“To know Jesus is to love Him,” believes Sue Wheeler of Saint Joseph the Worker Parish, Haddon Township.
With that sentiment in mind, parishes across the Diocese are holding Advent retreats to help everyone slow down, reflect and be conscious of Christ in order to better know Him.
“We’re hoping [our program] helps others see Him in their lives,” Wheeler, leader of the parish’s ChristLife Ministry, said of the upcoming retreat titled, “Worship, Witness and Wonders.”
To be held over two nights, Dec. 10-11, the program’s schedule of Eucharistic Adoration, reflection, witness talks and music will allow participants to step away from the hectic hustle and bustle of the season, and instead help all “step into spiritual light, and be uplifted,” she said.
The first night, Father Michael DiGregorio, Augustinian friar and former director of the Shrine of Saint Rita of Cascia, will speak on the works and miracles of the saint of impossible causes. The next evening, three individuals will give witness talks on the healing power of God’s grace in their lives. Both nights, Wheeler said, will have audiences reflect on the work of God in their own lives.
“People will find that the same miracles and wonders that took place for others could happen to them, or might have already happened to them,” she said.
At Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish, Cape May, two programs aim to unpack the Gospel of Luke and his infancy narratives, “to bring us into a quiet place, to nourish our prayer life and relationship with God,” noted Joan Dollinger, the parish’s pastoral associate for lifelong formation and worship.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays in Advent, participants will learn and reflect on the preparations of John the Baptist and his parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth, and how the faith of Joseph and Mary prepared the way for God’s promise of salvation.
These characters in Luke’s Gospel, Dollinger said, “responded to an invitation from God. Aren’t we called to do the same? When we trust God, transformative things can happen.”
Also at the parish, on Wednesday mornings during Advent, the practice of Lectio Divina (Divine Reading) will help faithful “discover a new way to pray, as they infuse themselves into Luke’s Gospel” and contemplate Jesus’ arrival, she said.
As well, the parish events will provide a good primer to the 2025 Jubilee Year, Dollinger said. The readings, reflections and discussions will “lead us to a place of hope in our faith, life and community.”
Matthew Krug, from Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish Shrine, Lindenwold, says this season “isn’t all presents, trees and cooking. We need to find ways to give the Lord His due.”
To that end, the parish is holding an Advent Night of Reflection on Dec. 3 at Saint Luke Church in Stratford.
Themed “A Lesson in Waiting,” the 6-9 p.m. event also will include time for Confession and Eucharistic Adoration, to “let people have time with the Lord.”
“We’ve become such an instant gratification society,” he said, and in learning to be patient and wait for the Lord, “we can cultivate a confidence and assurance in Him. We’re called to be a people of hope.”
“If we take a slow and steady approach to Christ, and prepare ourselves, it’ll be a better season, and we’ll grow in faith, hope and love,” Krug said.
If You Go
• Dec. 3: “A Lesson in Waiting,” Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish Shrine, Saint Luke Church, 55 Warwick Road, Stratford. 6-9 p.m. Call 856-6a27-2222.
• Dec. 10-11: “Worship, Witness and Wonders” Advent retreat, Saint Joseph the Worker Parish, Saint Vincent Pallotti Church, 901 Hopkins Road, Haddon Township. 7 p.m. Call 856-858-1313.
• December: Advent preparations at Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish, 525 Washington St., Cape May. Call 609-884-5312.
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