Two separate annual Lenten gatherings will be held March 9 and 10 in Harlem and New Rochelle, respectively.

A special Hispanic Lenten retreat is planned at St. Gabriel’s Church in New Rochelle this weekend, March 9 and 10, with the title “Dios Te Quiere Sanar (God Wants to Heal You).”

The event theme will be Para Dios Nada es Imposible (For God Nothing is Impossible, Luke 1:37), and it will be hosted by Santa Maria de Guadalupe, a Charismatic Renewal ministry of the Parish of St. Gabriel and St. Joseph, New Rochelle. The event will feature talks by Father Pedro Alvarado, a prominent retreat speaker from Guadalajara, Mexico.    

“It is a beautiful retreat for Lent it will help people get closer to God,” Arturo Lopez, lead event organizer, told The Good Newsroom this week, adding that the annual parish retreat, based on the healing messages of the Lord, will assist the faithful in battling temptation, coping with personal challenges, and embracing forgiveness.                        

The two days will also feature the sounds of faith through the music of Jessica and Jose Cordero, active parishioners of St. Gabriel Church. Organizers said Saturday’s gathering will run from 12 noon to 7 p.m. On Sunday, the event will be held from 1:30 to 7 p.m.  

St. Gabriel’s Church is located at 120 Division St., New Rochelle, Organizers ask for a $25 donation for each day. For more information call the parish: (914) 632-0211.     

Central Harlem Cluster Council

In Manhattan, the New York archdiocesan Central Harlem Cluster Council will present an English-language Lenten revival called “Healing for Our Soul and Call to Action,” scheduled for March 9 and 10 at St. Charles Borromeo, Resurrection and All Saints Church, 211 West 141st St. The featured speaker will be Father Anthony Bozeman, SSJ, a prominent revivalist priest from the Formation House of the Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart (The Josephite Community) in Washington, D.C.    

“The community needs to come together and open their hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit,” said Father Willem Klaver, pastor at St. Charles Borromeo. “There is so much brokenness in our society and the Church. We have so many broken hearts. People are thirsty to be healed, and to find comfort in the Risen Lord.” 

The Saturday gathering will start at 5 p.m.; the Sunday gathering will begin at 3 p.m. Each is expected to last more than two hours. For more information call the parish: (212) 281-2100. 

The following weekend, March 16 and 17, the Central Harlem Cluster Council will also host a Spanish-language Lenten retreat at St. Aloysius Church, 219 West 132nd St., called “Rebirth 2024,” with the theme “We are Prepared for the Call and for the Spiritual Battle.” The main speaker will be Deacon Bienvenido Valdez, a revivalist based at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs-St. Jude Parish in Manhattan. 

The “Rebirth” event will start at 5 p.m. Saturday, and 3 p.m. Sunday, each likely to last more than two hours. For more information call the parish: (917) 261-6507.