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From the music to the presentations, more than 1,000 young people who attended New York Catholic Youth Day showed they were all in—heart and soul—by their participation and vibrant attitude.
That was fitting, too, since the day’s theme was “What is your ‘BE-atitude?”
“This year’s theme, as well as the ones for the next two years, was inspired by Pope Francis’ declaration of the annual World Youth Day themes, which will follow the Beatitudes. We are beginning with ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,’” said Cynthia Martinez, associate director of the Office of Youth Ministry, which sponsored the May 10 event at St. Joseph’s Seminary, Dunwoodie.
She added, “Our prayer is that they return to their parishes and youth groups energized and inspired to continue to live out their Catholic faith.”
Father Joseph Espaillat is the director of the Office of Youth Ministry.
Cardinal Dolan was the principal celebrant of the concluding Mass, which moved into Cardinal Spellman Recreation Center at the seminary because of a late afternoon rain. Every seat was filled.
The cardinal, in his homily, called it an honor and an inspiration to see so many passionate, dedicated young people. Referring to the Gospel message that told the story of the Good Shepherd, he spoke about the difficulty in understanding what we mean when we call Jesus by that name.
“You and I don’t see shepherds very often,” he said.
He recalled an experience he had during a visit to Bethlehem where he encountered two shepherds and their flocks. Each shepherd would call his flock with what sounded like a short song, he explained. “The sheep knew the person and the voice of the shepherd,” he said.
He then told the young people, “We have to know (Jesus) and recognize His voice.” He then described to the youths concrete ways they could learn to recognize Jesus: by reading the Bible; in the Beatitudes and Commandments; at prayer; through family and friends; in church; and in their hearts.
Justin Fatica of Hard as Nails Ministry was one of the speakers. Noting the day’s theme, he said those who are poor in spirit are “blessed.” He proceeded to give examples of saints including St. Maria Goretti and St. Rocco, who went through terrible ordeals without renouncing their faith. He said people don’t view saints with pity, but are impressed that they got closer to God when times were tough. “When we look at the saints, we go ‘wow,’” he said.
Catholics can look at how saints embraced their difficulties and made a place for God to enter their personal situations. In fact, suffering can bring one closer to Jesus who suffered on the cross, Fatica said.
As part of an exercise, he asked those in the audience to stand up if they experienced events in their lives that hold them back from God. Most of the audience stood up. He then asked people to hug three people around them and say, “You are blessed,” to show that no one is alone.
Ashley Rodriguez, 15, of St. Francis Youth Center in the Bronx—an outreach of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, said she learned a lot from Fatica’s presentation, “I am having some troubles and I want to become closer to God. I see so many people here and I realized that I’m not the only one going through things.”
“He said when we suffer we are blessed because we come to God through it,” she added.
There was opportunity for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the seminary chapel, and priests were scattered about the grounds to offer the sacrament of reconciliation. Attendees were asked to bring canned goods for the less fortunate as part of Catholic Charities “Feeding Our Neighbors” campaign. Booths were set up for the youths to learn about different ministries. Among the groups represented were “NYPRIEST.COM,” Hard as Nails Ministry, Corazon Puro and Camp Veritas.
Caitlin Healy, 16, of St. Mary’s parish in Fishkill attended NYCYD last year and had such a great experience she decided to come again. “I get to see my faith expressed dynamically. It’s inspirational and makes me feel like I’m part of a greater community.”
With her was Michael LaValle, 16, also of St. Mary’s. He told CNY he came for the music and the speakers. “You don’t really hear this type of music that often,” he said.
The morning included entertainment provided by Foundation Family, a rap band. Daniela Ruiz, 24, a singer with the band, said seeing so many young people together was exciting and inspiring. “The reason why I do this music ministry is because it makes me proud to be a Catholic,” she said.
In the afternoon, New Name Ministry, a Catholic rock band, performed. Aliyah Ortiz, 14, from St. Francis Youth Center in the Bronx, said, “I liked New Name Ministry. Their words mean a lot.”
As New Name Ministry performed in the background, Charlie Torres, 26, of Assumption parish in Peekskill told CNY, “I wanted to attend because I know God loves me and I want to show that to other people.”
He happily noted that he went to confession, saying, “I felt something in my heart, and it was beautiful.”
