DIVINE CHILD HIGH
SCHOOL – ANDHERI: STD. X - STUDENTS’ ANNUAL RETREAT
June 16-17, 2012: The
students of standard ten, from Divine Child High School, Andheri, were given an
opportunity to attend a two day retreat at the start of the scholastic year.
Fr. Glenford Lowe, Director of AVEC preached the annual retreat to about two hundred
and twenty students. The first day belonged to the entire class, while on the
second day, only the catholic students attended.
Fr. Glenford Lowe began the retreat with a prayer song that enabled
the students to get in to the retreat. He challenged the students at the start
of the new scholastic to take an honest look at their lives and to take a step-back
and count their losses and gains and celebrate their ‘Now’ moment with joy and
optimism.
Through the ‘Journey of the River me’, Fr. Lowe was able to
direct the students into a personal reflection on their own life as compared to
the various stages in a river flow. From an ‘apparent insignificance’ at the start of one's journey to the ‘abundance that flows into the ocean of life', every student was invited to check out their river flow and to make significant contributions to the landscape through which their lives flow!
After the break, the students were shown a movie: SOUL SURFER' and a few moments of discussion followed. At the end of the session, the school captain proposed a vote of thanks.
On the second day, June 17, only the catholic students, about sixty five of them, attended the retreat. The theme of the retreat was from 1Tim4:12 - "Let no one despise you because you are young". With the help of a deep reflection on the gift of hands, through a reflection on the life and testimony of Jackie Subarido, and finally by helping the students to realign their life and clock on the 'Gospel of Jesus', the students were given time to reflect once again on their call to be 'Christians in the World' with a Christlike difference!
After the break, the students watched the film ' Letters to God". Through a short reflection the students were then invited to the Eucharistic Celebration. During the mass, the students took time to write a 'Letter to God' during the responsorial psalm. This letter was then offered during the Offertory and finally burnt after the thanksgiving prayer. The day ended with a short commitment to live their christian lives to the full.
"It was a great session to attend. Before seeing the video I was very sad about my life. But now, it is very good and now I know that nothing is impossible.. God will never leave us. We as a group we really enjoyed the retreat and the movie especially.It is something new about a girl of our age. So nothing is impossible!" Shreeti and Shikha
""It wqs a very good session and thei vedio will surely change the mind of our young children" -Harsha
"Thank you father for spending your precious time here and letting us know more about our faith and to make us know the true meaning of Prayer" Nancy
