Dear Parishioners,
Thank you all for your prayers for all of us priests who attended the special convocation at the beginning of this month. The Surrender Novena was a perfect vehicle of grace targeting our need to submit ourselves to Jesus Christ and let him take over and heal whatever is broken. The convocation was more akin to a retreat, and I believe it was an experience unlike any gathering of us diocesan priests together.
The event took place in one of the newest and certainly the biggest Catholic church in the Archdiocese. The building was originally the home of New Hope Christian Church and was purchased this past year by of Our Lady of La Vang Parish. After doing some research, is is well double in square footage from the previous location of Our Lady of La Vang Parish. It seats a whopping 2,170 people in their main nave which compares to 575 in their previous church. The pews and seats in the nave are arranged in a semi-round fashion before the sanctuary and has two levels. Let’s just say that there was enough for the each of the 140 priests in attendance for our convocation to have about 15+ feet from the nearest person.
Fr. John Riccardo and his ACTS XXIX team came and offered us some thought provoking talks during the event. I say “event,’ because it wasn’t simply about learning more about our faith, but creating a space and time for us to ponder on our own struggles, suffering, and need for healing. If you would like to get a taste of the first day, pick up a copy of Fr. Riccardo’s book, “Rescued: The Unexpected and Extraordinary News of the Gospel.” I used this book in preparation for this past Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil) and Easter Sunday Masses. The rest of the time was marked by time of fellowship and and opportunities for confession, adoration, and quiet prayer. Possibly the highest point came when the ACTS XXIX team offered private opportunities to have hands laid upon each of us priests while lifting us up in prayer, specifically for healing. I’ve been to many gatherings of the presbyterate (diocesan priests serving the Archdiocese), and I have offered a fair number of retreats where we would lay hands on the retreatants, but this has never been the occasion for us priests as a whole. There were a couple times for us to publicly share about the time we were spending together. And let’s just say it was heartfelt, sometimes raw, and some priests truly made themselves vulnerable by taking some risks in their sharing. It was all very healthy. It inspired and challenged me. I had to go to confession twice while I was there due to what they shared and how it revealed things to me.
Two other highlights were the personal testimonies of faith, conversion, and admission of personal struggles from Bishop Peter Smith and Archbishop Alexander Sample. After Archbishop Sample shared in his closing remarks to us priests, we stood and applauded him for quite some time for being so frank and vulnerable with us. Another priest then shouted out that we should pray over him and as that priest laid hands on the Archbishop, another prayed a beautiful prayer of thanksgiving and aid for our lead Shepherd.
This gathering was the beginning of some healing work for many of us priests, assuming we are willing to do our homework. In the beginning of October, we will be gathering for our normal/annual convocation, and as providence would have it, we will be lead by Dr. Bob Schuchts, the founder of the John Paul II Healing Center. We were given his book, “Be Healed: A Guide to Encountering the Powerful Love of Jesus in Your Life.” Much of his work was presented by the ACTS XXIX team during our time together. So, once again, God is at work doing what he does best. Please continue to pray for us priests, as we do for you. God is great and does amazing things!
Blessings,
Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor
