 
Keeping
Dreams Alive:
Calvary Retreat House
For ten
years, the Youth Group of St. Joseph's Parish, Spanish Town, Jamaica,
has been making the two-hour bus trip to Mandeville, Jamaica, for a
weekend retreat at Calvary Retreat House (entrance shown at right),
sponsored by the Passionists. This year their weekend retreat began
on January 27th.
The young
people from Spanish Town, one of Jamaica's early settlements, come from
a place particularly troubled by crime and violence. Their parish priest,
Father Howard Rochester, was murdered some weeks before their retreat
and, though suspects are under arrest, the case isn't closed. For the
33 young people, Mount Calvary Retreat House is where they bring their
own experience of Calvary and look for hope.
 During
the weekend, they listen to conferences from the retreat house staff,
discuss with one another, pray, fill the place with lively song, and
play in the field next to the retreat house. They find this year's retreat
theme particularly appropriate: The Love of Christ Empowers Us.
Calvary
Retreat House is a place where Jamaicans, young and old, are empowered.
"Our
retreats for youth are very important," says Passionist Sister Bernadette
Hughes (right), Director of Mount Calvary, who has been working
in Jamaica for 16 years. "Jamaica is such a young country. We try to
help them grow spiritually and humanly here. And they want to come;
in fact, they save the whole year for it. They enrich me.
"They're
such a vibrant group. They face so much violence and injustice, and
yet they come back again and again. I love to see them as they grow
and mature. I'm amazed at the discussions we have. About twenty-five
percent of our retreats are youth."
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