Father Nagel's homily from June 27.
Click here to listen and/or download the homily.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Archbishop's Pastoral Letter for Young Adult and College Ministry
Pastoral Letter on Young Adult and College Ministry
from Archbishop Daniel Buechlein, OSB
Archdiocese of Indianapolis
The Art of Christian Living in our Modern Culture
Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
May 31, 2010
Dear Friends in Christ,
On this Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, it is my joy to share with you the vision for Young Adult and College Campus Ministry (YACCM) for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. In writing this pastoral letter, I am reminded of the model of Our Mother Mary, who “set out and traveled to the hill country in haste” to serve her cousin Elizabeth who was with child. (Luke 1:39). This was no ordinary “setting out.” In fact, it was an extraordinary endeavor, as Mary herself was with child and thus carried Christ with her. She traveled on foot or on donkey over 60 miles, from Nazareth to Bethlehem. She was on a mission; a selfless, life giving mission to bring Christ to another, to others!
Young Adult and College Ministry requires the same love for another. It requires that we “go out” and meet the young adult community where they are at. It requires a selfless, life-giving mission to care for and cure young souls who have been formed by a world, a culture which does not always have Christ at the center. This is truly mission territory in our modern world; this is evangelization.
Evangelization is the heart of the Church’s ministry with young adults; it is our mission. Pope Paul VI, in his apostolic exhortation On Evangelization in the Modern World (Evangelii Nuntiandi), clearly outlines that, “evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize, that is to say in order to preach and teach, to be the channel of the gift of grace, to reconcile sinners with God.” Each person is called through the evangelization to a life of holiness.
The Catholic Bishops of the United States, in Go and Make Disciples: A National Plan and Strategy for Catholic Evangelization in the United States, further develop Pope Paul’s message in light of this countries culture. In this guiding document, they articulate three goals for evangelization in our modern world:
1) “To bring about in all Catholics such an enthusiasm for their faith that, in loving their faith in Jesus, they freely share it with others.”
2) “To invite all people in the United States, whatever their social or cultural background, to hear the message of salvation in Jesus Christ, so that they may come to join us in the fullness of the Catholic faith.”
3) To foster gospel values in our society, promoting the dignity of the human person, the importance of family, and the common good of our society, so that our nation may continue to be transformed by the saving power of Christ.”
In the United States Catholic Bishop’s pastoral plan for young adult formation, Sons and Daughters of the Light, they implement these core pillars of evangelization for young adults in America by articulating that the first goal of young adult ministry is “to foster the personal and communal growth and education of young adults toward a relationship with Jesus Christ leading to Christian maturity.”
“In the face of a growing indifference to God, the new evangelization must not be about a social or political structure, but the person of Jesus Christ,” proclaimed Pope Benedict XVI. “Human life cannot be realized by itself. Our life is an open question, an incomplete project, still to be brought to fruition and realized. Each man’s fundamental question is: how will this be realized – becoming man? How does one learn the art of living? Which is the path towards happiness? To evangelize means: to show this path – to teach the art of living.” (Address to United States Catholic Educators, April 17, 2008).
Our college students and young adults hunger for answers to these questions and others. They deeply desire to be taught the art of Christian living. Jesus Christ and His Church satisfy the hunger and position our future married couples, our future priests, and our future religious on a solid foundation, a foundation made of living stone. Teaching the art of Christian living begins in our families, in the life of our parishes and in our universities throughout the Archdiocese and nation.
Teaching the Art of Christian Living in our Families
Instilling the faith in a child is the greatest gift parents can give to their children. Often times, in a relativistic world, parents succumb to the temptation to allow their children to make their own decisions about religion and faith. This is all done in the name of freedom of choice. True freedom comes in knowing truth. The first responsibility of Christian parents is to teach their children the truth of Jesus Christ and His Church. (CCC #2223)
This task begins with parents being a model of Christian living themselves. Prayer in the home must be a daily foundation for growth in Christian maturity of all children. Weekly celebrating of the Holy Mass and the good habit of frequent confession should not be optional choices, rather given expectations and at the heart of family life. Finally, it is essential that all children receive orthodox, catechetical instruction both in the home and through the Churches’ Catholic schools and religious education programs.
This great responsibility does not end upon the sacrament of confirmation or high school graduation. Christian parenting is a life long commitment. Perhaps the most crucial stage of growth in Christian maturity occurs at the young adult stage of life. Post high school graduation, young adults are making some of the most paramount decisions of their lives.
