Retreat Days at St. Edmond's Academy

On March 1 and 2, Bro. Mark and I traveled to St. Edmond's Academy in Wilmington, Delaware to give a retreat to the 7th and 8th grade classes.  St. Edmond's is distinguished among our other sponsored schools in that it is our only school for boys in grades K through 8.

The theme of this year's retreat was "Making God, Known, Loved, and Served."  Blessed Fr. Moreau, the founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, urged his young community to be both prayerful and zealous with the burning desire to share the Gospel message.  The students at St. Edmond's, as part of the Holy Cross tradition, learned that prayer is the language of the heart and a way to experience the presence of God in their lives. 
Bro. Mark led them through meditative exercises, asking them to become more and more quiet in order to listen to the voice of God speaking in their hearts.  Each small group then wrote a beautiful prayer to open the day.  Next, the boys were asked to consider what a world without God might be like.  In order to help make God known, each table designed a web page for God.  The creativity of the boys was amazing!  To conclude the day, the students read together the encounter between Jesus and the rich young man.  After a few minutes to practice, each small group acted out the story.  A couple of the boys deserved Academy Awards!

Overall, the retreat renewed my hope in this next generation of Holy Cross men.  I found them to be open, honest, and insightful about their faith.  Let us pray for them and for their families that they will continue to grow into zealous young men who are on fire with the desire to make God known, loved, and served in our world.

~ Bro. Jonathan, csc