But then, I stop and realize that Jesus never changed his message. He had a passion for what he taught. He simply used another parable. Of course, I too have a passion for youth ministry, so I invite you to remain open to this continuous message. A message that hopefully is helping change lives.

We live in a society where consumerism is a major component. With this, I invite you to reflect on this question. If we go into a store looking for a particular item, and the salesperson tells us that they don’t carry that item or have it in stock, what do we do? We of course go to another store to get it. Other than the extra gas and time, this is no big deal, as we have found what we are looking for.

I recently was conducting another Confirmation retreat in one of our parishes. I always conclude the retreats with the question, "Through Confirmation, what is your new role in the Church?" Of course I am looking for the young people to respond that they will become more involved in different activities and ministries, but especially that they are committing to attending Mass every weekend and holy day for the rest of their lives -- a major commitment, but one that our Baptism and Confirmation call us to.

However, during this day, the conversation led to the youth participating in summer camps, youth rallies, TEC’s and other diocesan events. As I was sharing this, one young person said that they did not have these things in their parish. There was an obvious misunderstanding here, as I of course was speaking of diocesan events, and this youth thought that I was speaking of parish events. So I quickly explained this.

However, as I continued to share, invite and challenge these kids to participate in these events, I was perplexed in the sense of wondering why there had been this kind of response. Why would the youth of this parish not know anything about these diocesan events? Why would a young person, who is obviously very hungry for more, wanting to learn more about their faith, and deeper their relationship with Christ be placed in a position of saying, "We don’t have that here."

Remember my comment about going to the store? Could this also relate to our youth ministry? I cannot count the number of times people in our parishes have mentioned to me that they are losing the youth to other denominations and their youth groups. Could this be because our youth are saying, "We don’t have that here?"

Fortunately I was able to explain to this group that we do have it here. At least the diocese has it with our many different gatherings and events, and I was able to extend a sincere invitation to these youth and let them know that I will be getting information to their coordinator on these activities.

But regarding the parish life, my only hope is that each of you, the people of our parishes, will continue to respond in greater ways, to offer better youth ministry programs in our parishes. I extend an invitation to be of any assistance that I can. After all, this is part of my ministry, and I know that together we can make greater things happen. Let us move toward never having to say or hear, "We don’t have that here."