Denver Catholic

6 MARCH 12-25, 2016 | DENVER CATHOLIC Around the Archdiocese FREE ESTIMATES • INSURANCE CLAIMS • EXPERT REPAIR WORK • SEAMLESS ALUMINUM GUTTERS • LICENSED AND INSURED • SPECIAL SENIOR CITIZEN DISCOUNTS A Name You Can Trust & Afford For Over 35 Years 2221 Gray Street Edgewater, CO 80214 www.millsroofingcompany.com 303-232-0324 U niversity of Colorado--Boul- der§ is known nationally for its strong academic reputation and picturesque setting among the Flatiron mountains. It's setting and culture give it a reputation as a party school, but it also contains a surprisingly vibrant Catho- lic community. Many factors help make St. Thomas Aquinas student center a presence: a common life of prayer and sacraments, intellectual formation and Scripture studies, community meals, and an emphasis on encountering Christ through beauty. "This is a beautiful community that is§really inspiring," said junior Seth Perry. "It's so weird -- I can draw from§the faith of these other people when I'm going through a hard time. If I'm having a hard time§believing, they carry me." Perry participates in Bu¬alo Awaken- ing (BA) retreats, a weekend event held each semester in which new students are welcomed into the community. The retreat takes place at YMCA of the Rockies, surrounded by striking§views of snow-capped mountains. The "retreat- ers" are exposed to deepening levels of vulnerability and support throughout the weekend, culminating in impressive demonstrations of the community's will- ingness to share their burdens. "As a leader, you can be Christ in so many ways. As a retreater, there are so many ways you can be loved," Perry said. THE NEED Many campuses have Awakening retreats, and each takes on an individual flavor to reflect the community in which it is grounded. CU-Boulder chaplain Father Peter Mussett has served on 20 Bu¬alo Awakenings. He said that even within CU-Boulder, the needs for the retreat have evolved. "It changes every time," Father Mus- sett said. "Ten years from now, if it were the same retreat, it wouldn't be right. The cultural needs and expressions of these college students would be di¬erent." However, he said the heart of the retreat remains the same. "The big need is to be able to have people who are courageous to invite others into the love of God. This is an excuse for that," he said. § NO SECRETS OVER CHEESECAKE The full retreat took up three of YMCA of the Rockies' large reunion cabins. Retreatants and sta¬ spent the weekend together, listening to talks from com- munity members and discussing their own spiritual lives. Sta¬ers also prayed constantly for the retreatants using a combination of adoration, Liturgy of the Hours, rosaries, and prayers special to the BA community. Some of the group moments were heavy and necessitated a deep vulner- ability with others in the community. Other times were fun and chaotic, and were often resolved by a spontaneous dance party (or three). Some of the best moments fell in between these two extremes. On Friday night, a group of sta¬ers decided to go on a chilly night hike while praying a rosary for the retreatants. They panted through the prayers as they walked in near-darkness up a narrow trail next to a brook, some of them put- ting their rosaries away as they used their hands to climb. When they reached the summit, they voted to lie down and simply take in the night sky,§ reveling§ in each shooting star. A spirit of prayer and community was with the group. Then they began to try to scare each other with stories about mountain lions. They laughed the entire way back to the cabins. The laughter and prayerful attitude was present throughout the retreat. After one particularly trying§exercise, sta¬ and retreatants§ate dinner together and par- took in a conversation that would have seemed bizarre in any other setting. They alternated between asking each other probing questions and teasing. At one point, one of the sta¬ers§ interrupted§ a conversation about retreatants' families to inform a friend that he "looked like Swedish Fabio." The constant interplay kept the conversation from becoming somber and stifling. They simply shared their hearts with one another over des- sert, laughing the whole time. "There are no secrets over cheesecake," one sta¬er observed. § CHRISTIAN IMPERFECTION No retreat goes smoothly. In fact, as she was setting up for this year's Awak- ening, hanging dozens of banners from past retreats from the rafters in the main cabin, coordinator Karissa Dahlquist learned that 15 retreatants had dropped out. Activity froze as the sta¬ learned that only 22 retreatants were coming, and unprecedented number for a sta¬ so large. Dahlquist hastily redistributed small groups--called "families" in BA lingo-- and discussed with Father Mussett ways to make sure the missing retreatants were still prayed for. For his part, Father Mussett was beaming at how his flock handled the crisis. "She's become a real leader," he said. "Look--shes's delegating." No secrets over cheesecake BY MELISSA KEATING 303-715-3123 melissa.keating@archden.org www.twitter.com/mkeats42 Inside CU-Boulder's Buƒalo Awakening retreat

• Cover