Saint Louis School travels off-island into a new world of opportunities happening in Ohio. Saint Louis’ Campus Ministry sent 4 students to participate in a retreat that is the “first of its kind,” says Associate Director of Campus Ministry and Marianist Brother Brandon Alana S.M. “This was the first of its kind with this kind of focus.” Saint Louis School has traveled to the mainland for retreats like the LIFE retreat that happens during the summer. However, this retreat has a different focus: its focus was “Discernment,” said Alana. Discernment means “how we think, pray, and decide life’s directions.”
Saint Louis sent four students to Ohio to the Discernment retreat, “three students from the junior division and one student from the freshman class,” Alana explains.
Six schools came together for the Discernment Retreat “ Saint Louis School, Chaminade College Prep in West Hills, California, Saint John Vianney in Missouri, St. Mary’s in Missouri, Moeller from Ohio, and St. Vincent St Mary’s in Ohio.” Alana explains. Like Saint Louis, all of these other schools are a part of the Marianist Community. “They all share the same Marianist features and Charisms that we do.” Junior Retreatant Christian Salehi exclaimed. These Marianist features include saying the “Three o’clock prayer,” Alana explains. “It was eye-opening for the students to realize that, wow, this is something that we all hold in common. The new area and the people were foreign to many of Saint Louis’ students. “ I thought everyone was going to be different… since everyone in Hawaii is usually nicer,” said Junior Retreatant Landon Dimaya, “ But it turns out it was quite the opposite.”
Like many retreats at Saint Louis, this retreat allows students to have an opportunity to connect with God, themselves, and others. “For many of our students, they liked the traditional prayers of the church,” said Alana. “So we prayed the Liturgy of the Hours.” Retreatants get to experience the more traditional types of prayers that happen through the Church and can connect with God in different ways.
The Saint Louis students got to connect with other students through Faith, Fellowship, and even strange events. “There was an unexpected tornado that happened around 4 a.m. on the second day of the retreat,” Dimaya exclaims. “Everyone moved to the lowest part of the building, and we had a short prayer service that showed me that prayer is powerful.” Even during challenging times, the whole retreat connected over the shared suffering of the tornado and through a shared prayer.
This retreat gave the Saint Louis students more understanding of how to view life and the challenges ahead. “I have come to realize that not everyone has the same journey to their aspirations or desires,” Dimaya explains. “However, there are some similarities, and God will always be there no matter what.” Whether it was Church life, Married Life, or Single Life, the retreatants got to experience more about each choice so that they could plan their future. “It was really inspiring to see people pursue their vocation despite not even being in the societal norm,” said Salehi. While in Ohio, the Saint Louis team also explored the area around Dayton, Ohio. “We went to the University of Dayton… the local restaurants … and the National Air Force Museum,” Dimaya exclaims. “Exploring Ohio enhanced my retreat experience because I can see God through other forms from different nature scenes to different people.”
The retreat was the first of its kind for this particular purpose. But if it starts becoming a tradition at Saint Louis, it would be an insightful tool for the students as it can help “Give you insight into what other vocations there are for you,” Salehi says. Maybe God…wants to use this retreat to reveal something to you. He definitely did it for me.”
