Youth Speak News

TORONTO - Twenty-two students journeyed through downtown Toronto on May 16 with bags of sandwiches for the homeless as part of a Grade 11 leadership and peer support course at Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton C.S.S. Night School. 

The students were led by their teacher, David DiMauro, otherwise known as “Papa Bear,” who was very happy they were able to go on this trip.

VICTORIA, B.C. - At the invitation of Whitehorse Bishop Gary Gordon, eight young Catholics associated with the Catholic chaplaincy at the University of Victoria (UVic) experienced a 10-day mission tour of the Yukon. 

“I went to find a new connection to God’s creation,” said Anna Ott, 19, who is visiting from Germany. “I hoped to give other Christians hope that there are young people out there who confess their faith through their everyday life.”

Praying to patron saints can be particularly helpful to young people of faith, guiding them through difficult situations, said Fr. Francois Mifsud, chaplain at Toronto’s University of St. Michael’s College.

Patron saints are offered to Christians as role models, associated with issues that matter to individuals, said Mifsud.

“When you read the Gospel, some people say it’s too hard, it’s too much for me,” Mifsud said. “(Patron saints show that) for young people… being a Christian is possible, even though it is challenging.”

The cross is a sacred symbol of Christianity. It represents Jesus dying on the cross for our sins and is the most important symbol we have. However, it can be used in a disrespectful manner, especially when it comes to the fashion and entertainment industries. 

A few years ago, some friends and I were shopping in downtown Toronto. We walked into an ordinary clothing store and near the front were crosses adorned with fake crystals.

To help raise money and awareness for poverty and homelessness, about 265 Catholic high school students pitched tents outside Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland, Ont., May 3 to show their solidarity with the less fortunate.

Hosted by ShareLife in co-operation with the archdiocese of Toronto’s Office of Catholic Youth, the inaugural Tent City event in Midland didn’t go as planned. A thunderstorm that blew through broke tents and sent students from the Toronto, Durham, Dufferin-Peel, Simcoe-Muskoka and La Conseil Scholaire de Centre-Sud Catholic school boards to an overnight sleep inside the Shrine.

We are often reminded that the times when we cannot find time for the Lord are when we need Him most. This is especially applicable to students near the end of the school year.

About this time each year I take the time to look back on the year past and ponder how I can make improvements for the future.

MISSISSAUGA, ONT. - To connect and give back to their school’s founders, Grade 12 students at Holy Name of Mary College School travelled to Krakow, Poland, where the Felician Sisters have a strong community.

From April 25 to May 3, nine students from the Mississauga, Ont., school volunteered at three institutions run by the sisters,  soup kitchen, a kindergarten class and a home for the elderly.

“The sisters showed a really transparent joy and love in the name of Jesus,” said Jim McLevey, Grade 12 religion teacher and chaplain. “I was overwhelmed by them and it caught us off guard. The students were really overwhelmed by the beauty of what the sisters are doing and who they are.”

Lack of Holy Communion, the availability of water and a failed media structure were only some of the problems faced by Canadians at World Youth Day in Madrid, an evaluation from nearly 6,000 young Canadians, 24 bishops and more than 100 priests, deacons and religious found.

“So it was fraught with logistical difficulties, some of which are linked to the fact of any large event, but some clearly to a lack of preparation and foresight,” said Fr. Thomas Rosica, who at the request of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops spearheaded the formal evaluation of the Spanish event in 2011. 

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - As part of the Change the World campaign for National Volunteer Week, ACCESS Charity ran its fourth annual Youth Making A Difference Conference at the Blessed Trinity Catholic Centre in Mississauga. 

In line with the conference’s theme “Desire to Inspire,” the speakers shared their own stories as inspiration for the 180 students who took part in the April 26 event. ACCESS (Allowing Children a Chance at Education) is one of Southern Ontario’s largest youth-run charities.

When I was little, I told myself that school was only for a little while. Afterwards, I would get a job, earn money and then live happily ever after. Of course, that was before I learned about recessions, resumes and retirement funds. Suddenly, my friends and I were looking for volunteer opportunities to put on our resumes that would get us jobs which could earn us money to pay for universities that give us degrees required for careers that would allow us to buy houses… and it goes on.

Meanwhile, I still fall into the habit of telling myself after Masses, conferences and confessions that I’ve learned my lessons, that I’m clean, renewed and can be the perfect Catholic. Then I disappoint myself a week later and fall back into self-imposed depression.