Questions of life and eternal life are being grappled with in the minds and hearts of young adults. Who am I? Why am I here? Does God really exist? If so, why does He allow such suffering in the world? How do I choose to live my life? Who will I marry? Is God calling me to priesthood or consecrated life? How will I know? To whom can I turn for truthful answers to these questions and so many more?
This is no time for abandonment or a vacation from parenting. It is the very time to be actively present and encouraging to young adults. Parents and families are crucial in balancing free will and responsibility to truth in young adult children. It is also the time for our parishes and University Catholic Centers to build a bridge between high school and their young adult years through outreach and catechesis.
Teaching the Art of Christian Living in our Parishes
“Educating new generations in the faith is a great and fundamentally important task that involves the entire Christian community,” one that has become “particularly difficult” today and, hence, is “even more important and urgent,” according to Pope Benedict XVI. ("Address to United States Catholic Educators," April 17, 2008). The parish is a living family which ensures this essential task of Catholic Education.
The United States Catholic Bishops, in their pastoral plan Communities of Salt and Light, define the parish as a place “where the Church lives. Parishes are communities of faith, of action, and of hope. They are where the Gospel is proclaimed and celebrated, where believers are formed and sent to renew the earth. Parishes are the home of the Christian community; they are the heart of our Church. Parishes are where God’s people meet Jesus in word and sacrament and come in touch with the source of the Church’s life.”
This truth of Church places an even more important role on Young Adult and College Ministry in our Archdiocese. In the community of faith, it is the parish family which takes a vital role in welcoming, engaging and evangelizing young believers and non-believers. Parish must then have an “open door policy” to welcome young adults of diversity, varied backgrounds and assorted levels of formation. Our parishes must have a vigilant eye and welcoming hand in the lives of young adults who pass through their doors, those who have fallen away from the Church and those who have never passed under the threshold of a Catholic Church their entire lives. We must embrace an attitude that is grounded in the truth that every soul counts!
Furthermore, our local parishes must engage young adults in ministries of all dimensions and ensure the inclusion of young adult leaders in ministries and decision making structures of the parish. Most importantly, parishes should evaluate the state of their young adult outreach and evangelization. This can be done by asking and listening; actively listening to the needs and desires of young adult hearts. Our young adults are gifted, service oriented, giving sons and daughters of God and have so much to offer a parish family, local community and the world. A lively and growing parish thrives with young adults who are willing to set roots, give their gifts and become a healthy and committed member of the parish.
Just as it is fundamental that parishes embrace the gift of young adults, it is equally important that young adults seek to set roots and become established in one parish family, learning from the gifts of those more mature in faith. Occasionally, the formation from a non-committal culture leads to a church hopping, non-committed young adult. Our young people should be encouraged to be woven into the fabric of a local parish with all its joys, sorrows, challenges and successes. Here, young adults will grow more fully in relationship with Jesus Christ through His holy, Catholic Church.
Teaching the Art of Christian Living in our Universities
There are an estimated 110,000 students enrolled in colleges and universities within the Archdiocese of Indianapolis alone. Nearly 25% of these students are believed to be baptized Catholic. Many of our young adults are college students who are studying on twelve campuses throughout central and southern Indiana including Butler, DePauw, Earlham,, Franklin, Hanover, Indiana State University, Indiana University, Indiana University – Purdue University – Indianapolis (IUPUI), Marian University, Rose-Hulman Institute, St. Mary of the Woods, and the University of Indianapolis. They are also our college men and women studying at technical schools and on campuses across the country and close to home in neighboring dioceses such as Purdue University, Ball State, Wabash College, and Notre Dame.
The university is a “seat of wisdom, a light of the world...an Alma Mater of the rising generation,” according to John Henry Cardinal Newman. Catholic Newman Centers serve as a tool on university campuses to bring knowledge and truth, through faith and reason, to all young people. The pursuit of the truth finds its greatest end in Christ who is “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Here students encounter the Good News of the Gospel, the living and true God, who in Jesus Christ.
