To encounter Jesus Christ and foster Catholic Christian community
through retreat expeditions of prayer, proclamation of the gospel and outdoor adventure!
PROMO VIDEO
Evangelization Vision
To continue on without addressing the thirst our youth have to meet our Lord
Jesus Christ is to ignore the cry of the many souls longing for a simple invitation
from our Lord to enter into a relationship. I am convinced that the springtime
of evangelization in our Holy Mother Church calls for dynamic, creative, spirit-filled,
and authentically Catholic experiences for our youth. Particularly, in the sacramental
life of our Church can youth encounter the living Christ and bring Him to an
ever-fuller part of their lives. Youth are wrapped up in a culture saturated
with many evils that have no need of explanation. The bondage from this permeates
their lives and tears them from the transcendent experience of Calvary. Being
young and having to endure the trials of temptation rips the soul from experiencing
what the true real world is. Many times we define the real world in terms of
the negative. The drudgery of routine and the trivialities of everyday tasks
seem to us to be what the real world consists of. Furthermore, we see the harshness
of our world as being “real” something that we simply have to deal
with and defend ourselves from.
| Jesus Christ brings hope to our lives, joy in everyday tasks and purpose to
our routine. |
Young people today are told that this is the
real world and what we have to live for is nothing more than the American dream
or the high achievement in academics or athletics. When the Son of God became
incarnate, when he became one of us, He challenged our definition of what the
real world is. Through the cross, resurrection, and the coming of the Holy
Spirit our world radically changed because for the first time our world didn’t
seem as real as we thought. Jesus Christ brings hope to our lives, joy in everyday
tasks and purpose to our routine. The real world no longer consisted of only sorrow
and heartache, but joy and peace.
Our youth need to have an avenue to see past the “real world” presented
to them in their current environment and step into a world that is truly a reflection
of the kingdom of God. If they can experience this just once for a brief time
in their lives, what changes would they be willing to make in their own lives
to better the world in which they live? If they could experience a Christian
community vibrant in the Holy Spirit, and alive with the abundant love of Christ
pouring out from His Sacred Heart what could be the result? If a young person
could have this encounter with the Lord and realize that we are only a pilgrim
people waiting to get to our real world in God’s eternal Jerusalem how
much sooner would our world become a reflection of the Glory of God?
| If the youth could get a taste of heaven in God’s grand cathedral of
nature, they would usher it back to their schools, their families and
their friends. |
What we simply need is to take our young people out of their environment and
give them their own place where they can be safe, secure, and assured that they
are loved. A place where the reflection of God’s love pours upon them so
abundantly that they no longer can deny the existence of God’s awesome
power, majesty and love. If the youth could get a taste of heaven in God’s grand
cathedral of nature, they would usher it back to their schools, their families
and their friends. It is exactly for this reason that camp ministry can ignite
a fire so bright that it changes how a young person would look at everything
and particularly his or her relationship to their Creator. To step away from
the tribulations of this “real world” and come to know the love of
Christ and the truth of His real world through fellowship and community will
transform not only their lives, but the life of our Church.
Why camping?
Well that’s simple. Young people have energy! They are active! They are
adventurous! They look for challenges and ways to grow! Run them for the day
and sit down in the evening around a campfire and give them the Good News. What
a concept! The relationships that can grow from such an experience is amazing.
The deepening of faith through such an experience can blow your mind. As Catholics,
we are fortunate to have the sacraments. If we can give young people an experience
they will never forget rooted particularly in the Eucharist and Confession we
have an automatic link to their further cultivation in the parish. It is this
that will unite the spiritual experience at camp to the life within the parish.
It is essential. In addition, being away from home and thrown into an environment
where you meet people from all over the country and see that its cool to be Catholic
will give young people a thirst to learn more.
What are we waiting for?
To be honest, I don’t know what we are waiting for. Pope John Paul II
has called us to caste off into the deep. (Duc In Altum!) He has called us
to be courageous and confident in the workings of the Holy Spirit. It is a
time of New Evangelization and the limits are wherever we set them. It is an
exciting time in our Catholic Church and the only question that remains is:
Are you ready to be apart of it?
History
Catholic Youth Expeditions began in the summer of 2002. We made an expedition
retreat to Chamber's Island for three days. We prayed, played, and did the whole
camping thing...cooking our own food, making the fire, swatting away flies, hiking
to our site, and putting up our tents. During the whole experience the challenge
of getting to know one another and surviving was awesome. The culmination of
the retreat was adoration, benediction, mass, and confessions on the last night
on the island. Since that time, Catholic Youth Expeditions has reached out to
hundreds of young adults and college students, offering a fun and faith-filled
camping experience. In our fifth summer season we are gaining more experience
and discerning where God is leading this ministry. Please pray for us! Our Church needs an avenue of
evangelization and catechism wrapped up in one ministry that presents the Gospel
message as vibrant and ALIVE! As Jim Rayburn, founder of Young Life said, "To
bore a young person with the Gospel is a sin!" |
