As an important part of our Holy Cross heritage, we seek to help our students engage in a rich spiritual life, while building their relationship with God and others. In the words of Blessed Basil Moreau, “we shall always place education side by side with instruction; the mind shall not be cultivated at the expense of the heart.” In educating the hearts of our Holy Trinity students, we hope to prepare them as people of faith who will become leaders who work for justice. This school year we have been able to fully embrace our campus ministry program once again and come together for mass and class retreats.
Led by Br. James VanDyke, C.S.C. and Fr. Tom Walsh we have gathered together to pray as a school family monthly since the beginning of the year. Most recently, we celebrated All Saints Day on November 1. Our all school liturgies are a great way that students are prepared to take part in their faith, with several student peer ministers signing up to lead each mass through proclaiming the readings, altar serving, and acting as ushers.
Another cornerstone of our campus ministry program is our class retreats. The annual retreats are an opportunity for students to step out of their day to day routine and find time to build relationships with classmates, explore their faith, and strengthen their spiritual foundation. We began the year with the Sophomore retreat on September 17 at St. Sabina Church on Chicago’s South Side. Under the guidance of retreat leader Vince Guider, students were immersed in conversations and activities on this year’s theme of family. The Junior Class held their retreat on October 15 at the Carmelite Spiritual Center in Darien, where students reconnected with classmates after more than a year of hybrid and e-learning. Several student leaders volunteered to assist with our sophomore and junior retreats and lead their peers through small group discussions and activities.
The Senior Class tradition of an overnight retreat continued this year, with students heading to Camp Manitoqua & Retreat Center in Frankfort. A retreat team from Lasalle Manor led our seniors through two days of team building, witness talks, and small group sharing as students reflected on their lives thus far, their hopes for their future, and the role their faith plays. Seniors also had the opportunity to spend time together outdoors, enjoying walks through the camp trails, playing on the basketball courts, and roasting marshmallows by the campfire. The leaders of our school returned to Holy Trinity united as a class with renewed spirits.
Retreats and masses are an important part of our school’s mission to prepare our students for their future. “It is our hope that through the Campus Ministry program, we can aid students in coming to a deeper awareness of their God-given gifts and invite them to consider how they might live those gifts in the service of others,” said Fr. Tom Walsh, school Chaplain.
Our freshmen will participate in their first class retreat Friday, November 5 as they come together to build a class identity and learn more about the Holy Cross heritage they are now part of.
