Speaking Out

When you tell people you’re going on a service trip to New York, many question the nature of the trip. The connotation of a service trip can lead one to think of trips to Vietnam or Uganda, working in Third World countries to help the most recognizable poor. 

The struggles faced by the people living in the Bronx are often overlooked. But this wasn’t the case when I travelled to New York with classmates from my high school.

Music as a relaxing end to a long day of school is my refuge in times of stress. From the pressures of triple-essay deadlines to calculus crunch time, at day’s end I seek out music and my bed to provide solace in much the same way as I run to God for solace when I pray.

Prayer and music used to always be separate in my life. Sometimes I would pray, other times I would listen to music.

Occasionally I might play YouTube hymns as a combination of prayer and music, but not often. Then there were some days I wanted to listen to other genres of music but still wished to feel God’s presence. Finding music to fit this taste was very time consuming.

When I compare the number of hours I spend acquiring blisters and backaches travelling miles in a rowing shell to the time I spend at Mass or in prayer, I feel sheepish. To paraphrase St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:27, athletes chase after perishable wreaths. 

As a member of my university’s varsity rowing team, my days are structured around these wreaths: practice, second practice, regattas and recovery. 

I was recently speaking with a Jesuit priest about his work. The charism of a Jesuit priest is to go where there is the greatest need.

“What do you think is the greatest need in our city?” I asked him.

He told me that he thought that people didn’t seem to need anything. They have filled their lives with so many things. I thought this was ironic.

How is it that the greatest need in our society is that we have no need at all?

I began to think of myself: How true is this of my own life? I rarely let myself go hungry. I fill my schedule with commitments, I quickly run into new relationships and I consume more food than I need. I chase desires in many different directions all in efforts to satisfy my hunger. Everything is so readily available and easily accessible that I have never truly had to go hungry. My every whim is met instantly.

During Lent, I realize it is a time to do just the opposite of the ordinary. It is a time to leave our desires unchecked as it is a period to abstain from comfort. In Matthew, Jesus was “led by the spirit into the desert,” leaving all comfort behind.

For me, the chance to live out this belief came in the form of a unique initiative.

For five days this Lent, I left the comforts of my home behind. With a sleeping bag, pillow and the clothes on my back, I joined nine other students at the University of British Columbia as part of a national campaign called 5 Days for the Homeless. Together, we camped outside our campus bookstore in efforts to raise awareness and money for homeless youth in our city.

The past days have definitely pushed me outside of my comfort zone. It’s been cold and rainy and I’m beginning to dream of hot showers. We’re completely reliant on donations for food and basic necessities like toothpaste and deodorant.

Catherine Doherty, foundress of the Madonna House apostalate, is famous for, amongst other things, having brought the term “poustinia” to the Catholic Church. It is a term that refers to the cabins people go to for retreats of silence and solitude. Poustinia stems from the Russian word for desert. People spend time in these poustinia to encounter God more fully through prayer and fasting. Though far from luxurious, people often feel more fulfilled in the poustinia.

I have come to understand that fulfilment during my time without a home. Without the comforts of home, I have had to come to Jesus for that true fulfilment.

A Catholic Christian Outreach missionary once said to me, “We are afraid to wait long enough to feel that longing.”

What if this Lent, instead of reacting to every desire, you allowed yourself to go hungry? What would happen?

I urge you to be led by the spirit into the poustinia or desert of your heart just as Jesus was 2,000 years ago. See what happens. Allow your true appetite for something greater be restored. I know He won’t leave you thirsty.

(Hii, 21, is a human resources and international relations student at the University of British Columbia.)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,” reads the Gospel of John. While this opening verse will always be true, I wonder what John would have to say about taking the Word and, well, texting it.

That was the challenge I embarked on this Lenten season with the “Texting through Lent” calendar. Designed as a daily devotional calendar for teens and young adults, it attempts to incorporate various multimedia devices, especially cellphones, into Lenten reflections. When I saw this calendar hanging in the walls of my former high school, I knew it was a challenge I had to accept.

A simple classroom book study opened my eyes to the true essence of the Catholic faith: a yearning for effective and virtuous living.

Although the popular book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People included few references to Christianity or Catholicism, the relation to better Catholic living was clear — and further opened my eyes to the values of the Catholic faith.

The habits say the ultimate goal for an individual is to develop from dependence to interdependence, where one can work harmoniously in a co-operative environment.  It says we must be proactive and share a common vision.

Corinthians tells us we should treat our bodies with respect because they are temples of the Holy Spirit given to us from God.

According to the Childhood Obesity Foundation, approximately one-third of normal weight 20-year-olds will become overweight within eight years. So, with that in mind, I wonder why more of us don’t treat our bodies with the respect they deserve?

The seven deadly sins plague people every day.

Whether it is lust, greed, wrath, envy, gluttony, sloth or pride, Catholic youth need to do their best to overcome them. 

To do this, the seven cardinal virtues of temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, chastity and humility can be helpful.

My Catholic life really began at age 13, shortly before high school, during an inspiring talk at a youth camp. I learned a new word: Vocation, a noun: the specific calling unique to every individual.

Seven months after my high school graduation, I was exploring the library when I saw an old friend from elementary school. Over the last few years, he volunteered in a few camps, started handing out hosts during Communion and survived high school, along with the journeys of self-discovery that come with it.

A few weeks ago, I was shanghaied by one of my friends into attending a Bible study with Ottawa Christian Fellowship.

I must admit I was not particularly optimistic about this venture, given the brutal Ottawa winter in full swing at the time. Also, as a product of numerous retreats and Catholic conferences during high school, I was equally doubtful that I would learn anything new. So with a degree of scepticism, I followed my friend and her Bible study group into one of the major residences on the University of Ottawa campus.