How do Youth Find Themselves in the Church

One of the most difficult things about being a young person in the church is figuring out your views and beliefs within the church. Finding your place in the church can be a challenge. Figuring out your relationship with God and the other people in the church can be difficult. Figuring out your stance on the different rules of the church and its topics can be a challenge, especially as a young person living in our world.

When I was younger, church used to bore me. I would sit there and never really pay attention to what was going on. I knew that it was important, but to me, I was just waiting for that hour to go by so I could get home. Now that I am a teenager and have received my confirmation, I’ve realized this is not what we're called as Catholics to do. When you're young you may not understand what's going on in mass or even why you're there. But once you find your place it all starts to make sense, but how do you get there? Here are a few tips and things that have helped me get to where I am today.

1. Get to mass early.

One of the ways that have helped me really find my way in the church is going to mass a few minutes earlier. I go to mass five or ten minutes earlier than I would normally. I leave my phone and all the distractions in the car. I walk inside, get to the pew, and greet God and prepare myself for mass in prayer. After I'm done, I look at the readings to get a basic emersion into the scriptures. One of the most important things is to hear the Word of God before mass. Then you have a layer of understanding and have heard and read the words of the Gospel twice. This brings new insight into the homily and makes things stand out and stick with you throughout the week. This only takes a few extra minutes and really impacts me during the entire week.

2. Get to know others in the church

Another thing that I have found that really helps me is I get to know people in the church. Introduce yourself! God calls us to be in the community not by ourselves. Of course, spending time alone with God in your prayers is a good thing, but the power of prayer together as a community is also very moving. Taking the first step and introducing yourself can be difficult and you may not know who to start with so here's what I recommend: Start with the priest! Most of the time after mass the priest will stand in the narthex and say hello. During that time go and say hi. Being able to talk to your priest even if it's just a quick hello after mass is a great thing. The priest knows everything that's going on in the church and can help you meet new people or get involved in different ministries.

3. Join a Youth Ministry or a Small Church Group

Join Youth Ministry or a small church group. A lot of churches have youth groups. These are a great way to connect with your peers that share the same faith. The great thing about youth ministry is everyone is at different points in their faith. Each person has their own

story. In youth ministry, you're with people your own age and can connect more easily. These people might have the same questions or be going through the same situations as you and you can support each other in finding yourself in your faith life.

4. Go to parish events and gatherings.

Some parishes have fundraisers or retreats that are open to everyone. Retreats can help you open up to new people. It also can help deepen your relationship with God and the community in your parish.

Retreats are there to bring people together but also to learn more about a certain topic. In the group that are on the retreat, you will meet new people and find out different people’s stories that led them to the faith. You may even have an epiphany or a moment during one of these retreats! They can be a very powerful thing, especially with others who are trying to deepen their faith come together.

5. Pray

Finally the most important step of them all: Pray. Prayer is our connection to God. When you wake up pray, before you go to bed pray, before you eat pray. Spending time with God in prayer is very inspiring. It may feel like you're not doing anything, but God will take you where He wants you and will never leave you alone. He will always protect you and be there for you. Praying with God is getting to be even closer to Him and is keeping your relationship with him. If you’re open and really want to find your place in the church, God will guide you. Prayer is different for everyone and can be done in large groups or just by yourself. Prayer can also change over time and probably will as time goes on.

These have been things that I have done in the past year that truly have changed the way I look at my faith. My life has changed for the better and my faith is stronger than it ever has been before. I hope this helps you on your journey! God bless!