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CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
October 24, 2017 | The Valley Catholic
Finding Agape Love on Archbishop Mitty Retreats
By Farrah Ballou - Class of 2019
Archbishop Mitty High School (AMHS) conducts
21 retreats each school year. Class level retreats create
life-changing experiences which allow students to get
closer to God, themselves, and the community around
them. Last year, I went on my sophomore retreat called
Agape. The word Agape is used to describe God’s un-
conditional and ongoing love for his creations. The
theme of the retreat revolves around the idea of under-
standing and integrating this unconditional love into
our lives. At the heart of the retreat is a passage from
John’s Gospel, “I give you a new commandment: love
one another. As I have loved you, so you also should
love one another. This is how all will know that you
are my disciples, if you have love for one another”
(John 13: 34-35). The chapter from John depicts Jesus
washing the feet of his disciples, exemplifying God’s
unconditional love for us all.
On the retreat, we refl ected on the idea that God
made all of us lovingly and that every part of us is
beautiful and should not be shielded. At Agape, we
participated in a mask activity where we used plas-
ter to make masks that covered our faces. The mask
symbolized the barrier that we sometimes put up to
shade people from the parts of ourselves that we are
afraid to share with others. At the end of the activity,
we each removed the mask from our face as a reminder
that we would open ourselves up to others and most
importantly, be able to remove the barrier that keeps
us from unconditionally loving ourselves. Throughout
the retreat, we focused on Agape love and how we could
use it to be more genuine and to learn to love ourselves
and the gifts that we have been given by God.
Moreover, the idea of Agape love extended from
loving ourselves to also loving one another uncondi-
tionally. At the retreat, we were called to really lift the
barriers we might put up and to embrace and support
one another as brothers and sisters. At AMHS, retreats
provide a safe place for everyone to share their strug-
gles and receive encouragement and care. On Agape, we
were urged to see one another as children of God and
our jobs were to love one another, just like God does.
Retreats have provided me with an experience that
is diff erent from anything that I’ve experienced. They
provide me with the rare opportunity to deeply refl ect
on my life. Most importantly, they allow me to see what
positive changes I can make to live life happily and
with faith. Additionally, the bonds that are made on
Agape are indescribable and the friendships created are
the epitome of how God wants us to love one another.
For more information about the retreats held at
AMHS, go to the school’s Campus Ministry page,
mitty.com/campus-ministry.
Saint Frances Cabrini Students Show Compassion Through Art
In their “Creative Compassion” art
class, Saint Frances Cabrini Junior High
students are using their artistic talents
to create projects that will help others
in their local community.
This semester, their first project
was to create worry dolls that will be
given to patients and their families at
the Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital
in Palo Alto. Each folk doll will have a
note attached with the Mayan legend
explaining that the worry doll, when
placed under the pillow of someone
who is unable to sleep, will carry his
or her burden of worry. In addition,
students are also creating joke books,
game and activity binders, and ceramic
guardian angel pins for patients at the
hospital.
Saint Francis Cabrini Art teacher,
Mary Saca, has also equipped her
classroom with a “creative compassion
corner,” so that early fi nishers can work
on projects that help those in the com-
munity like cards for police offi cers
and fi remen, placemats for Meals on
Wheels, and joke books for people in
hospitals.
All of the projects are made with a
lot of love and students are learning
that their art can be used to do good
for those around them.
Saint Francis Cabrini students create worry
dolls for Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital
patients.
For more information regarding DSJ Catholic Schools please visit
www.dsj.org/schools .
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