MORRISTOWN - Young people from parishes and Catholic high schools from every corner of the diocese - more than 1,000 - came to Delbarton School here May 1to be with Bishop Serratelli for a Day on the Eucharist, guided by the theme "Made Right in God's Sight by Faith." Activities for the day, which was hailed as the largest gathering of youth in the diocese's history, were designed to awaken thee teens' faith and inspire them to examine their lives in the light of those beliefs and, as Bishop Serratelli told them: " to share, to celebrate and to experience the gift of the Eucharist.."
"What a historic day in the history of this diocese," Bishop Serratelli declared to an overflowing congregation of youth in St. Mary's Abbey Church on the bucolic Delbarton campus.
The bishop told the teens: "We are glad you are here. Your presence here is strength - strength for you and strength for us. It's a gift to yourself as you grow in this central mystery of the faith. Most of all, you're giving a gift to the Lord - who desires to be with you - and truly wants to be - not simply your best friend, but the Lord and Savior of your life."
The youths and their adult chaperones from around the diocese had gathered in Morristown in the spirit of the late Pope John Paul II, declared Benedictine Abbot Thomas Confroy, who was among the many diocesan priests and Benedictine priests who also attended the seven-hour event.. "The pope made young people a top priority," the abbot said. "He wanted to be with the young Church."
Bishop Serratelli described the Eucharist as a spiritual meal - "the table that ties us to the past; the table that makes the present come alive; and the table that brings us to that table to which we are called at the end of our life."
The Eucharistic table of the Mass resembles a family dinner table, he said.
"We have a sense of our connectedness - one with the other," Bishop Serratelli said. "We have a sense of an environment of security. We learn to communicate and, ultimately, we learn to love. We are nourished by the bonds of love."
In a letter earlier this year to announce Eucharist Day, Bishop Serratelli called the event "an "opportunity for the young people of our local church to gather together with one another and their bishop in order to reflect on the Lord's gift of his Eucharistic presence to the Church."
"The real value of a Catholic education is to found in the values it instills and the life-long Catholic identity that it helps young people to establish," Bishop Serratelli wrote. "There is no more important Catholic value than an appreciation for the Eucharist since it guides and directs all that we do in our lives as Christians."
"Our parishes have been helping the faithful appreciate this great mystery of faith in so many wonderful ways," Bishop Serratelli wrote. "I am truly proud of the response of our diocese."
The Eucharist Day also featured skits, workshops on penance and the Mass, dinner with the bishop, Mass celebrated by the bishop with dozens of diocesan and Benedictine priests as concelebrants, and Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, placed in a monstrance that was blessed by Pope John Paul II and has been traveling around U.S. dioceses to stimulate prayers for vocations. The day concluded with Benediction.
The daylong events were organized by some of the young people from DePaul Catholic and Morris Catholic High Schools as well as youth from St. Anthony Parish, Passaic, and Our Lady of Victories Parish, Paterson. They created the skits, the outlines for keynote talks and the theme stemming from what the bishop expressed to the youth about the gift of the Eucharist.
In their keynote talks, three young adults infused their rousing, emotional and often funny talks with their own faith experiences and with pop-culture references - from celebrities such as Paris Hilton and fashions by the Gap to songs such as "Don't You (Forget about Me)" by Simple Minds. These young adults spoke about Jesus' "real presence" in the Eucharist, penance, our worthiness to receive Communion, the Eucharist's power to transform us and making the Eucharist a part of our lives.
Time was also set aside during the day so that the young people in attendance had the opportunity to receive God's forgiveness through individual confession in the Sacrament of Penance.
In his talk to the young people, Denis Mulrooney, youth minister of St. Cecilia Parish, Rockaway emphasized that Jesus' words "This is my body" as he broke bread at the Last Supper are to be taken literally.
"It's not symbolic. Jesus didn't say, 'This is like my body.'" Mulrooney said. "Jesus' real presence is in the Eucharist. With his words and actions, Jesus is offering us eternal life. It's the greatest gift you'll ever receive. In a physical sense, we can live without the sustenance of the Body and Blood of Christ. But without them, we can't live forever."
In a funny, self-deprecating talk, Kevin Ranieri, a 2000 graduate of DePaul Catholic High School, told the audience that his high-school years were tough. He blamed that on not being popular, smart or good looking - statements, which elicited empathic sighs from audience members.
Ranieri also spoke about another type of shortcoming - sin, for instance when we steal, break our promises, lie or gossip.
"But our worthiness (to receive the Eucharist) is found in our own self acceptance," he said. "God's fingerprints are on me. I can turn my screw-ups around. My worthiness is found in trying to do my absolute best. That will shine through."
Denise Caamano, a parishioner of St. Anthony of Padua Church, Passaic, and a 1995 DePaul graduate, excited the audience with her dynamic speaking style. She declared without equivocation, "The Eucharist is part of our lives. It gives us the power to live." She stressed the importance of making the Eucharist a part of our daily lives and being Eucharist to one another.
