WHY SHOULD WE COME TO MASs?
YOUTH-ADULT SEMINAR #2
JIMI NETNISS – (AGES 18 & UP)

Jimi opened up his talk with the challenge of answering the following question: Why are we here? The answer to that question was because we are all Christian Catholics. Eucharist is the source of our faith and our destination. He spoke about how true worship requires repentance and that therefore we must prepare our hearts. Jimi referred to Luke 24:13 (after Jesus had been crucified) when Jesus, in the village of Amaeus, comes to 2 apostles as a stranger and interprets how everything from the Bible points to himself.

Through the participation of the youth, we learned that Jesus is present in Mass in 4 ways: in Eucharist (Body and Blood), in the Bible (the Word of God), as the Priest, and within the Community of people (whenever 2 or more gather in my name, I am present). Jimi spoke about the Sacraments and how they were given by Jesus to the early church and that they give us grace.

Jimi asked the participants if love can be measured. The majority raised their hands and said no. Jimi told us we were wrong. He said that LOVE can be measurable by looking at the CROSS. Love can be measured by asking 2 questions: What did it cost me? and How much did I deserve it?

Everything we do has meaning. For example, in doing the Sign of the Cross, we are remembering that God is the Father, God is the Son, and God is the Holy Spirit. Putting our 3 fingers together (thumb, index finger, and middle finger) reminds us of this. And in addition, putting our index finger and middle finger together, side by side, signifies that Jesus was both 100% human and 100% divine.

Dipping our hand in Holy Water reminds us of Baptism. In praying the Creed, we bow our heads when we say “by the power of the Holy Spirit, he came down from heaven…” We do this because when we come to Mass, we are at the foot of the Cross, in Calvary, where Jesus is crucified.

Jimi ended his talk by asking us: How do you know what God wants for you if you don’t spend time with him? This is so true. We are so quick to want things and to always ask for more, but never want to give more. God wants us closer to Him so that he can help us reach Him. Pride is the root of sin. Jesus came and tried to fix that with his humility. We must follow his lead and humble ourselves. In doing this, we can become closer to God and reach our destination. We must prepare our hearts for that day.

GIVE EAR TO MY WORDS, OH LORD.

Renee Jarbo – St. Peter - Youth Convention Director