Fr. Matthew and St. Isidore youth traveled to Rome last summer to immerse themselves in holy places, become friends with the saints, and grow deeper in faith alongside a million young Catholics from around the world.
The first moment that stood out to me in Rome was our visit to the Basilica of St. John Lateran. In this beautiful Basilica, I had time to reflect on why I was on the trip and what I hoped to get out of it. Being surrounded by the apostles, in our first basilica of the trip, gave me some clarity. While there, I decided that I wanted to ask each Saint for strength. With the Saints there to help me in life, why would I not lean on them everyday for strength? From then on, when we learned about a Saint or visited the tomb of a Saint, it felt natural and empowering to ask them for help in my life.
After this moment, my focus for the trip was to ask God and the Saints for strength, and to be open to what they might show me. And when I listened, I did feel answers.
Spending time in silence with Jesus is something that I found revived my faith. We spent a lot of time walking through churches and having quiet time to just engulf ourselves with God. Even if we were not directly saying prayers, we were just acknowledging that He was with us and is always with us. I now try to do this in my everyday life.
While in quiet time with God, I recorded this note: “I had feelings and emotions that were so real, it made me want to do nothing but love God.”
I think that everyone should try to incorporate quiet time with God in their day because God sees this and He is with us. He will give strength to those who spend time with Him. And the best part about spending time with God is you never have to go anywhere if you want. He is always with us. Just as He is present in the Eucharist, He is also present walking with us every day. We just have to say hi.
So let us ask Him for strength.
Just as He is present in the Eucharist, He is also present walking with us every day. We just have to say hi.
—Chance, college junior