Saratoga Central honored

When word first reached Rev. Anthony Maione in 1985 that his first assignment following ordination would be working with youth, his heart sank.

"My dream had always been to work among the poor in an inner-city parish and to empower local churches to minister to their needs. Instead, the Bishop sent me to a diocesan youth camp in the Adirondacks," recalled Father Maione.

Then 27, Father Maione was convinced he would be an utter failure as a youth minister. But 12 years and countless youth ministry hours later, his face lights up as he talks about his work with teens in the Albany Diocese.

New calling

"I never really thought I had the gift to work with young people, but the kids responded to my presence at that summer camp, and I found I really enjoyed interacting with them as well," he said. "And so the camp assignment I had dreaded so much turned out to be a blessing in disguise."

Perhaps the greatest validation that he does indeed possess "the gift" for reaching young souls came last week when Father Maione journeyed to Minneapolis to accept a national award on behalf on Saratoga Central Catholic Junior-Senior High School, where he has served as campus minister since 1989.

The award from Today's Catholic Teacher Magazine recognizes SCC as one of the 25 most innovative Catholic schools in the nation. Many of those innovative programs originate in Father Maione's office.

`New face'

"There was a time when community-wide campus ministry outreach programs were limited to college campuses," the priest reflected. "The fact that SCC was chosen to receive this honor shows that the face of Catholic schools in America is changing. The new face that is emerging reflects the importance of instilling campus ministry ideals in high school and junior high school students. I see this award, at least in part, as recognizing that high school campus ministry programs are finally coming of age."

Faith is unquestionably at the core of SCC's innovative program. Flowing from that solid nucleus are eight key components: advocacy, building community, catechesis, evangelization, guidance and healing, justice and service, prayer and worship, and youth leadership.

The hope is that students whose personal faith foundations are reinforced by a strong knowledge of moral, social and justice issues will be committed to helping others during their college years and beyond.

Envisioning

Much of Father Maione's first year at SCC was spent preparing and cementing the foundation for what was destined to become a national campus ministry model.

"I started out teaching seven religion classes, which was not where I was coming from in terms of a vision for campus ministry," he recalled. "I asked for, and was granted, permission to overhaul the existing program to include a much broader vision of a high school youth ministry."

Inspired by a 1975 U.S. Catholic Conference paper titled "A Vision For Youth Ministry," Father Maione worked to implement the award-winning program currently in place. "Basically, that statement asked the Church to look at a more holistic approach to faith formation," recalled Father Maione.

Among his first initiatives was to lay the groundwork for a program of faith formation that entailed providing SCC youth with opportunities for retreats and Christian service. He faced a far greater challenge when he began searching for ways of building community. Indeed, Father Tony likens that part of his role as SCC's campus minister to "walking a tight-rope."

"Building community is by far the hardest one for us," he said, "because we don't want the students to become too dependent on the school as a focal point of the faith community. We want them to have the school community as a principal support; but at the same time, it's their parishes -- not the school -- that will be there for them when they get out of college.

"We see our role more as one of building bridges between the school and the parishes -- especially since SCC students come from so many different parishes and communities," he added.

Noting that the future of parishes will ultimately fall upon the shoulders of its young people, Father Maione said: "I felt it was important to incorporate youth into the life of the parish so they would not function as a separate entity but rather as an integral part of the parish. There had to be a way for youth to bring their giftedness and talents into the parish."

To that end, Father Maione encourages students to become involved with both diocesan and parish-based youth programs. For example, each year SCC sends four students to the Christian Leadership Institute (CLI), a week-long leadership program sponsored by the Albany Diocese. The school also sends 30 students as delegates to the National Catholic Youth Conference every other year and has students who are delegates to the Saratoga Youth Deanery and the Diocesan Youth Council.

Perhaps the most straight-forward part of the program is the portion dealing with catechesis.

"All that means is the passing on of our Catholic faith to our youth through religious instruction and theology," Father Maione explained. "Campus ministry complements that by helping to take the principles of religious education and applying them to the total growth and development of our youth."

Living their faith

Father Maione's definition of campus ministry evangelization boils down to "inviting youth to witness their faith by living their lives according to Gospel values."

For example, a recent SCC graduate is now a college student who speaks on her campus about why she has chosen chastity as a lifestyle. Another cares for persons with AIDS. Several graduates have called asking what full-time volunteer opportunities are available -- such as the Jesuit Volunteer Corp.

"Really, evangelization means knocking on the hearts of people -- rather than knocking on doors. The way you live, the example you set for others, that's all a part of the evangelization equation," he said.

Meanwhile, when it comes to justice and service, Father Tony insists, "you can't separate the two. They go hand in glove. In a sense, they -- along with faith -- form the core of our campus ministry program. By social justice, I mean helping to guide young people and their families in the development of a social consciousness. This is accomplished by exposing them to the needs of the local, national and global communities. It also means helping them to address the causes of human suffering, which are almost always rooted in injustice because the life, the dignity and the rights of people have been violated."

BY exposing them to, and educating them about, those injustices, SCC helps students see how they can better serve those in need. Examples, he said, include volunteering to help out in nursing homes, soup kitchens, food pantries, homeless shelters and hostels for battered women.

SCC students are also involved with public policy issues through the New York State Catholic Conference and other forums.

"Each year, we send 20 or so kids to lobby the Legislature on issues that are important to the Catholic community," the priest said. "In this way, we strive to show students that advocacy on behalf of the poor is an important part of their Catholic heritage and that it's important to speak out in defense of human life and dignity. We try to show them how issues ranging from welfare reform to parental notification for abortion impact all of our lives."

Prayer and worship

Yet another component of SCC's campus ministry program entails "helping young people to deepen their relationships with Christ by providing them with a variety of prayer and worship experiences as well as encouraging involvement in the sacramental life of their parish communities."

"We encourage students to assume ownership of their liturgical experiences, which is why at our services you see student readers, greeters, Eucharistic ministers and music teachers," explained Father Maione. "We also strive to have each religion class plan a liturgy or prayer service at some time during the year."

The campus ministry area Father Maione would personally like to dedicate more time to is the one that falls under the heading of guidance and healing. The need for such services was driven home when he was stricken last year with a rare neurological disease known as Ramsay Hunt's Syndrome that resulted in temporary facial paralysis as well as difficulty speaking and swallowing.

Commitment

Once asked how many hours a day he worked, Father Maione replied: "How many hours a day does a mother parent her child?" He was, and remains, more interested in the harvest than in the time spent tilling the fields.

"I think when I regain my strength, I'll be focussing more of my energy on guidance and healing, and the continued development of the retreat and service programs," he said, "because more and more of our students and youth in general are confronting personal issues which call for a compassionate ear. I want to be more available to them for individual pastoral counseling. I also want to develop small groups for all the religion classes to talk about issues, concerns and problems that confront youths today. "If my own suffering has given someone an opportunity to love more deeply or to serve God, then some good has come out of it, because when we love, God acts. There is divine intervention when people respond to suffering in love."

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