The Road Not Taken

On Monday I was a chaperone on the junior retreat for Villanova Prep. While on this retreat four different situations took place that made me pause and think.  For the junior retreat the students travel 45 minutes to Los Padres National Park to hike to Piedra Blanca. 

The first situation of the day took place on the bus ride.  In conversation with one of the Augustinian's that meets with our community frequently, we started problem solving for a situation that had occurred.  I've always thought most priests and religious life have all the answers, even though I know they don't because they are human too.  A refresher for my outlook on religious life and a gentle reminder to not be so quick to criticize.

The hike is an easy mile and a half long and leads to Piedra Blanca, meaning white stone.  The white stones are excellent for climbing and exploring.  On the way up to the groups stop along the way and read aloud scripture or poems.  Once all the groups got up to Piedra Blanca the students had mass.

This was the second situation that I thought was interesting for my day.  I climbed a rock to be stationed in a no climbing zone for the students and was overlooking mass.  My hearing of mass was directly related to how strong the wind was blowing.  If there was a strong wind I couldn't hear anything and if there was no wind I could hear everything.  Even when I couldn't hear what Fr. Alvin was saying, I knew exactly what was going on by the motions and actions of him and others.  It was powerful to be able to see mass from that height and distance, but also feel so close to what was going on.    

After mass the students had to sit alone for 30 minutes to reflect, pray or journal.  They came back together for lunch and then had time to explore the stones.  The last activity before hiking back was a small group discussion.   Surprise!  As a chaperone you have to lead a small group.

My third situation is about my small group.  First, I have to say that I don't miss the days of high school youth group of thinking of begging a small group to talk.  It is awful when you ask a question and the small group stares at you like you asked them to memorize the bible in 10 languages by tomorrow.  That about sums up my group.  I did ask what their least favorite part of the day was and one of the students said mass.  Another student started answering a question saying, "If I was Catholic I would probably believe...".  Both of these answers made me think about how hard it must be for a non-Catholic (and possibly Christian) to go to a school where they are surrounded by these beliefs.  Although it is a choice they (and their parents) make, it could still be difficult to be constantly having the reminders of being different or having to participate in something you don't fully understand.

The fourth situation is literally the Road Not Taken by Robert Frost and Villanova Prep juniors.  We came to a fork in the road on the hike back and I had no idea which way to go.  One group of students had taken off for the right fork, while another group went to the left. Luckily both forks led to the same parking lot, but we had read this poem earlier that day.  What road do you travel?  There was no right or wrong answer in this case, but the strong belief in their path was the correct path was overwhelming. I hope they realize soon that not all paths lead to the same parking lot.  I hope they also learn that it's okay for adventure, but it's also okay to stop and ask for directions.