To enable students to deepen their faith and help them navigate through the challenges of school and college life, the School Annual Retreat for the Catholic Students was held on 20th September 2023, at Don Bosco High School & Jr. College, Naigaon. The theme of the retreat was ‘Jesus Is My Super Hero’. Around two hundred and fifty children from grade V to grade XII participated in the retreat facilitated by twenty-three teachers and five resource persons to strengthen the spiritual foundation of the youngsters in Christ.

The day began with a short welcome prayer, after which each speaker was introduced and welcomed with a bouquet. The students confidently recited the seventy-three books of the Bible from the beginning to the end, from the Old Testament and the New Testament; they were trained by Mr. DP Mahesha, a Mind Power expert. To set a joyous tone to the day, the day the students presented an action song in keeping with the theme – Jesus is my Super Hero.

The highlights of the retreat were the reflective sessions, confessions, counselling, enacting the parables, Bible Quiz and Holy Mass at the end. During confession, the Blessed Sacrament was exposed to remind students of the real presence of Christ in their lives and in their interactions with each other. The students brought their prayers and intentions to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

The speakers enlightened the students about God’s plan for them and their response. The prayers, reflections and team-building activities conducted, were in keeping with the objective of enabling students to understand that Jesus can work miracles for them. All they need to do is to invite Him in. Through the various power-packed sessions, students explored the ways in which God can use all of us, even in our brokenness, to heal and to build a community of love and gentleness.

The Rector, Fr. Dominic Martis, while addressing the gathering at the welcome session stated, “When we combine such activities of spiritual and moral well-being, with the variety of other extracurricular activities and programs conducted in the school and college, we will have a truly enriching experience that will help our students to move from one state of consciousness to a deeper state of self-consciousness and a spiritual awareness, so that they can reach their highest potential. This retreat will surely provide an opportunity for our students to grow in faith and their love for God and humanity.”

Secondary teacher, Mrs. Ledwin Dsouza commented, “The preachers provided valuable insights to the students. The students on the other hand participated actively and learned to work in teams and be disciplined.”
Susan Joseph, from grade ten said, “We were so involved in the activities and the day passed so quickly. It was indeed a beautiful and memorable day for us.”

The sessions were conducted in four different age groups, animated by Fr. Joyston Machado, Fr. Richard Burkhao, Fr. Akhil Abraham and Fr. Velasli Bandya. Sister Norma Fernandes, superior of the Poor Sisters of Our Lady, at Naigaon, shared her experience with the girls who were open to discussions and shared their own life stories later. Fr. Bushan Kholi, later joined in for confession and celebrated the Holy Eucharist and preached on the parable of ‘The Sower and the Seed”.

On the whole, the prayerfulness and activities brought in a spiritual ambience in the campus, thus touching the lives of the students in a great way. It was indeed a spirit-filled day, where the students felt the presence of Jesus in their moments of prayer and reflection. It provided them time away from their regular school schedule and helped them to reflect, pray and trust in the power of Jesus-The real hero.

This Retreat program was meticulously designed and executed by the Vice-Principal, Fr. Joaquim Fernandes SDB, in collaboration with the supervisors and teachers. He said, “The purpose of the retreat programme was to give the children/youngsters an experience of Christ, the right balance of prayer, reconciliation, teaching based on the word of God, games and spiritual activities for the youngsters.”

Today’s children are tech-savvy and hence the retreat had both, audio-visual mode of teaching and preaching by the resource persons. “Technological progress without spiritual foundation could be fatal to humanity”, opined Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam,( the ex-president of India and the eminent scientific philosopher of our age.)

By Dorothy Fernandes