Sophomore Class Explores Faith and Service on Spiritualty Day
March 24, 2021
Each year, members of the sophomore class at CBA are able to experience a true off-campus retreat as part of the curriculum.
Of course, the pandemic restrictions did not allow those retreats to happen as planned, so the Class of 2023 took part in Sophomore Spirituality Day to get a similar, but shortened experience.
Campus Minister Mr. Matt Butler led the full day of activities, which took part in the socially distanced McKay Gym. Students listened to presentations about the valuable connection between faith and service, specifically highlighting CBA’s service immersion experiences.
During most years, Campus Ministry will run several immersion trips to locations both near and far. Academy men have traveled to Montana, Florida, and West Virginia, while also driving to areas in New Jersey that are underprivileged.
Mr. Mike Tomaino has been a faculty chaperone on many immersion trips and encouraged the sophomores to take a trip when they become available.
““How can we expect you to act with compassion and love for the world if you’ve never learned the reality of it,” Tomaino told the students. “It is a reality of the world that you can truly only learn from experience. So I encourage you to go, you will grow in your understanding of the world and the people in it.”
In addition to Tomaino, senior Ed Massell, Mr. Ciro Saverino, and Mr. Tim Sewing presented to the sophomores on a variety of topic.
Throughout the day, Butler encouraged the students to write thoughts down in the journal that each student had. The students had discussions with one another about thoughts they had about current and future service opportunities.
It was also a nice day of relaxation for the sophomores, a break from the day to day grind of the classroom. The boys were able to get outside and play some games to unwind, sparking the classic camaraderie that is typically evident during retreats.
The program was concluded with the first Sophomore Class Mass of the school year, celebrated by Father Gary Koch.