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Gulf Pine Catholic • June 1, 2018 19 Francis tells youth to evangelize through the ‘digital world’ VATICAN CITY ( CNA/EWTN News ) -- Sharing the Gospel with people at the peripheries might not even require stepping outside the door, Pope Francis said Saturday, encouraging Christians to evangelize through encounters in the “digital world.” Especially for young people, “the ends of the earth...are quite relative and always easily ‘navigable,’” he said May 19. “The digital world -- the social net- works that are so pervasive and readily available -- dis- solves borders, eliminates distances, and reduces differ- ences.” But if we lack a “sincere gift of our lives,” he con- tinued, “we could well have countless contacts but never share in a true communion of life. To share in the mission to the ends of the earth demands a gift of one- self in the vocation that God, who has placed us on this earth, chooses to give us.” The pope’s words were published in a message on the theme, “Together with young people, let us bring the Gospel to all,” published ahead of the 92nd World Missionary Day, which will take place Oct. 21. Francis explained that the Synod of Bishops on young people, the faith, and vocational discernment will also take place in October, which is the “month of the missions,” and that the Synod “will prove to be one more occasion to help us become missionary disciples, ever more passionately devoted to Jesus and his mis- sion, to the ends of the earth.” While the pope’s message was for “all Christians who live out in the Church the adventure of their life as children of God,” he reflected specifically on the mis- sionary role of young people. Addressing youth, he said, “what leads me to speak to everyone through this conversation with you is the certainty that the Christian faith remains ever young when it is open to the mission that Christ entrusts to us.” Quoting thewords of St. JohnPaul II in “Redemptoris Missio,” Francis said: “Mission revitalizes faith,” and emphasized that young men and women who want to follow Christ need “to seek, to discover, and to perse- vere” in their God-given vocations, which will lead to joy. “Dear young people, do not be afraid of Christ and his Church! For there we find the treasure that fills life with joy,” he said, and joy and enthusiasm can be pow- erful means of transmission of the faith. Likewise, spreading the faith, which is “the heart of the Church’s mission, comes about by the infectious- ness of love.” Love, he underlined, “generates sharing in charity with all those far from the faith, indifferent to it and perhaps even hostile and opposed to it.” Pope Francis explained that he knows to joyfully share the faith can be a challenge, and that he is aware of both the “lights and shadows of youth.” But he encouraged young Christians to be strong and to let evil, instead of being a discouragement, be “an incen- tive to ever greater love.” “Many men and women, and many young people, have generously sacrificed themselves, even at times to martyrdom, out of love for the Gospel and service to their brothers and sisters,” he said. Christ’s love for us was demonstrated in his sacri- fice upon the cross, the pope continued, noting that “to be set afire by the love of Christ is to be consumed by that fire, to grow in understanding by its light and to be warmed by its love.” “At the school of the saints, who open us to the vast horizons of God, I invite you never to stop wondering: ‘What would Christ do if he were in my place?’” How can the US Church reach young adults? By building relationships WASHINGTON, D.C. ( CNA/EWTN News ) -- The question of how the U.S. Church can better reach young adults who are not actively engaged in their faith was at the heart of a three-day conference inWashington, D.C. last week. Michael Gormley, podcast host and coordinator of evangelization at a parish outside Houston, said that he believes many in the Church are still operating under a mindset of “If we just teach them in the right way, use the right programs, hold the right events, they’ll come pouring back in.” “And I think it completely misses the point that we’re not even on their radar,” Gormley said. “The big- gest problem is we need to go where people are, and not expect them to come to us.” The National Young Adult Ministry Summit was organized by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth. Some 130 attendees from 60 dioceses, hailing from as far as Fairbanks, Alaska, gathered at the National Shrine of St. John Paul II May 15-17. Themes of the summit were tied to the preparatory and pre-synod document for the 2018 Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment, which will be held this fall in Rome. Throughout the summit, participants attended vari- ous breakout and small-group sessions that were tai- lored to different segments of the young adult popula- tion. People were split up based on if they worked on the diocesan or parish level, in order to better connect with people from similar positions. While the attendees came from diverse backgrounds and locations, many were struck by how similar their struggles have been in engaging young adult Catholics. Common issues facing young adults in Catholic par- ishes included a longing for “authentic friendships,” as well as struggles with reaching people from the periph- eries of society. “Even though you’re talking to and meeting people from all across the U.S., from various job positions, with various responsibilities within their jobs, the same kind of things are coming up in young adult ministry,” said Ken White, director of youth and young adult min- istry at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Newport News, Virginia. “Ultimately, the solution is building relationships with people.” White said one of the biggest issues facing young adults in his parish was simply a lack of time to commit to parish activities, as people tend to be busy both with jobs, families, and other activities. Young adults at Gormley’s large parish in The Woodlands, Texas, face similar challenges, but in dif- ferent contexts. In the Houston area, Gormley explained, many young adults work jobs in the oil industry where, although they make quite a bit of money, they do not have time to form relationships or commit to many par- ish activities. “Our big goal with them is trying to find time in their busy lives to do more than just a social,” he said. For Gormley’s parish, that came in the form of theolo- gy on tap, which he said has proved quite popular. Additionally, Gormley’s parish has seen success in launching a small-group ministry, with different types of groups for singles, older adults, and people with children. While there is a large segment of well-to-do young adults in Gormley’s parish, he said he also has to focus on providing support for the marginalized members of society -- particularly the wives and girlfriends of the men he meets during his work in prison ministry. “It’s so easy to ignore them, because they’re not [seen as] ‘good people,’” he explained. One of the presentations at the summit highlighted the need to pay attention to the sometimes-neglected categories of young adults in a parish, particularly sin- gle parents, those with addictions, divorcees, and peo- ple who have graduated from high school but may not attend college. “Calling attention to what young adults are going through gets multiplied once you get to the peripheries of the Church -- that’s an area that’s kind of scaring us,” said Gormley.