When the six members of the Class of 2023 return from the XBSS Junior Retreat in March, they no doubt will experience what Father Joseph MacNeill talked about in his message to the student body at Mass on Jan. 4.
“Each of us can find a practical way to experience a newness, a rebirth in Christ,” Father MacNeill said as he celebrated the Christmas season, the birth of the Christ child, that concludes Sunday in the Catholic Church. “So as we go through the Christmas season, let us not be unchanged, the same as we were last year … let us truly experience a rebirth.”
The six Xavier juniors -- Luke Anderson, Dominic Cusano, Sam Enes, Nick Miano, Patrick Mitchill, and Brendan Peary – were commissioned during a brief ceremony after the Mass. Colin Loria, who had a role in the commissioning of the juniors, will be the senior leader. Mr. John Guinan, the assistant Director of Campus Ministry, will be the adult leader.
The juniors no doubt will experience that newness, that rebirth that Father MacNeill spoke about, when they gather in March.
The XBSS Junior Retreat brings together six juniors from each XBSS School as well as one senior leader. Xavier’s senior leader is Colin Loria. The retreat is about falling in love with the service of God and includes learning more about the Xaverian heritage. At the end the juniors will be asked to develop a plan to bring back the spirit of the Xaverian charism to their schools.
“I wanted to enrich my faith and learn more about the XBSS schools, what is similar to Xavier and what is different,” junior Patrick Mitchill said.
Fellow junior Brendan Peary echoed those sentiments.
“Finding out how schools are different and how they are similar is a really important part of why I wanted to go,” Peary said.
Those chosen go through an interview process.
“You’re asked about your relationship to God, your relationship to yourself, you’re asked about other leadership roles, how you feel about speaking in a big group, how you feel about being outspoken in general, your comfort zone,” Peary said. “They want to make sure the right people are going.”
By Jeff Otterbein