Help support our Youth- invest in their future through providing a Scholarship for our Youth to Sacred Heart College. Dear faithful – Brothers and Sisters in the Lord, I am sending this message to all the parishes of the Diocese and Lay Catholic Groups/Movements-CWL, KC, Marriage Encounter, Cursillo Movement, and Legion of Mary.
Very often we hear comments about the fact that the practicing Catholics in our Churches are getting old, and that there are not too many young people who will replace them. Often we hear members of our Catholic Groups and Movements saying: “We need younger membership to carry on our charism and service to the Church. We need new blood.” My friends, these issues raise painful and serious questions that we keep asking ourselves. What can we do at the parish and lay movement level? Have we done enough for our youth? Our Popes have asked us to take care of the academic and spiritual development of the youth, as the first priority in the Diocese. Pope Benedict XV1 strongly stated: “The future of a Country is in the hearts of the young…they need to be educated in values, over and above scientific and technical knowledge” (VIS, April 22, 2012). Pope Francis has encouraged us to “be an active presence in the community, as living cells, as living stones.”
While we have done a lot for our Youth during the past ten years in the Diocese of Peterborough, I believe it is not enough! We have created an Office for Vocations, Evangelization and Youth (VEYO) . Most significant has been the establishment of a Catholic College-Sacred Heart of Peterborough, upon the encouragement of the Holy Father Benedict XV!. It is something that will have a lasting and strong effect on evangelization efforts, and in preparing leaders for tomorrow. However, now the College is the youngest and most needy initiative of the Diocese.
As such, our challenges is to find ways and means to facilitate its growth. We need to send a tangible message to our youth that they are our most important treasure.
When we our young people reach the age for College and University, they need to receive concrete support and help. Encouraging words and lip service have no value, unless followed by real actions meant to assist and help our youth. An ideal and necessary way to assist post-secondary education is particularly through Scholarship and Bursaries. Therefore, a practical initiative that I wish to suggest to our parishes, Lay Catholic movements, and interested benefactors is to consider sponsoring scholarships and bursaries for young people enrolling at Sacred Heart College. In recent Deanery meetings in May, I shared with all the priests the idea of individual parishes and Diocesan Movements to establish and name a scholarship. The name could be in honour of the founder(s) of the parish or of a Lay Group/Movement, or a notable figure in the history of a particular parish of the Diocese of Peterborough.
Already, the Sisters of St. Joseph have chosen to dedicate some scholarships in honour of Sister Margaret Shannon, who was and outstanding educator. To be continued next week.