There is a new senior-year retreat at Brophy, filling the gap as Kairos transitions to a junior-year experience. The first Silent Retreat was held at Manresa from March 26 through March 28, with the inaugural group featuring twelve seniors and four spiritual directors.
The idea first came to Director of Retreats Mr. Steven Schillig ’15 two years ago. “When we started thinking about Kairos being transitioned to a junior retreat, I knew that there was going to be an opportunity for seniors to engage in some sort of retreat, and so I started thinking about what exactly is the need of seniors,” said Mr. Schillig.
Mr. Schillig recalled his past experience on silent retreats, and decided that it could be a good fit for seniors as they prepared to move on to college and beyond. Unlike Magis and Kairos, which put an emphasis on retreatants’ relationships with others, the Silent Retreat focuses almost solely on students’ relationships with themselves and with God.
Jacob Schoenhals ’24 was one of the seniors on the first Silent Retreat. Regarding why he chose to apply, Schoenhals recalled, “I felt like life was going a little bit fast, especially at the end of my senior year. So I wanted that chance to slow down and, like, live in the moment before I left Brophy and went off to college and just get this chance to really enjoy the last few months of my senior year.”
To be considered for the Silent Retreat, seniors filled out an online application that Mr. Schillig sent out in February. He, along with other members of the Office of Faith and Justice, then selected the twelve seniors who were able to take part in the experience.
As is apparent from the name, the Silent Retreat is conducted almost entirely in silence. The only time that retreatants are allowed to speak is when they meet with their Spiritual Directors for 20-30 minutes a day. The other sections of the retreat are spent conducting reflections, and Jesuit imaginative and spiritual exercises.
Schoenhals discussed some of his favorite aspects of the retreat. “I really liked the ice meditations or the imaginative meditations. They really helped me kind of slow down and I liked to talk about them with my spiritual director, Mrs. [Dominika] Deline…Just a chance to be by myself for a little bit was very peaceful.”
Both Schoenhals and Schillig recommended the experience to any future seniors who were willing to be open to the experience. “I mean even I thought it was going to be a challenge, especially the silence, and so I’m someone that likes to talk a lot, to be honest with you, so I’d recommend it to pretty much everyone…You have to be willing to push yourself out of your comfort zone. So for anybody that’s looking to do that this is something I really recommend,” Schoenhals said.
The retreat will be continued next year and become a permanent part of the Brophy spiritual experience.
