The last weekends of the school calendar 2023-1024 of the Romareda School in Zaragoza, Spain, have been dedicated to the celebration of the end of the pastoral year.
Fifty-five children and adolescents celebrated “the night of St. John,” in which, through fire and water, the children and adolescents of the JAR itinerary – Augustinian Recollect Youth – are introduced to God the Holy Spirit.
June is the last month of academic activities in the school, so the animators of the Restless Hearts Club (5th and 6th grades of Primary and 1st ESO), the name given in Romareda School to the Madaura and Carthage stages of the JAR itinerary, have resorted to the name “Night of St. John”, to organize a weekend and end-of-year gathering.
This activity would especially strengthen two pillars of the JAR itinerary: prayer and community. Since the groups were large, it was decided to hold a first gathering on the second weekend of June (8 and 9) for 5th-grade Primary School and a second gathering on the third weekend of June (15 and 16) for 6th-grade Primary School and 1st year of Secondary School, following the same plan of activities and a similar schedule.
The children and adolescents of the “Restless Hearts Club” arrived on Saturday evening and played various integration games, and participated in a gynkana to learn about the fruits of the Holy Spirit and the role of the third person of the Trinity in leading us to Jesus.
At the end of the activity, the children got ready for prayer in the school chapel, which had as its theme a letter that Jesus addressed personally to each child or adolescent present in the chapel. Afterward, they shared dinner in the school dining room.
Saturday concluded with a simple fireworks display -with the proper security- and a simple St. John’s Eve party with music, lights, and dancing, and finally, resting in the spaces provided inside the school for a good rest.
On Sunday, two activities were programmed to remember the importance of baptism through water games and a morning prayer. Once the games were over, the children and teenagers of the Club got ready to celebrate the Eucharist in the company of their families and say goodbye to the course with a very familiar meal.
The Madaura stage (the city where Augustine continued his studies after his stay in Tagaste) corresponds to the second stage of the JAR itinerary. The beneficiaries are children who have made their first communion and wish to continue in their faith formation with the help of the Augustinian Recollect charism. In the Romereda School, there are two groups corresponding to the Madaura stage: “Restless Hearts 5th of Primary” and “Restless Hearts 6th of Primary”. The Carthage stage corresponds to the third stage of the itinerary (adolescence). In the school, there is a group which is still called “Restless Hearts 1st ESO”.
David Suárez, an Augustinian Recollect, was especially involved in the organization of this gathering.
