I was raised Catholic and was put through private school my whole life. Before you start thinking, “Well of course she is going to promote a retreat. She is one of those ‘Jesus Freaks,’ ” let me change your mind.
My high school put on ACTS retreats for their students every year and my friends always tried to persuade me to go. My answer was always the same, “no.” I didn’t want to share my feelings with people I barely knew, I didn’t want to get emotional and cry from touching stories, and I didn’t want to give up my phone and be disconnected from the world for an entire weekend. When I got to college, I rushed a Catholic service sorority and automatically got involved with the church on campus. I heard about Bobcat Awakening (Texas State University). I honestly only went because a bunch of my friends were going and I didn’t want to be left out.
It’s true what they say: “You get out of it what you put into it.” I decided to suck it up, and make the most of it. It was also too late to back out. I gained so much from that weekend and I have returned to staff every Awakening since then! If I didn’t believe Awakenings could impact even the most uninterested people, I wouldn’t be writing this article about it.
What is Awakening?
Awakening is a weekend-long Christian retreat for college students put on by college students throughout the country. Even though it is formed on Catholic principles, students from all denominations attend and are happily invited! The weekend is full of talks, skits, activities, discussions, praise & worship, and random dancing. You do not have to attend a particular university to attend an Awakening retreat. Therefore if your school doesn’t host this retreat, you are free to go to any other school’s Awakening. You could even bring back an Awakening to your own school if you really wanted to! Once you have attended an Awakening, you are welcome to staff any other Awakening ACROSS THE COUNTRY. Find out about an Awakening near you at your Catholic student center on campus or check out their website to find one near you. Enough with the facts. Here’s why you should go.
Gain friends & community,
When you attend Awakening, you are given a family. You spend the majority of the weekend with your “parents” and “siblings.” They basically assign you friends from the start!!! If you return to staff the retreat, you are assigned to a staff. You will spend so much time preparing for the retreat with your fellow staff members that you all will become a family too. Awakening provides such an easy opportunity to gain new friends and get involved.
Grow closer to God.
Awakening provides multiple opportunities to grow closer to Him. You will discover different forms of prayer and communication so that you will find what works best for you. The staffers do an amazing job showing retreat goers how God works wonders in our everyday lives! They show you how to always love God even when your emotions make you want to hate Him.
Learn more about the faith.
By listening to talks and taking part in discussions, your knowledge about Catholicism will grow immensely. Other college students staffing the retreat give talks and testimonies on different topics. Your “parents” lead discussions to help you better understand each talk and answer any questions you have. Hearing other college students open up about their struggles lets you know that you are never alone.
Spiritual renewal a.k.a. Jesus high.
The weekend is spent surrounded by people singing loud about God and dancing from pure happiness! When you leave the retreat you will hopefully experience what’s called a “Jesus high.” A “Jesus high” is when one has become so overwhelmed with Christ’s love and forgiveness that one feels renewed. The retreat’s nonjudgmental environment will make going back into the real world immediately make you want to be back on retreat.
