Singer-songwriter leads St. Thérèse of Lisieux retreat

Grammy-nominated Sarah Hart delivers a message of love in word and music

By Gabrielle Nolan

The St. Thérèse of Lisieux Women of Faith and the Chattanooga Deanery Council of Catholic Women presented a Lenten day retreat for women on March 22 at St. Thérèse of Lisieux Church in Cleveland.

More than 310 women attended, representing four states, fives dioceses, and 34 parishes.

Bishop Mark Beckman was the main celebrant of the morning Mass, with St. Thérèse pastor Father Mike Nolan concelebrating. Father Mike Creson also concelebrated, and Deacon Steve Ratterman served as deacon of the Word and deacon of the altar.

The guest speaker for the Lenten retreat was singer-songwriter and musician Sarah Hart, who played piano and sang during the Mass alongside the St. Thérèse of Lisieux choir and youth choir.

The hymns sung during the Mass were written by Mrs. Hart, and many of the Mass prayers were set to Mrs. Hart’s composed Mass of St. Mary Magdalene.

A native of Lancaster, Ohio, Mrs. Hart earned a music degree from Ohio State University. She is now based in Nashville with her husband, Kevin, and two daughters.

Mrs. Hart is considered a leading figure in contemporary Catholic music, and much of her music appears in Catholic hymnals published by OCP Publications. She is a Grammy-nominated songwriter and composer.

Her songs have been recorded by various artists, such as Amy Grant, Celtic Women, Matt Maher, and The Newsboys. Mrs. Hart also has co-written songs with Catholic musicians Sarah Kroger and Steve Angrisano.

In addition to recording music, Mrs. Hart also has published multiple retreat books and a musical based on the life of St. Bernadette of Lourdes.

She travels the country and the world for concerts and speaking engagements, such as parish missions, retreats, and workshops. In October 2013, she had the privilege to sing in St. Peter’s Square in front of Pope Francis and an audience of 150,000 people.

‘To Love you will return’

At the beginning of Mass, Bishop Beckman mentioned that it was his first time visiting the parish of St. Thérèse of Lisieux.

“Also, I want to welcome the women who have come from all over the place to be here for a day that promises to be a beautiful day of being recreated in the mystery of God’s love. It is good that we are here today during this season of Lent,” he remarked.

The Gospel reading for the morning was the story of the prodigal son returning to the home of his father, and Bishop Beckman focused on the love of God.

“I remember a few years ago, you’ll perhaps recall it, Ash Wednesday fell on Feb. 14, on Valentine’s Day,” the bishop began in his homily. “I remember celebrating Mass for [school children], and I had read a reflection about the ashes by a priest somewhere in the U.S. … And he said when we put the ashes on the forehead, one of the formulas that we can use is ‘Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return.’ And, he said, but because we fall on Valentine’s Day this year, I’ve been thinking of another thing. And, of course, what are we thinking about on Valentine’s Day but love? He said, ‘Remember that you are loved and to Love you shall return.’ And is not the cross a perfect sign of God’s love revealed for us?”

Bishop Beckman said he suspected the younger son in the Gospel had forgotten how he was loved by the father.

“For him it was about getting what he wanted at that moment. Give me my inheritance,” he said. “Of course, when do you get your inheritance? When your father is dead. And so, what mattered to him at that moment was pursuing his own desires. He forgot what it was to be loved by his father and to love his father in return. So, he went far from home. And yet the great mystery is that that abandonment of love brought him great misery and suffering. And there’s a blessing in that kind of suffering because it’s calling us back home, isn’t it?”

The bishop shared that before Mass began, he and the other clergy noticed that at a retreat for women, the Gospel story was focused solely on men.

“But I said, isn’t the father in some ways, isn’t his love more like the love of a mother or a grandmother, right? Infinitely unconditional,” he commented. “Most of you women get that more than we stubborn men at times in our lives. So, God is for us both father and in some ways a mother for us, rich in compassion, heartfelt, tender mercy. God created both men and women in the divine image and likeness. So, both men and women reflect something of the great mystery of God.

“The father runs out and embraces the son and places a ring on his finger, a robe on him,” he continued. “He clothes him. His dignity as son, a freed son, is restored to him. He is welcomed home by the father. Remember son, daughter, you are loved and to Love you will return.”

Bishop Beckman than turned his focus to the older son in the Gospel, who responds to his father’s actions with anger.

