Recognize Christ in daily life and follow him, vicar general says at annual OCIA retreat
DRAPER — In one of the last events prior to entering the Catholic Church at Easter, the Elect of the Diocese of Salt Lake City attended the April 5 Bishop’s Retreat for the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. They were joined by hundreds of family members, their sponsors and friends at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Draper. Also present were candidates for the Sacrament of Confirmation.
In addition to the live event, about 250 people participated online through Zoom.
On behalf of Bishop Oscar A. Solis, who was unable to attend, Father John Evans, vicar general, presided at the event and welcomed participants to the Liturgy of the Word. After the readings, Fr. Evans focused his remarks on the Gospel reading concerning the Savior’s resurrection of Lazarus.
Lazarus and his family lived in Bethany, a place where Jesus and the disciples had recently been in danger. As Jesus prepared to return there the disciples questioned the wisdom of that action, but Jesus went anyway.
This offers a lesson to the faithful, Fr. Evans said: When they face peril or difficult choices, they should follow the example of the Savior.
“We’ve all had our difficulties in life,” he said. “We’ve all had our challenges, and it really is a moment that defines us in faith, whether we move into the will of God or not. When you’re walking with the will of God and the wisdom of God in the very direction of God, you will have nothing to fear.”
“Maybe many of us can relate to God calling us to something we don’t understand, but we resign ourselves to it,” he added. However, “That’s not fully walking in the will of God if it’s with an attitude of, ‘Well, what else am I going to do?’”
The Gospel relates that as Jesus approached Bethany, Martha ran out to greet him. He comforted her and said, “Your brother will rise.” Martha, thinking he spoke of the resurrection on the last day, responded that she believed that doctrine, but the Lord challenged her to believe Lazarus would rise that very day through the power of God.
“It’s easy to have faith when you know what’s going to happen, but she didn’t know,” Fr. Evans said. “So, what about those times when you don’t know what is going to happen, what God is going to do?”
A good response, he said, would be, “‘Whatever you do, God, I’ll trust you,’ and maybe with a little practice we get better at it: ‘God, whatever you’re going to do, I’m going to trust you. I don’t know what you’re going to do, but even if it’s not what I want you to do.’ This is the kind of faith where one is ready to walk in the will of God, in the wisdom of God, in the direction of God.”
“That is where our faith should be grounded all of the time,” Fr. Evans said. “If we’re going to really, truly, follow Christ, we need to recognize the very person of Christ in our life, in our midst. When we reduce things down to a theological equation, we can miss the most important part. There is nothing wrong with doctrinal statements, the theological understanding. In fact, we need those things, but it cannot replace the intimacy of Jesus being present to us in our daily living and experiencing his grace that he’s offering in the moment.”
God cares for his children, Fr. Evans said.
““He sees the good, the great, the spectacular in our lives,” he said. “He sees the disappointment too ... God sees it all. It is important for you to know this so that the enemy doesn’t come along and just try to convince you that God doesn’t care about you, that God doesn’t care because he doesn’t give you exactly what you want.”
After the Liturgy of the Word, Fr. Evans blessed retreat participants and the religious articles they brought.
Many who attended were touched by the whole experience, said Lorena Needham, director of the diocesan Office of Worship, who helped organize the event. “One young man shared that he learned that God is always fighting battles for us that we may not be aware of.”
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