On February 28-29, 40 juniors and their fathers gathered in Mountain Home, TX at Tecaboca for the second semester Father/Son Junior Retreat. Dan McCarthy, Director of Campus Ministry, led the group through a series of sessions and reflections focused on the special relationship between father (and male role model) and son.

Junior Houston Kirby brought his Youth Minister, Willie Hernandez, from St. Luke’s Parish as his mentor to the retreat. He stated, “It was a great experience having him come along and participate in our activities. I learned a lot about other relationships in my life and what qualities I see in the men that I admire and how I should try to see or work on those qualities in myself. I also learned about success and failure and what I should do when I face the two. Willie was very excited that I asked him to attend this retreat with me. He told me that it was a great experience and that the retreat gave us time to share life experiences, learn more about one another, and reflect on what it means to be a man and what it means to be a father. I would absolutely recommend this retreat to not only the sophomores but the freshmen as well. It was nice having time to bond with my mentor, my friends, and their fathers.”

Mauricio Hernandez ’17 and his father were also one of the eighty father-son duos that attended the Junior Retreat. Hernandez said that his experience at the Father and Son retreat will be an experience that he will always remember. “Having my dad there with me made it even more special because spending time with him is something that I enjoy. What I took away from Tecaboca was that I sometimes need to put my phone away and enjoy having fun by spending time with my dad or whole family by watching a movie, playing a simple board game, or just doing things we can experience together. My father thought the retreat was well planned and that it was successful in its intent to build a strong relationship between father and son. If you are going to be a junior next year, I highly recommend you go to this retreat with your dad because you will get the chance to have a heart-to-heart talk with him and have fun at the same time.”

We thank all the fathers and mentors who took time from work and busy schedules for this important event.