These three things
By Steven Polley
Director, Office of Youth Ministry
My timing is a little off for this column,
but other topics have seemed to fall into place better. Of course it would not be right if I did not
take at least one opportunity to write a little something on the retirement of
Brett Favre from the Green Bay Packers. Needless to say I was a little disappointed
as I had hoped that he would give it one more year. But too, I knew that this time would come and
that with all things the Packers and everyone will move on. So hopefully I can take this concept of moving
on and bring some light to my words for this column.
Over the last several months there have been
a couple of things that have been reoccurring.
The first is the Scripture from Revelation, 21: 5, “See, I make all
things new”. The second is the song, “Be
Not Afraid”. I don’t know what it is,
but both of these have been sending powerful messages to me in times that I
probably need it the most, but least expect it.
Of course the song is one of those songs that everyone knows and can
sing. For myself
as a parent, it was a song that I sang frequently to my kids, hopefully sending
a message that God is always present and taking care of them. I know that “Be Not Afraid” is a song that
Heather is now singing often.
As I ponder these two things, I am drawn to
our young people who again are nearing the end of another academic year. For many it may be the last few weeks before
their final exams in this year of college.
For others it is looking to graduation and still to others the knowing
that they are ready to move to the next year of school. But in each case there likely are many
thoughts of wonder and yes, fear. Maybe a fear of the unknown and what lies
ahead.
I believe that there is a faith that runs
very deep in the people of southwest
You may be asking yourself what any of this
has to do with Brett Favre. Right after Brett
announced his retirement, I began keeping a close eye on the Packer’s
web-site. Rather quickly this article
came up: “Wounded Army officer has last ball thrown by Favre.”
For anyone who follows the Packers, we know that the last ball Brett threw was
an interception. Corey Webster from the
New York Giants intercepted the ball and of course kept it after the game. In the process, he gave the ball to Lt. Col.
Greg Gadson who had lost both legs in a roadside bomb
in
As I reflect on these years of ministry, one
thing that has remained constant is how the young people of our diocese through
ministry together have come to believe in one another. But on the other hand, I think that sometimes
they have struggled with a clear understanding of the mission of the
Church. And I think too that they can
easily become discouraged, frustrated and give up, often looking for the easier
way.
I feel that part of our responsibility as
baptized Catholics is to help them understand the Church’s mission and to help
them remain steadfast and strong and to not give up. So how can we continue to live our baptism by
helping our young people hear God’s voice saying, “Behold… and Be Not Afraid”?
Mark it off
By Steven Polley
Director, Office of Youth Ministry
I was in Wal-Mart last night getting some
supplies that I needed. As always, I had
my list with me, and once again my true personality came out. There I was, picking
something up that was not on my list. So, like always, I wrote the item down,
just so I could mark it off my list. As
abnormal as this may seem, the nice thing to know is that I am not the only
person in the world that does things like this.
It is all part of who we are and our personality traits.
I share this story because we are each looking
to the month of May. I remember growing up and we always had our prom in
May. Now we have schools that have prom
as early as the end of March. We hear it
time and time again, that it is difficult to schedule anything in May as
everyone is so busy. I am not
disagreeing with anyone, as I do realize how busy we are, not only during the
month of May, but all of the time.
I remember the years of teaching when it
was extremely difficult to do much true teaching during the last few weeks of
school. More than once I could have been
found guilty of simply marking things off the list. I will share more on this
later.
You might ask where I am going with this.
Well, once again the Holy Spirit jumped in when it was most needed, and once
again I was not expecting it.
I am taken back to the reflection from “The
Word Among Us” for Tuesday, April 22. If you subscribe
to this, I would invite you to go back a re-read this reflection. The author speaks about Paul’s travels and
his ministry during these travels.
I would like to share with you some of this
reflection: “When we look at Paul, we
can see that his life of faith was just that – life! Far from being a to-do list with tasks to be
checked off, our walk of faith is much more the process of living our lives for
Jesus – not just in active ministry but also in everyday, even mundane
interaction with others! Who knows how
God might be working in our hearts through our friendships as we encourage each
other through our daily trials, celebrate each other’s joys, and share our
victories or struggles?”
When I was teaching, how easy it was for me
toward the end of the year to cover a section in the book each day, give an
assignment and walk away with the mind-set that I had taught the lesson. All I was accomplishing was the task of
completing what I thought needed to be covered during the course of a
year. I was not teaching, nor were the
students learning. Simply, I was marking
things off the list.
So, as we enter this month of May and as
our seniors prepare to graduate, I ask you to ponder this question: How can we help our young people walk this
journey of faith not as a to-do list, but a process of walking this journey
with Jesus, our silent friend at our side?
I conclude by sharing the closing prayer
from this same reflection of April 22.
May it be a prayer of guidance for you during this month of May:
“Heavenly Father, slow me down! Help me to stay close to you no matter what
I’m doing. Lord, I give you the freedom
to move in my heart in your own way!”