A few weekends ago I had the pleasure of attending the retreat for the Catholic Student Center (CSC) from the University of Maryland. It was an awesome experience with over a hundred students from the University of Maryland and other schools, including Howard University, as well as seminarians representing Capuchin College in DC, Mount St Mary’s seminary, and two of us from St John Paul II seminary. Four of us seminarians on the retreat used to be students at the University of Maryland, and had attended this retreat as students when we were still at UMD.
Being a former UMD student myself, this was the first full retreat with the CSC I had been on since I transferred to seminary a year and a half ago. It was wonderful to go back, to see old friends and meet new ones, and to witness as well as experience the many graces flowing from Our Lord on the retreat. There were wonderful talks, lots of opportunities for prayer, and everyone had the opportunity to go to confession. There was also plenty of time for recreation, with almost every sport represented.
For me, however, the highlight of the retreat was all-night Eucharistic adoration on Saturday night. Earlier in the day a sign-up sheet for half hour slots was passed around to ensure that Our Lord was never left alone. It always amazes me how quickly this sheet fills up. There are never enough slots for everyone, yet even those who do not sign up still find a time to go, sometimes late before bed, or early in the morning––sometimes both. The evening itself is kicked off with a healing service, and finishes with a Eucharistic procession. It is so powerful to see Fr. Rob, the chaplain, carry Our Lord in the monstrance to individually bless each person in the room, and to witness the stream of people who file out of the building following Our Lord in the procession.
It was also amazing how Our Lord seemed to permeate the night even after the official healing and procession were over. We all stayed up with a bonfire and games, and every now and again a student would disappear for half an hour or more, going to their slot in adoration. Many of the students stayed up for this purpose, to ensure they went to their slot on time. It is amazing how, in a concrete way, you could see Our Lord effecting the entire evening––even the fun and play.
It is not often you can go from a sing-along at a bonfire to spend time with Our Lord in the Eucharist. There is a beauty in leaving a great time with friends to visit Christ, the friend who colors and makes every other friendship possible. In my own experience, those encounters with Our Lord are the most memorable moments of any retreat. In short, my time with friends on this retreat was only enhanced and brought to life because of the time I got to spend with Jesus who gives life and makes it possible to love the other.