Serving our Young Church

I love working with the young people of our parish and teens from other parishes and Kennedy.  It is incredibly life giving to watch young people develop the gifts that God gave to them.

It was such a privilege on Saturday to work alongside our teens to serve dinner for our seniors.  Throughout the four hour work window, over fifty teens in grades 7-12 gave up their Saturday afternoon to be of service to others.  Whether they cut dessert, served the meal or washed dishes, they carried out their duty with such joy.  It was amazing to watch them interact with our guests ~ which was the hope that we had in mind when we planned the dinner way back in July.  I am so proud of their good work and their joyous spirit. 

Thursday morning, I will be leaving with two of our teens to head to the National Catholic Youth Conference.  I am so looking forward to seeing 25,000 teenagers come together to give worship and praise to our God.  I know that the air will be a-buzz with their enthusiasm and energy.  I so look forward to being revitalized by their spirit.  Throughout the four days, I will be posting messages on Facebook, so be sure to stay tuned in as I try to put into words all that we experience while in Indy.

 

I ask that you keep us in your prayers, and assure you that you will remain in our prayers.  The theme for NCYC is Here, I Am Lord.  I can’t wait to see how our young church answers this call from God when he beckons, whom shall I send.  For now, I personally answer, “Here I am Lord, send me.”

Shalom,

Tina

Strength from the Lord

I may have shared with you this story before, so please bear with me as I once again reflect upon the moment that I first recognized God calling me to service as an adult.

I believe the year was 1991.  I was a mother of a 2 year old and a 10 month old at the time.   Sister Yvonne stood at the ambo and announced that she was being transferred.  Sister had been nudging me for a few years to become involved in religious education but I kept saying no way, I was

working fifty to sixty hours a week and was a new mother.  When she made the announcement that she was leaving I felt it was more than Sr. Yvonne nudging me, I finally realized that it was God who was calling me.   I remember the moment like it was yesterday.  We were singing “Here I Am Lord”; I was staring at the face of Christ in our mosaic, and just like Ezekiel

"As the LORD spoke to me, the spirit entered into me and set me on my feet.”   Ezekiel 2:2

From that moment on, I was no longer satisfied working in the secular world ~ I felt I had to work for the Church.  It has taken me a long 20 years to actually officially “work” for the church but during those twenty years my life has been so full of learning, volunteering at both our parish and our Catholic school, and best of all, teaching religious education.  I LOVE TEACHING!  My heart is on fire to share my love of Jesus with others.  I have been blessed with mentors like Sr. Mary Cora, Margaret McCarthy, Carol Potts, Fran Ray, Theresa White and Mary Pytlik to name a few.

The road has not been easy and what I have come to appreciate is that it is not supposed to be easy.  I have found that the biggest obstacle has been my own worry of whether I am smart enough or clever enough or liked by others.  I have beaten myself up countless times because I never finished college.  I have come to understand that this is all rubbish!  We listen today to the words of St. Paul as he talks with the people of Corinth and I am reminded that all I need is my total reliance on my savior, Jesus Christ, for he assures me,

    

     “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”  2 Corinthians 12:9a

So, I continue to forge ahead, to accept my many human weaknesses, but I am strengthened by the sure knowledge that “when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10b because in my weakness, I automatically turn to God, the source of my strength.

Be weak my friends.  Be weak enough to surrender pride and ambition and find true strength in the grace of God!

Shalom,

Tina