Speaking Out

{mosimage}OTTAWA - Putting his personal and spiritual reflections to music once again, Joe Zambon successfully released his second CD, You Are I Am.

Are you stuck in a prayer rut and don’t know how to get out? When I was in high school my youth minister said that prayer ruts are the times when one is wandering — or stuck — in a spiritual valley.

One of the first journalism lectures I ever attended emphasized the importance of non-partisanship on the part of the reporter.

We’re a generation of youth missionaries, taught not only in church but in high school youth groups or campus ministries that it’s important to share your faith with others. I remember clearly the call to “propose” the faith rather than to “impose” it. Yet often, to share that faith we need to deepen that faith, which can involve throwing ourselves headlong into an organized evangelization or mission project. World Youth Days, Catholic youth conferences and mission trips are all increasingly part of the natural culture in our  universal church, which ultimately presents a different kind of faith test: fund-raising.

Some people describe the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award as a “do-it-yourself” growing up kit for all young people. To me, it has been a mind-expanding, people-meeting and life-changing experience.

On Easter weekend, my father handed me an article that began, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine”(Isaiah 43:1).

Alcohol is seen both as a substance of cultural pride and as a problem-causing drug. So where does it fit in for young Catholics? While certain Christian denominations practise complete abstinence from alcohol, recent studies of its health benefits cannot be ignored.

I can’t have a standard part-time job. My marks are high enough to get me the post-secondary options I’m interested in, but they could be a bit better. Many of my weekends are taken up by keeping on top of schoolwork or going to a meeting miles away... and I couldn’t be happier.

Many of us are familiar with 1 Corinthian 13, “Love is patient; love is kind…” I’ve heard the passage over and over but I have never given it much thought. I cringe when I hear the exchange of “I love you” and find it difficult to accept or to tell someone that I love them. I’m not sure if I have the capacity to love.

On Jan. 11, 2004, at 10 p.m. I walked into the emergency room of the Foothills Hospital in Calgary. My mother lay immobilized on a spine board. I prayed to God not to take her away from me.