Teens Enrich their Lives by Helping Others

JULY 9, 2006

Summer months provide teenagers with time off from school and their studies. During this break, some try to find jobs to earn spending money or to help their parents with school expenses, others prefer to take it easy playing video games, swimming, or going to the movies.

One group of teenagers is traveling to the Valley this week for a unique experience. They have saved their money for a vacation unlike any advertised in travel brochures. They are paying $280 each to spend a week sleeping on a concrete, tiled floor at Memorial Middle School, in Harlingen. From July 9 to July 15, 279 teenagers from Louisiana, Minnesota, New Mexico, South Dakota and Texas are participating in a Catholic HEART (Helping Everyone Attain Repairs Today) Workcamp.

These teenagers will help with general home repairs, yard work, painting, and cleaning at project sites throughout the Valley. Some groups will assist with food distribution, homeless shelters and youth outreach centers. They are among 8,000 who are giving of their time this summer in service to the community at one of the 33 sites across the nation.

I am encouraged by these young people’s commitment to service. I pray others will follow their example and respond to an invitation to change the world. With all the bishops in the United States, I issued this invitation in 2003 by means of our letter entitled Stewardship and Young Adults: An Invitation to Help Change the World. We called on young adults everywhere to renew the face of the earth. “This is a call to listen to the voice of the Spirit speaking of gratitude and responsibility. This is an invitation to Catholic stewardship.”

As noted in this invitation, “Our Catholic tradition teaches us that with so many blessings come great challenges. At all times in our lives, we have an opportunity – and a responsibility – to share what we have been given. . . .Stewardship is not simply making donations or taking care of the building and grounds. It is a spirituality – hence a way of life – made of four parts: receiving the gifts of God with gratitude; cultivating them responsibly; sharing them lovingly in justice with others; and standing before the Lord in a spirit of accountability.”

In another document, Renewing the Vision – A Framework for Catholic Youth Ministry, we point out that “Our faith calls us to work for justice; to serve those in need; to pursue peace; and to defend the life, dignity, and rights of all our sisters and brothers. This is the call of Jesus, the urging of his spirit, the challenge of the prophets, and the living tradition of our Church.

“The ministry of justice and service nurtures in young people a social consciousness and a commitment to a life of justice and service rooted in their faith in Jesus Christ, in the Scriptures, and in Catholic social teaching; empowers young people to work for justice by concrete efforts to address the causes of human suffering; and infuses the concepts of justice, peace, and human dignity into all ministry efforts.

“Justice and service are central to who we are as God’s people and to how we live our faith at home, in our communities, and in the world. It is important to nurture a lifelong commitment to service and justice. People who learn to serve when they are young are more likely to be service oriented throughout their lives.”

Through Catholic HEART Workcamp, young people are learning these lifelong values. Carrying out the mission of the Catholic HEART Workcamp, these young people are sharing Jesus’ love by serving others. They also are enriching their own lives by seeing first hand the difference they make in people’s lives.

After their week of service, not only do participants see the results of their work, they hear directly from the people they helped. The stories of the people who witnessed and benefited from these teens illustrate how young people, when responding to their call to stewardship, do indeed help change the world. They paint homes for elderly who no longer have the strength or resources to do so. They build wheelchair ramps, making it easier for those who cannot walk, to access their homes. Through their actions they bring hope to people in need.

Under Bobbie Pacheco’s leadership, the Rio Grande Valley has served as a host site for Catholic HEART Workcamp for six years. Several of our parishes, the Boys and Girls Clubs, the Ozanam Shelter, and the Ronald McDonald House, are among some of the organizations working in partnership with the camp. We hope to continue and to expand these opportunities to serve the community.

I again invite young people and everyone in the Valley to help change the world, to make a difference in people’s lives. You can start by asking yourselves, “What resources, talents, and abilities has God given me? Do I use them in service to others? How might I take the next step to become a more effective steward?”

You may answer these questions as you pray to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, help you find a way to be his hands, his feet and his heart in the world.

+Bishop Raymundo J. Peña

last updated 05-Jun-2008 9:48 sitemap