This year’s Beloved Retreat, a retreat traditionally rooted in love with a powerful reminder to ‘be loved,’ reprised an important aspect of the lesson it aims to impart on students: a day dedicated to putting that love for others into meaningful action.
“Back when Ms. Tuñón and I were students, there was a service day connected to the junior retreat called Junior Plunge,” Ms. Consuegra said. “Unfortunately, because of COVID and other changes, that experience went away for a while. When we started brainstorming how to bring back an intentional day of direct service, we thought about connecting it to the sophomore retreat.”
The Beloved Retreat, designed for sophomores, has always included a service component centered on the IHM charism of love. However, this year, the program was expanded into a full day of living out God’s love in action, recognizing the dignity of others, and learning how to serve them with compassion.
As part of their retreat, the Class of 2028 served at one of a variety of non-profit organizations, including Camillus House, The Caring Place formerly the Miami Rescue Mission, Centro Mater Child Care Center, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Floridean Nursing Center, Lotus House, Missionaries of Charity, and The WOW Center. Students were placed with organizations at random, matched to sites according to the number of volunteers that could be accommodated.
This service-filled day helped to instill the importance of giving back to the community in need and the joy that comes with it. Service is a love that extends far beyond the one on the receiving end. Direct service gives an opportunity to hear stories from those in need and leave a legacy not only for the individual doing the service but for Our Lady of Lourdes Academy.
“My favorite part was getting to know and interact with the people that live in Camillus House because they were super nice and easy to talk to. It was a very touching experience,” sophomore Savannah Gonzalez said.
This experience helped the sophomores put into practice the love that they reflected on within their “Be Loved, Beloved” retreat with students leaving a lasting impression both on the organizations they served and on themselves.
