BAKE SALE
after all Masses Nov 21 & 22
Daughters of Isabella
St. Edward Parish at 216 S, Nichols St., Lowell, IN 46356 US - CYX
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CYX |
written by Deacon Bill
I had planned on writing something about St. Ed's high schoolers who participated in the Diocese of Gary's Catholic Youth Experience a couple of weeks ago at Valparaiso University.
As I was composing the note, I used the term "young people" to refer to the
participants. After I wrote it down something made me stop and reflect on the term and I started thinking that I needed to shift gears a little bit.
You see, at CYX the participants learn about their faith and experience their
faith - learning new things and delving deeper into what they already know, experiencing the familiar and maybe something new, putting their faith into action in service projects.
Learning, experiencing and growing. Don't we often look at
these as something that "young people" do?
Just the other day I was talking to the mother of a two year old who told me that her daughter was like a sponge - soaking up everything that she saw, heard, felt and even tasted. Everyday learning more and more.
And not too long ago someone was lamenting how they wished they had taken a foreign language in high school because it was so hard for "old" people to learn.
It seems to me that as Catholics and Christians we're all called
to always be "young people" when it comes to our faith.
We're called to continue to grow by experiencing and learning and praying
and serving.
A spiritual advisor to seminarians once told me that the reason so many seem to have crises of faith is because they stopped learning and growing after they received First Communion or maybe after Confirmation. They are forced to approach adult problems with a 3rd grade or 9th grade understanding of and relationship with Christ and His Church. Instead, shouldn't we remain forever young at heart? Open to learning, open to growing in faith with the joy and enthusiasm and sense of wonder that we associate with "young people?" I think
the answer pretty clearly is YES!
What's neat is that Christ gives us the "fountain of youth" that we need to remain spiritually young in the Eucharist.
So here's to all the "young people" in our parish - whatever your age. Keep growing!