Passage from Stewardship and Teenagers

The following exert is about how Teenagers specifically, but could work for all, can help revitalize our Catholic Church. This is taken from the paper Stewardship and Teenagers: The Challenge of Being a Disciple, the full text can be viewed at the Archdiocese of Boston's Office for Youth and Young Adult Ministry.

Stewardship and Teenagers: The Challenge of Being a Disciple...

• Share Your Time—Visit people who are alone, especially those who are isolated due to age or sickness. Teach what you know to a neighbor or younger sibling. Be present with the people in your life, especially your family. Offer to help. Practice saying “yes.”

• Share Your Talents—No one else can do exactly what you do. Whether singing, cooking, drawing, or playing sports, your talents are for sharing with others. When used generously, the good they provide is immeasurable! Seek opportunities to participate in your parish or faith community as a greeter, altar server, lector, extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, or assistant in the religious education program.

• Share Your Treasure—The cost of a movie ticket or a pizza can help to prevent a childhood disease or build a house for someone with nowhere to live. Part of your allowance or paycheck can help your parish provide more services for its community. Decide to give a certain percentage of money at your parish each week. As you live with this decision, you will grow into a lifelong habit of generosity.

• Share Your Tradition—Embrace the rites and sacraments of the Church as beautiful gifts of God, to be appreciated, loved, and shared. Invite a friend to come to Mass or Divine Liturgy with you. Pray for others, both people in your life and those in need throughout the world. Consider what plans God has for you. Whatever his call, it will require the ultimate gift of yourself—through marriage and family, or through the priesthood or consecrated life.

It is possible to live in imitation of Christ. Young and old alike, we all struggle daily to be true to who God calls us to be. The Church, especially through her sacraments, is there to nourish and guide you. It is a day-by-day journey, and the way may not always be clear. Daily prayer and weekly attendance at the Eucharist will be a tremendous help in enabling you to find your way.

The Church is grateful for your presence, our young Church, and we thank you for the gifts of energy, idealism and zeal that you share with us. As always, we encourage you to search your heart and discover ways in which you can make a difference. We thank you for your honesty as you call us to do more! This call to living out the Gospel value of stewardship is the call for all of us to do more, to be more, to love more!

Both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have called us to be a Church for young people . . . a Church that is not afraid to require much, after having given much; that does not fear asking from young people the effort of a noble and authentic adventure, such as that of following Christ. We, your bishops, are asking: Come join us in the adventure!