More reason for hope

Are you paying attention to what is happening all around us? Do you still hear repeated stories of bad news and doom and gloom? As Catholics are you convinced things are going in the wrong direction? Then wake up. Great things are happening and will continue to happen!

Just this past weekend, the National Catholic Youth Conference was held in Kansas City. The event drew over 21,000 Catholic youth; teens and young adults. That's 21,000! There is an amazing picture at one of my links on the left side of this blog showing almost all of these youth in Eucharistic Procession behind the Blessed Sacrament. The visual is stunning as block after block is filled with Catholic teens praying and worshipping God. Click on the website Whispers in the Loggia and scroll down a bit. Again, a stunning photo.

Locally, we are seeing increasing numbers of Catholic youth presenting themselves for Confirmation. All across my Northshore Deanery we are keeping the Bishops busy as they confirm our youth and call down the Holy Spirit. Many of these young Catholics are more committed than ever to a personal relationship with Christ through His Church. There will always be those among this group who are ambivalent about Confirmation. But more and more with each passing year there is a new hunger, a new thirst for Christ.

None of this should be suprising. This is part of Christ's promise to protect and grow His Church. Take a look at some of the seminary activity just in America and locally. More and more young men are presenting themselves for seminary to at least discern the possibility of a vocation to Holy Orders. Catholicism is growing in places traditionally Protestant, especially in the deep south and the west. Taking a world view, young people are energizing the Church in places like South America, Australia, Africa and India as well as places across southeast Asia.

There has also been more than passing interest in joining the Church among the Anglican Communion since the Pope opened a path for that to happen. And dialogue continues with the Ortodox and others.

All our problems are not behind us. The Church continues to recover from the scandals of the past decades and still has problems in places like Europe and American inner cities. But she is alive and vibrant and young and orthodox and growing.

And perhaps the most exciting thing about Her is the resurrgence of our young proclaiming loudly their love for Christ and belief in His one, holy, apostolic, church. And in this most wonderful of weeks where we give thanks for our many blessings; give thanks for His Church. After all, Eucharist translated means thanksgiving! WOW!