Charismatic group plans Lenten retreat

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DRAPER — This year the diocesan Catholic Charismatic Renewal Lent Encounter will take place Feb. 24-25 at the Skaggs Catholic Center in Draper.

The encounter will be in Spanish, but will offer a bilingual encounter for youth at the same time.

Among the presenters will be Father Jorge Roldan, administrator of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish and spiritual director of the diocesan Catholic Charismatic Renewal; Monsignor Diego Monroy, former rector of the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City; and Father Diego Buritaca, from the diocese of Worcester, Mass., previously an associate pastor at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Worcester and episcopal liaison to the diocesan Charismatic Renewal.

The youth encounter will be offered by Cristian Martinez, a lay preacher from the Diocese of San Diego. The music and worship will be provided by Jésed, a music ministry from Monterrey, Mexico.

The theme will be “With Mary, full of grace, at the Cross.” Martha Chadaz, one of the Charismatic organizers, said those attending can expect to learn more about the Catholic Church as well as to grow in their faith.

“It’s very important that people participate because the Charismatic Renewal works very hard to offer this type of evangelization. During Lent we have the call to prepare ourselves to grow in our faith,” Chadaz said.

When the family as a whole participates in these encounters, “they get to know the mystery of Lent, how to live this special time as a family,” she said.

The speakers will cover a variety of themes related to Lent as well as spiritual growth in the families, she explained. “This is an opportunity for the people of God, the families, to get to know our Church better, and our Catholic faith. We are not only the people who attend particular churches, we are a whole big family in Utah, and we all belong to it.”

Everyone is invited to participate in this encounter, Chadaz said.

“In these times there is lots of noise in the world that separates us from our relationship with God, that prevents us from getting to know our faith, to live our faith,” she said. “It is very important that we participate in these encounters because through them we get to know God better, we get to know our mission in this world, but most of all we get to know that the only one who fills all the emptiness is God.”

WHAT: Diocesan Catholic Charismatic Renewal Lent Encounter

WHEN: Feb. 24-25, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day

WHERE: Skaggs Catholic Center, 300 East 11800 South Draper

COST: $25

For information, contact the diocesan Hispanic Ministry, 801-328-8641 ext. 361 or Gilberto Guevara, 385-528-5842; or Martha Chadaz, 435-291-0058.