“Unfortunately, most of us are like the older son, I fear, because we’re the kind of people who come to these retreats and workshops and are faithful about Church. ‘I always do the right thing,’” the bishop said. “The older son, the paradox is he is also far from home. He, too, does not understand the love of his father for him. For him, it’s all about trying to earn it or prove it, to do the right thing. To be the responsible one. And so that self-righteousness, that pride that he has wrapped around his heart is a shield against love. That’s why he has a hard time loving his brother.”

Bishop Beckman told the congregation that the love of God will “pursue us wherever we are,” never letting go.

“The Gospel ends today unfinished, doesn’t it? What happens to the older son? Will the older son allow the love of his father to pierce the shield around his heart and break it open to know that he, too, is loved? … I believe the Gospel ends unfinished because all of us are invited to look at our own hearts. Where are we today? Are we aware of the deep love of God that so wants to embrace us today and to bring us fully home? Remember that you are loved, and to Love you will return,” the bishop said.

At the conclusion of Mass, Bishop Beckman expressed his gratitude for the liturgy and the clergy and also mentioned his connection to the retreat presenter.

“Sarah Hart and I were together when I was first a pastor way back in Springfield, Tenn., in the late ’90s, so I’m so grateful to see Sarah, and I baptized her first child,” the bishop recounted.

‘Spiritually and emotionally touched by the day’

Following Mass was the retreat check-in and a continental breakfast. Mrs. Hart led a morning session of music, talks, and activities that was infused with her humor. Lunch followed. She led an afternoon session that included a closing prayer, which ended at 2 p.m.

Mrs. Hart explained that the retreat theme of recreation first came to her during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think the start of COVID was a moment for all of us to sort of take stock, wasn’t it?” she said. “I am a traveler by nature; my husband says I am a ball of chaos. … So, it was very, very difficult when COVID happened. I kind of put the brakes on.”

Her booking agent canceled all of her events for six months.

“When you’re a goer, when you’re a runner, it’s very hard to stop and all of a sudden do nothing and go inward,” Mrs. Hart shared. “But that’s what we did during that time. And during this time, I was like, what do I have? What can I do? What can I learn? I really wanted to make it something special, so I did. I made some changes; there were things I loved about that time. One of the coolest things, though, was my mother. … I called her one day and was like, how are you doing? And she’s like, Sarah, I’ve made a decision that I’m going to start taking up art again.”

Her mother, who was previously an art teacher, would send Mrs. Hart images of her work and ask if it was of good quality.

“I think that we as women fail to recognize the gift that we are and the gifts that we possess, and God can always do something new and something beautiful in us and with us,” Mrs. Hart commented.

She continued to say that in the process of recreating oneself, a key component is dignity.

Looking to the biblical account of Adam and Eve, Mrs. Hart discussed how they hid after eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. However, even though they sinned, God still chose to make clothing for Adam and Eve so they could cover themselves.

“All of our lives, from the very beginning, shame and blame have been with us,” she said. “And I’m here to testify to this, that women carry their shame and blame very deeply. We have a hard time with shame and blame. So, I want to talk about embracing our dignity and what it means to embrace our dignity. … Look through the lens of God. Try to see yourself through the lens of God.”

Rachel Richardson, an Episcopalian, attended the day retreat with her sister, who is a parishioner of Holy Spirit in Soddy-Daisy.

Although she is not Catholic, Ms. Richardson thought the event was “wonderful.”

“At one point I was just sobbing. … I feel spiritually and emotionally touched by the day,” she said.

Ms. Richardson was particularly moved by Mrs. Hart’s song ”All Is Well.”

“She was talking about anxiety, something that I deal with. That one really got me,” she said.

Jane Hubbard, a parishioner at St. Thérèse of Lisieux, was on the planning committee for the event.

“Sarah is such a creative individual,” she said. “She just shows the love of God in everything that she does, says, and sings. She’s just a true talent, and I love the fact that she shares that talent and her love of God with so many people.”

Ms. Hubbard said that Mrs. Hart’s messages helped her Lenten experience by making her “more reflective and brought up more things for me to pray about, give more attention to.”

She also mentioned that as part of her Lent, she would be making a five-day pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain.

“[Sarah’s] song that we sang at the end of Mass, ‘I Journey on My Way’… that’s going to be my theme song,” Ms. Hubbard shared.

For more information on Mrs. Hart and her music ministry, visit her website at sarahhart.com.