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Happening ... in the Local Church
 Deacon
Ralph Poyo speaks to teens about “Being Formed by the World.” (Photos by
Kevin Cullen) |
By Kevin Cullen
The Catholic Moment
KOKOMO — Mary Swinford was among 126 high-school students who abandoned the everyday world of cliques, status symbols and high-tech toys to focus on God at “The Call” retreat March 29-30.
“It’s a relaxed retreat, with great speakers,” said Swinford, 17, of St. Ambrose Parish in Anderson. “It’s really cool to be around people from other parishes. It’s not just your own little group.”
The
fifth annual event, held at St. Joan of Arc Church, attracted teens from 10
parishes across the diocese. Registration began at 8:30 a.m. on March 29 and
activities continued until nearly 11 p.m. that day. The teens awoke at 6:30
a.m. on March 30, then attended talks, skits, small-group sessions, games,
meals, musical performances, Mass and prayer gatherings until 7 p.m.
“The Call” featured several talks by Deacon Ralph Poyo, a nationally known youth speaker from Steubenville, Ohio. There were opportunities for Eucharistic adoration and reconciliation, too.
Barbara Heffernan, a St. Joan of Arc parishioner, was part of the 15-person “core team” that planned the event.
The goal, she said, was to foster “a deeper relationship with God, and maybe even a better understanding of our faith.”
“They’re able to meet kids their own age,” she said of the participants. “Getting a group of teens on fire for their faith is an incredible thing to experience.”
Often, teenagers say that “The Call” lets them celebrate their Catholicity, rather than defend it to non-Catholics, she said.
“Unfortunately, there is a lot of false information out there,” Heffernan said.
Hannah Peterson, 16, was attending her second “Call.” Now a student at Western High School, she attended parochial school through middle school.
“Last year, the first time, was awesome,” she said. “I was coming into youth group and it made me feel a lot more welcome to meet people.”
Catholics are usually outnumbered, she said, so it was refreshing to be surrounded by other Catholic teenagers.
“They want to worship God as you do,” she said. “Here, I’m a majority.”
Her friend, Kira Ginda, 15, of St. Joan of Arc, also was attending her second “Call.”
“It’s fun. There’s a lot of energy, music, and really good company,” she said. “By having us stay overnight, it makes it feel more like a church retreat, rather than just coming in for a few hours. That would be more like a class.”
Mingling with teenagers from other parishes, she said, was an eye-opener.
“You might not have someone (in your own parish) with the same problem. You may not have someone there who can relate,” Ginda said.
Deacon Poyo, she said, “is really an amazing speaker.”
His first, 45-minute, lecture was titled “Being Formed by the World.”
As Adam and Eve were tempted by Satan to reject God and eat forbidden fruit, the world strives to get teenagers to reject God’s love and forsake lives of faith, love and purpose.
“The world is forming you to do the wrong thing,” he said, but, “you have the ability to bear light. Satan is out to rob you of your identity, of who you really are.”
Modern culture is saturated with messages that promote immorality, shallow judgments and exploitative relationships.
“Guys are being formed to look at girls as objects of pleasure,” Deacon Poyo said. “You stare at the girl’s face and forget there’s a soul inside … we’re being trained to be predators.”
“False gods” abound, he said. They include sex, physical appearances, academics and sports.
As a teenager, for instance, Deacon Poyo was addicted to pornography and athletics; at age 15, he was one of the top soccer players in his age group in the United States and practiced four hours a day.
“If you place your value and worth on anyone or anything that can be taken away from you, you are putting it in the wrong place,” he said.
He asked the students to see “The Call” as a call from the Holy Spirit.
“God decided that today is the day to put you in this place,” he said. “… Ask yourself: ‘Am I worth really investigating, this weekend, what is the truth?’”