By BRIDGET TURCOTTE
LYNN — From noon on Friday through Easter vigil services on Saturday, local teens will go without food, cell phones, and shelter while praying, ministering to the homeless in Boston, and volunteering for various community service projects.
It’s all part of a 40-hour retreat for high school students that focuses on service and prayer while celebrating the Triduum, a three-day period on the liturgical calendar from Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday.
This weekend, the Hunger for Justice Retreat will draw crowds of hundreds of teens for the 20th year in a row. St. Mary’s of Lynn has hosted the event for about a decade.
The participants are seeking sponsors for each hour of the fast. Proceeds will go to Haiti180, a mission that has built a school, orphanage, and a home for the elderly, and is currently building a medical clinic benefiting the Haitian villages of Duverger and Dan Dann.
The weekend will begin with a service at Short Beach in Nahant. After the prayer service, the teens will march to St. Thomas Church, carrying a cross and praying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary for a Good Friday service and a veneration of the Cross.
They will then go to St, Mary’s for their Last Supper. The meal will be followed by games, prayer and team building activities. They will spend the night in the gymnasium. A weekend of service in Boston and Lynn will follow.
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at bturcotte@itemlive.com. Follow her on Twitter @BridgetTurcotte.