Retreats

Oakland Catholic encourages spiritual formation through inward reflection and prayer as a cornerstone of our mission statement.

“Jesus went out to a mountain side to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him.” -Luke 6:12-13

Frequently in Scripture we hear of Christ taking time in silence to be with His Father (Mark 1:12, Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16). In imitation of Christ, retreats at Oakland allow our students a chance to tune out the demands and distractions of daily life, technology, and homework, to focus on achieving a higher sense of self and truly a deeper and more intimate relationship with Our Lord.

Pilgrimage

March for Life

March for Life

"The March for Life is an inspiring, peaceful, vibrant, and joy-filled rally of women, men, young people, and children from all across the country. Every year, tens of thousands of pro-lifers converge on the National Mall and march on Capitol Hill on the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling which legalized abortion in all 50 states. It’s the largest annual human rights demonstration in the world. But this is not just a protest… TOGETHER, WE GATHER TO CELEBRATE LIFE."

Kairos

"He leads me beside quiet waters. / He restores my soul." -Psalm 23:2-3

Each semester, our Juniors and Seniors have the opportunity to attend a Kairos retreat. Kairos is a Greek word meaning "God's Time." On this retreat, our students truly experience a reprieve from the beautiful demands of their usual, amazing yet activity time-saturated lives in order to immerse themselves deeper into relationship with our Lord in the person of Jesus Christ.

At Kairos, our young women will spend time listening to talks, with Christ in Adoration and Mass, have the opportunity to avail of the sacrament of Confession, enjoy time in community, get to know people they never would have met otherwise, eat wonderful food and so much more!

Class Retreats

Each year, the classes at OC have the opportunity to come together as a community and enjoy a day of recollection and retreat. Mass, Reconciliation, praise and worship as well as small group discussions, speakers and leisure time to spend with one another are just some of the experiences each unique class of young women enjoy during their retreat.

Freshmen Retreat theme:

“The world seeks joy, but cannot find it far from God. We must understand that our joy comes from Jesus. With Jesus in our hearts, we bear joy. He is the strength that helps us. Happiness is having Jesus in our hearts. But the secret of happiness is to live moment by moment, and to thank the Lord for everything He sends us out of His goodness.” -St. Gianna Beretta Molla

Sophomore Retreat theme:

“Joy is a sign of generosity. When you are full of joy, you move faster and you want to go about doing good to everyone.” -St. Teresa of Calcutta

Junior Retreat theme:

“True happiness is to rejoice in the Truth for to rejoice in the truth is to rejoice in you, O God, who are the Truth…. Those who think that there is another kind of happiness, look for joy elsewhere, but theirs is not true joy.” -St. Augustine

Senior Retreat theme:

“It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something GREAT with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be ground down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and more patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal.” -Pope St. John Paul the Great