Class Retreats | Campus Ministry | Cardinal Life | John Paul II High School

Class Retreats Program

The Catholic Church strongly recommends that an individual go on one spiritual retreat a year. Class retreats ensure that every student gets the opportunity to disconnect from their daily responsibilities and to reconnect with their most important relationships: with God, others, and themselves.

Goals
Every JPII Class Retreat will have the same three goals: Strengthen each individual’s relationship with God (spiritual formation) Provide ample recreation and fun to destress (emotional formation) Increase class unity (social formation)

Goals

Every JPII Class Retreat will have the same three goals:

Strengthen each individual’s relationship with God (spiritual formation)
Provide ample recreation and fun to destress (emotional formation)
Increase class unity (social formation)

Stair-Step Model
Each retreat is designed to build off the previous one, creating a specific narrative to the four years at JPII. Each retreat goes deeper into Catholic spirituality, offering more and more opportunities to find a mature relationship with God.

Retreat Program Overview
Freshman Retreat: "Seek" Question: What is your heart really searching for? Explanation: This retreat is designed around a central question for Freshman starting their high school experience. So many questions are left unanswered: who will my friends be? What will I get involved in? What kind of person do I want to be? This retreat strives to provide answers: your heart is searching for love, truth, and beauty, and they can all be found perfectly in God. Sophomore Retreat: “Unite” Question: How can we all become the body of Christ as He wants us to be? Explanation: Now that the newness of high school has worn off, sophomores are challenged to take the next step in their spiritual maturation: loving one another as God loves them. Reflecting on St. Paul’s discourse on the body of Christ, students take time to recognize each other for their unique gifts and talents, all culminating in a meaningful activity to help them see God in their peers. Consequently, students will take a leap together to unite as members of the body of Christ. Junior Retreat: “Grow” Question: How can I grow into the saint I am called to be? Explanation: As budding leaders in the school, juniors need the time to evaluate their own personal strengths and weaknesses to see how they are meant to grow in the Lord. God wants to help in our areas of weakness, to heal our wounds, and to encourage our strengths, and this retreat will help the students do each of these things with the help of God. Senior Retreat: “Send” Overnight Retreat Question: What do we need from Christ as we are sent into the world? Explanation: Senior year is a time of ending and beginning. This retreat helps seniors focus on how to make the most of their final semester as school leaders, while preparing them for the next step in their spiritual lives beyond JPII. Christ is calling each senior to become a sent apostle, a joyful missionary disciple.

Retreat Program Overview

Freshman Retreat: "Seek"

Question: What is your heart really searching for?

Explanation: This retreat is designed around a central question for Freshman starting their high school experience. So many questions are left unanswered: who will my friends be? What will I get involved in? What kind of person do I want to be? This retreat strives to provide answers: your heart is searching for love, truth, and beauty, and they can all be found perfectly in God.

Sophomore Retreat: “Unite”

Question: How can we all become the body of Christ as He wants us to be?

Explanation: Now that the newness of high school has worn off, sophomores are challenged to take the next step in their spiritual maturation: loving one another as God loves them. Reflecting on St. Paul’s discourse on the body of Christ, students take time to recognize each other for their unique gifts and talents, all culminating in a meaningful activity to help them see God in their peers. Consequently, students will take a leap together to unite as members of the body of Christ.

Junior Retreat: “Grow”

Question: How can I grow into the saint I am called to be?

Explanation: As budding leaders in the school, juniors need the time to evaluate their own personal strengths and weaknesses to see how they are meant to grow in the Lord. God wants to help in our areas of weakness, to heal our wounds, and to encourage our strengths, and this retreat will help the students do each of these things with the help of God.

Senior Retreat: “Send” Overnight Retreat

Question: What do we need from Christ as we are sent into the world?

Explanation: Senior year is a time of ending and beginning. This retreat helps seniors focus on how to make the most of their final semester as school leaders, while preparing them for the next step in their spiritual lives beyond JPII. Christ is calling each senior to become a sent apostle, a joyful missionary disciple.