Bishop Solis in homily at diocesan priests’ retreat: ‘We are called to become instruments of unity and communion’

IC photos/Marie Mischel

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The priests of the Diocese of Salt Lake City gathered for their annual retreat June 2-5. Shown seated in the center of the second row are Bishop Oscar A. Solis and Father Jaime E. Robledo, PSS, who presented the retreat.

MIDWAY — Priests of the Diocese of Salt Lake City reflected on their vocation during their annual retreat, held June 2-5 at Homestead Resort. The presenter was Father Jaime E. Robledo, PSS, a member of the formation faculty at Theological College. 

In his homily on June 4, Fr. Robledo reminded the priests that they, as human beings, are inclined to sin, and therefore need to take care of themselves by partaking of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, having a spiritual director and having a solid prayer life, among other practices.

“We need the tools the Church has given us in order to take care of our frailty,” he said.

The prayer he spoke of was not reciting formal prayers but rather having a personal relationship with God. He quoted Saint Teresa of Avila, that contemplative prayer “is nothing else than a close sharing with good friends. It means taking time frequently with him whom I know loves us.”

“It’s an issue of friendship; it’s a relationship,” Fr. Robledo emphasized.

He also urged the priests to have times for solitude as well as to develop at least one good friendship with another priest in addition to having a good friend outside that community.

He asked them to “be faithful to the missal” and not make changes to the rubrics, or the instructions on how to celebrate the liturgy and administer the sacraments. “When you are faithful to the liturgy you are helping the people of God to be faithful to the Church,” he said.

Bishop Oscar A. Solis was the homilist at the concluding June 5 Mass for the retreat. He reinforced Fr. Robledo’s message that the time had been meant for the priests to contemplate their vocation, which is intended to be “rooted in our intimate and personal relationship with God, with one another, with the Church and with the people of God we serve,” he said. 

Reflecting on the Gospel for the day, Jesus’ Last Supper discourse, the bishop said the reading was a reminder of their identity as priests, and the “dignity of being called to be witnesses of God’s love  to the world through the ministry of the priesthood.” 

It is a challenge to manifest that gift with a sense of gratitude and “be seen as an alter Christus amid the distractions around us,” the bishop said. “And most of all that we are a people of hope, for the conversion of hearts of the people we serve to recognize that we have a God who cares, who forgives and who saves.” 

Amid the polarization in the Church and the world today, “We are called to become instruments of unity and communion,” he said. “By virtue of our priesthood we are called to be not only the source as well as the fountain of unity by representing Christ and the love he has for our world.” 

He asked the priests to examine how they exercise their priesthood to see whether the divine will of unity with God and one another is realized “by the credible witness of our lives. It is credible because it is something that is integral in our life because it is the very source of our essence, of our being and of our mission. That is to live, to love and to relate with one another with love and communion as far as Christ has desired to be one with God and with one another.”