On Friday, April 1, 2022, the MYP hosted their Lenten event at Holy Trinity Church in Whitestone, NY. The event was rectored by Tom Leavens, and the team was Dina, DePaola, John Fodera, Eileen Haggerty, Mary Leavens & Jean Pedri.
The event started with an icebreaker, and then we watched a video titles, “Lent is a Process-Not an Event” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGCBstt4v5U). That led to a small group meeting that involved a discussion about the different uses of nails. The Team member then held up a nail and asked the group, “What would you think about this nail if I told you that it was used to hold Christ up on the cross?” After each group member gave their response, the Team member said, “The nails of the Holy Cross have bound us in faith. By your sacrifice, O Lord, you have redeemed the world.”
Jean Pedri gave a beautiful talk about how preparing for Easter during Lent can lead us to a personal rebirth at Easter. This was followed with pair interviews where the teens talked about personal Lenten sacrifices.
The evening concluded with a powerful Prayer Service focused on two Scriptures. The first was, “Make certain you do not perform your religious duties in public so that people will see what you do. If you do these things publicly, you will not have any reward from your Father in heaven.” (Mt 6: 1-4, 14-18) The second was from Isaiah 58:6-11 (“The kind of fasting I want is this: Remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice and let the oppressed go free. Share your food with the hungry and open your homes to the homeless poor. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear, and do not refuse to help your own relatives…” ) The responses from the teens were so inspiring and introspective. It was a great reminder of what this program can do to bring us together as Catholics!