Life Teen Winter Retreat

We all desire connection. In modern times, technology makes connecting easier than ever, yet many of us spend more time with heads down in our phones than looking up and out to strengthen relationships. 

God provides an ultimate connection through the sacrament fo the Eucharist. We look up to receive the host, and down to marvel at its reception. But the longest gaze is "Face to Face" with Jesus in adoration  of the Blessed Sacrament. These are the ways Jesus models real presence!

This retreat weekend will allow you to deepen relationships and experience presence. The sessions will explore what it means to be face to face with our authentic self, family, friends, God, and our community. 

Retreats gives us a chance to temporarily shut off the pressures of the outside world. This allows us to more authentically reflect, pray, listen, and form new friendships in a way that is hard to do with all the noise (literal and figurative) that fills our normal daily life.
The Book of Ecclesiastes says there is, “a time to weep and a time to laugh” and “a time to mourn and a time to dance.” During the retreat weekend we are going to be intentional about how we spend our time. There will be a time to pray and a time to play, a time to be sorry for our mistakes and a time to rejoice in mercy! It will be a chance to be spiritually renewed...
You deserve a weekend like this!

If you participate in a Spring sport or school affiliated activity and have a conflict on the evening of Friday, February 4, but would still like to attend retreat, please contact Wyatt to discuss whether you might be able to arrive late to the retreat. We would like to have all attendees present for the full weekend, but understand that you may have a pre-existing commitment that you are unable to miss.

WHEN: Friday, February 9 - Sunday, February 11, 2024

WHERE: Deer Creek Camp - Medina, TX

WHO: Open to All High School Students
            *required for students preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation

WHAT: A weekend full of fellowship, prayer, discussion, and activities all aimed at leading youth into a fuller relationship with God and experiencing His presence in the Sacraments!

COST: $100/person (includes a t-shirt)

Space is limited t0 90 students. You may register below! Parents will recieve a letter in the mail with more information regarding the retreat.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
2 Corinthians 12:9

Our WINTER RETREAT  was one I won't soon forget! On Monday morning, I knelt before Jesus in the tabernacle at Notre Dame and reflected on the weekend we had just spent with students. I was and continue to be incredibly thankful, blessed, and honored to have had this retreat experience with them. I knew from moment we began the opening icebreaker game called "Birdie on a Perch" that it was going to be an amazing weekend. I could just sense it in the energy, smiles, and laughter of the teens on Friday night. If we could just carry this same energy into our moments of prayer, God was going to reveal himself to us in incredible ways. And man, oh man...that He did!

The power and joy of Christ that was felt throughout the weekend, especially in the Sacraments - Reconciliation, Mass, and Saturday night during Eucharistic Adoration - was undeniable. God is real. God is alive. And God revealed his grace and truth to me in the hearts and prayer of these young men and women on retreat. I want to thank you, as parents, for sharing them with us! They are a kind and respectful group, full of spirit and life.

I am thankful for the amazing team I get work work with to help lead these students closer to Jesus Christ. They each poured their hearts out for the students through their prayer and conversations.  Our speakers for the weekend - Michelle Yanez, Kevin McCormick, Elaine Haby, and Ben Ledesma - each did a wonderful job keeping our "Spoken" theme and the Word of God they shared relevant to the lives of teens.  We also heard testimonies from senior, Stefan Sirianni, and former student Savanah Rendon...two incredible witnesses of how God is at work in their lives.

We also thank Fr. David, Fr. Rafael, and Fr. Kishore (from Rocksprings) for joining us to hear confessions, as well as Deacon Robert Zapata and Francisco Hernandez for being with us for Adoration.

Finally, we made new friends in Br. Vinny, Br. Jose (both Capuchin Franciscan friars), and Jesse! It was such a pleasure to watch them share their gift and passion with our group. This retreat would not have been the same without their testimony, music and prayer that led us all deeper to the heart of Jesus. You can find some of Br. Jose's talk on prayer from Saturday night on our Notre Dame Youth Ministry Facebook page. It was beautiful to see over 50 high school students, move as close as possible to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and fall to their knees on a hard concrete floor in intense prayer for God to speak to them and for them to hear His voice. I hope they shared with you about their experience!

As we hear in John’s gospel, the “Word became Flesh and dwelt among us.” Jesus, the Word made flesh, the Living God surely dwelt in the hearts of our students and made his grace and truth known to them. It’s not every day or every weekend that we get to spend such quality time in fellowship and prayer on retreat. But we can keep this fire burning in our hearts every day by making God a priority, as we were challenged to do. As Br. Jose shared with us on Saturday night, “prayer is a language, prayer is a gift, prayer is a challenge.” Please join me in praying for these young men and women…that they may speak the language and open the gift of prayer every day, and that they may meet the challenge of knowing Jesus and making Him known!

For pictures from the retreat, please take a look at our Instagram and Facebook pages...and make sure to "like" and "follow" us!