Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom, St. Paul tells us in the second letter to the Corinthians. For local Black Catholics who ended their annual community retreat Sunday, Spirit-given freedom abounds through the healing and reconciliation wrought by God.
A small group of participants gathered for the three-day retreat at Sacred Heart Jesuit Retreat House in Sedalia to pray and reflect on Jesus’ question to the apostles: “Who do you say that I am?”
Though hosted by the Archdiocese of Denver Office of Black Catholic Ministry, this year’s retreat included participants from all of the Colorado dioceses, with some coming from as far as Colorado Springs and Pueblo.
Traveling even further from the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Father Reginald Norman joined the Coloradan participants and led them through a weekend of prayer, healing and community.
“Father Reggie led us in an examination of our past, present and future with God,” Kateri Joda Williams, Director of the Office of Black Catholic Ministry, told the Denver Catholic. “He accompanied us on a journey to identify the pain and hurt we cling to from our past,” she continued.
“We all know a negative world,” Father Norman shared with participants. “We’ve all been carrying a lot of stuff we don’t need to carry anymore. It’s holding us back from being our truly prophetic selves.”
By first identifying and examining the pain that each was carrying, participants were able to lay their burdens down at the foot of the Cross and experience healing, relief and peace, Williams said.
“Healing improves our focus on moving forward in our relationship with Jesus, who leads us to eternal life with the Father, our future,” she continued.
By receiving the healing that the Lord desires for each of us, we reinvigorate our baptismal identity as beloved children of God, an identity which is often sullied by external identifications.
“I remind you that at your baptism, you were baptized priest, prophet, king or queen,” Father Norman reminded the participants. “What does that exactly mean? We don’t think too much about it. All of us, whether ordained or not, are meant to be priestly, that means serving one another. Prophetic. We are to learn the truth, speak the truth and be the truth. And king and queen of your own domain.
“Each of you is a tabernacle that houses the Holy Spirit,” Father Norman continued, exhorting those gathered to honor themselves as such and to share that same Holy Spirit with the world.
Through the sharing of his own experiences and testimony, Father Norman inspired participants to live their God-given identity as beloved children of the Father.
“Father Norman drew out – with his own experiences of being a Black Catholic American man and cleric – the stories of two Black men in our Beloved Community who in courage shared parts of their journeys that leave me in awe of what Black faith, hope and love of God can do,” shared Barbara Wright-Ingram, a parishioner at St. Ignatius Loyola in Denver.
In addition to the motivating talks and the quiet time for prayer and reflection, participants were invited into an uplifting, supportive community, which many found to be healing.
“Overall, the retreat was very enlightening. What I was thirsting for, I received,” said Daniel Howard, a parishioner at Queen of Peace Parish in Aurora. “I realized that I wasn’t by myself, being on retreat with my Black brothers and sisters. We are family in our struggles and gain strength from one another.”
“Everything was uplifting and not judgmental. I am at peace,” he concluded.
“This year’s retreat exceeded my expectations, which were already quite high considering Father Norman’s passion and enthusiasm for our Catholic faith,” Williams concluded. “Personally, I am enriched by the narratives of other Catholics who happen to be Black. The annual retreat is a wonderful occasion for participants to share their stories in a safe and sacred place that is peaceful and prayerful.”