‘Ignite’ retreat calls teens to set their hearts afire for God
Teenagers and adults stand at the beginning of Mass during an Ignite event on Nov. 24 at Roncalli High School in Indianapolis. More than 450 teens and adult volunteers attended the daylong high school retreat. (Photo by Mike Krokos)
By Mike Krokos
Megan Alexander viewed it as an opportunity to grow in her life of faith.
The senior at Rushville Consolidated High School in Rushville was among the hundreds of teenagers who recently attended “Ignite” at Roncalli High School in Indianapolis.
The daylong high school retreat,
co-sponsored on Nov. 24 by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and Diocese of Lafayette, Ind., included keynote speakers, breakout sessions and Mass with Archbishop Charles C. Thompson. All told, more than 450 teenagers and adult volunteers attended the event.
“I wanted to be here with community from my Church and to learn more about God,” said Megan, a member of St. Mary (Immaculate Conception) Parish in Rushville.
A message shared by keynote speaker and author Chika Anyanwu resonated with the teen “about friendship and finding good friends that lead you toward God and not pull you away. I think that was really eye-opening,” Megan noted.
A Church ‘beyond their parish’
Held every two years, Ignite takes place in November during years when the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) is not hosted in Indianapolis.
“The goal of the day is to gather the young Church of Indiana and host them for a day that is powerful, personal and practical,” explained Megan Lauritsen, archdiocesan coordinator of youth ministry.
“Our hope with Ignite is that young people walk away feeling equipped and inspired to go back to their homes and parishes and share how Christ is working in their lives. It also provides an opportunity for teens to experience the greater Church that is alive and thriving, and to see that there is more to the Catholic Church beyond their parish—that it is a universal home.”
‘Called to be mission to other people’
Like others who attended the gathering, Lauritsen, too, appreciated how Anyanwu connected with the teens.
“Chika does a great job speaking to the inherent dignity and value of the human person and what it means to live our identity as a beloved child of God, which is a message that young people cannot hear enough,” Lauritsen noted.
Based in Anaheim, Calif., Anyanwu’s family is originally from Nigeria. A Catholic evangelist, former confirmation coordinator/youth and young adult minister, she is the author of My Encounter: How I Met Jesus in Prayer. Chica was among the speakers at this summer’s National Eucharistic Congress and has also been a keynote speaker at NCYC, Steubenville youth conferences, and at Fellowship of Catholic University Students’ SEEK conferences.
In her afternoon session, Anyanwu focused on how young people are challenged today to let their faith shape them in their call to live as saints.
“God equips us with everything we need to fight the good fight,” the author said.
“The word of God is powerful, and … we need to make sure as people of God that we’re reading the Bible,” she noted.
Turning to the beatitudes from Matthew’s Gospel (Mt 5:3-12), Anyanwu reflected on how they should impact our lives.
“When I started really praying about the beatitudes, I realized that truly this is the way that Jesus is calling us to live our lives,” said Anyanwu. “… That is how we are called to be mission to other people.”
Lasting happiness in the kingdom of God
During his homily at Mass, Archbishop Thompson told the teens Jesus wanted to rule their hearts.
“While we may seem to be of little matter in the wider spectrum of the universe, each life, each heart, each soul matters to him. Each one of us matters,” the archbishop said. “The only true, lasting happiness for us is not to be found in any worldly kingdom, ideology or list of ‘Who’s Who,’ but only in the kingdom of God. The price of admission for each of us has been purchased by the passion, the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
“Jesus is the way, the truth and the life,” Archbishop Thompson continued, and “he is the truth himself.” Jesus knew his life would involve suffering and death on a cross, but “he never lost sight of us in the midst of all that he endured, all that he encountered, all that he suffered. Nothing deterred him from that awareness.”
The archbishop reminded the young people they “belong to the community of believers, the family of God, the body of Christ.”
“There are many voices vying for your attention. Listen to the voice of the God who created you, who alone can save you, and who redeems you,” Archbishop Thompson said. “Take time to cultivate a personal encounter, a relationship with Jesus Christ through prayer, through the word of God, through the grace of sacraments, to serving others in his name. For he alone, is our way, our truth and our life.”
‘An encounter with Jesus’
As she reflected on the Ignite event, Lauritsen’s hope was that the teenagers “walked away from the day feeling like they have moved forward in their faith, that they hopefully learned something that they take to heart—whether that be within their prayer life or in how they communicate their faith with the people around them.
“Above all though, I hope and pray that they had an encounter with Jesus Christ. Big or small, I pray that it was a day where they were open to receiving the love that God so desperately wants us all to know. In ministry, frequently we are planting seeds. I hope and pray that seeds were planted that will grow into a desire to know and love Jesus.”
Teen Dominic Simmons, a member of St. John Vianney Parish in Fishers, Ind., in the Diocese of Lafayette, said he attended the gathering to “experience the faith” with all in attendance.
The most important message he was taking with him, he added, “was to love Jesus [today] more than yesterday.” †
