As of this past school year, St. Dominic has been sending members of its junior class on Kairos, an overnight retreat dedicated to giving students a time away from their busy lives to focus on God. Kairos means “God’s time,” and with three days away at King’s House retreat center, students are able to fully invest themselves in their personal reflection and growth.

Because of its success in other Catholic high schools throughout the archdiocese, members of the St. Dominic community petitioned to begin Kairos at the school. Despite having only been an established retreat at St. Dominic for a short period of time, Kairos has already begun to leave its mark. Both students and teachers have been thrilled with the way it encourages students to grow spiritually and in communion with one another.

“It makes me feel so good to see them have the guts to talk about their faith. Kind of like a proud dad, I feel glad when they actually do it,” said Mr. Michaelree, Director of Faith Formation at St. Dominic.

Though the main purpose of Kairos is to help students form a better relationship with God, it also leads students to form a tighter community, particularly with the members of their small groups. Over the few days that students are away on Kairos, a certain sense of trust is established. As the retreat leaders begin to tell their stories, more and more students find themselves wanting to share their personal experiences as well.

Often, people have no difficulty hiding the tragedies they have suffered through. In high school, it becomes easy to pretend that everything is perfectly fine, even when it isn’t. Kairos gives students an opportunity to truly understand the struggles of the people they come into contact with every day, yet don’t know at all.

Despite seeming like an ordinary retreat at first, every Kairos is a unique and special experience. For many of those who have attended a Kairos, it is simply unforgettable.

“I still feel like I’m on Kairos every single day. Even though sometimes it gets hard coming back into the normal, regular routine of school… seeing people that I went with on the retreat and seeing that they’re more happy, they’re smiling and showing people who they really are, I think that’s amazing. It’s definitely left a lasting impact on me, and I know it’ll stay for awhile,” Junior Erin Prendergast said.

Of course, not everyone enters the retreat feeling particularly happy to be there. However, Kairos can change people.

“I just think it’s awesome seeing that change, like when they first walk in the doors there, they’re really annoyed, like ‘this is gonna be so stupid’ and then you get people that are like ‘I don’t want to leave [at the end].’ It’s really cool to see because it happens instantaneously,” senior Victoria Luetkemeyer said.

After experiencing Kairos, students find themselves looking at the world, and especially their fellow students, with a different perspective. With the positive feedback Kairos has had so far, it can be expected that it will continue to leave its legacy on the students of St. Dominic for years to come.