Basically, being a Catholic is awesome!

I used to think that my religion was a small part of my life, to be put in a box and taken out once a week for an hour on Sundays. But in recent years, I have become more involved with my faith by going to youth groups, pilgrimages and Faith conferences, and now looking back on my life so far, I have realised that Catholicism has been surrounding every aspect of my life. I went to Catholic schools - St Kentigern's and St Mary's - and all my family are practising Catholics and so so without my faith, life wouldn't make sense to me. Another thing is that recently I was looking through my 'friends' list on Facebook and well over three quarters of my contacts are Catholic and I have made life-long friends from being more involved with the Church. Basically, being a Catholic is awesome!

God can do amazing things in my life

Well i have been brought up in a catholic family and attended church on a weekly basis but never really understood my religion until i started to attend youth events such as impact and going on pilgrimages to Lourdes and WYD 08. These events changed everything for me and made me realise what my faith meant to me and how God can do amazing things in my life. However, more recently i was part of a ministry team at a camp in california working for the salvation army. This was again a life changing experience for me, i experienced the differences and similarities of two different denominations of christianity. I was also able to preach about my religion and allow others to start to understand different concepts such as transubstantiation and the importance of mother mary in our lives. A brilliant moment was when i realised the importance of the scriptures and how praying to god through the bible can help you get through some very stressful and difficult times in your life, these which i experienced helping under-privileged children from the inner city of San Francisco. All these things have allowed my faith to grow a great deal and allowed me to develop a personal relationship with God instead of just turning up to church once a week. Bring on WYD 11

God in the driving seat of my life

My parent's brought me up with a really strong belief in God and of His love for His people. Their example led me to my own understanding and deepening of my faith. So the foundations of my faith were built on rock, and when the winds of my parents splitting up blew and the rain came, my faith stood strong. Yes, there were definitely rough patches and my beliefs about sex and marriage in particular were thoroughly shaken and there were times when I couldn't feel God: I just felt lost and hopeless, but I kept believing that He was carrying me through, and that He did. Matthew 11:28 was a verse that kept appearing at these times when I was ready to fall apart, and was a much needed lifeline: 'I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls'. So though I have endured struggles and hardships, these have in fact only brought me closer to God. Though I feel close to God, I often need to remind myself of this fact, and the fact that I should be placing God in the driving seat of my life, rather than letting myself get swept along with not much thought. So that's where I'm at the moment, trying to place all my trust in God...

Not a burden but a grace

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.

Trusting in God

The last year wasn’t a particularly easy one for me. After receiving my a-level results and not gaining my place at university I decided to repeat my last year at school, despite many people telling me it would be extremely hard. It wasn’t until my friend went off to university themselves that it really hit home and I felt very lonely. At the same time, home wasn’t very peaceful with arguments pretty much the norm. I found it increasingly hard to concentrate to believe that this was God’s plan. After all I felt like everyone was disappointed in me, why would God be any different?
With my friends off at university, the people I always talked to about everything gone, I bottled everything up inside. Church became more of a chore than a choice and I felt like I could no longer feel God.
I got asked if I would do the Philip course and agreed as at the time I didn’t have much else to do. One of the things we looked at whilst there was all about the Father’s love. One line stuck in my head; ‘no matter what you do, I shall always love you.’ I realised that God hadn’t left me, he wasn’t disappointed in me, and I had turned away from Him! After this I began to take more interest in church again and it no longer felt like such a chore.

Daydream Believer

When I was about 10 years old, I used to go to church every Sunday but sometimes I really didn’t want to go. My parents would often wake me up to get ready for church, but I often used to shout because I didn’t want to go. But as parents do, they made me go, and how thankful I am to them now.

I used to sit in mass, daydreaming and messing about and not concentrating on the priest at all. I felt like I didn’t understand what was going on, so why should I listen? Anyway as I got older and started high school, my thoughts began to change as I started to learn about God and his teachings. Normally I would find it hard to just sit and listen in lesson, but listening to my teacher talking about God seemed so easy. Sundays came and went and every week parts of the mass became much clearer. Not only did I want to start going to mass on a Sunday, but I used to set my alarm to get up and get ready for mass!

I felt like God was with me, wherever I was, whatever I was doing, I knew he was helping me, and now when I look back and think that I never wanted to go to church on a Sunday, I am grateful to not only my parents, but God as well for helping me get where I am today.

