Share your stories of faith with young people

Friday, Feb. 20, 2015

I love stories. I love to read stories and hear stories on public radio. I love to watch documentaries that tell a story and jam out to Blues songs whose stories are accented with guitar riffs. But my favorite stories are the ones I hear from my family members. 

I love hearing how my grandma used to organize huge fundraisers for my uncles’ baseball teams or how my dad played soccer barefoot growing up in Mexico. I love hearing about my mom’s first car, which had a hole in the floor; and how my great-grandpa grew the biggest and tastiest tomatoes in the world.

I love these stories and many more because they teach me the values my family stands for and the beliefs they want me to embody as I continue to journey through life. 

On Feb. 7, Glenmary Missioner Father Les Schmidt facilitated a retreat in the Diocese of Salt Lake City about growing as a spiritual leader. One of the things he stressed was the importance of sharing our stories. They are important to tell and important to listen to. He told those gathered to trust their experiences and share them with others. Through stories, we can emotionally connect with another’s experience and be a witness to their successes, challenges, passions, and concerns. Stories are also a powerful tool to teach others about the Catholic faith; after all, Jesus never wrote essays about how we should treat each other, he illustrated it through the stories he told the crowds that gathered around him.

I am often asked by adults how they can connect with young people and bring them back to the Church. Being willing and able to share your faith story is one of the best ways to do this. As a young adult myself, I love to hear about other people’s faith journeys. I like to hear about the joys they have experienced in the Church, the doubts they have had, and how they worked through them. It is comforting for me to hear their stories because it reassures me that faith is a continual journey that it is not always easy, but is worth it.

When you are able to open yourself up and share your faith story, parts of it will resonate with the young person you are sharing it with. They will ask questions or share part of their story. A non-judgmental dialogue like this about faith is vital to have with young people. We want to listen to your story and we want you to listen to ours. So, please take some time this month to reflect on your faith journey and share it with one of us! We are eagerly waiting for adults to walk on our faith journey with us.