, which organized the event in conjunction with the Office of Hispanic Ministry.

Advent, which began Dec. 2, is a time when Catholics prepare for Christ’s birth through prayer and repentance. Many parishes schedule Advent penance services, and having a retreat at the beginning of the Advent season is important because it "forces us to stop and listen to God’s presence in our lives," said the Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City, who attended the retreat.

The event also was a chance "to just be able to relax with the Lord and let the Lord speak to us," Bishop Wester said. "Father Omar and Father Carl gave us the opportunity to pray and to think about God’s presence in our lives. They helped us prepare for Christmas."

In his presentation, Fr. Carl focused first on Mary’s fiat, when she assented to God’s plan as presented by the angel Gabriel.

"Mary’s companionship with us is that she can help us to know what it means to listen deeply, and the importance of listening," Fr. Carl said. If people listen, he added, "God will plant seeds and they will grow."

By contrast, the Baptist’s call for repentance can be difficult to hear, but St. John also provides a model by his ministry; from the time he was in the womb he pointed to Christ and stirred others to follow Jesus, Fr. Carl explained.

Therefore, "Mary is a good model [for us] to be better listeners; and John can be a model for action, to be witnesses to Christ," Fr. Carl said.

The retreat drew people from throughout the Salt Lake area. Lisa Roblez, who joined a group of about 16 people from her parish, Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, said the time gave her peace. "I didn’t realize that just thinking about Mary would bring me peace, but it does," she said. "It brings me peace that she was more than just his mother, she was the champion of his life."

The event was a "great start to Advent," said Kevin McHugh, a Saint John the Baptist parishioner, who attended with his wife. "It refocuses you to start thinking about your faith ... thinking about what you really need to be thinking about and not caught up in the clutter and the noise and everything else."

Likewise, another St. John the Baptist parishioner, Mel Leivsla, said he and his wife will be able to take some ideas from the retreat "and do some celebration in our house this Advent," which they haven’t in the past.

Saint Francis Xavier parishioner Francisco Lujan, who has just been assigned the position of director of religious education for his parish, had a powerful moment during one of the retreat’s periods of private prayer. "I was ... struggling, needing to clear my mind, and all of a sudden it was like Jesus was kneeling in front of me, washing my feet, and I thought, ‘That’s him calling me to more service,’" Lujan said.

The idea of companions appealed to Connie Kruger, a Saint Martin de Porres parishioner who attended partly for recertification in the religious education program. "Our small group really talked about the idea of the dynamics of the people that we were interacting with and how they utilized that to bring God first and foremost in their lives," she said.

That every participant took away a different message from the retreat was a good sign, said Fr. Carl, because that meant that the Lord was speaking to them through him.