Among the middle schoolers in the youth program at my parish are 50 teens preparing for First Communion. Among the high schoolers, 50 are preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. Some have been church attendees their entire lives. Some come to our teen gatherings far more often than they go to Mass. Some receive reinforcement of the Catholic faith from their parents. Some don't know who or what the Trinity is because the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have never been mentioned in their homes.
This is the great challenge of teaching the faith. People come. People are hungry. People need what God is offering through the Church. To invite all the personalities and histories and interests and lives to the table of the Lord takes patience, individualization, passion, relentlessness, faith, hope, and most of all, love. I do not always possess the love or the vision that I could, but like every human being, God uses what I give and stretches me to give more, to give differently, to give freely.
May the seed fall on hearts eager for the harvest.
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