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KAIROS MAKES 75TH RETREATEl Camino and Ascent Experiences ProvideFoundation for Four-Year Retreat JourneyWhen comparing De Smet Jesuit toother schools throughout the St. Louisarea, one facet of a De Smet educationthat stands apart from any other is spiritualformation. By the time a young mangraduates from De Smet, he will have participatedin four or more retreats, likelyserving as a leader of at least one retreat.With a robust Kairos retreat program andthe evolution of several new retreats forthe freshmen and sophomores over thelast three years, De Smet can now boastthat it has retreat opportunities for studentseach of their four years on campus.“God first, others second, myself third.”This motto was first introduced atDe Smet Jesuit’s first Kairos retreat, February20-22, 1995, and still helps form thebasis of the Kairos experience, more than77 retreats later. At the start of the secondsemester, De Smet students led their milestone75th Kairos retreat.The Jesuits of the Missouri Provinceasked all high schools to offer theretreat experience, whichwas introduced to De Smetby Fr. Chris Pinne, S.J., whoalso introduced the retreatto Rockhurst High School inKansas City. Once Rockhurstwent on their third Kairos,the pastoral team felt readyto pass it on to De Smet.“In October of 1994, Itook six seniors to RockhurstPAGE 14 | THE ODYSSEY Winter/Spring 2012to experience their Kairos 3,” De SmetJesuit retreats director Dr. Mike Callahansaid. “That same group of six led our firstKairos the following February, whichreplaced our traditional senior retreat.”Retreats are structured to offer adeeper dimension to time at De Smet bytearing down walls between classmatesand allowing students to step back andthink about their future, values, faith, andrelationships. Kairos means “the Lord’stime” and is a three-day retreat led by ateam of students and faculty. There is astrong emphasis put on student ownershipand service with Kairos.Initially, Kairos was optional for seniorsand a few second-semester juniors.“We decided to change in 2008 bymaking the Kairos experience required,”Callahan said. “We looked at it as, ‘If it’s agood experience for some, wouldn’t it be agood experience for everyone?’”Each retreat is peer-led by a team ofsix students, along with assistance fromsix faculty members, who each give talksTop: Fr. ChrisPinne, S.J., JohnBridegroom, TimHercules, Dr.Mike Callahan,Chad Stuart andKeith Alexander,(front) DanBowers and JoseLagos, leaders ofKairos 1.Bottom: Kairos75 was experiencedfrom January18-20, 2012.The Jerusalem Cross, given toeach Kairos participant at theconclusion of the retreat,serves as a constantreminder of God’sinfi nite grace.grounded in experiencingGod in their lives. Asense of unity, faith appreciation,and greater awarenessare created through this sharing, Sacraments,prayer and reflections.“It’s led by their friends who havealready been on the retreat, so it feels realand immediate to them,” Callahan said.“Part of it is where it comes in their life.I think second-half of junior year and senioryear they start thinking about biggerquestions in life. The nature of the retreatis grounded in personal experience.They’re really caught off-guard by howpersonal the leaders and the teachers are.”According to Callahan, the retreat isincarnational, meaning ‘how do we experienceGod through each other?’ Kairosuses the dynamic of friendships to illustratethat a relationship with God can beformed the same way one would developa relationship with a friend.“Socially and psychologically, that’swhere they are. Friends and family are everything,”Callahan explained. “Realizingthe importance of parents, siblings andfriends is a huge part of it. That’s where alot of them really connect.”Connections made on Kairos compelmany students to volunteer to lead futureretreats. While many express an interestin leading a retreat, not every student canlead simply due to the number of retreatsand time limitations. Each Kairos takessix to eight weeks to plan, which does notwork with schedules of all students.For those who cannot or choose notto lead a retreat, “Fourth Day” events,which center on each retreat’s homecoming,as well as follow-up activities allowfor living out the retreat in other ways. Inaddition to Fourth Day Mass and breakfasts,Callahan holds meetings and prayergroups to get students together. De SmetKairosians have also done activities withgirls’ schools that offer Kairos retreats. Anetwork of Kairos coordinators plan occasionalactivities to integrate the groups.The connections and relationshipsmade on and after Kairos retreats do not
