Reflections from "Notre Dame Vision" Retreat
This summer, the High School Youth Ministry spent a week at the University of Notre Dame for a retreat with 350 teens from around the country. The retreat ("ND VISION" or "NDVI") helps teens become leaders and to reflect on discipleship and vocation.
Everyone wants to know who they are and where they are going in life. This retreat helps young people on this journey. Teens spend a week living the Notre Dame Dorms, roaming the campus, eating in the student dining halls, living the campus life. ND Vision gathers 60+ undergrad mentors who spend eight months preparing to welcome, serve, play, pray, and most importantly serve as faith mentors to the teens for the week. Throughout the week their faith mentors give witness from their own lives while listening to teens on their challenges and struggles with discipleship and where their life is at and going.
Popular nationally-known speakers give inspiring and entertaining presentations and issue challenges to the teens. The teens have activities and parties on campus in the evenings, the most popular being the nationally known Irish Catholic Band flown in from New York to play exclusively for the NDVI teens in the campus Night Club. Another popular evening is that of the campus wide scavenger hunt where the teens invade and run from one end of the campus to the other dressed in everything from war paint to capes!
This year's daily themes and our teens' reflections follow:
Daily Themes
Monday: God’s Call For Us
Tuesday: The Call to Discipleship, the Challenges of Discipleship, and the Call To Conversion
Wednesday: The Call to Self-Love, The Call to Relationship, Fostering Healthy Relationships
Thursday: Discerning God’s Call In Prayer and Sacrament, Daily Choices = Lifelong Discipleship
Friday: How will your Gifts Change The World, Affirming Our Gifts
Personal Experiences and Observations from our Youth Ministry Teens
I felt that this experience changed my outlook on my faith and myself. I’ve seen that being a Catholic is more than understanding and listening to God’s message. It’s about accepting who you are as a person and realizing that God made us all the way we are for a reason and he loves us. He loves us just the way we are. We don’t have to be the prettiest, most athletic, or even the smartest person to be accepted and loved by God. We just have to be ourselves. We shouldn’t accept others negativity or put downs as truths and let them tells us who we are but be the person God wants us to be. I feel that being an ND participant will have a major impact on my life and I can’t wait to put my words and things I learned into action in my own life and to tell everyone just how amazing this experience was for me. Johann, Junior
Important lessons: Encourage the storm but let the light shine through! Also, if you build a man a fire he will be warm for the night, BUT.... if you SET a man on fire then he will be warm for the rest of this life!" Good advice! Another lesson or warning to not feed the squirrels on campus was good (they will follow you). Johanna, Junior
ND Vision was an exciting experience. While spanning five days the retreat combined creative methods to explain the message. (This was a vocation and discipleship retreat). One of my favorite things from this journey was the plays and musicals. The play from Tuesday “The Prodigal Son” interested me most because it used a more modern way to explain about the same story. Throughout the week these plays included entertaining jokes and characters from the previous presentations plus adding new ones. This week was one of the most worthwhile experiences for me. Ryan: Freshman
ND Vision taught me that you should not let other people define who you are and what you are capable with your life. You shouldn’t let someone make you think you are something that you are not. This really got to me. A presenter named Stephanie spoke to us about self esteem and that anything we do with our lives, whatever vocation we have we can do. As Stephanie spoke, I was crying and did not have a clue as to why. But I realized that I was crying because I was happy and relieved that I finally have all my “boxes” (she used an illustration) and that I am happy with myself and I want that person I kept inside to come out. I am taking this experience with my and I am going to continue you my journey. Tyler, Junior
I personally enjoyed this week at Notre Dame a great amount. Though I am tired, I had a ton of fun. The week started with a defining “God’s Call For Us”. It immediately started funny. “How to tell if you are chronically being mauled by bear” was my favorite part of the God’s Call vocation talk. Also, I am not good at Rock, Paper, Scissors Conga Lines (It's not my vocation). The rest of the week was great from there. The speakers really spoke to me, especially Stephanie and Mike. I’m starting to look at things, my life, in a new way. In fact, during Mike’s talk on daily choices and lifelong discipleship he asked us to write down when was the last time we felt alive and I put down this week at Notre Dame. I hope to be able to come back again. Ashley, Sophomore
Notre Dame was so much fun. I got the process of life vocation through the speakers. It is amazing what you learn when someone tells you to not to jump over your car, you could land on the windshield and shatter it. Also, we should “ENCOURAGE THE STORM”. Throughout the week we had some amazing speakers that really made you think, I really recommend this trip because the mentors and the people were just great. They made you feel that you can really be open. This was the greatest experience and I enjoyed everyone moment of it. Sean, Sophomore
Please contact Maryellen Harrington at the Youth Ministry office if you want to particate in Notre Dame 2010, 773-779-1166, ext 228, or to learn more.
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