Stewards 'cast out into the deep'

By Dcn. Quinn Mann

	Stewardship Stewardship: A Way of Life is the diocesan thrust. It invites Catholics to acknowledge that all of life is a gift of God and to respond through prayer, service and sharing. This series will look at ways to do that.

John Paul the Great continues to inspire millions of young adults. His message to, "Be not afraid," echoes in the minds and hearts of those seeking to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others. Early in his priesthood, JP II journeyed with young people on several youth expeditions into the mountains and foothills of southern Poland. Later, he simulated these expeditions with World Youth Days around the globe. Inspired by this holy man, our own apostolate, Catholic Youth Expeditions, was conceived.

In 2002 we began taking young adults and high school students on expedition retreats in Upper Michigan and Door County. We would pray the Liturgy of the Hours, do rosary hikes, have an hour of adoration with Reconciliation, followed by Mass. These traditional structures of prayer became the bedrock of CYE's spirituality and a youth ministry was born!

Not only has CYE afforded hundreds of young adults a chance to pray, but in between there is time for adventure, faith-sharing, fun and fellowship. Our evangelization vision statement begins with these few thoughts:

"To continue on without addressing the thirst our youth have to meet our Lord Jesus Christ is to ignore the cry of the many souls longing for a simple invitation from our Lord to enter into a relationship. I am convinced that the springtime of evangelization in Holy Mother Church calls for dynamic, creative, spirit-filled, and authentically Catholic experiences for our youth. Particularly, in the sacramental life of our church can youth encounter the living Christ and bring him to an ever-fuller part of their lives."

Now is a time for bringing forth creative, faith-filled and authentically Catholic apostolates into the church! Young people need to be reminded of God's great love for them. Catholic Youth Expeditions opens wide the doors to an encounter with Jesus Christ, the living Son of God.

Expedition prayer Here is the Catholic Youth Expeditions prayer:     "In need of special help, I appeal with confidence to you, St. John Bosco, Pier Giorgio Frassati, and John Paul II, for I require not only spiritual graces but also temporal ones, and particularly the grace to let Catholic Youth Expeditions continue in the true spirit of apostolic zeal so as to set up a future ministry for young people led by your Holy Spirit. May you, who on earth had such great devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and to Mary, Help of Christians, and who always had compassion for those who where in suffering, obtain from Jesus and from his heavenly Mother the grace I now request, and also a sincere resignation to the will of God."

If Christ has led us to interior conversion then we can not help but want to share that Good News that led us out of a life of sin and death and share it with everyone we encounter. Hence, CYE is designed to share the Good News and as our mission statement proclaims, "To encounter Jesus Christ and foster Catholic Christian Community through expeditions of prayer, proclamation of the gospel, and outdoor adventure!

This summer, Catholic Youth Expeditions will be better than ever! We have six camping expeditions - three for high school students and three for young adults. We will hold stationary camps on Chamber's Island in Door County along with two expeditions to the Porcupine Mountains and Pictured Rock National Lakeshore in Upper Michigan. After this summer we will have completed 23 expeditions since beginning in 2002.

The fruit of the ministry has been extraordinary. One of our themes is, "Quo Vadis?" We challenge young adults and high school students to ask: "Where am I going? What will I do with the life God gave me?" Hundreds of young adults have found the answer to this question on these expeditions. Many have found an authentic Christian vocation to marriage and a desire to follow the teachings of the church in their relationship with one another. Others have gone on to religious life or active discernment of the priesthood. Still others continue to seek God's will and come back time and time again. Either way, Catholic Youth Expeditions exclaims with Benedict XVI that, "God is love!"

Why not become part of CYE? Why not learn more? Why not help us spread the life-changing message of Jesus Christ? This summer we have hired our first full-time camp directors who will be living and serving with the poor at Fr. Carr's Place 2B in Oshkosh. They will have a chance to back up this proclamation of God's love by living in a "house of love" through service to God's people and his church while having adventurous wilderness retreat expeditions. We also will be offering water ski and wake board lessons with the new CYE ski boat recently given to our apostolate. Our goal is to have a full time high school youth camp with thousands of high school students coming every summer for faith, fun, and fellowship. These high adventure camps will be staffed by college students seeking a summer of faith formation and fun!

Please pray for this apostolate. Please consider helping in any way you can. We desperately need 12 lightweight backpacks (internal frames), 12 lightweight stuff sack sleeping bags (rated for 20 degrees), two Eureka Timberline Outfitter tents (6 man), and two water purifiers. Gas cards are always a great gift as well! To learn more, call 507-313-6183, e-mail cye@catholic.org, or visit our website, www.cyexpeditions.org.

(Dcn. Mann will be ordained June 3 as a priest of the Green Bay Diocese.)