Bishop Wester offers Lenten retreat on Pascal mystery for the elect

Intermountain Catholic

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The Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City, joins the song that wrapped up the retreat.

SALT LAKE CITY —The Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City, conducted a retreat for the elect on April 9 at Saint Ambrose Church in Salt Lake City. About 100 people from various parishes attended.

Having those who are about to be received into the Church meet with the bishop is part of the process to prepare them for the Easter mysteries, said Bishop Wester, whose retreat topic was the Pascal mystery: Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection.

"They’re being baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, so I want to hit at the core of what they’re doing," said Bishop Wester. "A retreat is to help us see how God is already working in our lives, so this will give them greater clarity as they enter the Church, and affirm them in their process."

The hardest part of a life of prayer is "just to be, to sit with God and be in his presence," Bishop Wester said. "While we can know some things about God, the reality is that the more we know about God, the more we realize we don’t know all that much because God is so large and so transcendent beyond us. At the same time, the very desire to know God as much as possible is in itself a great gift, and we must always nurture this desire."

Among those at the retreat were Samantha and John Hill from Saint Joseph Parish in Ogden. Samantha was baptized Catholic; John will be baptized at Easter. The couple received a dispensation to marry in the Church, and "about six months into being married he decided he would like to become Catholic as well," Samantha said. "We started the RCIA process and that’s why we’re here. I told him, ‘I love my faith, and I love you, but I‘m going to church after we get married.’ And he said, ‘Well, I‘m coming with you.’"

"I just think that a house divided can’t stand," John explained, adding that he thinks he’s learned patience through the RCIA program, as well as being able to cultivate spiritual growth.

The retreat was the first time that Samantha had close contact with Bishop Wester, and she enjoyed hearing him speak, she said. "It’s really cool to hear how he applies the central principles of our faith to everyday life."

She also appreciated his topic. "I really like the idea of incorporating suffering to increase your faith and who you are as a person," she said. "I think that’s really a great idea that I never thought about before."

Her husband agreed. "Solving your suffering isn’t going to make you happy; you’re always suffering," he said. "Just accepting it is the only way to have happiness in life."

Likewise, Bishop Wester’s comments caught the attention of Moises Garcia from Sacred Heart Parish in Salt Lake City. The bishop started the retreat by saying that wasting time equals wasting life and "that really got to me because I didn’t even want to show up; I was like, ‘This is going to be a waste of time,’" Garcia said. "But this has been good because everything he talks about has something to do with your life."