“Going on my overnight senior retreat this past Sunday, I was not sure what to expect. I had heard from other seniors on the previous rotations that most people enjoyed the retreat, but I had no way of knowing what I would soon experience. Now that I have completed the retreat, I can honestly say it was one of the most powerful experiences I have had at Brother Martin.
The senior retreat marks a transition into manhood becoming for me a rite of passage. As much as classes and schoolwork prepare each of us academically for college, the retreat prepares us spiritually for life. One of the main goals of the experience is to prepare us for a new spiritual maturity that, as teenagers, we are on the brink of attaining. Our spiritual mentors, father-figures to ourselves, and our understanding of the religion we practice, can help us on the often difficult journey to spiritual maturity. Various exercises and presentations stressed the importance of persevering as a man through this necessarily physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally demanding journey. While some of the spiritual exercises on retreat seemed unusual at the time, reflecting back on them, I now understand that their purpose was to gain a better understanding of ourselves, our place on the spiritual journey, and the resources we have to help us on the journey into Christian manhood.
The senior retreat was not only a powerful opportunity to reinforce our connection to God, but also a sense of camaraderie and companionship with our classmates. We had the opportunity to get to know each other better than we had over our past years as Crusaders, along with the chance to meet other classmates that we may not have met before. As we finish the year together, separate from one another, and move on to college and beyond, the senior retreat will always remain in our hearts as a memorable experience sealing our identity as Crusaders and as Christian men.”
Submitted by Andrew Heller ’15