In February, I was lucky enough to attend Kairos 87, a spiritual retreat led by BC High and on some occasions, joined by NDA. For those who don’t know, Kairos is known as the “secret” retreat. Meaning, once you go on Kairos and realize its’ depth, everything you experienced goes completely undisclosed. To those who have never been on it, the level of unknown that comes with Kairos can be, frankly, annoying. This is one thing that makes Kairos so special – it’s made for you to participate, not anticipate. In a world of instant gratification, surface-level relationships, and the expectation to consistently overwork, Kairos is made to push retreatants out of their comfort zones. This is why it’s so “secret”. The opportunity to immerse yourself in an experience that’s entirely mysterious is rare and profoundly impactful.

I know you’re probably wondering, what do you even do there? My answer to this question is, you work on your relationship with yourself and your faith, whilst creating authentic relationships with those around you.

NDA and BCH had another Kairos together last week – Kairos 89. Past retreatants are always invited to apply to be a student leader for an upcoming Kairos, leading me to apply and ultimately, to be accepted. This Kairos was extremely special for me because I had the opportunity to lead. The leadership team – Caroline Kelly, Fiona Mensching, and me from NDA and Gavin Larnard, Jamal Reed, and Luke Ronayne from BCH, as well as Mrs. McCourt, Ms. Hughes, and Mrs. Vardaro from NDA and Mrs. Killorin, Mrs. Adamczyk, and Mr. BeDugnis from BCH – worked to put the retreat together up until the moment the retreatants arrived.

I can 100% say that the magic I felt when I attended as a retreatant was still existent when I attended as a leader. It was four long and exhausting days, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world because it can completely change your life. I maintain extreme gratitude for Kairos because it works. I saw it firsthand – the way even those who are skeptical of the process leave transformed and open. I saw this as a retreatant and as a leader. I won’t lie – after attending as a retreatant, I was hesitant to accept that the process could work for anyone. Coming back as a leader, with a completely different group of retreatants, and witnessing the same magic all over again proved to me that Kairos does work. If you’re reading this and you ever have the chance to go on Kairos, please go. Even if you don’t believe me – I urge you to go and make your own conclusions. At the very least, you will leave knowing perspectives different from your own.

Here’s what one of our staff writers, Clare Kennedy, had to say about her experience as a retreatant:

After hearing raving reviews from my friends who went last year, I made sure I signed up for this year’s NDA and BCH Kairos retreat. For me personally, as I am going through the sentimental senior phase, I thought the timing was fitting to deeply reflect on my life and where I want to go from here. This retreat gave me the opportunity to reflect on my relationship with God and allowed me to consider how to improve it. I also made life long friends from both NDA and BCH kids because we had such meaningful and deep conversations. I don’t think there is any other experience out there that is quite like this, so if you have the opportunity to go or ever even have considered going please do! You will not regret it!

– Clare Kennedy K’89