By Jacqueline Vega
The second annual Lenten retreat was held at St. Elizabeth Seton (SES) in the parish hall on Saturday, March 1,2025. It was hosted by The Catholic Daughters of America (CDA), Court Madonna #2067, and followed a Mass of First Saturday devotion. The four-hour event was well orchestrated by Bernadette Labat, regent of CDA, with assistance from generous volunteers and included an hour-long lunch. Similar to last year’s retreat, the attendees included those from other parishes in addition to SES, with an increase in attendance from 60 to 82. Bernadette stated that “Court Madonna (of CDA) has sponsored many Lenten and advent retreats over the years, [but this is] the second retreat at St Elizabeth Seton.”
After the 8 AM devotional First Saturday Mass, the attendees gathered for a light breakfast and socialized before the commencement of this year’s retreat speaker Paul Zukarelli. Paul began his talk at 10:00 AM and spoke about the 18 Marian apparitions and the Eucharist. He talked at length about how Jesus Himself is the True Presence in the Eucharist and what Jesus meant when He spoke about this. He also talked about the documented instances of Marian apparitions that had occurred in history and why they’re important to the Catholic Faith.
Paul then shared the story of his miraculous survival from sudden cardiac death on Pentecost Sunday. Through the intercessory prayers of many others, thanks to God he recovered and lived to tell of this experience. Paul’s wife also spoke about this from her own perspective, which any family member who has had the traumatic experience of just waiting and leaving a situation like this in God’s hands could identify with.
Throughout his talk Paul appeared joyous, radiating God’s love and the sincere gratitude he has that only those with a personal near-death experience can grasp. His testimony bears witness to “a living Jesus Christ”. One theme stood out strongly: “Whenever you’re in despair or facing a big hurdle, always remember that “my best friend died for me”. A simple message, but always a reminder of how Christ is with you, never leaving your side. If anything, he hopes the message he sends out through his presentation is to “look no further than the cross.”
Paul Zukarelli has written a book based on his experience titled “Faith understood”. He comes across as an extremely warm, approachable man, as evidenced by prior to his presentation he went out to greet all attendees and thank them for coming. Upon interviewing him, I discovered that the largest group he’s spoken to was 1000 people. Although he’s never met the pope, one of his biggest rewards was in writing his book and sharing his story of faith. When asked what was the biggest challenge in writing his book, Paul replies “Fear of the unknown (the greatest enemy)”; he had never written a book before. He also had the opportunity to practice discernment, even receiving signs when he requested discernment as suggested to him by Bishop Dolan (retired), then encountering Christian authors Allen Hunt and Jon Leonti, who encouraged him to proceed with the book. Paul says that the greatest rewards of writing his book was “witnessing all the conversions to the Faith (especially [within] our families) and reversions back to Catholicism.”
If you wish to check out his inspirational book “Faith Understood” and also find additional information such as his videos, booking information for talks, prayer information, etc., his complete ministry can be found at https://faithunderstood.org/. Although he does not use social media, he’s very approachable and can definitely be contacted through his website. Please also be on the lookout for future retreats; they are often posted in the church bulletin.
