Faith Reflection: Mercy—The Beauty of Our Young
In speaking to the U.S. Cardinals and Bishops gathered this week in Baltimore for their Fall General Assembly, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, talked about being in a permanent state of mission and that mission requires passion. Asking what are some things we should be passionate about he answered with three things: our youth, the mission of evangelization and the Lord Himself.
If we are passionate about our youth, Archbishop Pierre said, “then this means being willing and open to accompanying them personally, as spiritual fathers, even if this makes demands on our time and energy.” “A passion born out of love,” he continued “also means providing sound catechesis and formation, so that amid the pressure of a secular culture, they can make wise choices that lead to authentic human flourishing.”
The beautiful and good draws people, and Pierre asked our bishops if we are offering our youth an attractive image of Jesus, are we presenting the beauty of Catholicism, or keeping it hidden, and are we investing enough in our youth so they are equipped to remain faithful against the challenges of scientism? Under Mrs. Williams continued wise leadership we can see that we are doing this here at SHA.
Our 7th grader this week also takes on these challenges and talks about some of the negative things we see in the news today. She shows how we need to invest in each other, no matter how small, to make a positive impact. In doing this we will, as Pierre said, “[show] that we have a passion for our young not merely as the future of the Church but as an integral part of the Family of God.”
The Lord and the Youth of Today
by Aileen Corpus
Today teens and young adults struggle to keep up with their faith because they go through so much in just a few years, while older adults struggle with explaining the Good News to the youth.
There are many ways to announce the Good News today to both old and young. The Internet, websites, signs, speaking out, and speeches are just a few. Out of all of them the most effective way you can express the Good News is to explain it in a way that everyone can understand. Use anything and everything you can so that not only the young but the old can understand, making it universal, the very definition of Catholic.
The youth today also have seen many negative things caused both by nature and by man. Some negative man made issues in today’s world are the wars in the east, climate change, and white supremacy, to name just a few. The situations caused by nature are the hurricanes we have seen throughout our country and the earthquakes in Mexico and other countries. As Catholics, or universal people, we are here to support others and help the youth to see that we shouldn’t just stand there, but to work to make changes.
The youth sometimes use these issues to make fun of others stressing our differences. Instead, we should be helping others because of these events we see in our world today. We can use these issues to tell the youth that this doesn’t mean you can’t do something. You can do something no matter how small it is and make a positive impact. To quote from The Gift of Anger by Arun Gandhi, “...a small action many lead to a snowball effect…”
When we return from Thanksgiving break it will be time again for Cinema for the Soul. This month they are offering a look at a dog who discovers his purpose through his interactions with people. Come watch A Dog's Purpose Thursday, November 30th at 7:00p in the parish hall.
Thank you. Mrs. Alhadef