Faith-Filled Weekend

Whew! This past weekend flew by like a 747! But it's all good, because God was definitely in every minute of that flight.

I had the chance to spend the day with my four sons and a few friends on Saturday. It was the annual "Fire on the Hill St. John Bosco Youth Day" rally at Holy Hill Basilica in Hubertus, WI. This faith-filled day of music and speakers for teens set our hearts on fire, blazing like the bonfire that warmed us up in the 40 degree weather. But nothing could warm us like time spent confessing our sins and spending an hour in Eucharistic Adoration followed by Mass with Fr. Stan Fortuna.

In his homily, Fr. Stan was explaining how we can better understand what God's will is for us in this world. He said that the only way that we can hope to understand how God is working in our lives is to "turn it around." Instead of hoping to UNDERSTAND, we should be trying to STAND UNDER. Then he lifted the crucifix from the altar and held it over his head to show us that we are to stand under the cross, like Mary, and it is there where we will find God and realize how we are called to serve Him in this world.

Sunday afternoon, my family and I stood along a busy highway holding "Abortion Kills Children" signs for our local Life Chain in honor of Respect Life Sunday. Nine-year-old Mary kept us entertained by making up pro-life songs with lyrics like "You can stop abortion, yes you can!"

As the weather continues to be chilly in my part of the world, I was glad to sit down for a cup of coffee after that with a young girl who is preparing for her Confirmation this Spring and who has asked me to be her Sponsor. What a joy and an honor it is to be considered worthy to form the faith of someone who is serious about her relationship with the Lord!


Finally, St. Augustine parish is within walking distance of my home and they held a Transitus Service last night in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. I had never heard of Transitus before, so I was intrigued to learn more. My daughter, Mary, and I walked over and were pleased to take part in a solemn service in honor of this great saint! Mary noticed that the service began a lot like the Easter Vigil, in darkness. After Archbishop Listecki gave his homily, the pastor of the parish read the story of the passing of St. Francis from this life to the next while the altar candles were extinguished, one by one, leaving only one flame burning to represent the light of Christ that St. Francis reflected in this world. Then, from that one candle, every candle in church was lit. It was both beautiful and joyous!

And now, I am glad to land again on a normal Monday at work so that I can catch my breath from all of last weekend's excitement!

In Praise of Youth

It seems to be quite a fashionable past time to grumble about our youth and their behaviors. The grumbling is really nothing new...my parents grumbled about me, I'm sure their parents grumbled about them and on and on. Teenagers do seem to give us quite a bit to grumble about. My favorite pet peeves to nag my own teenagers about include pants worn down to their knees, rap music and lack of outdoor activities-too much sedentary time behind computer and television screens. If you were to ask my husband, his number one complaint would be the revolving door that we've recently had to install on our refrigerator! (kidding) But their constant eating does get on his nerves.

What's less fashionable is praising our youth for all of the wonderful things they do. I am very fortunate to have three fantastic sons who are all teenagers. Aside from the normal laziness, I have very little to complain about, and really that goes for their friends as well. But the person I just have to praise today is not related to me in any way, in fact, I don't even know his last name...

My son John sings with the Music Ministry at his high school. Today I took a vacation day from work so that I could hear him sing a solo during the closing song. (He was fabulous by the way!) But the boy who really shone so brightly was a young man in his junior year.

This particular Mass was celebrating the students in their junior year. The youth minister had asked M. to give a little talk after communion. Here is a brief summary of what he said..."I went to a public high school for my freshman year. One of my teachers was suspended for three weeks because he talked about God in class. I used to have a lot of anger at God while I was at that school. I thought, why would a God who loves me allow someone who wants to be a priest attend a school like this? I was fortunate to obtain some great scholarships which allowed me to come here to this Catholic High School for my sophomore year. I have been so happy here! I am so glad that at this school, I am free to express my faith in God and be the person that God intended me to be."

WOW! When he finished speaking, I wanted to stand up and cheer! This young man stood up in front of his entire school and told them that he wanted to be a priest! That took a lot of courage! He may be free to express his faith, but that doesn't mean that all of the other students share that faith. Sometimes those teen years can be pretty tough for faith-filled children. I don't know whether or not M. is going to take any ribbing for his public profession of his faith and call to priesthood, but I will be praying that he only receives support. And I pray for all youth who have the courage to stand up for what they believe in, especially when what they believe in is God.