Parish retreat offers a day of worship and reflection for young people and families

Intermountain Catholic

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HYDE PARK — Father Rogelio Felix from Sonora, Mexico; and Guillermo Valencia, a Charismatic Catholic preacher, presented a retreat day for youth and families at Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Logan.

The families and youth from the parish gathered in one of the church’s social rooms and, with a lot of joy, dancing and laughter, shared and learned during this day of reflection.

The event was sponsored and organized by the parishioners.

"Once a year we try to have this type of event," said Marco Magaña, the parish’s youth ministry coordinator. "We do this as a form of evangelization, to share God’s Gospel."

Bold words and live music helped Valencia connect with his audience.

"Come down, come down, come down, the presence of the Lord; I feel a live fire that is burning inside of me," Valencia sang as the parishioners danced.

Valencia said everyone who was at the event had taken a big step in their faith life.

"You young people who are here, you have overcome a big challenge, you could have elected to stay home sleeping or running around, but no, you are here," said Valencia.

Little by little the emotions in the room grew until everyone was smiling and enjoying each word from Valencia.

"In this world many people don’t even know who they are, much less want to admit that we all make mistakes. Today we all put all our barriers down and let God get in our lives," said Valencia.

The young people danced and prayed. They knelt in front of the Cross and meditated, asking God to always be with them and show them his love.

"Sometimes we base our lives in appearances; we put on masks and want to avoid reality," said Valencia. "It’s time for a change. It’s time to let God enter our lives. We need to renovate our paths."

The preacher also suggested the parents show their children where they came from, their cultural heritage.

"As immigrants we leave our cultures behind, so our children don’t have that culture and they don’t have the new culture [American culture]; they don’t speak Spanish because they are embarrassed. Cultures are expressed through the language," said Valencia.

Sometimes people think that by following Jesus they are going to be famous, but "if you follow him it’s not to have money, not to have fame. … Sometimes we are like that; we are always asking things from God," said Valencia.

On other occasions people receive the message but always find excuses to avoid following Christ.

"Sometimes when Jesus says ‘Follow me,’ we answer, ‘Just let me say goodbye to my things.’ That means you don’t want to really follow Jesus; you are still dependent on the material stuff. I am sure several people don’t open their hearts to God because they don’t want to leave their things.

"You need to know whom you are following. Following Jesus is worth it. You have already followed other roads and they just leave you with an empty heart. Jesus is telling you about a new possibility. It is time to open our arms to Jesus," Valencia said.

Fr. Felix emphasized all the things that the Church has to offer the families. He talked about 10 principles that help families be stronger.

Among these principles Fr. Felix talked about was the need to belong.

"People sometimes don’t want to say where they are from for different reasons, but once they do they become stronger," said Fr. Felix.

Respect and discipline also are important, he said.

"Invite Jesus to your homes and don’t let him ever go," said Fr. Felix. "That is how you overcome all the barriers, by welcoming Jesus in your homes."

After the talks, the participants enjoyed a concert in which worshiping the Lord was the theme.