Dubuque Times

Loras College recently issued the following announcement.

Twice per year, Loras students gather for a weekend of reflection during the Antioch retreats. Students across campus are invited to take part in the event focused on stepping away from outside influences and connecting with themselves.

“Antioch is about getting students out of their day-to-day mode and unplug so they can focus on their personal life and their faith,” Debbie Gross, coordinator of faith development, explained. “They find they are not alone in their feelings and questions about everything from family to faith.”

From the time they get together on a Friday evening until the retreat comes to a close two days later, attendees gather in small groups and listen to fellow students talk about their experiences. Together they then discuss the similarities and differences in their own lives. Students are forced to leave cell phones and other distractions behind so they can concentrate on themselves.

Underlining the experience is prayer. Attendees will pray together while also attending mass, adoration and reconciliation.

“The talks and discussions always have to do with finding God. Students are able to really consider important aspects of their faith, like ‘What is God’s call?,’ ‘Who am I supposed to be?’ and ‘How do I serve as a disciple?’” Gross said.

Behind every Antioch is a group of students helping to pulling it all together and shepherding the attendees through the experience. Two student leaders serve as director and assistant director for each retreat with the assistant assuming the director role for the next semester. Students also make up the small group leaders, kitchen team and chapel team. All team members go through an application process to be involved in Antioch.

Retreats have always been part of Loras College’s history, beginning in 1841. For many years, retreats were restricted to priests until June 1911, when the first organized retreat for lay students was held on campus. Over the next 50-plus years, the mandatory lay student retreat recurred annually in the spring until attendance began to dwindle and it was moved off campus and made optional.

The first record of an Antioch retreat in the Loras archives is 1965. The twice-a-year retreat has continued unabated since then with steady attendance throughout that time. Other retreats have been held annually, but only Antioch continues today.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Antioch moved back to campus. According to Gross, that move has proven to be a great success. By staying in the same environment for the retreat, students are more comfortable diving into the introspection the event requires.

For Gross, the most significant aspect of Antioch is being able to see the transformation that students go through over the course of just one weekend.

“For me it is watching the students who come in looking uncertain on Friday night and see how they grow just over the course of those couple of days. It is almost like they become new people — the depth that they are willing to share, the hugs and the tears. It is pretty powerful to hear from them at the end. I always learn and grow in my faith by the end,” she said.

Original source can be found here.