BARABOO — St. Joseph Parish in Baraboo held its annual men’s retreat on February 11 at Camp Gray in Reedsburg. More than 80 men were in attendance.
Titled “Do Whatever He Tells You,” referencing Mary’s words at the Wedding Feast at Cana, the retreat focused on Mary’s role in salvation history.
Featured speakers for the day retreat included Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison; Fr. James Kubicki, SJ; and St. Joseph parishioner Pat Kash.
Father Kubicki serves as a spiritual director at St. Francis de Sales Seminary in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. He is a popular conference and parish mission speaker, retreat director, and the author of A Heart on Fire and A Year of Daily Offerings.
Kash provided a personal witness of God’s impact in his life.
The bishop’s talk
As Bishop Hying described Mary, he spoke about obedience and surrender.
“When we, like Mary, completely and simply lovingly hand our whole life over to the will of the Father, we’re set free from fear and resistance,” he said. “It allows God to use us profoundly to accomplish His will in the world.
“He has chosen us. It doesn’t matter that our role is seemingly less important than say David or Moses or the Blessed Mother. We still have an essential role in salvation not only for ourselves but for the people around us.
“God can only use us to the degree that we allow Him because he never forces himself on us,” he continued. “The people in the Bible that the Lord called handed themselves over to the will of the Father, and in that surrender and in that obedience, they were freed up to do extraordinary things.”
He added, “When we truly surrender, we come to a point of spiritual freedom, where I’m doing God’s will because I want to. I’ve worked myself, with abundant graces of the Holy Spirit, to the point where I will do what the Lord wills no matter what that is. And that’s a place of profound freedom and joy.”
Speaking on prayer, the bishop said, “Prayer allows us to hand our will over to the Father. There may be times when we can say, ‘I don’t know what You want of me in this situation. I’m not certain what You’re asking. But I want to please You and I want to do Your will.’ And Mary is par excellence example of what that looks like.”
Father Kubicki’s talk
During Father Kubicki’s talk on “Mary, Woman of the Eucharist”, he noted that the proper effect of the sacrament of the Eucharist is the conversion of the human being into Christ.
He highlighted Pope Benedict’s comments from World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany. “On the cross is the power of love that transforms the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. That’s what we believe, but it must not stop there. The process of transformation must now gather momentum. The body and blood of Christ are given to us so that we will be transformed.
“When we say we are the body and blood of Christ, it’s not just ‘Well, I’m a symbol of Christ.’ But as Bishop Hying said, we are to mirror Christ.”
Father Kubicki concluded the day by speaking about “Living a Eucharistic Life”. He provided highlights of Pope Francis’ message for the World Day of the Sick in 2016 where the pope focused on the wedding feast of Cana.
Father Kubicki shared, “Jesus could have made the wine up here from nothing. He’s the Son of God. He could have made the wine appear in those jars from nothing. But Pope Francis says He [Jesus] wants to rely upon human cooperation. And so he asks the servants to fill the jars with water. Not only do [the servants] obey, but they fill the jars to the brim.
“The servants could have said, ‘Jesus, we don’t need any more water. We’re done with the purification rites.’ Or they could have said to each other, ‘Hey, guys, let’s fill them up halfway because it’ll be easier to move.’ But they fill them up to the brim. And Jesus changes the water into wine.
“Pope Francis says our service to one another can be tiring and burdensome. Yet, we are certain that the Lord will surely turn our human efforts into something. Thereby, we too can be the hands, arms, and hearts which help God to perform His miracles.
“Jesus will always change the water of our lives into precious wine.
“Often are tempted to think, ‘Who am I? My life is so insignificant. I don’t know why I’m still here.’ Well, the reason you’re still here is because you can play an important role in that ongoing work of salvation.
“Jesus will take what seems so ordinary and small, like he did with five loaves and two fish, and multiply it.
“It requires us to believe in the Gospel. So, brothers, we need to ask the Lord to increase our faith and believe that our lives do have significance, and each moment of them can be offered up to the Lord.”