"I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread
that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the
living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will
live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the
world."
The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
"How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, "Amen,
amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his
blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and
drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last
day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever
eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just
as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also
the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that
came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever." These things he said
while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
Then many of his disciples who were listening
said, "This saying is hard; who can accept it?" Since Jesus knew that his
disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, "Does this shock you?
What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It
is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I
have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not
believe." Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and
the one who would betray him. And he said, "For this reason I have told you
that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father." As a
result of this, many (of) his disciples returned to their former way of life
and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do
you also want to leave?" Simon Peter answered him, "Master,
to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." John
6:48-68.
Sorry, but I needed the entire section above, taken
from the Bread of Life Discourses where our Lord and Master, shocked the
sensibilities of His disciples. Talk about in your face!
As a young adult, this happens to be one of my top
10 favorite sections in the Gospel readings. It was Jesus, drawing a line in the
sand! Making a bold and definitive declaration, which he reiterated thoroughly
and clearly. I love this passage because it speaks to the Holy Eucharistic and I
chose this scripture passage because of the question he asks toward the end. A
question, fellow African-American Catholics, especially the young adults among
us deal with daily. "Do you also want to leave?"
I was once confronted with that question while
attending college at Grambling State University. It was freedom! I was "on my
own"… actually I was in another town while my parents still supported me, but
nevertheless in my mind, I was free! Free to think, free to experience, free to
learn and free to not go to St. Benedict The Black, which is the Catholic Church
near the campus. I visited other churches both non-denominational and
denominational, even spent time speaking with people who were Orthodox Islam,
Nation of Islam, Buddhists, Sikhs and Non-Believers. It was an experience which
challenged my faith and where I recalled the question, "Do you also want to
leave?"
I consider myself very fortunate to have
grown-up within a faith filled Catholic family in Opelousas, Louisiana. I
recall my paternal grand-mother Amelia and my great aunt Cecilia, always
praying the rosary, listening to Mother Angelica on EWTN, singing those
songs taught to them by their mother, cooking and kissing everyone; just
full of LOVE! Their lives were a living breathing testament to me about the
faith they cherished. I can remember all of the CCE Catechists from my
youth, the images and art in the church, the smell of candles, incense and
flowers on the altar. I received my First Holy Communion at the age of 5 and
very soon thereafter I started to serve as an altar server until I graduated
from high school. I had the gift of an amazing pastor and priest at my
childhood parish of Holy Ghost Catholic Church, Fr. Albert J. McKnight, who
I have been blessed to speak with within the last few months. Many of you
reading this article right now have similar experiences and stories. You
were probably a Junior Knight or Junior Daughter of the Knight of Peter
Claver and Ladies Auxiliary, altar servers, members of a youth organization,
perhaps in a youth sports ministry, liturgical dancers, in the youth choir,
etc. As many of you were, I was deeply immersed in the "life of the faith
community." I didn't realize it until I turned 30 years old that a great
gift was passed on to me. It took 13 years for the "asili" for the seeds
planted by my immediate and church family to germinate and begin to sprout.
It was now my responsibility to nurture these seedlings, to seek the "bread
from heaven," to grow and to answer the question, "Do you also want to
leave?"
It is no mystery why many African-American young
adults, find themselves confronted with alternatives to the Catholic Faith
of their childhood as I was. Many feel as if something is missing, the lack
of cultural relevance we often see sisters and brothers from other Christian
traditions experience. Some say that the lack of being "fed" is an issue; no
spiritual nourishment, boring homilies, the lack of our seasoned laity
allowing young adults to lead and not feeling welcomed. Some are unable to
connect the relevance of Catholic Faith life to the secular and simply
leave."Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."
Several months ago I had an opportunity to speak
with fellow young adults and started to discuss what I referred to as The
Great Dilemma: No Laborers In The Vineyard. It was centered on the question
of where are the new babies, new baptisms, newlyweds and vocations within
our local and predominately African-American parishes. Where are they? I
recall growing up with over 100 kids my age! Where are they? Even the number
of available and faith-filled young adult men within our parishes is
dwindling. Hard facts + simple math = very little discernment to Holy Orders
(Priests) or Holy Matrimony (Husbands). Is there a solution? Absolutely! In
fact, I propose a menu of solutions, which are not exhaustive, but for me,
it represents a starting point. I have decided to start where I am, within
my local parish of St. Monica Catholic Church in Houston, Texas. A small
group of 6 young adults have bonded, we fellowship together, participate in
the life of the faith community and the sacraments. As a group, we are
assisting with gathering school supplies for our Haitian Mission, sending
care packages to recent high school graduates and hosting an annual young
adult retreat. Small groups of young adults taking massive action, with our
Lord and Master Jesus Christ as our lead, to transform our local parishes is
necessary for the church to thrive. It becomes essential for those of us,
who find relevance in the church, who recognize a need for evangelization to
fellow young adults to step out on faith! By witnessing to others, sharing
of faith experiences, participating in relevant activities together and
finally praying together, we set a course of strengthening our vertical
relationship with the Triune Godhead and our horizontal relationship with
each other.
The next time you see and speak to someone you
haven't seen around the church in quite a while, or someone who you see
every Sunday and have never spoken to them, be bold and do one of the
following: Say hello, witness your love of Christ to them, share a recent
faith experience and offer to pray with them or for them. It is my prayer
that when you and I reach out, collectively, African-American young adult
Catholics will answer our Lord's question as definitively as Peter, "Master,
to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."
