STAFF WRITER – TANYA BROUSE
ORIGINALLY PRINTED ON NOV 15 2023
The multifaceted and versatile word, awakening, is defined as “coming into existence or awareness.” An awakening can be personal or communal, extending from one to thousands. Retreats, like Rattler Awakening, can often greatly inspire those that attend. Awakenings, spiritual or mental, have the capacity to illuminate discovery, realization, growth and nourishment, especially in religious aspects. Recently, many Rattlers experienced this for themselves at the Rattler Awakening: a Cursillo-based retreat that offers students the opportunity to grow their faith within a community setting. With a duration of two days, Rattler Awakening is organized by student staff and members of the Pastoral team to create small groups, presentations and prayer opportunities for reflection and growth for attendees.
Rattler Awakening’s primary objectives include exploring God’s love, faith’s role in life and the values of living a Christian lifestyle. Students are encouraged to apply as staff for the next Rattler Awakening once they have completed the retreat for themselves. Rattler Awakening was successful in accomplishing its mission for the Fall 2023 semester. “At the retreat, I learned my peers care about me in a way I hadn’t felt before coming to St. Mary’s. T he faith we all share is what ultimately brought us all together, allowing us to share the experiences we’ve had over the years in order to grow in our faith,” commented freshman psychology major Mario Martinez. Rattler Awakening is one of St. Mary’s highlights, having its placeholder on the school’s website under the “University Ministry” section. St. Mary’s claims the “University Ministry serves the St. Mary’s University community and supports the faith journey of all students, faculty and staff regardless of faith tradition.” The university highlights the phrase “regardless of faith tradition” as St. Mary’s welcomes students from all walks of life and faith backgrounds, despite being an official Marianist university. Welcoming students of all faiths only strengthens the school’s community and allows students to learn more about their peers and themselves through dialogue.
Many new students at St. Mary’s struggle to find a spot for themselves to grow comfortably. However, Rattler Awakening offers the opportunity to do just that, and did for freshman psychology major, Nicolas Urbina. Urbina, a retreat attendee, commented: “I would say my faith was reborn after the retreat. There were many lessons I learned on the retreat that stuck with me. I learned new things about myself and I also learned that the person I am isn’t necessarily defined by the failures I had in the past.” A student awakening stemming from the realization that one’s self is independent of past failures is an incredibly important lesson that can be carried through the rest of one’s life. Sophomore biology major, Ava Berry, stated: “When you’re there [at the retreat], you can truly see God changing lives in beautiful ways within those days. I am grateful and encourage other fellow rattlers to come on this retreat and experience it for themselves.” Both Urbina and Berry are only some of the many students whose faith lives grew tremendously throughout one weekend.
The Fall 2023 Rattler Awakening retreat was truly special for all the students and staff who participated. All Rattler students are encouraged, no matter where they are on their faith journey, to partake in the ministry at St. Mary’s. To learn more about what St. Mary’s offers, visit the official website which has a complete list following this sequence: home > campus life > spiritual life > university ministry. Interested students can check out the Rattler Awakening’s Instagram page @ rattlerawakening for a full scope of what the retreat is about.