Catholic youth show Church in good hands

Both the column and the article offer measures of the faith level of Catholic young people today. Another measure at the conference came in the person of Stephania Ubowski, 17, a senior at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado.

Last April, when two students entered the school and murdered 12 of her classmates and a teacher, Stephania's faith was tested. As reported by Catholic News Service, she recalled for the conference participants how she lay on the cafeteria floor as the shootings occurred: "Nobody knew what was going on. I remember looking around into people's eyes [and seeing] fear, confusion, despair. I had to lay my life into God's hand's. I had to trust God."

Stephania told the youth that they may never understand how God can let something like the Columbine shootings happen, but that it shouldn't matter. "God can't make our lives easier," said the Catholic teen. "God can only bring us comfort. We are called to be Christians so that we can get through things with Christ."

As a result of the horror she lived through, she believes she has a mission: to use her experience "as a gift from God, to bring more people closer to Him. We are called to go out and live life to the fullest and bring people to Christ. I want you to learn from the experiences that we've had and grow stronger in your faith. Whatever the devil had in mind to do to our school that day has backfired in his face because people have opened their hearts" to Christ.

She encouraged the teens to have two goals in life: "One, to know Christ and, two, to bring Christ to everyone else. Not only through our words but through our actions. Follow Christ, not just by knowing Him, but knowing Him in a way that you act like Christ."

What are today's Catholic youth like? They are like the hundreds of teens who discussed the Bible with bishops...like the thousands of youth who prayed together in St. Louis...and like Stephania, who found a deeper faith amid terror. Whatever Y2K problems may lie ahead in terms of technology, the evidence shows we can rest easy that the Church will be in good hands in the 21st century.

(12-02-99)