September 23, 2011
Diocesan youth rally included food, fun and a faith challenge
Youth and young adults bow in silence in preparation for Mass, in the gymnasium of the Catholic Center in Evansville, Sunday, Sept. 18. (Message photo by Paul R. Leingang) Click for a larger version.
By PAUL R. LEINGANG (Message editor)
“It was a success,” concluded Steve Dabrowski, who coordinated the first diocesan youth rally in several years, his first as director of the office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry.
“Any time you can have 400 Catholic youth show up on a day that is really about deepening their faith and bringing them closer to Jesus . . . that is a success.”
Youth participants also learned about activities and programs for young people throughout the diocese. Participants at the rally Sept. 18 had a lot of food and activities, “but they were also challenged on how they use technology,” said Dabrowski.
He was referring to the homily of Bishop Charles C. Thompson and the comments of the featured speaker, Chris Stefanick on “Balancing Technology and Theology.”
The central question is, “Does technology help them to hear God’s voice, or keep them from it,” Dabrowski said.
Stefanick couched his comments in terms of “apps from God.”
He told his audience to “stop looking up to the rock stars and start looking up to the saints” — pointing to Blessed Mother Teresa and St. Maximillian Kolbe, among others. He challenged the youth to “want to be great,” not “a big deal” — by following the saints’ examples to love others and not try to have the focus on themselves.
“We don’t need more big deals,” he said. “We need more saints.”
He encouraged them to “listen to what God has to say” by reading Scripture daily. He told them they need to belong to “a real community” and that would include making sure that “no one is ever sitting alone in the lunchroom” at school.
Stefanick also encouraged the young people “to bring out your junk” and go to confession regularly.
The youth rally schedule was altered from earlier plans, to accommodate the changing weather conditions. All outside activities were concluded in bright sunshine by around 3:30 p.m., and moments after everyone assembled inside the Catholic Center, the rain poured down.
Click here for a reflection by Zoe Cannon on the diocesan youth rally.