The discovery of truth through faith and reason has the power to draw students into a new life characterized by all that is beautiful, good, and true. A Newman Center takes up the task of promoting the vital interaction between faith and reason, the two harmonious ways to the truth, which is always one (Ex Corde Ecclesiae, 17). This interaction fosters not only a greater love for truth itself, but becomes a vibrant witness to the goodness and beauty of human life. Pope Benedict XVI explains, “The dynamic between personal encounter, knowledge and Christian witness is integral to the diakonia [service] of truth which the Church exercises in the midst of humanity. God’s revelation offers every generation the opportunity to discover the ultimate truth about its own life and the goal of history” ("Address to United States Catholic Educators," April 17, 2008).
College and University students face substantial distortions of truth which can hinder their opportunity to discover and serve God. Often these distortions are based upon a faulty notion of freedom. The Church continues to proclaim to students the words of St. Paul: “For you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another through love” (Gal 5:13). Among the temptations pervasive in our postmodern university communities, are materialism, relativism, atheism, agnosticism, secular humanism, sexual promiscuity, drug and alcohol abuse. These gravely limit true freedom or even deaden the soul and one’s capacity for truth and love.
In the midst of the struggle against the “works of the flesh” (Gal 5:19), a Catholic Newman Center lifts up for students true freedom in Christ, embodied in the “works of the Spirit,” which are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Gal 5:22).
Our mission is to continue to support the good works of established Catholic Newman Centers within the Archdiocese of Indianapolis as well as revitalize those which have been lost over the years. I extend my deepest gratitude to the many faithful priests and lay leaders who have worked tirelessly over the years to bring the truth of Christ to our young people on university and college campuses. I encourage our future priests and lay leaders to rise up and bolster the evangelization efforts on our campuses in the years to come.
The words of St. Paul to the Romans are a perfect invitation to our young university students of today, “I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2)
Teaching the Art of Christian Living Peer to Peer
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati is a model of one who embraced the art of Christian living and empowered his peers to do the same. Named by John Paul II, the saint for young adults of the third millennium, Blessed Pier exemplifies those characteristics of Catholic living that our young people thirst for in their lives. He had a preferential option for the poor as he gave his lunch money and allowance to buy second day bread to feed the homeless. He was an accomplished athlete and used this gift to bring his peers into relationship with Christ and His Church. He was an avid believer in the Sacraments and as a young man began to attend daily mass and frequent the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Blessed Pier once stated to his peers at a young adult church rally, “…I urge you with all the strength of my soul to approach the Eucharistic Table as often as possible. Feed on this Bread of the Angels from which you will draw the strength to fight inner struggles, the struggles against passions and against all adversities, because Jesus Christ has promised to those who feed themselves with the most Holy Eucharist, eternal life and the necessary graces to obtain it.And when you become totally consumed by this Eucharistic Fire, then you will be able to thank with greater awareness the Lord God who has called you to be part of his flock and you will enjoy that peace which those who are happy according to the world have never tasted. Because true happiness, young people, does not consist in the pleasures of the world and in earthly things, but in peace of conscience which we can have only if we are pure in heart and in mind.”
Our young adults desire and seek this true happiness. They are gifted, generous and desire to serve the Lord and His people. Many are natural leaders and desire to be true disciples. As Church, it is our responsibility to raise up capable and talented young adults to be leaders and disciples, through peer to peer relationships. How often I have been inspired by the good witness of a young adult as they seek to “lay down their lives” for others (John 15:13).
An Invitation to All the Faithful
In conclusion, I invite all young adults to seek true happiness in Jesus Christ and His Church. I invite all people of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis to embrace our young souls and bring them to Christ and His Church. “All of the Church’s energy must be directed to the New Evangelization,” proclaimed the late Pope John Paul II. There is no soil more fertile for sowing the seeds of evangelization than the campuses of American Universities and within our young adult communities.
As Archbishop, I have been in awe and wonder at the hunger for truth and virtuous living in the lives of our college students and young adults of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Now is the time to re-claim, re-invigorate, and re-establish our commitment to our young adults who are starving for the nourishment of the Sacraments, seeking the understanding of the Catholic Tradition and searching for the supernatural love and presence of Jesus Christ in a secularized culture. These thousands of young people are not only the Church of the future; they are the Church of today!
This is Mission Territory and the harvest is great. With Mary as our patroness and model, let us set out to meet our young adults and invite them to truth, through Christ and His Church. No soul should ever be lost; we must encourage one another today, while it is still today. (Hebrews 3:12-13) Let us pray to the Master of the harvest to send forth workers for His bountiful, young adult harvest (Mathew 9:38) and help us make disciples of all nations and peoples (Mathew 28:19)!
