Embedded Files
Retreat 2025 - February 22 & 23
Retreat 2025 - February 22 & 23
A day to delve deeply into the important questions we all face in life: who am I? What is my purpose? Who is God and what does He want to do with me? The day unfolds with personal witnesses from adults and teens, opportunities to share in small groups, prayer times, fun activities, meals, and free time to journal or simply be present in the silence which retreat allows. We will end the day with Mass for the teens at St. Leonard and ask them to affirm their desire to be Confirmed in the Faith and help them to make resolutions to grow as disciples of Jesus.
When I was in High School and going on Retreats, every year as I was packing my mom would hover and eventually ask, "What on Earth do you do on these things?" My humorous answer (and probably what made her keep asking) is we’d eat a lot of food and play games. But the truthful answer is this:
A. It gives teens a break. The schedule of the average Junior High student is more packed than ever before and retreat is an opportunity for them to catch their breath and to help teach them the importance of taking breaks.
B. While they have a minute to catch their breath, they also have time to think about important things, such as who they are, who God is to them, and what God is calling them to do with their lives.
C. A major part of Confirmation is community, the community of their Confirmation class, of Saint Raphael Parish, and of the entire Church. While the primary focus of retreat is not about making friends, making new connections and getting closer to their peers often ends up becoming a big part of Retreat, and this is certainly not a bad thing! This is why youth retreats are filled with small group discussions, games, team activities, and lots of fun.
D. It gives teens a unique opportunity to encounter God without the noise of rushing from practice to mass or from school to Confirmation Sessions. Sacramental formation should not solely be about learning information. Rather, the emphasis should be on the teens putting what they have learned from 10 years of PSR and Religion Class into play. Retreat is an opportunity for to do just that. Retreat offers time for Mass and Adoration (the feedback I receive repeatedly is that Adoration is often the teens' favorite activity, to my continual shock and excitement). They will also hear older teens share about their own genuine experience, understanding, and struggles with faith, as well as time to journal and unpack in a small group.
Our goal with retreat is to give your teens the forum to test and explore their faith in a training ground uniquely suited to that task.
Report abuse