'Taking courage' for their faith

Participants of the Orlando Diocese Young Adult Day of Reflection spend an hour of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament before celebrating Mass with Bishop Thomas Wenski. About 40 young adults gathered Oct. 25 at Resurrection Parish in Lakeland.

FC PHOTO | JEAN GONZALEZ
Participants of the Orlando Diocese Young Adult Day of Reflection spend an hour of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament before celebrating Mass with Bishop Thomas Wenski. About 40 young adults gathered Oct. 25 at Resurrection Parish in Lakeland.

JEAN GONZALEZ | THE FLORIDA CATHOLIC

Posted: 11.03.09

LAKELAND | At 24, Katrina Wolfe wants to establish a faith to call her own.

Although she attends the same parish her parents had attended before moving to Pennsylvania, Wolfe knows it is her responsibility and her desire to form roots within the community. When her parish, Resurrection in Lakeland, formed a young adult ministry, Wolfe attended gatherings with an open mind.

“At first I was kind of out of the loop, but people came and talked with me. Everyone was nice, but they don’t pressure me to come back. They just told me what was going to be happening and said if I’m interested, I should go ahead and attend,” said Wolfe, who will attend the University of South Florida in Tampa in the spring.

She welcomed the opportunity to talk about God with people her own age. So when her parish hosted the Orlando Diocese Young Adult Day of Reflection Oct. 25, she sent an invitation through Facebook to her little sister, Kristina.

“She said the group rejuvenated her faith and invited me to get more involved,” said Kristina Wolfe, 19, who laughed as she said, “I really hoped it wasn’t some kind of rally.”

And it wasn’t. For more than seven hours, 40 young adults gathered for reflection, prayer, worship, song, adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, Mass and dinner. Kristina Wolfe said she loved the group activities.

“I have never been to adoration with people my own age. It was so touching and so cool,” said the Tampa-area Hillsborough Community College student. “I’m glad my sister invited me.”

The two sisters agreed that many times faith is not a top priority for people their age. Katrina Wolfe added while young adults might not care about the spiritual part of their life, “they don’t know what they’re missing.”

“I’m worried about the future, but I want to talk about God. I want that a part of my life,” she said.

Mark Kelly of Holy Spirit Parish in Lake Wales asks Bishop Wenski to bless an item following Mass during the Orlando Diocese Young Adult Day of Reflection that challenged those gathered to “Take Courage — Get Up, Jesus is Calling You!”

About 40 other young adults of the same mindset gathered for the diocesan event that challenged them to “Take Courage — Get Up, Jesus is Calling You!” Keynoter Aaron Thompson, director of music at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Madison, Wis., shared his musical talents and stories with the young adults that encouraged them to listen to God’s call.

“We are in a battle for life. The concern of the church is not about politics, it’s not about the physical world, but for the eternal soul,” said the recording artist and father of four. “And that is a battle that has been going on a long time. ... Prayer is a powerful weapon.”

Following adoration, which included song, meditation and Benediction, the young adults joined the Lakeland congregation to celebrate Mass with Bishop Thomas Wenski. In his homily, the bishop asked the congregation to ask, with faith, what God is calling them to and to ask what they are asking of God through prayer.

“Faith in Jesus must be a faith in Jesus crucified. You cannot remove the cross from his message,” he said. “Accept the risks of discipleship with eyes wide open.”

Amanda Livermore, director of young adult ministry at Resurrection Parish, said young adults are “hungry for the truth” as they “are discerning vocations, building foundations within our families, choosing career paths and finding our own identities within the Church.”

“We are young and full of life in the Church, bringing a new energy to old traditions,” she said. “Through this ministry, the Holy Spirit has breathed life into adoration, Mass and understanding of the teachings of the Church.”

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