With a Father’s Love,
Archbishop Daniel Buechlein, OSB
Archdiocese of Indianapolis
from Archbishop Daniel Buechlein, OSB
Archdiocese of Indianapolis
The Art of Christian Living in our Modern Culture
Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
May 31, 2010
Dear Friends in Christ,
On this Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, it is my joy to share with you the vision for Young Adult and College Campus Ministry (YACCM) for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. In writing this pastoral letter, I am reminded of the model of Our Mother Mary, who “set out and traveled to the hill country in haste” to serve her cousin Elizabeth who was with child. (Luke 1:39). This was no ordinary “setting out.” In fact, it was an extraordinary endeavor, as Mary herself was with child and thus carried Christ with her. She traveled on foot or on donkey over 60 miles, from Nazareth to Bethlehem. She was on a mission; a selfless, life giving mission to bring Christ to another, to others!
Young Adult and College Ministry requires the same love for another. It requires that we “go out” and meet the young adult community where they are at. It requires a selfless, life-giving mission to care for and cure young souls who have been formed by a world, a culture which does not always have Christ at the center. This is truly mission territory in our modern world; this is evangelization.
Evangelization is the heart of the Church’s ministry with young adults; it is our mission. Pope Paul VI, in his apostolic exhortation On Evangelization in the Modern World (Evangelii Nuntiandi), clearly outlines that, “evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize, that is to say in order to preach and teach, to be the channel of the gift of grace, to reconcile sinners with God.” Each person is called through the evangelization to a life of holiness.
The Catholic Bishops of the United States, in Go and Make Disciples: A National Plan and Strategy for Catholic Evangelization in the United States, further develop Pope Paul’s message in light of this countries culture. In this guiding document, they articulate three goals for evangelization in our modern world:
1) “To bring about in all Catholics such an enthusiasm for their faith that, in loving their faith in Jesus, they freely share it with others.”
2) “To invite all people in the United States, whatever their social or cultural background, to hear the message of salvation in Jesus Christ, so that they may come to join us in the fullness of the Catholic faith.”
3) To foster gospel values in our society, promoting the dignity of the human person, the importance of family, and the common good of our society, so that our nation may continue to be transformed by the saving power of Christ.”
In the United States Catholic Bishop’s pastoral plan for young adult formation, Sons and Daughters of the Light, they implement these core pillars of evangelization for young adults in America by articulating that the first goal of young adult ministry is “to foster the personal and communal growth and education of young adults toward a relationship with Jesus Christ leading to Christian maturity.”
“In the face of a growing indifference to God, the new evangelization must not be about a social or political structure, but the person of Jesus Christ,” proclaimed Pope Benedict XVI. “Human life cannot be realized by itself. Our life is an open question, an incomplete project, still to be brought to fruition and realized. Each man’s fundamental question is: how will this be realized – becoming man? How does one learn the art of living? Which is the path towards happiness? To evangelize means: to show this path – to teach the art of living.” (Address to United States Catholic Educators, April 17, 2008).
Our college students and young adults hunger for answers to these questions and others. They deeply desire to be taught the art of Christian living. Jesus Christ and His Church satisfy the hunger and position our future married couples, our future priests, and our future religious on a solid foundation, a foundation made of living stone. Teaching the art of Christian living begins in our families, in the life of our parishes and in our universities throughout the Archdiocese and nation.
Teaching the Art of Christian Living in our Families
Instilling the faith in a child is the greatest gift parents can give to their children. Often times, in a relativistic world, parents succumb to the temptation to allow their children to make their own decisions about religion and faith. This is all done in the name of freedom of choice. True freedom comes in knowing truth. The first responsibility of Christian parents is to teach their children the truth of Jesus Christ and His Church. (CCC #2223)
This task begins with parents being a model of Christian living themselves. Prayer in the home must be a daily foundation for growth in Christian maturity of all children. Weekly celebrating of the Holy Mass and the good habit of frequent confession should not be optional choices, rather given expectations and at the heart of family life. Finally, it is essential that all children receive orthodox, catechetical instruction both in the home and through the Churches’ Catholic schools and religious education programs.
This great responsibility does not end upon the sacrament of confirmation or high school graduation. Christian parenting is a life long commitment. Perhaps the most crucial stage of growth in Christian maturity occurs at the young adult stage of life. Post high school graduation, young adults are making some of the most paramount decisions of their lives.
