Diocesan youth day a journey with the Lord and each other

There was no shortage of fun and inspiration in St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Edison, April 20 as the Office of Youth and Adult Ministry held Diocesan Youth Day. Chika Anyanwu served as keynote speaker, and Bishop James F. Checchio issued a challenge to the youth to listen to God speaking.

Chika Anyanwu is a Catholic evangelist, former Confirmation coordinator/youth and young adult minister, and the author of “My Encounter: How I Met Jesus in Prayer.” She describes her ministry as “talking to teens, young adults, and adults about the importance of being rooted in Jesus, especially when life gets hard and confusing.”

Emily Hajduk, who volunteers in youth ministry at St. Ann Parish, Hampton, shared what she hoped for the students. “Largely, I want them to learn how to journey with the Lord,” she said. “Chika is a very inspirational individual. I’m hoping that from her talks, and through her small group discussion questions that it’s not only fun for the kids, but they also get to have a personal journey and they get to continue that journey after the event.”

Fiat Ventures set the stage with opening activities, such as, Human Bingo, guess the song’s decade and group trivia, followed by lunch, Adoration, Confession, Mass and several big and small group discussions.

“I was very happy with the turnout, we have a great group of kids here,” said Father Michael Tabernero, theology teacher and director of Catholic Identity at STAHS.

Ned Rossi, member of the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen, Bold Youth Group, was there spending the day with his sister and friends. “I came with no expectations,” he said, “just seeing what God has in store for me.”

During her talk, Anyanwu spoke about difficulties everyone faces in life and related it to a scary but thrilling zip line experience she had. “Maybe in your life you don’t have this rock wall or zip line experience, but we are all called to a beautiful, or as Pope John Paul II calls it, a wonderful adventure. … Life is not easy, especially life as a Catholic … [but] Jesus says, ‘in this world you will have trouble but take courage because I have overcome the world.’ The journey is tough but the destination, friends, is so beautiful ...The destination is worth the struggle and that destination is heaven.”

Before lunch Bishop Checchio offered a prayer for the youth, asking God to bless them with the “gifts of peace, joy and happiness, and the gift of greater faith.” He then spoke about his trip to Rome the previous week and his visit with Pope Francis. “He always asks for the people in our Diocese,” Bishop Checchio said, “and he is always very concerned about the youth.”

The Bishop recounted that the Holy Father asked him to tell the youth of the Diocese “’not to be afraid to give themselves to Jesus. Jesus wants nothing from them. He just wants to accompany them and be with them throughout their lives, throughout all of life’s ups and downs, which we all have, so we are never ever alone.’ So I pass on the Pope’s words to you.”