‘Here I Am, Lord’

Diocesan young people attend ‘life-changing events’
at NCYC

MUSIC MISSION  Youth group members from St. Anthony Parish in Passaic meet John Angotti, Christian recording artist, at NCYC.

HERE I AM, LORD  Students at DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne with Father Michael Lee, chaplain, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

READY FOR NCYC  Youth group members from Our Lady of Consolation Parish in Wayne gather together in their new “Jersey Guy” and “Jersey Girl” shirts before leaving for NCYC.

INDIANAPOLIS   When you gather 23,000 teenagers in one place, what do you get? Turn on some live and upbeat music by popular Catholic musicians, and you get singing and dancing. Bring in a dynamic speaker, and you find inspiration filled with applause. Host Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and you experience complete silence, total reverence and prayer as young people worship Jesus Christ.

The youth are the leaders of the Church and for Father Michael Lee, chaplain at DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne, the 2015 National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) Nov. 19-21 at the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium here, proved to be a truly transformative experience for the 16 students he led.

“The Church is alive and it is on fire. Many say teens are leaving the Church. They are not leaving — they are leading. They are leading a Church full of life,” said Father Lee.

It was a three-day pilgrimage of faith for the young people, their chaperones and the speakers, musicians and many priests and religious who participated and proclaimed “Here I am, Lord,” the theme of the conference. During the three days, young people listened to keynote talks from popular inspirational Catholic youth speakers and musicians, danced during the many Christian music concerts, attended different workshops relevant to today’s youth and the Church and participated in social justice projects sponsored by Catholic Relief Services.

Issac Guzman, a high school senior from St. Nicholas Parish in Passaic, said, “It was an amazing experience. I felt a bond with everyone. It was like we were all family. No type of criticism as we worshipped God. During Adoration, you could feel God’s presence truly there as we sang the song, ‘Lord, I need you.’ That’s something all teens say.”

Adoration was a highlight for many of the diocesan teens during the conference. Christian Matos, a high school junior from St. Margaret Parish in Morristown, said, “I never experienced Adoration like that before. It makes me want to go voluntarily on my own at my church.”

With 23,000 young people coming from all around the country, the opportunity of meeting so many teens provided a great socializing experience at NCYC. Nicole Kusinko, a junior at Clifton High School from St. Anthony Parish in Passaic, said, “Seeing so many teenagers in one place come together just to worship God was amazing and made me feel closer to my faith. We met people from all over. The farthest state was a youth group from Hawaii.”

Melissa DosSantos, a junior at DePaul from Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Oakland, said, “It was a welcoming experience. There was a huge hallway where many people would interact with each other from around the country. In this same hallway, there was a dollar bill posted with the sign, ‘Please, don’t take.’ When we would return hours later, the dollar would still be there. I thought it was funny but in a way, it described the trusting and loving experience of NCYC.”

Because the theme, “Here I am, Lord” was based on the popular church song. D.J. Schuck, a senior at DePaul Catholic High School who is a parishioner at St. Mary’s in Pompton Lakes, said, “The song, ‘Here I am, Lord,’ will have new meaning for me every time I hear it at church. Everyone at NCYC was so happy and I will always think about the experience.”

NCYC is a biennial event hosted by the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry and it will be held again in Indianapolis Nov. 16-18, 2017.

Almost all the diocesan teens who attended NCYC hope to return in two years. “Everyone who attended from my youth group is already planning on going to the next one,” Kusinko said. “Worshipping God can be exciting and it changes your life.”