KAIROS: God’s Time

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KAIROS: God’s Time

By Mario M. Powell, S.J.

A component of the retreat program at Cheverus, Kairos is a four day retreat for older students. It is a
formative and life-changing experience for over 120 students a year. Led by a retreat team of students
and faculty who give talks and lead activities, the experience promotes and builds community, fosters
trust and openness, and encourages a relationship with God. Established by Campus Minister Greg
Szkarlat in 2006 and modeled after the program at Boston College High, it has become an important
and enduring part of the Cheverus experience. “Kairos is ‘God’s time’ for students to step away from
daily pressures,” says Greg. “It enables them to reflect on their past, present and future. It allows them
a safe environment to share their story. By taking off their masks, God’s glory is revealed. They
experience the care and love of classmates for whom they really are and experience the unconditional
love of God through each other.”

I t’s been a long time since I was a teenager, but I have one of

my own now. Perhaps I went on Kairos to learn a little bit more
about her more than me. Either way, the experience of spending
two full days with a large group of teenagers was going to teach me
something. (Lorraine Aromando, Cheverus computer teacher and
member of retreat team)

At Cheverus High School faculty, staff, and students seek to
learn and grow in all facets of life both inside and outside of the
classroom. The Kairos retreats at Cheverus are an integral part
of student and faculty formation. It is time spent away from the
distractions of everyday life. Kairos is an opportunity to grow
in relationship with God, self, and others. Retreatants come to
recognize God’s presence in all things: in music, nature, family,
friendships, and especially Sacred Scripture and the Sacraments.
Kairos is certainly about time.

Time, as most students know it, is what a Kairos
retreat seeks to transcend.

What I took home from my Kairos time was everyone’s experience
and the gratitude that I am not still going through those daunting
teenage years! Don’t get me wrong, I loved being a teenager. But if I
think back, I can remember the difficult times. There were moments
of not being accepted, not fitting in, social disasters and forget about
relationships! Teenagers now have a lot of pressure on them. Whether
or not it is true, it sure seems to me that they grow up quicker. In a
competitive world, there is constant pressure to succeed, achieve and
be more successful than the next person. There are texts and Facebook
messages, cell phones ringing and a network of status updates and
photos to prove or disprove their stories. There is very little true down
time. (Lorraine Aromando)

Thanks to the direction of Director of Campus Ministry, Greg
Szarklat, Cheverus students, faculty and staff are given an
opportunity to reorient their time. That is to realign the priorities
in life and focus time on God. This reorientation of time gets
retreatants closer to the original meaning of Kairos. Kairos is
a Greek word, meaning “the right time,” or in theology, “the

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appointed time in the purpose of God.” More succinctly it is “God’s
time,” as opposed to the Greek chronos, or measured time.

“It’s kind of like you go on God’s time, not your own,” (Emily
Cianchette, member of the Class of 2010).

Well, that is kind of correct. Cheverus gives students several days
away—away from everything. Far too often many of us have
managed to cram our lives full of “stuff.” The poet Elizabeth
Barrett Browning wrote, “Earth’s crammed with heaven,” but
for many of us our “Earth” time is crammed full of what we are
doing, what we should be doing, and what we forgot to do. We
are so busy living. We cram into our lives clutter and distractions
that never leave us. Kairos is a time to walk away from the
clutter. It is truly God’s time.

This is what was refreshing about Kairos. For the most part, there
were just a lot of teenagers being teenagers in a group setting without
the parents, without the technology, without the interruptions. This
left an abundant amount of time for everyone to just be present in the
moment. This was a significant thing. Being able to unplug for Kairos
also meant I was providing time for myself and those participating in
the retreat. (Lorraine Aromando)

Finding God in All Things.

Kairos gives students an opportunity to find God in all things.
Sometimes due to life circumstances it is easy to compartmentalize
God. That is to only see God in his place—Church but nowhere
else. The Kairos retreat is student led and faculty provide a
support role. Faculty and the student leaders help retreatants
learn to see God in all things, especially each other.

I’ve been fighting an uphill battle all my life and now I know I’m not
alone. Now I know I can win this, and know I can overcome what I
need to overcome because now I know there is always someone there
for me. (Tom Yates, member of the Class of 2010)

I began to let my guard down and learned that behind the faces of the
students I see each day in class or in the halls, were individuals that
come from varied walks of life. In their short lives, some had overcome
adversities. Some and some were struggling with getting through the
their teenage years. As a teacher, I do know that what adults may see as
insignificant can be extremely upsetting to a young adult.. There have
been many times when I saw a student in distress and asked them what
was going on. Their reply was, “I got a C on my science test.” Boy, if I
could only have those problems! However, the idea behind Kairos is not
to compare one to another’s problems, but to learn from them and help
the individual get beyond them. (Lorraine Aromando)

The presence of Cheverus faculty on these retreats is invaluable.
Cheverus is blessed with wonderful teachers who realize their
teaching is done both in the classroom and perhaps most
importantly outside the classroom. The faculty, participating
on this retreat, walk away from valuable class time. Some are
hesitant, but most return having been surprised by their own
experience and the experience of their students as well.

Being an adult on Kairos enables the teenagers to realize that hey,
someone else has gone through this … and they survived! It reminded
me what it was like back then when the world revolved around me,
my friends and what I was doing on the weekend after school. My
hope is that it taught them that not all adults lived in a bubble of a
perfect world and never experienced anything even remotely similar
to what they are going through. (Lorraine Aromando)

Finding God in Each Other.

An experience of God and personal relationship with Jesus is the
ultimate goal of Kairos. It is a crucial lesson of Kairos that no
matter what we have done or not done God has created us and
loves us no matter what. Kairos is God’s time to show us how
much God wants us to be us—free, loved, happy, open to growth
and learning, and accepting of God’s grace. The challenge of this
time is accepting God’s presence even in the most difficult of
times in our lives.

Kairos allows retreatants and leaders to share their true selves with
their classmates and teachers. Oftentimes they have trouble accepting
who they truly are because of events in their past, but the friendships
formed on the retreat enforce confidence that they are loved no matter
what. Living the fourth involves this love for others in action during
our daily lives. (Emily Bauer, member of the Class of 2010)

There are a few other special touches added as surprises which
contribute to the mystery and joy of the retreat. God always finds
ways to surprise us, and Kairos adds a few such surprises for
the students—surprises that they will talk about the rest of their
lives. At Cheverus, the retreat is an integral part of each student’s
educational experience and, away from the distractions of daily
life, Kairos is an opportunity to
nurture their relationship with
God, self, and others.

Mario M. Powell, S.J. is a
member of the Cheverus faculty
and teaches history and theology.

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