March 27, 2008

Youth 2000 Changed My Life

Youth 2000 will be held April 11-13 at St. Benedict High School. The following is a personal witness story by Music Director Dawn Apang.

By Dawn Apang

I was 15-years-old when my youth group leader asked me if I'd like to sing in a band. It was a Christian band formed for one purpose—to play at a Youth 2000 Retreat. I'd never heard of Youth 2000, but I said yes. Although it sounds dramatic, my life would honestly never be the same.

For months we practiced and prayed to prepare ourselves for the retreat. Many of us had been to other retreats before, so we thought we knew what to expect. When the weekend came we were so excited, so ready to play music, praise God and lead others in praising God. We met with the Youth 2000 leaders who told us what to expect over the weekend. We set up our equipment in the school gym, we prayed with the Youth 2000 team and then practiced some more. While we practiced, the team hung up flags from all over the world, banners praising God, and set up carpet squares for the youth to sit on. In the middle of the gym they set up a structure of wooden bars that formed a pyramid. The entire structure was painted gold and covered with what had to be 100 candles and then the candles were lit.

As the youth poured into the gym, the retreat began with the celebration of Mass. And at the end of Mass, the Holy Eucharist consecrated in the celebration, Jesus Christ, truly present in this Blessed Sacrament, was placed in a monstrance to be exposed before us. The priest carried the monstrance in procession and placed our Lord at the top of that pyramid of lights, the center of attention for all of us. He stayed there throughout the entire retreat—Jesus Christ was at Youth 2000.

Jesus Christ present in the Holy Eucharist is what Youth 2000 is about. Many youth (myself as a teen included) don't spend a whole lot of time in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Even if we know Jesus in a general way, or realize we have a relationship with Him in and through the Sacraments and personal prayer, many of us don't come to Him in Adoration. We don't realize that adoration is a continuation of the celebration of the Mass. Youth 2000 gives youth a chance to approach Jesus in this most sacred and holy prayer, and keep the grace received in communion alive and active. Adoration is a very powerful thing—the grace from being in the presence of the Eucharist is like the sun shining down on you, and it changes you, whether you are aware of the affects or not. This was the power my friends and I experienced at Youth 2000; the power of the love of a mighty God who wants to be in our lives.

There were many other things about the retreat that stand out—of course the music was great, the speakers gave brilliant testimonies, and the priests and consecrated religious offered their presence and guidance throughout the weekend. There were tons of youth going to confession, laughing and crying, eating together and having fellowship. We were learning more about our faith in that holy setting, and praising God in song and prayer. It unified us and brought us to a higher understanding of our faith and what it means to be Catholic. Above all, it brought our attention and focus back to the source and summit of Catholic life— Jesus Christ, truly present in the Eucharist.

If you would like to attend the Youth 2000 retreat April 11-13, call Jan O'Donnell at 901-682-6606.