To Contact Us
Write:
PO Box 1603
Lafayette, IN 47902
Phone:
(765) 742-2050
Fax:
(765) 742-7513
E-mail
our office
Buy, Sell, Trade or Rent with Classified Advertising
Happening ... in the Local Church
 This
year’s annual Frassati Society conference drew more than 140 young
adults. Far left are conference emcee Father Eric Underwood, Frassati
director Alle Owens and conference director Elaine Pitcock. (Photo by
Caroline B. Mooney) |
By Caroline B. Mooney
The
Catholic Moment
NOBLESVILLE — A change in locations brought a spike in attendance — more than 140 young adults — to the 14th annual Frassati Society Conference, held July 10-11 at St. Theodore Guerin High School.
The conference was previously held in Lafayette over the course of three days. Aimed at young Catholics, aged 18 to 35, the weekend offers talks by nationally known speakers, Masses, reconciliation, a Eucharistic procession and time to socialize.
“A lot of our community that is active is in this area, so holding the conference at Guerin makes it easier to reach out,” said Elaine Pitcock, 26, Frassati Society conference director, who was attending her seventh conference. She is a member of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, Carmel.
“We wanted to get the word out that the diocese does offer this for people and just have them come and be a part of it,” she said. “I hope everyone is open to the Holy Spirit and what he has to tell them. I think we can grow in faith and fellowship with each other. We have to develop the faith personally.”
The conference theme, “I Thirst,” was different originally, “but someone had mentioned that Mother Teresa has a meditation about ‘I thirst’ and it came up again in a Frassati women’s book study,” Pitcock said. “It seemed like that was what we were supposed to use.”
“I’m excited about the theme — I think that ‘I thirst’ is something that gets ignored,” said Father Eric Underwood, conference emcee and associate pastor at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception and St. Lawrence Parish, Lafayette. He has been involved in Frassati for 11 years.
“We tend to miss the reality that Jesus is thirsty,” he said in the opening talk. “He is thirsting for us. Jesus dealt with the question of thirst two times on the cross. The first time they were trying to get him to drink wine mixed with gall, something that would deaden his senses and move him closer to death. He refused. Later on, he said, ‘I thirst,’ and they gave him vinegar.
“... His thirsting was not for vinegar, it was not for water, it was not for anything common — it was a thirsting for each of us,” Father Underwood said. “The thirsting for each of us was picked up by St. Therese of Lisieux when she talked about how Jesus … wants each of us to be his. It was from St. Therese that Mother Teresa tapped into the phrase, ‘I thirst.’ In every one of her Missionary of Charity houses, next to every crucifix, are the words, ‘I thirst.’ Usually not too far from that there is a picture of St. Therese of Lisieux.”
He said the Frassati Society embodies that thirst, “that desire to give our hearts completely as Blessed Giorgio Frassati did, to let it become alive in this world. I invite you to immerse yourselves in the love of Jesus in his call to satisfy, to quench his thirsting by the gift of yourself.”
The Frassati Society has a new director, Alle Owens, and a board of trustees made up of young priests.
“In recent years, as people got older and moved out of Frassati, new members have not been coming in,” Father Underwood said. “We revised things and in just a couple months, we have seen incredible growth. ...
“We are seeing that there really is a hunger for the faith,” he said. “It is nice that we are able to provide something that is timely, that fits in with young adults’ schedules.”
Owens, 24, also a member of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish, said that Frassati wants young adults to be thinking about “how is God calling them in this role of evangelization, especially in our diocese. How is God calling you to get involved in the Frassati Society and to help spread the faith to continue what has been so good to us?”
She said the move to a more central location made it easier for young families, especially those with children, to attend.
“The cost was down significantly this year with no hotel fee,” she said. “I just want to give everyone who came an experience of God, an opportunity to hear the speakers, go to adoration, and have fellowship and an opportunity to grow in a community of faith with other Catholics their age. Hopefully, people will come away from this weekend being able to go out and live their faith in a stronger way than they had been before.”
It
was the fifth conference for Jennifer Clark, 27, a member of the cathedral
parish in Lafayette. She will leave in September to join the Sisters of St.
Francis of the Martyr of St. George in Alton, Ill.
“The Frassati Society has helped me develop knowledge of the faith, a really deep spirituality,” she said. “It is not only just what they teach, but the people you are with. ... There are always really good speakers, and there is plenty of time to socialize and get to know people. There is also time to relax and have that deep spiritual feeling.”
Alex Titus, 25, has been involved with the Frassati Society since high school. Now in dental school and married with a 14-month-old son, he came to the conference with his wife, Sydney.
“I like the community here,” he said. “While I was at Purdue, I came back for conferences, and I still try to go to events. We are always looking for good Catholic community and that is here with Frassati. I went to Destination Jesus retreats in high school, but there’s nothing like this for young adults. This weekend is awesome. It’s a good refresher, a good chance to be around good people and the religious who are here.”
Patrick Shaw, 21, a member of St. Alphonsus, Zionsville, said he went to a Frassati meeting with a FOCUS group at Ball State University and liked it a lot, so he wanted to come again.
“This is my second conference — when I went to one in Lafayette I really liked the Eucharistic procession,” he said. “I enjoyed that and the weekend was a good experience so I wanted to come back. I heard there were going to be a lot of good talks here. I’m trying to strengthen my faith and learn more about God.”