Questions of life and eternal life are being grappled with in the minds and hearts of young adults. Who am I? Why am I here? Does God really exist? If so, why does He allow such suffering in the world? How do I choose to live my life? Who will I marry? Is God calling me to priesthood or consecrated life? How will I know? To whom can I turn for truthful answers to these questions and so many more?
This is no time for abandonment or a vacation from parenting. It is the very time to be actively present and encouraging to young adults. Parents and families are crucial in balancing free will and responsibility to truth in young adult children. It is also the time for our parishes and University Catholic Centers to build a bridge between high school and their young adult years through outreach and catechesis.
Teaching the Art of Christian Living in our Parishes
“Educating new generations in the faith is a great and fundamentally important task that involves the entire Christian community,” one that has become “particularly difficult” today and, hence, is “even more important and urgent,” according to Pope Benedict XVI. ("Address to United States Catholic Educators," April 17, 2008). The parish is a living family which ensures this essential task of Catholic Education.
The United States Catholic Bishops, in their pastoral plan Communities of Salt and Light, define the parish as a place “where the Church lives. Parishes are communities of faith, of action, and of hope. They are where the Gospel is proclaimed and celebrated, where believers are formed and sent to renew the earth. Parishes are the home of the Christian community; they are the heart of our Church. Parishes are where God’s people meet Jesus in word and sacrament and come in touch with the source of the Church’s life.”
This truth of Church places an even more important role on Young Adult and College Ministry in our Archdiocese. In the community of faith, it is the parish family which takes a vital role in welcoming, engaging and evangelizing young believers and non-believers. Parish must then have an “open door policy” to welcome young adults of diversity, varied backgrounds and assorted levels of formation. Our parishes must have a vigilant eye and welcoming hand in the lives of young adults who pass through their doors, those who have fallen away from the Church and those who have never passed under the threshold of a Catholic Church their entire lives. We must embrace an attitude that is grounded in the truth that every soul counts!
Furthermore, our local parishes must engage young adults in ministries of all dimensions and ensure the inclusion of young adult leaders in ministries and decision making structures of the parish. Most importantly, parishes should evaluate the state of their young adult outreach and evangelization. This can be done by asking and listening; actively listening to the needs and desires of young adult hearts. Our young adults are gifted, service oriented, giving sons and daughters of God and have so much to offer a parish family, local community and the world. A lively and growing parish thrives with young adults who are willing to set roots, give their gifts and become a healthy and committed member of the parish.
Just as it is fundamental that parishes embrace the gift of young adults, it is equally important that young adults seek to set roots and become established in one parish family, learning from the gifts of those more mature in faith. Occasionally, the formation from a non-committal culture leads to a church hopping, non-committed young adult. Our young people should be encouraged to be woven into the fabric of a local parish with all its joys, sorrows, challenges and successes. Here, young adults will grow more fully in relationship with Jesus Christ through His holy, Catholic Church.
Teaching the Art of Christian Living in our Universities
There are an estimated 110,000 students enrolled in colleges and universities within the Archdiocese of Indianapolis alone. Nearly 25% of these students are believed to be baptized Catholic. Many of our young adults are college students who are studying on twelve campuses throughout central and southern Indiana including Butler, DePauw, Earlham,, Franklin, Hanover, Indiana State University, Indiana University, Indiana University – Purdue University – Indianapolis (IUPUI), Marian University, Rose-Hulman Institute, St. Mary of the Woods, and the University of Indianapolis. They are also our college men and women studying at technical schools and on campuses across the country and close to home in neighboring dioceses such as Purdue University, Ball State, Wabash College, and Notre Dame.
The university is a “seat of wisdom, a light of the world...an Alma Mater of the rising generation,” according to John Henry Cardinal Newman. Catholic Newman Centers serve as a tool on university campuses to bring knowledge and truth, through faith and reason, to all young people. The pursuit of the truth finds its greatest end in Christ who is “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Here students encounter the Good News of the Gospel, the living and true God, who in Jesus Christ.
The discovery of truth through faith and reason has the power to draw students into a new life characterized by all that is beautiful, good, and true. A Newman Center takes up the task of promoting the vital interaction between faith and reason, the two harmonious ways to the truth, which is always one (Ex Corde Ecclesiae, 17). This interaction fosters not only a greater love for truth itself, but becomes a vibrant witness to the goodness and beauty of human life. Pope Benedict XVI explains, “The dynamic between personal encounter, knowledge and Christian witness is integral to the diakonia [service] of truth which the Church exercises in the midst of humanity. God’s revelation offers every generation the opportunity to discover the ultimate truth about its own life and the goal of history” ("Address to United States Catholic Educators," April 17, 2008).
