Diocese of Salt Lake City hosts liturgical convention

Intermountain Catholic

Photo 1 of 2

The Most Rev. John C. Wester, bishop of Salt Lake City, celebrates the opening prayer for the 49th annual Southwest Liturgical Conference on Feb. 2. Our Lady of Perpetual Help parishioners in native costume from Vietnam led the procession.

SALT LAKE CITY —Fellowship and learning about the faith were the focus of the 49th annual Southwest Liturgical Conference Study Week, held in Salt Lake City Feb. 2-5.

"The goal of the annual study week is to offer an opportunity for liturgical formation and study for the leaders of the parishes, particularly in the host diocese and throughout the region," said Adrian Dominican Sister Lois Paha, president of the SWLC board.

The SWLC is comprised of 27 dioceses in seven states. The study week is hosted by a different diocese each year. The last time Salt Lake hosted the event was in 1996. The number of registrants this year – 1,516 – was almost double that of the previous year and one of the largest ever in conference history. "In some metro areas we expect large numbers and we get them," Sr. Lois said, but "Salt Lake City was not one of the places where we would have expected large numbers."

She attributed the turnout to the conference’s focus, which was the changes to the Roman Missal, which will take effect the first Sunday of Advent this year, as well as the diversity of workshops on other topics. "There seems to be something for everyone," she said.

In his welcome address Feb. 2, the Most Rev. John C. Wester, bishop of Salt Lake City, spoke on the topic ‘Liturgy: A Call to Justice.’ (Visit www.icatholic.org for a complete transcript of Bishop Wester’s address.)

"In the Eucharist we are in right relationship with God and with one another," Bishop Wester said. "Gathered around Christ’s Word and Christ’s table, we become profoundly aware that we are together in peace, united in our being loved by Christ and in our love for Christ. We are truly in right relationship with each other, living for a few precious moments without competition, rancor, jealousy, hatred or indifference. We are one in our union with and in Jesus Christ…. Union with Christ is also union with all those to whom he gives himself. I cannot possess Christ just for myself. I can belong to him only in union with all those who have become or will become his own. Communion draws me out of myself towards him and thus also towards unity with all Christians."

During the Mass at the Cathedral of the Madeleine on Feb. 3, Bishop Wester addressed the issue of responding to Jesus’ call. "Not tomorrow, but now," he said. "Perhaps what lies at the heart of our procrastination is that, if I truly believed that Christ through his spirit in the Father was working in me right now, then I would have to change." (Visit www.icatholic.org for a complete transcript of Bishop Wester’s homily.)

Change is difficult, Bishop Wester acknowledged, "but the good news is that I don’t have to do this on my own. Jesus is not only proclaiming the good news, but in the proclamation and in his ministry he is teaching us how to embrace him and accept him now, in this moment…. We don’t have to do anything. We just have to open our eyes. We just have to open our hearts and recognize that the Spirit is in us, impelling us to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty, to recover sight for the blind, to free the oppressed and to proclaim a year of favor."

Among the dignitaries at the conference were the Most Rev. José H. Gomez, coadjutor archbishop of Los Angeles; the Most Rev. Gerald F. Kicanas, bishop of Tucson; the Most Rev. Mark J. Seitz, auxiliary bishop of Dallas; and Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon.

"As a mayor and a Catholic, I am very honored to have over a thousand Catholics coming to the state of Utah," said Corroon, who attended the opening prayer on Feb. 2. "And Utah, while we have one predominant faith, is a community that celebrates all faiths."

He added that he was glad to have a chance to learn more about the changes to the Roman Missal. "As the father of three young children I’ll have to try to explain what some of these changes mean," he said.

Not everyone is convinced that the changes will be for the better. "My concern is that it’s turning back the Second Vatican Council," said Father Jack Schlaf, from Salina, Kan., where he is a chaplain for a motherhouse of Saint Joseph sisters. Nevertheless, he said, he came to the conference because "I wanted to give them a chance to convert me to the new missal."

For Chris Owens, director of catechesis for Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church in Wyoming, the conference was a way to learn not only how to teach people about the changes, but also catechize. "The whole goal of catechesis is to bring them into relationship with, into communion with, Christ through the liturgy," he said.

Likewise, Judy Sturdevant from Saint Margaret Mary Parish in Colorado came to increase her knowledge about the changes, she said. She teaches a variety of classes for her diocese, and "it’s always a shot in the arm to hear from scholars and composers and people who work closely with the liturgy," she said, adding that her favorite presenter was Dr. David Fagerberg, whose topic was Being Formed into Liturgical People by Abiding Lex Orandi. "His presentation was excellent and challenging," Sturdevant said. "I am ordering the CD to listen to it again and, likely, again!"

For information on ordering conference CDs, visit www.swlcslc.org or call 1-800-353-1830.