Imagine a typical Saturday morning at Jesuit. Vacant hallways, empty parking lots, dark classrooms, and sweet silence. Now throw that all out the window because on Saturday, October 3rd, Jesuit was packed with counselors, faculty, upperclassmen, and hundreds of noisy freshmen, all gathered together for the 2015 Freshmen Retreat.
Unbeknownst to many, the Freshman Retreat actually began one and half hours before any freshmen even arrived at Jesuit. At 8:00 am sharp, the school opened and the retreat team gradually piled into Jesuit, a retreat team consisting of Grounds Crews members, Junior and Senior retreat leaders, the freshmen counselors, and other faculty members. To start the day, the retreat team had their own private prayer service in the chapel without the freshmen. After the freshmen arrived at 9:30, the small group leaders hosted an opening prayer service for the freshmen in which three seniors talked about their experiences coming to Jesuit, all before the freshmen head off into their private groups.
In the morning, the focus is to have the freshmen “get to know and trust one another in their small groups,” says Mr. Host, through icebreakers and through games that require teamwork. He also commented that the freshmen retreat is “unique in that it is the only retreat where there are no adult leaders in any of the rooms, run entirely by a junior or senior group retreat leader.” In order to become a retreat leader, the upperclassmen filled out applications which were then reviewed by all three Freshman counselors, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Marr, and Mr. Host. Once chosen, groups leaders then met with the counselors to discuss the theme and expectations of this year’s freshmen retreat. One small group leader Martin Flores ’17 remarked that the meeting focused on “the mass amount of maturity and leadership skills they would need to exercise for the eleven hour” freshmen retreat.
After lunch, the freshmen released some of their energy by playing active games outside such as football and soccer. Calming down and heading back inside, the freshmen began the second half of their second retreat, which focused on their spirituality. Initially, they meditate, write a letter to God, and listen to a teacher talk about their own prayer life. These activities serve to cause freshmen “to think about their spirituality and about their own journey at Jesuit,” according to Mr. Host, who particularly enjoys the afternoon and their “quiet activities as he can see that the freshmen are starting to understand” the focus of the freshmen retreat and “take it seriously” whereas in the morning, “they are still a little goofy.”
Finally, at the end of the day, the retreat ends with a mass where the freshmen reflect on their retreat experience and grow closer to God.
Reflecting on the day, Flores really enjoyed serving as a small group leader, saying, “This was one of the most enlightening and fulling experiences I’ve had at Jesuit thus far. The Freshmen in my group were extremely insightful in their comments and open to the experience in general. I look forward to applying again my Senior year so I can hopefully influence and impact another class of freshman”
“The Journey Begins,” the theme of the 2015 freshmen retreat, alludes to the upcoming experiences awaiting freshmen at Jesuit. By completing their first retreat, the freshmen start on the path to becoming men for others, a four-year process and the ultimate goal of a Jesuit student.
