More than 60 members of the Class of 2017 traveled to Manresa House of Retreats for the final Sophomore Silent Retreat of the year.

On Tuesday, Apr. 21, beautiful weather enhanced the experience of 61 members of the class of 2017, who traveled to Manresa House of Retreats for a day of silent retreat. Modeled after the daily examen from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, students were encouraged to take this “mid-career examen” to reflect on their time at Jesuit so far and to invite the Lord into their plans for their upperclassmen years.

Three prayer periods focusing on God’s presence, gratitude, and contrition for sin served as pillars for student reflection throughout the day. The day concluded with Mass offered by former Jesuit theology teacher, Fr. Nathan O’Halloran, S.J.

The Sophomore Retreat is an integral part of the spiritual formation of each student at Jesuit. Students are assigned to a retreat day by their Theology class section. By spending a day of silence and growing in the habits of prayer from the Spiritual Exercises, it is the goal of the program to have the students make prayer with the Lord a regular part of their lives as students.