Colm Fitzpatrick
Youth Space
Colm Fitzpatrick reports from a conference for Catholic young adults
In 1 Peter 3:5, all Christians are taught, “Whenever anyone asks of you to speak of your hope, be ready to defend it”. This was the key theme at a recent Catholic apologetics conference in Belfast which celebrated both faith and reason.
The Legion of Mary’s 3rd Annual Conference for Young Adults took place in the vibrant Catholic chaplaincy at Queen’s University, with the topic of answering objections to the Faith at the forefront. This year’s conference responded to the relativism of the modern world where the Catholic faith is perennially being called into question, ridiculed or rejected, usually due to confusion or misunderstanding. The conference reaffirmed the strong foundation that is needed for personal faith and how that should be shared to others.
“We’ve been doing this conference for three years now,” said Cormac McCoole, compere of the event.
“The initial idea was to try and get young people back into their faith and to fortify them by answering difficult questions. It’s about trying to arm people with answers to questions. It’s difficult to be a young person, especially in the university environment. Young people need help.”
Discussion
The first topic of discussion, which was led by Fr Andrew Black, pertained to the Eucharist and particularly common objections to transubstantiation. He responded to Luther, Zwingli and Calvin, and explained the theological limitations to their understandings of the Eucharist. He also argued that going to Mass isn’t about becoming a good person, a reason often cited for non-attendance. Rather, “Mass is about union with God, a state of holiness”, and that the Eucharist, quoting St Ignatius of Antioch, is the “medicine of immortality”. A piece of advice he offers to all Catholics is never to refer to the Eucharist as holy bread but either ‘The Body of Christ’, ‘The Host’, or ‘The Precious Blood’.
Following this invigorating talk, Sr Beatrice Clarke, an American Dominican spoke on the topic of ‘Speaking publicly about the Faith’. Her smile and warming attitude would be enough alone to proselytise anyone. Her main message was that debate about the Faith today isn’t just about winning arguments but is ultimately about salvation. “It’s a matter of winning a soul. This battle isn’t about getting the last word, but being a vessel of grace,” she said. As Catholics, we should all be submitting our intellect to God, and trying “to live in imitation of an incarnate God”.
Chances for more personal discussions about difficult issues within the Church today were carried out in workshops. Fr Andrew Black spoke about modern gender ideology and its roots in the theological heresy of dualism. By affirming that there is a demarcation of the body and mind/soul, Fr Black maintained that the thinking which supports gender theory today is in part, gnostic. Catholicism on the other hand teaches that a person is the perfect unity of both body and spirit.
Other workshops included ‘The Blessed Virgin Mary’, with Fr Martin Graham and ‘Pro-Life Issues’ with Dr Norella Broderick, which were followed by Mass and personal testimonies.
Enthusiastic about the conference, Fr James O’Reilly, of the Diocese of Down and Connor, said, “It’s important for young people to come together to celebrate their faith and become evangelists today”.
This is one of the goals of the Legion of Mary which is a lay apostolic association of Catholics who serve the Church and their neighbour on a voluntary basis in about 170 countries. The first meeting took place in Dublin in 1921, and since then the members have been participating in their parishes through the visitation of families and the sick, both in their homes and in hospitals, in the spirit of faith and in union with Mary.
The final talk by John Lacken addressed the topic of ‘Family, Marriage and Chastity’, and how these realities have become diluted in our contemporary times. He maintained that these sacraments and virtues must be upheld, and should not be compromised because of the emptying reasoning of today, which is no longer private but public. His final thoughts that the Catholic youth should be marrying in their late-teens or early-20’s certainly perked some heads.
Along with the talks and workshops Fr Gerard Magee carried out Confession, Adoration and Benediction, meaning there was something for everyone at the conference..
One young Catholic said that, “what brought me here today is that this conference is at a deeper level. It caters for people who already have faith – at other retreats you just hit a level.” A teacher also added that he attended the event to make sure that was he was teaching “what was in line with Catholic teaching”.
For more information about the Legion of Mary, see www.legionofmary.ie