College and University students face substantial distortions of truth which can hinder their opportunity to discover and serve God. Often these distortions are based upon a faulty notion of freedom. The Church continues to proclaim to students the words of St. Paul: “For you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another through love” (Gal 5:13). Among the temptations pervasive in our postmodern university communities, are materialism, relativism, atheism, agnosticism, secular humanism, sexual promiscuity, drug and alcohol abuse. These gravely limit true freedom or even deaden the soul and one’s capacity for truth and love.
In the midst of the struggle against the “works of the flesh” (Gal 5:19), a Catholic Newman Center lifts up for students true freedom in Christ, embodied in the “works of the Spirit,” which are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Gal 5:22).
Our mission is to continue to support the good works of established Catholic Newman Centers within the Archdiocese of Indianapolis as well as revitalize those which have been lost over the years. I extend my deepest gratitude to the many faithful priests and lay leaders who have worked tirelessly over the years to bring the truth of Christ to our young people on university and college campuses. I encourage our future priests and lay leaders to rise up and bolster the evangelization efforts on our campuses in the years to come.
The words of St. Paul to the Romans are a perfect invitation to our young university students of today, “I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2)
Teaching the Art of Christian Living Peer to Peer
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati is a model of one who embraced the art of Christian living and empowered his peers to do the same. Named by John Paul II, the saint for young adults of the third millennium, Blessed Pier exemplifies those characteristics of Catholic living that our young people thirst for in their lives. He had a preferential option for the poor as he gave his lunch money and allowance to buy second day bread to feed the homeless. He was an accomplished athlete and used this gift to bring his peers into relationship with Christ and His Church. He was an avid believer in the Sacraments and as a young man began to attend daily mass and frequent the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Blessed Pier once stated to his peers at a young adult church rally, “…I urge you with all the strength of my soul to approach the Eucharistic Table as often as possible. Feed on this Bread of the Angels from which you will draw the strength to fight inner struggles, the struggles against passions and against all adversities, because Jesus Christ has promised to those who feed themselves with the most Holy Eucharist, eternal life and the necessary graces to obtain it.And when you become totally consumed by this Eucharistic Fire, then you will be able to thank with greater awareness the Lord God who has called you to be part of his flock and you will enjoy that peace which those who are happy according to the world have never tasted. Because true happiness, young people, does not consist in the pleasures of the world and in earthly things, but in peace of conscience which we can have only if we are pure in heart and in mind.”
Our young adults desire and seek this true happiness. They are gifted, generous and desire to serve the Lord and His people. Many are natural leaders and desire to be true disciples. As Church, it is our responsibility to raise up capable and talented young adults to be leaders and disciples, through peer to peer relationships. How often I have been inspired by the good witness of a young adult as they seek to “lay down their lives” for others (John 15:13).
An Invitation to All the Faithful
In conclusion, I invite all young adults to seek true happiness in Jesus Christ and His Church. I invite all people of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis to embrace our young souls and bring them to Christ and His Church. “All of the Church’s energy must be directed to the New Evangelization,” proclaimed the late Pope John Paul II. There is no soil more fertile for sowing the seeds of evangelization than the campuses of American Universities and within our young adult communities.
As Archbishop, I have been in awe and wonder at the hunger for truth and virtuous living in the lives of our college students and young adults of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Now is the time to re-claim, re-invigorate, and re-establish our commitment to our young adults who are starving for the nourishment of the Sacraments, seeking the understanding of the Catholic Tradition and searching for the supernatural love and presence of Jesus Christ in a secularized culture. These thousands of young people are not only the Church of the future; they are the Church of today!
This is Mission Territory and the harvest is great. With Mary as our patroness and model, let us set out to meet our young adults and invite them to truth, through Christ and His Church. No soul should ever be lost; we must encourage one another today, while it is still today. (Hebrews 3:12-13) Let us pray to the Master of the harvest to send forth workers for His bountiful, young adult harvest (Mathew 9:38) and help us make disciples of all nations and peoples (Mathew 28:19)!
With a Father’s Love,
Archbishop Daniel Buechlein, OSB
Archdiocese of Indianapolis
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
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