by Katie Vasquez
The season of giving may be over, but for young parishioners like Jamie Rodriguez from Mary of Nazareth Church in Fort Greene, giving happens all year ‘round.
“Personally, it just gives me a good feeling,” Rodriguez said. “It feels like, it feels warm, feels nice.”
That charitable spirit was one of the many reasons why Rodriguez and four other young people were picked by their pastor for the experience of a lifetime.
They went to the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis, which brings young people from across America together for an encounter with Christ.
“I feel it changed my life in a very significant way,” said Lewis Pena, a parishioner at Mary of Nazareth.
The conference is a three-day experience of prayer, community, evangelization, catechesis, service, and empowerment for Catholic teenagers.
As young people listen to some or the best speakers in the Catholic space and music from award-winning artists, they also celebrate Mass and sit in adoration.
The goal, according to Father Henry Torres, is to find a faith all their own.
“We get our kids to see that this faith is fun. This faith is alive and this faith is as much theirs as it is their parents’ as it is ours,” said Father Torres, pastor of Mary of Nazareth.
Whether they were returning to the conference or this was their first time, each young parishioner at Mary of Nazareth took their own special message.
“I started becoming a lector in the church, and that’s like something I was scared of doing,” Rodriguez said.
“A message I want to focus on is if someone is in need, you should always try to lend a hand,” Pena said.
But Father Torres says it’s now up to them to bring the message of Christ to their community.