This weekend was surreal. The group of teens we traveled with to Ohio for the Confirmation retreat were a complete joy. They all seemed to bond pretty well and really connect as a group, which is a youth pastor’s dream. We’ve been doing this retreat now for the last 4 years and the question as to why we do this is asked every year. What happened on Saturday night shows why. Saturday night adoration is one of the big components of the conference and for most if not all of the students this is the first time they are experience any type of adoration.
In the past it’s been a moving experience, but this past Saturday was unlike any other. The group was into the music that began the night and when the Eucharist was presented and walked around the field house you could see the power of the holy Spirit work in their lives. For all of the students it was a weird and confusing, they didn’t know why they felt tired; yet refreshed. They didn’t know why they felt scared; yet, comforted. But they all agreed that God was working in the room, they just weren’t sure why it happened in such a way.
What happened that night, and what happens when we take the students to this high school conference is that their image of God is reshaped and challenged. We met with the students during the day before Saturday’s adoration and asked the students to think about the question, “What is my image of God and where did that come from?”
Now that they are asking that question, the rest of preparation is about finding those answers.