Young people give, ‘get’ witness at Youth Rally
CLICK HERE to see a highlight video from the Women’s Fall Retreat and the Diocesan Youth Rally.
CLICK HERE to see a gallery of photos from the Diocesan Youth Rally.
CLICK HERE to see a gallery of photos from the Women’s Night Out event.
TV’s “Cooking Priest” served up a morsel of parental validation.
“Your Mom and Mother Church are both right: You ARE ... WHAT ... YOU ... EAT!” Father Leo Patalinghug proclaimed from the pulpit of the Cathedral of St. Joseph.
He spoke in the context of God’s unconditional, self-giving love brought forth in the Holy Eucharist.
“Loving God and loving our neighbor begins with a decision to receive God’s love, because you can’t give what you don’t have,” the priest noted.
“When we incarnate the Eucharist in our own lives, we can find a way to heaven,” he stated. “Because then, we’ll be able to follow Jesus’s command to love God and love one another as Jesus loves us.”
Fr. Patalinghug, who goes by “Fr. Leo,” gave the keynote presentations at this year’s diocesan Women’s Fall Retreat on Nov. 1-2 and the diocesan Youth Rally on Nov. 3 and preached the homily at the Closing Mass for the rally.
The events were held in the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Jefferson City.
An innovative Catholic ensemble known as the Vigil Project provided the music.
More than 250 people from 22 parishes — mostly in grades seven through 12, along with some of their parents — attended the Youth Rally.
The theme was “Can I Get A Witness?”
Emerson Reinhard, a member of St. Peter Parish in Fulton and a sophomore at North Callaway High School, was there.
“I’m here to build my faith in God and Jesus and spend time with other young people who are like me in loving to learn about God,” he said.
The rally included food and fellowship; powerful sacred music; inspirational talks; activities such as pumpkin decorating and a Cathedral scavenger hunt; Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament; and Mass with Bishop W. Shawn McKnight.
Fr. Leo gave a presentation on the Christian witness of the saints, followed by Adoration of Christ in the Eucharist.
The gifted musicians and singers of the Vigil Project set a timelessly prayerful tone.
“This incense is representative of our prayers,” said Fr. Leo. “It’s representative of the direction our life is called — toward heaven.”
He reminded all the young people that Christ is truly present on the altar.
“We’re not talking about some theory or an idea,” the priest emphasized. “He is a true person, a defined person, who dwells in this church, in this tabernacle.
“And he doesn’t want to remain in this beautifully decorated box holding his monstrance,” said Fr. Leo.
“He wants to dwell with YOU, so that you can go out into this world and show the love of God.”
“All sweetness”
Many young people and their parents chose to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
“There’s some serious prayer going on in here!” said Father Paul Clark, diocesan vocation director, director of seminarians and chaplain of Helias Catholic High School in Jefferson City. “This is what the Church at prayer looks like. It’s beautiful, it’s incredible.”
Games and ice cream downstairs in Cana Hall followed Adoration.
“The Bread that Came Down from Heaven, having all sweetness within it,” said Fr. Clark. “Wouldn’t it be great if we celebrate that sweetness with a little bit of ice cream?”
Father Joseph Luzindana, diocesan moderator for youth and young adult ministry, raised the young people’s spirits even higher, while Fr. Leo spoke separately to their parents and other adults.
“We can never give the devil a chance!” Fr. Luzindana proclaimed. “Adam and Eve gave the devil a chance, and look where it got them.
“No! We’re here to give Jesus a chance!” he stated. “We want the Holy Spirit to fill us up.
“We are the cloud of witnesses — the apostles of today,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to be a witness, don’t be afraid to be a saint!”
He offered several effective ways of giving witness to the Gospel: loving God and other people in word and action; praying frequently and humbly; participating in the life of the Church; caring for other people who are lonely or in need; and sharing the Good News of God’s love and the salvation won by Jesus.
“That is how we become witnesses,” said Fr. Luzindana, “and when we do these little things, people will know God is in us.”
Shedding light
Mary Immaculate School seventh-graders Sofia Ramirez and Kennedy Bonnell and eighth-grader Callyn Schwend traveled about two hours from Kirksville to the Youth Rally.
All three said it was worth it.
Callyn believes God is calling her and other young people to spread his Good News.
“I think that means enlightening others who might not know Jesus’s love and letting them know everything Jesus had done for them, and that when you put your trust in him, he can make your life so much better than it already is,” she said.
Kennedy said young people are also called by God to help others.
“Just to make sure that everyone knows the grace of God, and constantly remind them of all that he has done for them,” she said. “And helping them with that can make them feel better about themselves and deepen their faith.”
“Holy and good”
Emerson believes that as a young person in the Church, he’s being called to share God’s love with people who don’t believe in him yet or who are moving in a less-than-saintly direction.
“It is a tough conversation to have with people who may not fully believe,” he said. “But, you have to trust the Lord to help you share and shine your light, which is his light, on them.”
Johanna Cook, a sixth-grader at St. Peter School in Fulton, gives her singing voice back to God as a cantor at Mass in her parish.
