Hard Truths, a Great Hope, and a Call

When looking at the state of young people in the world today, it can be easy to fall into despair. In 2024, the youth ministry organization Lifeteen published a report called “The State of Catholic Youth in America”. According to data gathered for this report, the average attention span of a teenager has fallen under 8 seconds. The average teen spends 4 hours and 15 minutes per day on social media, and watches about 68 videos a day. The stats on mental health and well-being are even more troubling. In 2021, 44% of teens reported feeling persistently sad or hopeless. According to the Wall Street Journal, 4 out of 5 teens lack a sense of purpose in their life. Teens in 2023 spent 70% less time socializing with friends than teens in 2003.

However, that is not the whole picture. Over the past couple years, I have seen God working in incredible ways in young people. They are starving for hope, purpose, and connection, and ultimately God, and they are seeking him out. Our OCIT (Order of Christian Initiation) program has been booming with teens, many of whom are there of their own volition. Many teens are absolutely on fire for their faith, and they are going out and evangelizing their friends at school. 

This is a time of great hope, but there is still a lot of work to be done. The faith of many of these teens is incredibly fragile, often due to the factors mentioned at the beginning of this article. So how do we strengthen their faith? Through mentorship and accompaniment. This is the model set forward for us by Jesus himself, and carried on by his apostles. They didn’t just teach, they walked with others through the events of life and helped them to understand how God is working. God is calling every single one of us to walk with someone in faith. I ask that you take time to pray and discern with us whether the people you are called to walk with are the teens of our parish. If you think God may be calling you, reach out to us and we can discern together.