Destination Jesus 2013 - I WILL FOLLOW
On February 15- 18 we embarked for what was going to be a weekend of retreat. Before we even headed for the Carmel area we heard grumblings of why the youth had to give up their cell phones. We even overheard words like "I can't believe that we have to go to this thing!" Hearing these words would of made the average youth group leaders drop their heads and say "How am I going to teach them about their faith if they are not willing to listen and be a part of it." But since we are experienced youth leaders we just stood there and smiled and said "Just wait and see."
When we arrived, we all were lead into a gymnasium with over 900 youth. We also had lots of questions like, "What are we supposed to do?" and "When are we going to eat?" and "Why are we here." The group signed the banner, grabbed their t-shirts and found a seat in the bleachers. At this point my heart was so happy I wanted to scream "We are here!!!". We heard music, we danced and we listened to the words of Deacon Ralph that inspired us. We spent time with Jesus in adoration. When we broke out into our small group sessions at the end of the night I heard the words I wanted to hear. "This is not what I expected. This is actually fun." Imagine that! Learning more about our faith was actually FUN! All I could say was, "If you loved today....just wait, tomorrow is so much better."
Saturday - This day was one that I always have trouble finding the words to describe. Mostly because for everyone the experience was different. For some it was like going home. For others it was a time that you finally let your guard down and actually let our Lord in. For some it was so beautiful that the only expression was tears. During the day we realized that FEAR was our biggest enemy. Fear makes us sin and do what is not right. Fear also tears us apart from our relationship with God. We also had to release our anger. Anger only separates us from our Lord. But when we release our anger, face our fears and conquer them then and only then we experienced true LOVE.
Here is the challenge. You see, it was very easy to be a good example of our faith when we were within the four walls of the school. All of our outside distractions were removed and we truly spent time with our God. But already today, I have seen ways in which the devil has tried to easily come back into our lives. We need to focus on God's love and consistently grow your relationship with God with prayer, meditating, helping others, going to confession and partaking in the sacrament of the Eucharist. So the challenge is this... Ask yourself and others "What did you do with Jesus today?" Be honest, because if you have done nothing with Jesus you have let the devil win. Fight for our faith, turn to our God and FOLLOW HIM.
