California
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July 19, 2023
Conversations of “love and strife” — literal in the case of one reading and metaphorical in the other — concluded, the California High School Summer Program on Tuesday turned its attention to matters of play, study, and fellowship.
Students had their first fully free recreation period in the sunny afternoon. Some cooled off in the Pope St. John Paul II Athletic Center’s pool, others found self-expression in the library-hosted Art Club, and others still kept themselves busy with all manner of games — athletic and tabletop alike. Many went from place to place over the afternoon’s duration, getting a full picture of the possibilities of campus recreational life.
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Once the afternoon turned to the evening, the group convened in St. Joseph Commons for a spaghetti and meatball dinner. Students recounted their day to one another and found evermore common ground in hobbies and interests.
Time for Study Hall came once more, and students read the first 25 chapters of Genesis for Wednesday’s classes. Attendee Gabe, who found the day’s prior classes invigorating and challenging, enjoyed diving into Scripture: “It was really cool — I’ve read Genesis before with my high school, but it was nice to reread and annotate it. I’m really excited for the next classes because I think it’ll give some of the quiet students a chance to talk more. I’m excited for that, and it should be interesting.”
Study complete, attendees congregated for the nightly Rosary in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel …
… then headed to the Coffee Shop to continue fostering friendships over Italian sodas, games, and conversation:
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The socializing wrapped up earlier than usual, however, as the prefects had a surprise waiting back in the residence halls — dorm games!
The men followed their consecration with the “Sally Up/Down” push-up challenge, then the residents of the building’s two wings competed in a tug-of-war tournament. Team spirit filled St. Peter & Paul Hall to the rafters with roaring cheers throughout the competition. The war done, it was on to dodgeball with wiffleballs sent back and forth in volleys. The men then reclined in the courtyard on couches beside firepits with chips and salsa, s’mores, and good talk. Program Chaplain Fr. Sebastian, Bible in hand, took a moment to read from Genesis about the sacrifice of Isaac, in anticipation of future classes, and shared his insights. Festivities in Peter & Paul’s concluded with candy-laden piñatas, and then it was off to bed! (Alas, our photographer from the Summer Program is a woman, so we have no photos from the men’s festivities. Sorry!)
Meanwhile, the women took a different direction in their post-consecration activities. In the style of speed-dating, everyone paired off for “speed-friending,” conversation and laughter echoing in the dorm’s halls. After the rounds of socializing, they tore into a piñata of their own, then filled the valley with their singing as they threw a dance party. With smiles on their faces and song in their hearts, the women bedded down for the night, and so concluded the day.
Photos: Women’s Dorm Party
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The programmers are now working through Scripture’s verses in their morning class discussions, leading each other to new insights in Genesis’s passages. Be sure to come back to the Summer Program Blog for to read all about it!
