Our Mission

St. John Bosco Project

Hopes, Dreams, Needs of the Community: A Committee for Our Times

In a talk by Curtis Martin, founder and CEO of FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students), Martin gives the following summary of our present culture:

"We live in a culture that has seen better days. In the lifetime of many here … we can look back and say, “There was a time, not too long ago, when babies were safe in the womb, when marriages lasted a lifetime, when God was welcome in our classrooms,” and all of that has changed… It’s up to us to fix that…St. Catherine of Sienna … said this … “If you are what you are meant to be, you would set the world on fire…”

We live in a world that is in desperate need of you and I becoming who we were meant to be. It’s a dark, dark place right now … You could just think of life beginning from conception to natural death, and at every moment of human life, we’re in crisis right now. Countless numbers of people aren’t here because they were contracepted out of existence. If you were lucky enough to be conceived, one out of three will killed in the womb through abortion. If you’re lucky enough to be conceived and born, one out of two will go to bed tonight without enough food or water or healthcare. You’ll be living in poverty. If you’re lucky enough to be born where you’re actually alive and you’re not in poverty, you get to grow up in the dysfunctional modern family so that you can deal with all the issues of drugs and alcohol and pornography and the breakdown of culture which distracts us from becoming who we’re meant to be… This culture is a sausage grinder which is chewing up our young people."

We have great dreams for our children, and as Catholics we have the treasure of an amazing set of values with great potential to bring life and vitality to our local community and ultimately to the world. But do we have the faith, fortitude, wisdom, courage and strength to guide them rightly so that they will be able to face the culture without losing themselves?

This project has helped to bring into focus some of the things are children are facing. Here is one example. Near the beginning of last school year, the St. Mary 6 th through 8 th graders were asked to list their favorite movies, songs, artists, apps, etc. The goal was to create a list of movies and songs for school social functions that was relevant and up-to-date—a list the students would be excited about and that would also encourage and enhance our deepest values and beliefs as Catholics.

We were pleasantly surprised to find some Christian music listed among the top student choices, along with Taylor Swift, of course. But a sobering surprise came up: A song called “Lucid Dreams” by Juice WRLD showed up six times and was the most listed as favorite song. For comparison, Taylor Swift appears seven times and was most listed as favorite artist. “Lucid Dreams” is a song about the endless haunting memories and dreams of a woman’s shadow in the artist’s room, the prescriptions he has to take in order to feel mentally stable, the mixed-up feelings of love and hatred he now has for this woman and their broken relationship, and his opinion that he would be better off dead.

These themes of sex, mental illness, and suicide were repeated but stated even more dramatically in the song, “Jocelyn Flores” by the artist XXXtentacion, who was listed twice as a student favorite, with that particular song listed once. Jocelyn Flores was an actual fan/friend of the singer who went to visit and model for him and then committed suicide before the week ended. The song details the artist’s feelings and response to that event. These songs—and the bitter despair they express—were heart-wrenching to hear. They are the cry of real hearts in pain, entangled in unhealthy relationships, barely able to cope with their lives. Our children are listening at an alarmingly young age. Are we listening to them and with them? Their challenges do not end there.

Our world is changing at a pace that is barely comprehensible and technology opens up new worlds that I don’t think most adults could have imagined when we were kids. There are dangers and pitfalls everywhere in the way information is shared, ideas are expressed, and people are influenced. But there are little pockets of unimaginable beauty available to us through these same technologies, and in the sharing of stories.

Every song, every movie, every book—all the media we consume—each of these things shares a story—a view of life—that our children are soaking up by the boatload. It is so very important for us to be conscientious and intentional about what we allow our children to consume because these stories will either lead them to a place of light, hope, faith, and love; or it will lead them into darkness and despair. It us up to us to guide them with wisdom and love, not as individuals, but as a community.

Let us together strive to become who we were meant to be—a light that can set the world on fire.