Exodus After Hope
This year Fr. Nick and Carly launched the Exodus 365 program. The idea of Exodus 365 is to help students engage in the spiritual life every day knowing that some seasons will be more intense than others. The students take on 90 days of the full Exodus program spread throughout Lent, Advent, and in week long intervals during the traditional Ember days. This includes various types of dietary and electronic fasting as well as cold showers. In between these seasons is a low intensity program that includes small group meetings, prayer, exercise, a healthy sleep schedule, and a discipline of the student’s choosing. Some of those groups are made up of Hope graduates affectionately known as the ‘away team’. We asked one of those graduates to reflect on her experience so far. Here is what she had to say:
This is a particularly turbulent year to be entering post-Hope College life, and I’m glad to have a connection back to the Hope Catholic community through Exodus 365. Being in a new place has re-emphasized how profoundly this community has impacted me, and continues to do so. It’s also nice to see familiar faces every week via Zoom; I’m especially grateful for my accountability partner, who is also a recent Hope graduate and Exodus veteran. We’re facing a lot of similar challenges, so we can connect on many things and offer prayers for each other in our daily experiences. In terms of the disciplines themselves, the yearlong program with seasons of higher and lower intensity is definitely unique. I’ll admit, at times I’ve been reluctant to dive into a high-intensity week, especially when one coincided with my first week of graduate classes (when one longs for the comforts of warm showers, chocolate… and maybe a drink). But the increased structure was actually reassuring amidst figuring out a hectic new schedule, and of course, prayer is the best solace of all. Overall, I’m very grateful to be doing Exodus 365 as a graduate.
Alicia Bostwick graduated from Hope in May. She studied biology and was a member of the cross country team. In August, Alicia began her first year of graduate school at Dartmouth College where she is studying molecular and cellular biology.