Retreats
Bishop Montgomery’s retreat program seeks to build upon the faith life of each student. The retreats along with the classroom curriculum provide opportunities for our youth to express, explore, and celebrate their faith. Seniors involved in Campus Ministry are trained in leadership and are the primary leaders on all the retreats. Our retreat program consists of the following retreats:
Freshman: PARABLE (one day on campus) The theme of this retreat is that God’s word is with us and within us. We seek to introduce the freshmen to our Knight spirit and the community we share. The retreat focuses on building community and friends. The campus ministry team uses various parables from scripture to convey their story and to introduce them to High School life. The purpose of this retreat is to foster school spirit and unity.
Sophomore: REACH RETREAT (one day on campus) The theme of this retreat is character and the challenge to live moral lives. The students explore moral dilemmas and discuss Christian responses. The Campus Ministry teams candidly share their personal challenges and their commitment to live their faith. Students reflect upon “reaching within” themselves (conscience formation) “reaching out” to others (community) and “reaching up” to God (guidance and wisdom). This retreat seeks to strengthen their self esteem and loving, patient self knowledge.
Juniors: EMMAUS Retreat (two days at St. Andrew's Abbey in Valyermo —sign-up soon; space is limited) The theme of this retreat is the Emmaus story in Luke 24. This resurrection story focuses on the good news that throughout our life journey, through the ups and downs of life, Christ will always be with us. The “Footprints” story similarly conveys the same point. It is in the breaking of the bread that we recognize him and it is in the walking with him to our “home” that we come to a greater understanding of life. “Did not our hearts burn within us as he explained the scriptures to us?” The campus ministers share times in their life when they questioned where God was, struggled on their life journey as well as times when God seems very close to them. The focus is the paschal mystery: life, death, and resurrection.
Seniors: KAIROS retreat (three days at Mt. Crags Salvation Army Camp in Calabasas—sign up soon space is limited)
The word Kairos means “special time,” or “Christ moments.” The senior year is clearly a time of transition. They are ending high school, beginning college, leaving home, etc. The senior year goes by fast, and this retreat is meant to be a kind of “sending forth in blessings.” Talks and group sharing focus the retreatants on the many memories and events in life that have brought them to this day. Through talks such as Life Graph, Values, Knowing God, Living the Fourth, the students are provided an opportunity to do a kind of evaluation of their life and set goals for their future. Kairos is the culmination of all four retreats at BMHS. It is a meaningful experience not to be missed!
