Cardinal challenges young adults to fight ‘vagueness of faith’
March 10, 2015
At the Houston chapter of the Young Catholic Professionals (YCP) Executive Speaker Series, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo was "totally shocked" to see more than 300 young adults gathered at the Cathedral Centre in downtown.
The first event in the series, which invites industry executives to reflect on "Working in Witness for Christ," opened with time for networking, mingling and desserts. A short Lenten reflection by Father T.J. Dolce, YCP Houston chaplain and vocations director for the Archdiocese, preceded Cardinal DiNardo's address.
With anecdotes from his past as a younger priest, Cardinal DiNardo challenged the large crowd of young people to fight against a "vagueness of faith."
He first recognized that young adults "keep doing something incredibly distinctive in the marketplace, the arts, the law (and) the medicine."
In life, Cardinal DiNardo told to the group to be "ready to encounter in truth and not vagueness," then suggested, as a way of meditation and prayer, that young adults read the Gospels daily. He said this would allow young Catholics to move from a vagueness in knowing Jesus, to a knowledge that is deeper than a simple disclosure of information.
Both Cardinal DiNardo and YCP seek to serve the growing influx of young people in the Archdiocese.
"Something is happening to the faithful in Houston," said Cardinal DiNardo, noting of the record number of Rite of Election candidates that will enter the Archdiocese this Easter. For the last two years, the Archdiocese has had more people entering the Church at Easter than any other diocese in the country. And many are coming into the Church with little contact with the Church, DiNardo said.
"It was incredible to see such a response from the young adult community in Houston," said Kyle Smith, YCP vice president and director of marketing. "It was an exciting next step for our group. We want to touch different areas of the Archdiocese, different parishes, different schools so that we can make Young Catholic Professionals accessible and serve the young adults from across the Archdiocese."
After speaking, Cardinal DiNardo fielded questions during a Q&A session, speaking on how to follow God's will, how to focus during prayer and how to maintain a Catholic soul.
The next Executive Speaker Series will feature Bo Bothe, CEO of BrandExtract and Strake Jesuit College Preparatory alumnus, on March 31.
With four chapters in Texas and one in Denver, YCP seeks to connect young Catholic professionals with each other and their faith. To learn more about Young Catholic Professionals, visit youngcatholicprofessionals.org.