Campus Ministry Faith Education Heart
O
Br Robert Callan Director of Campus Ministry
f all the things I have done with students over the years, nothing has engaged them more than opportunities and time given to them to look closely at their own life journeys and to share their own stories in safe and sympathetic groups of friends. This has been a most satisfying initiative.
It’s in these opportunities that our young men come to discover some meaning in their lives – who they are; what they mean to others; and to realise that they are loved and valued by friends and family. There is no more powerful experience than when people tell us that they love us. It’s within these settings where young men who might seem to reject and neglect formalised and public expressions of religious observance actually relish the opportunity to share deeply about their beliefs, doubts, confusion, love, pain, struggles and hope. In these settings, the boys genuinely pray from their hearts. They participate fully in prayer, meditations and the Eucharist. Where outside pressures from peers, media and perceived expectations might push our young men to profess indifference to most things religious, it never surprises me that when given the conducive environment so many of our young men show a real yearning for those things of the spirit and the heart. Moreover, while academic and sporting commitments, as well as social and recreational pursuits, take up so much of their energy and waking moments we must never underestimate the deep need within each young man for the spirit to be attended to. This is not the place to explore these questions about contemporary adolescent spirituality in detail, but it would seem to me to be no accident that in western countries which have become so busy and cluttered with the pursuit of possessions and pleasure, personal happiness and contentment have declined and teen suicides have escalated.
Hence, our Year Twelve voluntary Retreats, known as KAIROS – a four-day live-in retreat experience – are full within forty eight hours each time we advertise them throughout the school year. Since their introduction in 2003, the Kairos Retreats have become the highlight of Year Twelve for a surprisingly large number of senior boys. It would not be an exaggeration to say that these retreats have affected the faith-life of our whole school community. Our senior boys speak very highly of the Kairos Retreats and they all encourage their peers and the younger boys to sign on when they have the chance. Currently we offer three Kairos Retreats each year. We also offer compulsory one-day retreats at various centres in all Year Levels: TABGA for Year Twelves; ENCOUNTER for Year Elevens; EMMAUS for Year Tens; GALILEE for Year Nines and QUEST for Year Eights. The next development in Campus Ministry is the Peer Ministry program. More and more we are encouraging our senior boys to lead by example, particularly in matters of faith. It was very encouraging this year that thirty five of our senior boys volunteered to undertake training to become Special Ministers of the Eucharist. Sixty of our Year Tens have volunteered to be involved in Peer Ministry for 2004, which means that we will assign each of them to three younger students from the Class of 2008. They will accompany them through the special "QUEST" Retreat on the Labour Day weekend, as well as work with them to help integrate them into the Trinity community. It is rather a cliché these days, but true that "Faith is caught, not taught". We all know how powerful the influence of older boys is on their peers and the younger boys. Therefore, when our senior boys are very visible to the school community as Special Ministers of the Eucharist, in Music Ministry, as Altar Servers, Lectors and Peer Ministers, we know that their influence is invaluable. It gives our younger boys the confidence and the encouragement to take their faith and love for Christ seriously.
94
Brother Rob Callen Director of Campus Ministry
