Photo Credit: Church of the Presentation

On Wednesday, November 11, IHA sophomores attended their retreat at the Church of the Presentation in Upper Saddle River.

Sister Carol Ann Lockwood, Campus Minister of Spirituality, organized the retreat. Mrs. Darla Addabbo, Sister Margaret Gaffkin, Ms. Melanie Gomez, Ms. Allison Oblen, Mrs. Sarah Shutrop, and Mrs. Teresa Skjold all helped chaperone.

The day began by attending nine o’clock Mass with the rest of the congregation. The other parishioners were surprised to have 200 teenage girls in their Church during a weekday Mass.

Next, the sophomores were organized into five different groups and traveled to different stations with their groups throughout the retreat. After attending their first station, they had a snack break with Mrs. Skjold doling out the chips, fruit snacks, and Capri Suns. With full stomachs they attended two more stations and then enjoyed a lunch before their last station.

Ms. Oblen believes “the sophomore retreat was a truly blessed day.  I personally got to run a portion of the day where students ‘laid down their burdens’ on the cross, and it was beautiful to see the girls deeply entering into this prayer experience.” She continues, “I hope and pray that hearts were moved and that all the sophomores had a real experience of God’s love and mercy that day!”

There was a time for Eucharistic Adoration with Mrs. Shutrop when the girls could pray silently and read the Bible with Christ in the Tabernacle. The quiet time was something everyone appreciated. Students were happy to take a break from the hustle and bustle, a chance to reflect.

At one point, the sophomores were able to play Scrabble using religious words at Mrs. Addabbo and Ms. Gomez’s station. Many girls enjoyed trying to get the most points with their small team.

With Sister Carol Ann, they created their idols out of Play-Dough and then smashed them. During Sister Margaret’s station, the sophomores wrote down their sins and shredded the piece of paper.

The girls got a lot out of the retreat. They all thought the day was very relaxing and peaceful and really changed their prayer lives. “Before the retreat I never really knew how to pray, but now I understand it and actually like it,” explains sophomore Morgan Honor. “It is very therapeutic.”

By Heather Farrell ’18, IHA Sports Senior Editor