Young people as witnesses to the faith demonstrate the Church’s energy, said Steve Grass, who is helping run Archdiocesan Youth Day at Mary, Mother of the Church, in Burnsville. They may not show it in ways others did in the past, he said, “but they’re showing ways through their social media, through their actions — that might be silent actions of just how they go about living their life.”
“You might not see them in prayer, we might not see them stepping into an adoration chapel,” he said, “but they’re being those witnesses every day in their schools, on their teams, wherever it might be — so just because we might not see them in an everyday fashion of what we think as a witness of Christ, they are out there and they have excitement and they want to show their love to others and their love for Christ.”
Brianna St. Amour
Bri St. Amour, who works in youth ministry at St. Ambrose in Woodbury, agreed. “We have teens stepping up in their public schools and leading Bible studies, pro-life groups, things like that in areas that we, as staff at parishes, cannot be” (doing), she said. St. Amour said she has seen teens, especially high school juniors and seniors, take on leadership opportunities “that we just don’t have the capacity to do.”
“I appoint you as witnesses” is the theme for this year’s Archdiocesan Youth Day Saturday, Oct. 16 from 6 to 10 p.m. The event will take place simultaneously at two parishes: Mary, Mother of the Church in Burnsville and St. John the Baptist in New Brighton. The four-hour event will include Mass, adoration, inspiring talks, music and conversation with Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Bishop Andrew Cozzens — Archbishop Hebda at Mary, Mother of the Church and Bishop Cozzens at St. John the Baptist.
As one way to keep the conversation going, participants will be able to “text” questions to the bishops during a question-and-answer session.
Steve Grass
St. Amour and Grass, who has worked in ministry in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis since 2002 but recently left parish work to take a full-time firefighting job, will serve as event emcees. They recently talked about the event and the strong faith they see in youths with “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley, in a show that will air at 9 p.m. Oct. 1.
St. Amour said AYD provides youths with an opportunity to encounter the Lord and Jesus, especially in the Eucharist, and also see “teens like me.”
“Maybe there’s four or five at my high school,” she said, “but then I can see there’s 100 in some of these parishes and throughout the archdiocese, and they get to see the witness of the bigger Church and the support that the bishops give them.”
“So, when it’s hard to step out to be a witness for Christ, they can remember, ‘I have a whole Church behind me,’” she said.
From previous Archdiocesan Youth Days, Grass said some of the memorable experiences from previous AYDs have included the time for prayer, seeing the bishops and other priests praying, and last year’s time for confession with Archbishop Hebda.
“The line for him was incredible,” Grass said. Afterward, many of the youths expressed strong interest in continuing to receive the sacrament of reconciliation, he said.
To learn more about Archdiocesan Youth Day Oct. 16, including links for group registration at the two parishes hosting the event, visit archspm.org/ayd21.
To hear the full interview with Grass and St. Amour, listen to this episode of the “Practicing Catholic” radio show. It also airs at 1 p.m. Oct 2 and 2 p.m. Oct. 3 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Jeremy Stanbary and Jeromy Darling, who discuss “Art on Tap,” a new offering from Open Window Theatre, and Catherine Huss, who describes the modest, high-quality swimwear she designs for the company she founded.
Listen to all of the interviews after they have aired at:
soundcloud.com/PracticingCatholic
tinyurl.com/PracticingCatholic (Spotify)
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