The Viatorian calendar necessarily includes many events for conducting business, through councils, chapters, committees, and special meetings – but each summer, it also includes a retreat for the professed men. This week, Viatorian brothers and priests are together at our Province Center to spend a few days reflecting on Christian mission.
Fr. Stephen Bevans, SVD
Fr. Stephen Bevans, SVD, is facilitating the multi-day retreat. He is a religious of the Society of the Divine Word and Professor Emeritus of Mission and Culture at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Fr. Steve often leads retreats and presentations digging more deeply into the meaning and mindset of mission in our lives of faith.
“Fr. Mark Francis asked me to come because he said the men wanted something on mission,” Fr. Steve said. “Shortly after, I ran across a poem by Mary Oliver that said, ‘pay attention, be astonished, tell about it.’ That, in many ways, captures the idea of mission.”
And that quote became the theme of the retreat, as Fr. Steve gave talks, offered questions for reflection, and facilitated discussions. “Mission is often seen as an obligation or command, but it’s really a privilege that we participate in through the Holy Spirit. We bring about the dream of God – the Kingdom of God. We need to see mission as a privilege and a joy,” Fr. Steve said. “Even as it’s hard work and takes a lot out of you, you do it not because of the command but because it’s a privilege to do God’s work and be trusted by God to do it.”
While not every professed Viatorian is able to attend, most of the men come in for the retreat. Since ministry often slows down a bit in summertime, these days are a welcome chance for spiritual renewal.
Fr. Steve opened the final session with a talk to lead into a closing discussion.
Fr. Steve’s overview of the scope of Creation relative to human history particularly struck Br. Michael Rice, CSV. “He has helped us realize how the Holy Spirit has always been a part of the world, ever since Creation. In the many million years that the earth has existed, it has been just a short time that humans have been on earth – it’s as if we showed up just 10 minutes before midnight of a ‘24-hour day,’” Br. Michael said. “Thankfully, Steve has offered to share his slides, too – his content is so packed that having the chance to go look at it again afterward will help us to review and process this even better.”
Fr. John Van Wiel, CSV, finds resonance between Fr. Steve’s mission reflections and the way Fr. John has long seen Viatorians ministering. “Viatorians are great at making themselves close to people – being friendly, welcoming, and spiritual, and then being good at passing these traits on to young people,” Fr. John said. “This retreat is encouraging us to grow in these ways while affirming what we already do and who we already are – essentially, we try to be with people and meet their needs.”
As the retreat concluded today, Fr. Steve shared personally about his gratitude to his SVD confreres and leadership for the amazing opportunities he has had in religious life to go out and live this mission. Then, he invited our Viatorian religious to share their sense of this in their lives.
“I try to paint the picture of the ‘dance of God’ into which we are called,” Fr. Steve said. “My image of this is almost like a conga – Father, Son, and Spirit are dancing through the world and catching us up into this dance with them.”