VIEW FROM THE
BACK PORCH BY PAUL J. ZOOK, ’57
“R
etreat hell. We’re just attacking in another direction.” This epic quote, attributed to Marine Gen. Oliver Smith during the Korean War, I think reflects a negative connotation that colors to the word retreat. To retreat from something or someone usually implies backing away from a frightening situation that we cannot deal with. “When in doubt, chicken out” might be a more popular—if less courageous—reaction to the position Gen. Smith’s troops encountered, but retreat is usually not a first choice. But annual retreats are a staple of Jesuit education, typically one to three days for students and annual eight-day retreats mandated for all Jesuits, with two 30-day encounters with the Spiritual Exercises thrown in for good measure at the beginning and end of each Jesuit’s training. So in the religious context and in modern business context, retreats are clearly not seen as a bad thing, if the word itself is even considered. It strikes me that Gen Smith’s understanding of a retreat is not without merit and that understanding our retreat experience as attacking—or at least moving in new directions—can be a valuable mindset to help us make the most of this exercise. And I use the word exercise most deliberately. St. Ignatius did not dictate retreats for his men as a means of escape. Rather the person making an Ignatian retreat is encouraged to identify the enemy in whatever form it takes, understand his or her leader (Christ the King) has a plan for the retreatant’s ultimate victory and go forth in the newly identified direction to seek the Greater Honor and Glory of God. It is not Ignatius’ vision for his associates to retreat or retire to a quiet, safe place. I think Gen. Smith’s statement would resonate quite well in the soul of our soldier saint. I do not recall the retreats we experienced in the ’50s as so clearly focused on the vision of St. Ignatius as I have seen
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them at St. Xavier in my years at the school. This is not a criticism of the retreat programs then. Good men with the best intentions based on the practices of the Church at the time did their best to lead us to better Christian lives. However, the themes as I recall them centered heavily on the first part of the Spiritual Exercises —the four last things: death, judgment, heaven, hell—rather than the life of Jesus and the concept of finding God in all things. Today’s freshman and sophomore retreat experiences guide the students to search deeply into their own lives to find God’s working there (freshman) and to find God in the people around them (sophomores) and to encounter and deal with them, especially those who may differ from them. One of the most significant things I see in the junior retreat program (which like those of the first two years is mandatory) is the fact that virtually all seniors, whose retreat is not mandatory, sign on as seniors for one more chance to make a retreat, selecting from a variety of options. Of the various possibilities, the Kairos retreat seems to be the most popular. Led by a team of students and faculty
volunteers, this program has spread from St. X to almost all the Catholic high schools in town. It has created over the years, I think, a different atmosphere in the school, a tone gentler, kinder, more welcoming and accepting. My sense is this atmosphere comes from the top down. New students look to the seniors for clues about behavior and attitude. Gradually the seniors’ manner of acting, molded in large part by the Kairos experience, has permeated the building. Definitely not a perfect society but one clearly better than I saw in the good old days. In a real sense though, maybe things have not changed so much from those old days. Perhaps the new ways of the retreat programs have provided the new students with what we always received in one way or another: guidance to know the enemy, to recognize the leader, Christ the King, who leads us in our battles in new directions and to appreciate the sacraments and prayer to help us succeed. God is good. Life is good. Paul J. Zook (’57) worked at St. Xavier High School for 37 years and has enjoyed living the retired life with his wife Marianne in Pleasant Ridge since July 2005.
“Gradually the seniors’ manner of acting, molded in large part by the Kairos experience, has permeated the building.”