"The Eucharist changes your life," Camaano said. "Jesus is in us. We become part of him. When you are weak, he will make you strong. When you are sad, he will make you happy. I challenge you: let God be God in the Holy Eucharist and you shall see."
Camaano added: "You may have clothes that say The Gap or Tommy Hilfiger, but those tags can wash away. But we have a seal that lasts forever: the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lifts you up and gives you whatever you need."
She also urged young people to hold on to their sexual morality. She cautioned young men against thinking that to be a "real" man, they have to have sex with 10 girls.
"Girls, if a boy wants sex from you, let him go," Camaano said. "Your body is a temple of God. Stand by your convictions. Start respecting yourself. The Eucharist helps you do that. Let your faith speak for you."
After the opening talks, the more than 1,000 teens in attendance divided into two groups to listen to two 30-minute talks, one on the Mass and another on sin and forgiveness in Delbarton's two gymnasiums. In the workshop on the Mass, Jonathan Camiolo, head of Christian Formation at St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Stirling, urged the young people to "put an effort in at Mass" - giving liturgy their full attention, participation and awareness.
"You need to be part of the Mass. You must be fully there," said Camiolo, suggesting that worshippers begin to notice some of the objects in their church's worship space, such as the crucifix, which reminds us of the meaning of the Mass.
In the workshop on sin and forgiveness, Father Geno Sylva, DePaul's president, used the Rembrandt painting, "The Return of the Prodigal Son," to underscore our "desire to be loved by God." We also have a "hunger to feel the arms of God around us, as he says, 'Welcome home,'" he said.
"The Father forgets all evil," said Father Sylva about the power of confession. "The only thing that's important is that the son has come home."
After these sessions, the young people filed back into the abbey church for Mass, during which Bishop Serratelli called the Eucharist "the source and summit of the Church - no Eucharist, no Church."
"The Eucharist is the Lord Jesus," said the bishop, noting that Pope Benedict XVI recently remarked that the lives of humans have difficult "desert" moments - from poverty and hunger to abandonment. "The Eucharist is our manna in the desert. He comes to us to strengthen us in our walk with God."
During the Mass, a small folk music ensemble lead the congregation in contemporary Christian hymns popular with young people, such as "My God Is Awesome God." Prayers at the Mass were said in English and Spanish including an intention for World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany this August with Pope Benedict XVI, the first German pontiff since 1057.
At the end of Mass, the bishop invited the young men in the audience to consider a call by God to the priesthood and the young women to think about religious life. "Open you heart and hear God's call," the bishop told them.
The young people at Eucharistic Day also "broke bread" and ate dinner with the bishop in one of Delbarton's gyms and then returned to the church for Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. During the service, which included reflections and music, the youth lined up and joined a procession - a "holy parade," as it was called - as the Blessed Sacrament - encased in monstrance that had been blessed by Pope John Paul II. As it passed by them, they bowed and genuflected. The Eucharist Day then ended with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
For William Murillo, a parishioner of St. Anthony, Passaic, "the procession with the Blessed Sacrament was extremely spiritual. I thought it was nice the way we made way for the Bless Sacrament to pass us by and how everyone showed their reverence toward it."
Asked what he liked most about the daylong event, Noah Franc, a 15-year-old freshman at Pope John XXIII Regional High School, Sparta, recalled feeling especially moved by Father Sylva's talk on forgiveness.
"We are all prodigal sons," Franc said. "We all go through struggles and try to find God in our lives. Just then, I felt closer to God, because I know that I can ask for forgiveness."
Also bolstered spiritually by the Eucharist Day, Stephanie Afflitto, a 16-year-old who is a parishioner of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Pompton Plains, remarked, "I'm so happy to be part of this day. I'm surprised that there are so many young people like me here. It gives me hope that the Church will carry on."
Melany Lazo, a sophomore at Passaic High School and a member of St. Anthony's youth group, said she "liked the Mass the best. It was very energetic."
Sitting with Afflitto and Lauren Estrella, 16, at dinner, Good Counsel's adult chaperone Julie Volonnino, the youth minister at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Wayne, called the Eucharist Day "an experience for the kids."
"It's also a gift to us adults to see so many kids here today," Volonnino said. "It shows what potential the Catholic Church has now.
Estrella of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Pompton Plains, learned a new long and unfamiliar word related to the Eucharist - transubstantiation.
"Before today, I didn't know that word," said Estrella, a Pequannock Township High School junior. Estrella learned that "transubstantiation" refers to the changing of the bread and wine's "essence" into the Body and Blood of Christ during consecration at Mass, even though their outward appearances remain unchanged.
Estrella said," I want to believe. I'm hopeful, because faith is a lifelong journey."
Pleased with the Day on the Eucharist and the historic turnout of youth - evidenced by his daylong smile - the bishop mingled with the youths in the audience before and every session and event. After Benediction was concluded, he waited and greeted each an every teen reminding them "to rekindling the amazement of the Eucharist and have a greater appreciation of what the Eucharist is."
[Contributing to this story was Cecile SanAgustin.]
Related Link: Diocesan Vocations Office