Young adults hopeful for future of Church

LAKE MARY | Prayer serves as the rock of 21-year-old David Saunders’ life. It carries him through good times and hard times.

The Full Sail University graduate feels the power of the Holy Spirit as he spends time on his “knees in front of the Blessed Sacrament.” The exercise is not just a routine for the young Catholic; it is an opportunity to “grasp God’s true love for us.”

“I think once people grasp the Spirit more fully they will find fulfillment, happiness,” he said. “When I put myself at the foot of the cross and I imagine the Blessed Mother as she stood at the foot of the cross. I find that true love that she must have possessed. And that true love helps me love other people. To feel that love, give that love… it’s awesome.”

Saunders and hundreds of young people were among the participants of the Florida Respect Life Conference in Orlando Oct. 16-18. He and two other young adults, 22-year-old Jennifer Shepard and 19-year-old Laura St. George, were asked what they saw for the future of the Church in the next five, 10, 15 years. While they agreed that their generation faces scary times in terms of violence, human suffering and medical technology that impedes on pro-life tenants, they were all hopeful, optimistic and believed in the strength of the Church and its members.

“It’s scary because our secular society is disrespectful of life, but those of us who believe in life have to know we are not alone,” said St. George, a student at the University of Central Florida and a member of the Catholic Student Union there. “Our spirit is not getting weaker; it’s getting more powerful, and there is power in realizing those connections we have with one another. … People just have to realize the powerful spirit of our Church.”

Shepard’s optimism in the Church’s future stems from the Church’s commitment to stand up for social justice. The Seminole Community College student said youths are prepared to continue that commitment and stand up for the rights of others and for life. Once more youths band together and realize the strength comes from the spirit, the church will boom, she said.

“We are in a battlefield for holiness, but in the end the Church will win. The Church has lots of blessings and we have lots of role models,” Shepard said. “It will set our hearts on fire and with the help of the Blessed Mother, the saints and the Holy Spirit our Church will stand strong and flourish.”

St. George credited the work of Pope Benedict XVI and his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, for inspiring youth and reminding them of the important role they have in society and the important voice they have in their Church. She said it is true she lives in a society where the media confuses sex and sexual love, and where medical ethics put aside a respect for life to reach greater scientific heights. But when one person stands for life, that might give the courage for another person to stand for life, and another and another.

“What you do matters, and it allows God’s love to grow exponentially,” said St. George, who is originally from Tampa. “In society there is no focus on eternal life, and focus on material things. But God’s love is so much bigger. We have to know that any and all issues come down to respecting life.”

As they focus on the importance of working for the poor and impoverished, focusing on prayer and respecting life, the three young adults said young people are ready to lead the Church of the future. They want to stay close to the sacraments and hope to continue to be optimistic vessels of peace in times of scary uncertainty.

“The time for mercy is now,” Shepherd said. “We need to reveal God’s mercy and pray for God’s graces.”