Spiritual Events Inspiring Young Adults

Recent spiritual events give Colleen Mallette encouragement and hope for our hurting young people.

It is easy to get discouraged these days for our young people in America. They are lonely, depressed, under pressure, bullied on social media, uncertain for our political and ecological future, and dealing with broken and merged families.

These stressed youth need stronger foundations to hold onto when life gets overwhelming, especially a foundation of faith that provides a purpose and dignity for their lives plus hope for eternal life in heaven. It can be difficult for parents to keep their young adult children going to Mass and following their Catholic roots when they first move away from home and are surrounded by non-Christian friends and professors. Parents are no longer their primary influencers, and faith isn’t something that can be forced.

However, there have been several events in recent months that can give us hope that young people are seeking that stronghold—and finding it.

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Last month at Auburn University in Alabama, five college girls started a prayer service that eventually grew to more than 5,000 attendees, and more than 200 students were baptized.

Last year in Asbury, Kentucky, what started as a campus worship event attracting several hundred students for one weekend, turned into 16 straight days of worship attracting more than 50,000 young people from all over the country. The Asbury University president declared, "We are seeing just a hunger from students and a hunger from guests and visitors whose hearts are stirred and who are desiring something greater."

Other colleges are watching these events and trying to duplicate them. They recognize the students need these to feel better about themselves. They know true, authentic, unconditional love can’t come from other people, and certainly not from social media; it has to come from a relationship with our Creator and Savior. That’s what these kids are getting at these events, and hopefully spreading it to others.

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This summer in Lisbon, Portugal, over 1.5 million young people attended the World Youth Day weeklong event. This was sponsored by the Catholic Church, but the volume of attendees included not just Catholic kids from all around the world. It was nicknamed the “Catholic Woodstock” by the locals. On the final night there were hundreds of thousands of youth hanging out in a field full of sleeping bags worshiping God and awaiting Mass to be celebrated by Pope Francis the next morning to conclude the celebration.

At this Mass, the Pope told the young people not to be afraid to change the world and to be God’s love to others. He assured them that God sees the good in their hearts and doesn’t want them to be afraid.

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Every January, there is a Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) retreat for young Catholics. They attract thousands of attendees from all over the world as well and provide renowned speakers, events, entertainment, access to Adoration and the sacraments, and an opportunity to meet many other Catholic young people. This year the Seek24 retreat will be in St. Louis, MO, January 1-5,2024 with the theme of “Be the Light—Encounter a deeper relationship with Christ and be Transformed.”

FOCUS also has parish and campus organizations at most larger state colleges, as well as conferences, international mission trips and retreats. Also available at public universities are vibrant Newman Centers to help young adults stay connected to their Catholic roots with sacraments, activities, and opportunities for community outreach.

For moms worried about sending their high school graduates off to a state college, I found this book to be a great graduation gift: How I stayed Catholic at Harvard: 40 tips for faithful college students.

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Stressed youth need stronger foundations to hold onto when life gets overwhelming, especially a foundation of faith that provides a purpose and dignity for their lives #CatholicMom

These events, organizations and book give Catholic moms hope for the future of our children. We still need to provide them with the foundation of education in our faith, an active prayer life including weekly Mass, and a focus on the importance and beauty of receiving the sacraments. But it is wonderful to know that these events are occurring around our country to be an additional outside source of encouragement in our young-adult children's spiritual journeys!

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