So Much More to Live For

I love being Catholic. Before I took my faith seriously, life was good, and I was happy, but looking back, I see that something was missing, and there was an emptiness inside me. Now my faith is a big part of my life, and it doesn't hold me back from anything I want to do, but it gives me so much more to live for.I know I have a reason to live, and it's to love and to serve God. It is often a massive struggle within - to love God, and follow His teachings given to me through the Church, even though everything the world tells me often seems to go against that... But when I'm praying, I feel strong and close to God.I have found that we can serve God in everything we do. Not just for 1 hour a week in Mass; but wether I'm praying a rosary, or out for a ride on my motorcycle, I know God is always there with me, and we can offer Him all that we do.

The Steady Struggle For Truth

As I write this rather a large part of me feels that being a young catholic today is in fact very much like being a catholic of any age. It brings, I assume, much the same joys, struggles, hopes and fears. In fact I consider one of the most beautiful aspects of my Catholic faith the unity it gives me with so many others of all ages, of all walks of life.
One thing that surprises me however is how a path that has been trodden by so many before does not get any easier to follow, you would have thought the track would get wider and smoother over the years! It seems not. It can be tempting to wonder why I cannot live by the lessons that others have learnt, why I cannot be satisfied by the solutions that others have come up with. The more I journey the more I find that it is only in allowing my heart to ask again that I truly encounter God. It is the search for truth and life that makes faith meaningful, and it is the discovery of meaningful faith that makes my life true.
It is that discovery of true life in Christ that enables me to follow the narrow path, challenging though it is in today’s society. I have found one of the gifts of youth is the freedom and flexibility I have to commit time to His ends, and in offering what I have my life takes on a whole new dimension. True, there are exhausting weeks when I wonder if life wouldn’t be easier some other way, but as my favourite young saint Bl Pier Giorgio Frassati wonderfully expresses “To live without faith, without a patrimony to defend, without a steady struggle for truth, that is not living, but existing.”

Live the Life

My name is Charlotte Sadler and I was raised a Catholic. I have never minded going to Church because for as long as I can remember I have found ways to get involved in the Mass: Altar serving, reading, sacristan, youth worker or little things like partaking in the offertory.

However, I never truly understood the importance of what I was taking part in at Mass until my priest invited me to start going to the Faith Conference, a movement set up 30 years ago to help young people grow in their faith. Their conferences are certainly the highlight of my summer and my Christmas Break and where I have met the people who have inspired me. When I started going to Faith I found it rather overwhelming at first and when I sat at my first talk I can remember thinking after that I didn’t understand a word of that. But, “ask and you will receive” and I received better understanding of my Faith.

Some of the people that I met and who I found most inspiring are the Sisters of the Gospel of Life who work with women who are having a crisis pregnancy. It became clear to me after meeting the sisters that it was one thing to say you’re Pro-life but another thing to live that out. So, when I go back to College and my peers ask me about it, I use a lot of the stories and things the sisters have taught me just by their example to help me to put my idea across clearly and I challenge my friends to think about the issues they ask me about just as the Word of God should challenge all of us.

Finding My Faith

Hi there, people say you don’t truly understand things unless you investigate and find out for yourself. That is how I found my Catholic faith.
I’m Jon Lord, and I have just started my second year of studying journalism at the University of Central Lancashire.
I was brought up into a Catholic background but only in the last couple of years has my faith truly meant something to me.
The experiences of prayer, forgiveness and bonding with other young people have all helped in changing me from a passive spectator in faith to someone overjoyed by God’s love and mercy for us all.
To know that you are part of God’s plan, a child before Him, fills me with delight and freedom.
It’s not easy being a young Catholic though. Most of my friends are non-Christian and it’s often difficult to talk to them about my faith. But my ‘suffering’ is nothing in comparison to the many Catholics all over the world who are persecuted and oppressed for their beliefs. That is what drives me on to share my faith and God’s good news. It’s a great challenge to share our faith with those who do not have the same beliefs. But it’s an opportunity to bear witness to our Lord and show His love through our actions.
English Martyrs church, in Poulton-le-Fylde, has really helped me belong to a community of faith; a feeling of unity that is so important.
I really treasure my faith now and find it an honour and privilege to serve God.

