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Back to Q & A By Topics How can I get more into my Faith?
I'll give you 7 simple tips for becoming St. You. 1. Nourishment at Mass. You don't eat - you don't grow. Mass is where we get our spiritual food. 2. Pray Pray Pray! Mother Theresa said "My secret is simple - I pray." Remember that the most important part of prayer is listening to what God has to say first. Pick up the bible every morning a read just a few sentences from the Gospels (Mathew, Mark, Luke, John) and think about how to live it out. Then talk to Jesus from your heart. Also, try the rosary, it takes under 15 minutes. 3. Choose the right friends. St. Thomas Aquinas said that your whole salvation can depend on who you choose as your friends. You'll find some good Catholic Christian community at your youth group. 4. Exercise your will by making right choices. - You can't do the right thing without God and God can't change your life for the better without you trying. 5. Go to confession. Go a minimum of once/year…but that is like minimum showers so go more if you can! Monthly would be awesome. You get some amazing grace in that sacrament to transform your life and leave behind sin. 6. Put your faith into action through love. Charity (and working for justice) for those in need & evangelizing your friends/sharing your faith with them. We're as apt to really believe what we do as we are to do what we believe. 7. Feed your soul at a yearly retreat and at your Parish's youth ministry programs.
Those are just some simple tips. Not too complex is it? You don't have to fly to a mountaintop in Tibet or find a spiritual guru to get close to God. That would be mean of God to create us, call us to be holy, and then make holiness something vague, ethereal, and hard to figure out! Jesus is THE Answer! Chris Stefanick Why isn't anyone into their faith anymore?
Lots of people are. You aren't alone - even though it feels like it sometimes. You can meet tons of them at our Diocesan events. (See the "Events" page on this site.)
That being said the world has definitely changed. You can divide society's approach to God into three historic categories. First, the pre-modern world (pre-history - 16th century) is the era in which God was perceived to be at the center of everything. The modern world (16th - 20th century) is the era where everyone say human history as the story of man's progress. Man was seen as being at the center of everything. God was perceived as being kind of on the sidelines as human history unfolded, a nice guy, but not essential. The modern era was like a story with no guiding Author (God) in charge. A story like that is bound to unravel. Unravel it did. WWI and WWII showed us that mankind isn't necessarily destined for greatness. This gave rise to our current era, which we still falling into - the post-modern world. God isn't perceived as being at the center of this world, nor is man, at the center is "nothing".
So in the past - people grew up in a world that provided a religious and moral framework/way of seeing everything in life. It was the way society thought. To get that view of life today takes work. (Youth groups help.) You have to be a rebel in the most fundamental way!
And it's a thing worth rebelling about!
We can see the depressing post-modern worldview played out in lots of ways. Kids are growing up facing a world that doesn't make sense. Following the stated theme of Seinfeld, the world is seen as "a show about nothing" - funny on TV, tragic in real life. Some of the music and video games young people fill their heads with reek of despair and nothingness. We live in an era that has seen more death through persecution and violent uprisings than any other era in history. It is an era where Jesus Christ, and with Him, the Church, which once united, formed, and ruled the heart of the Western World is being increasingly labeled as "irrelevant". It is an era that lacks direction. A huge survey done a few years back found that ¼ of all teens thought of killing themselves. No doubt - the world is pretty messed up.
What's the answer? Jesus. Period. He's the silver bullet. When we put him back at the center of life (instead of "nothing") life starts to make sense. Even in the face of struggles and suffering life has meaning, and even joy.
The world needs to know that now more than ever. So what's God going to do about it? YOU! He is sending you to "go make disciples" (see Matthew 28:18-20) at your High School, parish, sports team, and in your circle of friends. He needs you now more than ever. Be bold! Be a rebel! Be Catholic!
Jesus is THE Answer!
Chris Stefanick (Originally posted on the Diocese of La Crosse youth ministry page.) Why is it that money seems to draw people away from God?
Check out what Proverbs has to say:
"…give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and forget you and say, 'Who is the Lord?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God."
- Prov. 30:8-9
Some people with lots of money do fall into greed. Some wind up putting possessions before people and the relationships in their lives. Money can also lead someone to think that he/she is the source of every good thing in his/her life instead of God.
Because of all of these temptations the writer of proverbs prays for enough wealth, but not too much of it.
All that being said - if a person's life is rooted in love, prayer, humility and much generosity, God can use that person's wealth to bless them, their family, the Church, and the world around them - especially those in need.
Jesus is THE Answer!
Chris Stefanick (Originally posted on the Diocese of La Crosse youth ministry page.) I was wondering what do you do if a friend makes fun of your faith and is making you choose between your faith and them! It's just a problem I'm having...
Matthew 5:10-12
"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. "
~ JESUS
Congrats on a taste of persecution! Heaven is yours! Instead of being the "average teen" your faith makes you stand out enough to be a little bit mocked for it - and you can always count on some people mocking you when you stand up for anything right and good.
It's OK to discuss/debate/challenge faith issues between friends, but no "friend" mocks the faith of another any more than a friend would mock the mother of another.
Let your friend know how important your faith is to you - and that what they are saying is offensive, hurtful, and mean. If he/she still mocks it - I'm sorry to say that person is not your friend. People who consistently bring us down are no good for us.
Tell him/her straight out - "If I have to choose between you and God I'm choosing God! And if you're not going to respect what is most precious to me, I don't need to be around you." (Be encouraged by the martyrs, who, in similar situations, chose God over their own lives!)
When I started getting into my Faith I got a bit of mockery in High School. It hurt. Some of my old friends (who were "drinking buddies") and I no longer had anything in common once I gave up that kind of partying. I think they felt rejected because of it - but also it made them think about the things they were doing wrong and that made them uncomfortable. As a result they gossiped about me and made fun of me.
At the same time - MANY people started to admire me for my faith. And as I stood out for my faith some other people started to feel encouraged to stand out with me.
I started a prayer club (the "Breakfast Club") before school. On the national day of prayer we got 70 kids to pray around the flagpole in front of our school.
I wound up losing some of the wrong friends but I also gained some of the deepest friendships I ever had - some I still have today.
Years after I left my high school, people still remembered me for my faith. (My friends who were "famous" for how much they could drink were long forgotten - they are a dime a dozen.)
Keep standing out. Don't be average. Be a saint!
Jesus is THE Answer!
Chris Stefanick (Originally posted on the Diocese of La Crosse youth ministry page.)
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