Being a young Catholic today has become increasingly more difficult with pressures to conform to a very unreligious society from which young Catholics can feel alienated and like myself are persecuted for their faith, and the challenge is to listen to what Christ said, “if they Persecuted me, they will persecute you too” (John 15:20). These words are very familiar to me as my parish priest back home in Jersey was always reminding me of them; Christ gave us these as a warning and is a reference to all who believe in Christ that you will endure hardships in the name of Christ which is the struggle of being a young Catholic today. This message however is of great hope and comfort that Christ was telling us of how with His Crucifixion He shares in our sufferings and hardships, and was the confrontation He had throughout His ministry when dealing with society, and in knowing this it is an important call I feel for young people to hold firm to the Truth which is Christ and manifested in His Church. It is a call to follow Christ more closely, which we all try to do but speaking from experience there are times where as a young person you can find yourself amercing yourself into society as it seems the easiest option and seems the most desirable. To do this we are indirectly rejecting Christ by accepting a society which has rejected Him. It becomes a challenge and a great pain to know that you have the truth but no one can see and they laugh it off. The secular and the sacred move further apart and is young Catholics job to determine how to strike a balance between the two through prayer, the Church and hope in the risen Lord who gives us hope through having overcome persecution by rising from the dead, so I know that holding on this we can be saved. I have always believed that the best way to live out faith in this way is for young people to get as involved in their church communities as much as possible otherwise they will not only be distanced from society but also fellow Christians which can lead to a loss of faith. Coming together as young Catholics today is hugely important and at home and here in Lancaster I have been very lucky that there are many opportunities for sharing faith and living out faith together but we need to always be renewing our faith and bringing others to faith who are willing to endure the hardships of being a Catholic today with us not as a burden of course but as a grace.