Thank God for what he has done for us

Being a young Catholic means the world to me, without my faith I think I would feel a bit lost, because it has brought so much to me.
God has placed me in such a loving and understanding family, also God has given me the chance to meet so many amazing friends, they’re my life; you mean so much to me, without you people in my life I would not be where I am today, the support you give me is much appreciated.
A whole part of life is growing up, so many challenges and opportunities have popped up for me, it’s been a bit up and down but my faith has been a big part, along side my family and friends pushing me along.
My mum always says “its your Sunday duties to thank God for what he has done for us, listen to your heart” this little saying keeps popping in my head when my mates used to say
“what is the point in it? just come out, ignore it, it’s nothing!”
Well it’s not nothing to me it’s a big part of me and with out it I would not be who and where I am today.
Going to Lourdes is a major link in my life, being with the youth section of Lancaster diocese looking after our youth and our VIP’s in Lourdes it’s so rewarding to help out, having the opportunity to go . It’s amazing, its such a laugh to meet with old friends and to have the opportunity to make new ones, to join in with the social life but also find peace to take time out of my life! Lourdes has helped me experience youth work which has directed me more to do work here at Castlerigg Manor our diocesan youth centre. I have been given the opportunity to stay another year and I love it, having such a laugh allowing young people, to learn in an informal environment about faith and everyday life and through this, it is helping me to find out who I am, I have found more confidence in my self and I know for a fact we are all apart of God’s family and he is always going to be there for us, you and me!

Keeping the Faith Alive

Today’s world seems to encourage people to pursue careers and become as successful as possible whilst making as much money as possible on the way and the true values of a happy life are often forgotten. Although I am currently studying at university and hoping to end up in an enjoyable career, I have not forgotten what I have been taught as a young Catholic, which is that money and wealth have little value compared to the generosity and compassion we Catholics show to one another. Treating others as we would wish for them to treat us is much more important. Being a young Catholic at university has opened my eyes to realise how many young Catholics there are who regularly attend Mass and keep up their faith and made me realise that there are many of us out there and that we are the next generation of the Catholic Church. It is up to us therefore to keep our faith alive and continue to learn about our faith in order to then teach younger generations.

Challenges We Face

John Paul Evans, 27, Great Eccleston

As young people growing up and trying to find our way in life, there are many challenges we face from friends, television and media that all have an impact on our lives. Being a young Catholic person is not in keeping with the norms of what is presented as the "real world", world where you can choose to love God - but don't tell anyone in case you offend someone who doesn't believe in God. Yet in spite of these pressures I still love God - because He loves me. I am fortunate to have grown up being an altar server since I was almost 8. Now nearly 20 years later I still love to serve at Mass, and it is this active participation at the Holy Eucharist that has been how I have lived my faith. Despite the challenges faced at school, that of being bullied by non-Catholic children for going to church, I never stopped attending or serving at Mass. Now I look back and thank Our Lord for these blessings. I say blessings because this is what Christ Jesus taught us, "Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account" (Mt. 5: 11)

Hope beyond hopes!

My faith means a lot to me. I know that as long as I have my faith, there will always be someone beside me who loves me and wants to protect me, no matter what troubles and difficulties I face in life. This is especially important to me, because I have a disability, which should keep me back from things and be a burden but I feel that it isn’t. I feel that God has provided me with the tools and friends necessary to cope, continue and excel in what I do. I have also, over the last year or so, been on several pilgrimages and diocesan events with the Lancaster Diocesan Youth Service. At these, in peaceful environments, I have been able to discuss with others what their faith means to them and say what I felt in return, which in some way feels different than just talking about religion in school or at church. This sharing brings a new dimension to my faith – to discover that others are trying to live what I am trying to live. These experiences have helped me to be able to put the everyday problems of life into a new perspective, and have given me wonderful, peaceful experiences, new friends. They’ve made me feel great and probably improved me as a person. I would suggest such events to any young person in the diocese who wishes to feel closer to God, or build on their faith, because it has had that effect on me. I feel that as long as I have my faith there were always be hope no matter the situation. I find it difficult to fit my faith into my busy schedule as I’m sure most people do, but I’m also sure that with how much God loves us, we should at least show him some token of our love in return.

Miracles never cease to happen

Catherine Newton, 18, Kirkham

Faith is what you need to get by in this world. If my friends or other people were to ask me where God is in my life or what has He done, I would say God created everything around us, He even created me. He helps guide me towards what is right and is that little voice inside me.

There are many challenges that come with having faith but now I am older I have a greater knowledge and understanding and find it easier to practise my faith.
I am very privileged to be brought up as a Catholic as it helps me through everyday life and I know God is always watching over me. Over the last two years I have deepened my faith thanks to being part of the annual diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes. I have been twice already and am looking forward to going next year and celebrating the 150 year anniversary of the apparitions. When in Lourdes last year I went in the baths and I found this very emotional as I saw a miracle take place with a lady within the diocese. This helped my faith grow and made the experience greater. All I have to say is that I’m proud to say that I am part of the Lancaster Diocese and am looking forward to Lourdes 2008.