Pastor's Note

This weekend we are celebrating confirmation with our eighth graders. We should be overjoyed for them as they receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit and are invited to live their faith in a deeper, more public way. If any group needs the power of the Holy Spirit, it is our young people who are growing up in a culture that is less Christian every year. They are surrounded by other young people who do not believe and do not practice their faith.

In 2005 the National Study of Youth and Religion was conducted. It was the most ambitious study of American teenagers and religion ever conducted. They gave extensive interviews to more than 3,300 American teenagers. The study involves a longitudinal aspect for 2,500 of them, so more data should continue to flow from this study. Let me share with you some of the highlights that have been published so you can see why our young parishioners need the Holy Spirit now more than ever:   more...