Young parishioners use technological expertise to broadcast Mass

The teenagers of today, otherwise known as Generation Z, are considered digital natives. They were born in the era of smartphones and are creative, innovative, and entrepreneurial. They are present in our Church.

At parishes in the diocese, this generation has been stepping up, sharing their technological gifts and helping their churches broadcast liturgies via Livestream. One of these parishes is Our Lady of Fatima in Perth Amboy.

Gerard Martinez, coordinator of Livestream ministry at the parish, started a Livestream group in response to the COVID-19 or coronavirus pandemic in the summer of 2020. When he began the group, he wanted the viewer to have an “experience of a true encounter with Jesus through a Eucharistic embrace over the Internet.”

“The group tries to project the full experience of Mass,” he continued. Not just point a camera and shoot for the sake of getting by.”

Martinez went on to explain that they “try to ensure that all members of the livestream group have a disposition and consciousness that it is truly Jesus in the altar that comes before us.”

Among the members behind the camera is Karlymar Rivera-Colon, 13, who records on Sundays as well as the 7 a.m. Mass three days a week while her mother, Marines Colon, sings and brother Yadiel plays the guitar for the liturgy. Reflecting on her experience, Karlymar said, “I feel like during this pandemic and with the Livestream Ministry, I have grown with faith a lot because I have been going to church more often than I used to. Now I can see the consecration, how it’s like up close. I’ve been praying more often as well. And I feel the presence of Jesus.”

Yadiel, 15, said that recording Mass and sharing his gift of playing the guitar helped him to grow in faith by being more involved in the church.

“I used to just attend Sunday Mass,” he said, “but now I attend it almost every day and receive the word of the Lord almost daily. It has helped me get closer to God.”

Their mother, Marines Colon, supports her children in livestream. “As a mother, my greatest experience is to see my teens more active in church activities, experience commitment within the ministry and build their sense of responsibility. The kids have been more into it and they feel they are responsible for something great,” she asserted.

Youseff Diaz, 15, who records on Sundays, said, “Joining the Livestream ministry has helped me grow in my faith by seeing how the Mass and what our Father says can be spread through the livestream.”

Another group member, Albert Suriel, 19, who also records on Sundays, said he, too, grew in his faith as a result of the invitation into this ministry.

“Within the last months, I learned the meaning of Mass and how important each section of the ceremony is to our Lord and Savior,” he said.

“I love helping people and being part of this ministry. It just helps me realize that I have more to give to my community. I know this is what God wants me to do. I had the opportunity to learn how to pray better because I found myself in the church more often. I just took the time to improve my prayer and relationship with God. He’s been my friend all along and I know that with him I’ll accomplish many things.

“I’m just glad that I agreed to be part of this ministry because I’m having fun and spending time with God.”

The gift of livestreamed Masses made the darkest months of the pandemic sweeter for so many. The teens of this Perth Amboy parish played a huge role in that for their church. Now, as livestreams are winding down, and the horizon of a more “normal” tomorrow is in sight, we have an opportunity to learn from the beauty of making invitations to our young people to share their gifts with our Church.   

I invite you to reflect on who the young people in your circle are, and ask yourself these questions: How can I better seek to recognize the gifts of this younger generation? How can I invite them to share these gifts with our Church? What would it look like for me to engage with them, seeing their potential, and being creative in the way that I invite them to share the things that they are most comfortable with and passionate about? How else can I affirm this generation of their goodness, talent, and place in our local Church here in Metuchen and in the world?

Recognizing the gifting of the youth in our churches is vitally important. Even after the pandemic, this is the call for each one of us: we must continue asking opinions, listening to perspectives, identifying gifts, making creative invitations, and accompanying our young people on their journeys with the Lord.

Megan Vantslot is director, diocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry