When graduates look back on their time at Jesuit and the events that formed them into men for others, they surely remember the Junior Retreat and Cross Mass, a time-honored tradition at Jesuit. On March 23, this year’s juniors shared in this valuable experience as they embarked on a journey to become leaders in the community alongside their Jesuit brothers.
The day began around 8:00 when buses left Jesuit and headed off to Camp Copass, the location of the Junior Retreat for the past 20 years. Once students and faculty members arrived at the site, they joined their small groups, consisting of 8 students and 1 faculty member, and engaged in a few icebreaker activities in order to lighten the mood.
Following the icebreakers, the small groups focused on more serious and introspective activities. In the funnel activity, groups shared what they perceived to be the shortcomings and weaknesses of the junior class, shortcomings such as dishonesty, cheating, and ignorance, shortcomings they want to funnel out of the Jesuit community. Additionally, each group created a new slogan for Jesuit besides Men for Others, coming up with ‘Make Jesuit Great Again,’ ‘Become a Man for Yourself in order to Become a Man for Others,’ and ‘Google Docs don’t Define Us.’
Evan Bausbacher ‘17 especially enjoyed this activity as it gave him a chance to recognize what the Class of 2017 can do as a whole to improve the school, commenting, “My group decided on the slogan, ‘#28 A-cares. A Community that Cares.’ We wanted to focus on how even the smallest acts of kindness can strengthen the community and create a more harmonious atmosphere, one that harbors selfless and committed students.”
Countless speakers then emphasized the importance of leadership at Jesuit, how the junior class will have to step up and be the leaders of the school once the seniors graduate. In Assistant Principal Mark Knize speech, he made an analogy between the countless championship banners that hung from the rafters at the old Boston Garden and the figurative banner the Class of 2017 will leave behind in a year. He challenged juniors to think about how other classes would remember them if they saw their “banner” in the hallway, whether they would remember the weaknesses that the juniors wanted to funnel out or the strengths that made the class unique.
The highlight of the day was when Principal Garrison pulled out a full-size sword to show the juniors during his speech, emphasizing how they must follow the path of St. Ignatius and lay down their swords and selfish desires, picking up a cross as a symbol of their faith and commitment to the community. Bobby Turner ‘17 took this message to heart, saying, “Mr. Garrison’s speech caused me to reflect on the times when I’ve been selfish and only cared about what’s best for myself. I now realize that I need to lay down my sword like Ignatius and focus on being a good role model for the other students at Jesuit.”
After the retreat ended, students and faculty members regrouped at Jesuit for the Cross Mass later that night. Sitting next to their families in the Terry Center, each student waited for his name to be called and went up to the altar to receive his cross from one of four people: President Mike Earsing, Principal Tom Garrison, Assistant Principal Mark Knize, or English teacher Mary Beth Farrell. By accepting the cross, each student acknowledged his new role as a leader in the Jesuit community.
For Thomas Whitaker ‘17, “The retreat was definitely my favorite retreat thus far at Jesuit. I enjoyed focusing on improving our class and abandoning our bad habits. Additionally, the Cross Mass culminated an already great retreat as it brought us closer together as a class and united us in our commitment to serve the community as leaders.”
