Grounded in St. John Paul II's challenge to “not be afraid” and “not be satisfied with mediocrity,” this retreat walks the 6th graders through the story of David and Goliath in three stages: the challenge, the preparation, and the victory. Students name their own “Goliaths,” the fears and pressures of middle school, and discover through David's example that courage and authenticity, not conformity, are what God asks of them. The retreat closes with students surrendering their fears to God and committing to choosing courage over mediocrity.

Drawing on the wisdom of St. Benedict, the 7th graders are invited into the practice of sacred silence and discernment, learning to recognize God's voice amid the noise of daily life. Through Lectio Divina, team-building challenges, and silent reflection on the call of Samuel, Saul's conversion, and on Christ the Good Shepherd, students explore what it means to truly listen and respond with trust. The retreat closes with each student committing to a concrete miniature Rule of Life, a small, daily step toward becoming a saint.

As students prepare to leave middle school and transition into high school, this retreat calls them to reflect honestly on who they are, who they are becoming, and who they ought to be. Through a scavenger hunt journey tracing the movements of remembering, facing fear, setting goals, and taking action, students engage scripture, discussion, and hands-on challenges alongside their peers and high school mentors. The retreat culminates in a ritual of letting go as they discover what it means to decrease so that Christ may increase in their lives.

Scheduled in the heart of Advent, freshmen are guided through an exploration of the meaning of the Incarnation in their lives as 21st century American teenagers. The spiritual exercises during the retreat encourage the students to live the incarnation: to prepare a place for Christ in their hearts and be his words, hands, and feet in our world. The 9th grade retreat begins the high school retreat tradition of featuring witness talks from upperclassmen.

Scheduled for a Friday in Lent, sophomores spend the morning reflecting on the Temptation in the Desert, the revelation of His Passion, and the Agony in the Garden. Through prayer, mediation, and contemplation, students address the problem of evil by uniting their sufferings to Christ on the Cross. The retreat concludes with a reflection on the Passion and the presentation of Living Stations of the Cross for the middle and high school classes.

Rooted in the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola, this retreat guides juniors through the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity as a framework for ordering mind, heart, and will toward God. Students move through three cycles of talk, personal reflection, and prayer, including meditation, Ignatian contemplation, and the Emmaus Walk, with each one inviting deeper honesty about where their faith is inherited rather than lived, where hope gives way to fear, and where love asks for real commitment. As they prepare to enter senior year, students are called to let every part of their life be shaped by the same desire that guided St. Ignatius: that all things be done for the greater glory of God.

Named for Christ's words to the apostles in John 15, “greater love has no man than this, that a man may lay down his life for his friends,” and His call in Luke 9 to take up your cross daily and follow after Him, the senior retreat unfolds in two parts across the year. In the fall, students spend a day at the True Vine Foundation ropes course, where physical challenges demand real communication and trust, and where prayer for one another becomes concrete rather than abstract by naming the particular gifts each classmate brings to the group. In the spring, after exams and before graduation, seniors gather for a Day of Recollection built around the class-created Litany of Gratitude, a chance to name what four years with this specific group of people has meant, before hearing from Bama Catholic students about what faith looks like once high school ends, carrying with them the cost and the gift of loving one another well.