Youth need quiet times to connect with God and each other more than ever to deepen their faith.
Many young people are continually attached to devices and experiences that bring an avalanche of messages.
All day long, social media apps give or receive short bursts of information, opinion or entertainment interspersed with continual demands on their time from academics and activities.
How is it possible for young people — or for any of us — to hear God’s whispers in the midst of such bold loud noise and busyness?
Two leaders for Catholic youth in Milwaukee believe that retreats away from distractions have become an even more critical piece of faith building for young people.
“God has a language, and it is silence. He speaks to us in our hearts, but we have to get out the noise, the podcasts, Twitter (now called X), Instagram, Snapchat,” said Lydia LoCoco, the Director of the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
“We have to take time. It takes time to silence our hearts and have people lead us with some questions, and then have time with the Lord,” she said.
“I think a lot of young people struggle to pray because their attention span has been impacted by devices as well, and their brain can’t slow down to a degree.” said Andrew Schueller, who is part of LoCoco’s office serving as Director of Youth Ministry and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Campus Ministry.
Retreats provide a unique opportunity for young people to get away from stress, get away from anxiety from schools, sports and parents’ expectations, he said.
“They’re getting a break from that routine, which I think is essential. Much like Elijiah recognizing God’s voice in the quiet whisper of the wind, students need opportunities of stillness with the Lord to hear his voice,” Schueller said.
LoCoco and Schueller believe that a retreat not only allows a young person to hear God’s quiet whispers but the time to understand how the Lord works in someone else’s story in ways they may not be able to take in while attached to the rest of the world.
“Some kids have no idea, until they were in retreats with people from different backgrounds, about the actual trauma that other children might have experienced,” LoCoco said. “This gives them something, a different perspective. But it takes time to hear someone tell their story, and you don’t find it on Instagram.”
“While the retreat talks can really challenge students, sometimes even the conversations they have with their fellow students over lunch or before bed can be impactful,” Schueller added, “especially when they can’t fill that downtime by spending it on their phone.”
Schueller sees parishes often struggling to create the opportunity for overnight youth retreat experiences, an area where many Catholic schools often find more success.
“When we look at Confirmation retreats, for example, we are seeing parishes forced to cut way back on these meaningful encounter opportunities due to the busyness of people’s schedules. Non-confirmation retreats have become almost non-existent on the parish level,” Schueller said.
“Some Catholic schools do it better, like Kairos-type retreats where it’s built into their Catholic school year there. I just think that there’s more opportunities than are being taken advantage of,” he said.
LoCoco and Schueller believe that parishes should more strongly encourage young people to take retreats, particularly within Confirmation and religious education programs.
“I think more than ever, we need retreats for young people. Are they going to clamor and ask for them? No, we’re going to lead. A lot of times, the Church tries to say, ‘Let me take the temperature of where everybody is and give them what they want’ and kind of placate people. No, we’re going to cultivate and lead,” LoCoco said.
“We know that middle school is that important age of trying to provide encounter experiences,” said Schueller, which is what a retreat is. “They’re even more important than they have been in the past, and it’s one of the biggest opportunities that we have as a Church.”
This year Schueller will be working with parish leaders and ministry partners to address opportunities for middle school students to offer in the coming years. For high school students, Schueller highlighted the “Magnify” Women’s Retreat that is entering it’s third year and a desire to start a high school men’s retreat in the next two years as well.
No matter where the location is, the impact that retreats make often become launch points for God to move the life of a young person in the direction he calls them to take in life — experiences that make them more important than ever for young people who are constantly barraged by messaging.
“‘Who am I? Why am I here?’ When you’re an adolescent, in your teenage years, you are literally asking those questions. You’re pulling away from your parents and starting to be autonomous,” LoCoco said.
“Even though young people don’t even know how to ask for this interior space, I think we are going to enter a golden age of retreats, if you ask me.”