She’s convinced that God is calling her and other young people to be there for others.
“We’re all called to serve God, to fulfil his work, to do what he’s calling us to do,” she said.
Daniel Morris believes every young person’s calling is “to be a saint and to spread the Gospel.”
“Because his Church is universal and it’s meant to be spread throughout the world,” said Daniel, a member of Cathedral of St. Joseph Parish and a sophomore at Helias Catholic High School in Jefferson City.
Paisley Murphy is a member of St. Jude Thaddeus Parish and an eighth-grader at South Callaway Middle School, both in Mokane.
She feels called “to be a good person and to do things in the name of the Lord — because the name of the Lord is holy and good.”
Companions
Bishop McKnight presided at the closing Mass for the rally.
Fr. Leo preached the homily, addressing Jesus’s command to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” and to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
“I have to caution you that if you don’t love God with your whole heart mind and soul, then heaven is not guaranteed for you,” said Fr. Leo.
He spoke of saints who echoed Jesus’s total, self-giving love with their willingness to serve the poor, to serve those who have been cast aside, and die for love of God.
He noted that love of neighbor can be difficult, and that many people put impossible conditions on whether they even love themselves.
He pointed out that Jesus eventually clarifies this command at the Last Supper, when he tells his Apostles to “love one another as I have loved you.”
“Which kinds of blows this whole Scripture wide open, because now we realize that before we can even love God and our neighbor as ourselves, we first have to know that God loves us!” said Fr. Leo.
“We have to actually recognize that love isn’t just simply a feeling or something that I do, but first and foremost a decision to receive it,” he said.
As a priest and a professional chef, Fr. Leo spoke of his international ministry of trying to solidify families through the meals they share together (PlatingGrace.com).
“Families, the dinner table is where you prove you love one another!” he stated. “It’s around the table that we serve one another, that we become companions with one another.”
He noted that the word “companion” comes from the Latin words for sharing bread.
“And that’s why the Eucharist is the great way we receive God’s love. And guess what: in a short while, you’re going to come up here to receive God’s love in the Eucharist and you’re going to be able to taste and see the goodness of the Lord!”
“Truth faith”
Sofia, Kennedy and Callyn believe it matters for them to remain Catholic.
“Every time I am go to church, I’m surrounded by people who also love God, and it’s really important to me to be a church where I can love God and have morals and commands to follow, and I think God has given me the Bible and everything I need,” said Callyn.
“We want everyone around us to go to heaven,” said Kennedy. “I want to preach the goodness of the Lord and I want to encourage others to spread the faith of God and enlighten themselves on it so that everyone around me, I can see their faces in heaven and continue that love for them that I have for them on earth.”
Johanna plans to stay Catholic for the rest of her life.
“It means loving God a lot,” she said. “Because he created us, we’re all called to love God and to serve him.”
Emerson plans to remain Catholic “because I want to go to heaven.”
“And I believe that to go to heaven, you have to not just say that your Catholic, you have to live it out in your actions and your words,” he stated.
He said being Catholic means to love the Lord with every aspect of one’s own being, and put that love into action.
Paisley also plans to remain a daughter of the Church.
“My family has always been Catholic,” she noted. “I’m actually the sixth generation of my family in my parish.
“And God is very much the most trustworthy being to believe in,” she said.
Daniel intends to remain Catholic, “because I believe it’s the true faith.”
“You’ve got to believe in Jesus, that he is the true Son of God, that the Eucharist is Jesus’s true Body and Blood,” he said.
He said it’s important to go beyond fulfilling the basic duties of being Catholic, such as going to Mass every Sunday, and helping other people find the truth.
“Our goal is heaven! Eternal life with God!” he said.
Thoughts and prayers
Emerson asked for adults in the Church to pray for young people to mature into the people God wants them to be while holding onto the fire of their youth.
To help young people do that, he suggested that adults “continue teaching the words of Christ and helping us get to church, get to youth events like this, and help share our beliefs with others.”
Daniel asked for prayers for him and other young people “keep God as our main focus and not to forget about God as we progress through life.”
Sophia requested prayers to “help us grow with God and help us in everyday tasks and to know that Jesus is always there for us.”
“In the world we’re growing up in,” said Callyn, “there are a lot of things that can distract us from our faith and from God.
“So, I think it’s really important that our role models who are older than us help us to keep in touch with God and be our reminders of faith.”
“This world that we’re growing up in is kind of crazy,” said Kennedy. “So just to help us to have the support we need, so that we can grow together.”
Paisley requested prayers for “good health, for wealth for people who don’t have much, and just a good, holy life overall for everyone who is around.”
Take it with you
Fr. Luzindana urged the young people to remember what they learned and experienced at the rally and to become active in the work of the Church in their parishes.
“Say to your parents, ‘I’m ready to become a witness. I am ready to become a saint!’” he said.
He also urged the adults of every parish to encourage young people to bring forth their best efforts for the Lord and become whatever he’s calling them to be.
“Do not be afraid to be soldiers of Christ!” he said. “Do not be afraid to make a team for Jesus.”
