The retreat program at Magnificat High School provides sacred time for reflecting on the presence of God in the midst of students' busy lives and the complex culture in which they live. Retreats are an essential component of the holistic educational experience of each student, offering them opportunities for contemplative silence and critical reflection upon their relationships with God, others, and themselves.
The retreats are designed to meet the spiritual and personal needs of the students as they grow and mature during their time in high school. For this reason, a variety of retreat formats are offered.
Freshmen Year
As a class, the freshmen travel to Villa Maria, Pennsylvania to spend the day at the motherhouse of the Sisters of the Humility of Mary, founders and sponsors of Magnificat High School. This "Heritage Day" provides the freshmen with an opportunity to learn about the history and identity of the school and the sisters, while growing better acquainted with each other.
Sophomore Year
In their sophomore year, students spend a day at Magnificat in reflection and prayer, contemplating the call for justice inherent in the Gospel and articulated in Catholic Social Teaching.
Junior and Senior Years
During junior and senior year, students choose from a variety of smaller, more personal retreats including Kairos, Nature, Art, and Film and Literature retreats. Sometime during their junior or senior year, students are required to make one Magnificat sponsored retreat.
Kairos
Kairos, a Greek word meaning "the Lord's time," is a two night, three day retreat that challenges participants to explore God's presence in their lives and in their relationships with others.
Nature Retreats
These retreats help students to contemplate the mysteries of God through the experience of nature. These retreats are held at Hocking Hills State Park and Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Art Retreats
These retreats provide a creative experience in which students are given the opportunity to contemplate their relationship with God and with others and to explore their faith through the medium of art.
Film and Literature Retreat
This retreat explores spiritual themes and questions through films and works of literature.
"During the Art retreat at the Villa, I felt the presence of God
as I had the opportunity to go out to all of the different areas of the Villa,
especially the Grottos, lake, and art house.
They give you the feeling that God is in everything."
- Art Retreat participant, 2007
Summer Immersion Retreats
In the second semester of their junior year, students are invited to apply to participate in a summer immersion retreat. Currently, Magnificat offers four immersion experiences in Cleveland, Appalachia, Ecuador, and El Salvador. These retreats challenge students to immerse themselves in the complex realities of injustice and poverty and to recognize God's presence in the midst of such realities, both in the people they meet and in one another.
The summer immersion retreats involve a commitment for the participants that begins upon their selection in their junior year and continues through the following summer and their senior year. Ongoing processing and reflection are a critical part of the immersion retreat as students strive to integrate their experience into their daily lives in meaningful and lasting ways.
"We went with the mindset that we would bring about change, and instead we were changed.
The stereotype of a third world country disappeared as we spent time
with the beautiful people of Ecuador, but the poverty was still there.
The responsibility of the statement, "Those who have much, much is expected,"
remains in the forefront of our minds." - Mary Vincent, Ecuador immersion participant
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