Rockhurst seniors recently completed their 4th Day retreat on Oct. 16. The event is meant to be a continuation of their Kairos experience from junior year.
Kairos is a spiritual retreat every Rockhurst student does during his junior year. It’s a three-day retreat focused on deep self-reflection and small group sharing. Kairos is meant to be a very personal experience to each participant, so it’s not intended to be talked about with those who haven’t experienced it.
One thing Kairos does is encourage participants to “Live the 4th,” meaning use what they learn on the three-day retreat every other day of their lives. That’s where the name for the 4th Day retreat comes from, and it offers a way of returning to that state of self-reflection.
“The goal is to give the seniors a timeout in their lives, and reconnect them with the feelings and resolutions they made from their Kairos retreat,” Pastoral Director Matt Nickson said.
The students arrived at 8:15 to start the day with mass, similar to how the days during Kairos start with a prayer service. After that, the class was broken up into their respective Kairos groups from last year and sent to various Catholic parishes around Kansas City, including St. Ann’s, St. Peter’s, Cure of Ars, St. Thomas More and St. Elizabeth‘s. One group remained at Rockhurst.
Upon arrival at their respective locations, each student found an assigned seat within their Kairos small group ready for them. An adult leader set the stage for the day, then students received a reflection sheet to fill out with questions about their lives today and other important aspects. They talked amongst their small group after they completed it.
Next, they were given a list of questions about their freshman year and their experiences during that time. Many of the questions involved the uncertainty freshmen had. The seniors reflected on that, and compared it to where they are now.
“I mean, I never really had thought about it before,” senior Jonathan Coxe said. “I’m just a lot more confident in myself now than freshman year.”
Then, seniors reflected on the feelings generated by their Kairos experience, and the importance of feeling loved. This led to each student writing a letter to an important person in their life.
“We don’t say thank you enough,” Nickson said. “It was an opportunity to let us take some intentional time to just say thank you.”
The day wrapped up with a panel discussion featuring some recent Rockhurst alumni. They talked about their Rockhurst experiences as well as what came next. Seniors could ask questions as well, and asked everything from what advice the alums would offer for the first semester of college to what fraternity they joined. The alumni were brought in to mainly reaffirm any doubts or uncertainties the seniors had.
“I really liked having those guys come in, because it kind of gave me the perspective of a Rockhurst guy in and after college,” senior Shane McEnany said. “They basically just told us that it’s going to work out, and Rockhurst set us up for success.”
The 4th Day retreat concluded the Class of 2025’s full Kairos experience. It brought the seniors back into the small group sharing and openness they previously had. Now, they will take what they’ve learned and lead the class of 2026’s Kairos retreats starting in November.
