Fall Retreat
Crying Out in the Darkness:
Spiritual Combat as Missionary Discipleship in the Church Today
NOVEMBER 8-10, 2019
SPACE IS LIMITED
“In virtue of their baptism, all the members of the People of God have become missionary disciples (cf. Mt 28:19). All the baptized, whatever their position in the Church or their level of instruction in the faith, are agents of evangelization, and it would be insufficient to envisage a plan of evangelization to be carried out by professionals while the rest of the faithful would simply be passive recipients” (Pope Francis, The Joy of the Gospel, #120). In light of the scandals that have plagued the Church since 2002 and continue to be revealed in more and more graphic detail within the presbyterate and the episcopacy, how can the average Catholic in the pews respond? What are we to do in the face of increasing discouragement, embarrassment and disappointment? Rather than resignation into silence or withdrawal from the Church because of the darkness, our baptismal call reminds us once again that “we have found the Messiah” (John 1:41) and because of that ongoing encounter we are called to proclaim it to the world. At the death of Jesus, Mary Magdalene “stayed outside the tomb weeping” (John 20:11) over what she thought was the dead body of Jesus, only to encounter Him risen and ultimately proclaim to the first bishops of the world: “I have seen the [risen] Lord!” (John 20:18). This retreat will be rooted in Scripture and the teachings of the Church as we discuss, through stories, images and examples, a reply worthy and effective as lay faithful for the circumstances in our world today. How will you respond?
RETREAT MASTER
FR. ERIC DAVID ZEGEER
Fr. Eric David Zegeer is a priest of the Archdiocese of Miami, ordained in 2005, and currently serving as parochial vicar at Risen Christ Catholic Church in Denver. A graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville in 1999, he had a vocation affirming experience here in Denver at World Youth Day in 1993 where God has now brought him back, full circle. He was brought to the Archdiocese of Denver in the summer of 2018 to teach homiletics at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary while pursuing the completion of his own doctoral studies in Homiletics. He has served in over seven different parishes and also worked as a full-time hospital chaplain and ethicist. He brings his years of ministerial experience, stories, humor and homiletic skills to present on the topic of our retreat for this year.