diminish after students leave De Smet.At the Fourth Day celebration followingthe August Kairos, a barbeque or similargathering brings alumni back who areaway at college or live out of town.“We also have a Facebook group ofabout 500 people, many of whom arealums,” Callahan said. And on twitter,we’ve tried to do at least one daily message,challenge or reminder. It’s a niceway to try to communicate and relatewith the kids in another way.”Camino Helps Freshmen Find The WayWhile Kairos focuses more on theindividual, one of the newer De Smetretreats aims to create a class identity.El Camino, which involves all membersof the freshman class, began in February2010. Similar to Kairos, nearly everyschool in the Missouri Province offers asimilar experience for its freshmen.Modeled after Creighton Prep’sfreshman retreat, El Camino is a two-dayexperience designed to foster greaterawareness of self, others and God. Studentsexamine where they are in life, whatrole God and others play in that, and howthey’d like it to be better.“We took elements of our old freshmanretreat, the Pilgrim Retreat, in termsof identity as a sort of ‘know yourself, beyourself,’ and applied it with the conceptof brotherhood to form a class identity,”Callahan said. “Pilgrim comes fromIgnatius’ idea that we are all on a journey.Camino is the same as that, meaning“The Way” and that life is a journey thatunfolds. There are lots of similarities.”Retreat leaders are Companeros, agroup of senior leaders who spend theacademic year helping their assignedfreshmen homerooms make the transitionfrom grade school to high school.The Companeros facilitate small groupsand homeroom discussions on Thursdayevening and on Friday. On Friday, afterseveral discussions, recreation and funactivities, the small groups attend dinnerat the home of one of the senior students.“The Friday dinner at the homes ofthe senior leaders is always a favorite,”Callahan said. “The retreat is largelydriven by the seniors, who are in thehomerooms and know the freshmen.Some schools have it randomized so thatstudents meet new people, but I like thatours is organized within the homerooms.This year we had an addedbenefit in that we have sophomoreand juniors who have gone throughit, so there’s a group of students thatwant to help behind the scenes.”Ascent Starts a Journey of ServiceThis fall, the entire sophomoreclass embarked on the newest DeSmet retreat – the second annualAscent retreat, which brings classmatestogether over two weekends ofbrotherhood and service.Through Insignis presentations,in which graduating students reflectupon their growth and experiencesat De Smet, it became evident thatsophomore year was least memorable andalmost a “forgotten” year. To help alleviatethis issue, a committee explored waysto improve the sophomore experience,which ultimately resulted in the creationof Ascent.During Ascent, half of the classspends a Sunday and Monday participatingin team-building activities like highropes courses, canoeing and wall climbingas well as leadership training at theYMCA Trout Lodge and Camp Lakewoodwhile the other half performs service. Thefollowing weekend,the two groups switchlocations.“Sophomore yearis really the first timethat students herehave the opportunityand are encouragedto do service,” Ascentcoordinator HowiePlace said. “For a lotof guys, it’s a newA group prepares to “campout” at De Smet during ElCamino.Sophomoresassist aclassmate onthe high ropescourse duringthe Ascentretreat.Photos by Stephen Ratz ‘12experience. They are used to school beingstrictly academic and intellectual.”Prior to Ascent, the sophomoreservice component focused primarily onhosting Special Olympics at the end of theschool year.“We wanted to provide bookends tothe year.,” Place said. “We wanted Ascentto complement and start the process thatends with Special Olympics to make themthink ‘What is it about brotherhood, team,and community that calls me to do servicefor others?’”Through the brotherhood and teamexercises, the philosophical foundationsfor service are set. Students look at serviceand consider what they could do asindividuals, with the help of someone elseand what they could accomplish using thetalents of a team of people.According to Place, students enjoyboth the leadership and service aspects.“As 15 and 16-year-old boys, theyare a little bit hesitant about going to dothe service, but they give us really goodfeedback about the experience,” Placeadded. “And the guys get a kick out of beingin nature at camp and sleeping in thecabins.”THE ODYSSEY Winter/Spring 2012 | PAGE 15
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