Young adults invited to prepare for Lent with special retreat

Young adults from across the Archdiocese of Chicago are invited to get themselves in the proper frame of mind for Lent with “Pause, Breathe and Ready Yourself,” a two-evening, free retreat led by Father Bob Lombardo and the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist of Chicago Feb. 5 and 6.

“It’s an opportunity for young people to come and spend time with Jesus and get ready for Lent,” said Franciscan Sister Kate O’Leary.
Juan Pablo Padilla, a coordinator of youth and young adult ministry for the archdiocese, said the retreat will offer participants an opportunity to reflect on what it means to have “a good Lent.”

“Lent is not about giving up meat on Friday or giving up sweets,” Padilla said. “It’s more significant than that. Lent is a season to remember that we are valued by God and to open ourselves to that.” 

The retreat will be held from 6 to 9 p.m., at the Catholic Charities building, 721 N. LaSalle Drive. It is open to all young adults, including those who may have been raised Catholic but stopped practicing their faith and those who aren’t Catholic but who want to strengthen their relationships with Jesus, with other people and with themselves.

While Lent is itself a season of preparation for the salvation proclaimed with Jesus’ Resurrection on Easter Sunday, people of faith can benefit from getting ready for Lent as well.

“We speak of Lent as a time of prayer, almsgiving and penance,” Sister Kate said. “We sacrifice things we like. We might do more in our prayer life. We need to take some time to understand how we can better our relationship to Jesus, so when Lent starts, we are ready to go. What is it God is calling us to do to get closer to him?”

Over the past year, the archdiocese has emphasized opportunities for young adults to understand and to practice their faith, kicking off a retooled version of Theology on Tap, starting Scripture groups for young adults and hosting the (re)Encounter event in October.
This retreat, and a schedule of other events during Lent, continues that focus.

The church should create opportunities to be present to young adults because it needs young adults to build itself up, Sister Kate said. She believes the key to involving more young adults is for those who are already connected to the church to reach out to their friends and family members.

“The key to reach people is personal invitation,” Sister Kate said. “There might be people who are interested, but they just don’t know where to plug in. Inviting them to something like this gives them a way.”

This is an event for those who are trying to figure out who and what they are in life, Padilla said. 

“It’s not going to be the retreat format so many of us are used to, where there might be talks and you reflect on your own,” he said. “There will be talks, but then there will be small group discussion and reflection. It’s encountering each other where we are at.”