Bishop delivers a challenge to young people



Brooklyn Bishop Calls for Self-reflection in Fast Moving World at 50th International Eucharistic Congress

Saturday June 16, 2012

There is a need for self-reflection amongst younger members of today’s society, Frank Caggiano, Bishop of Brooklyn, New York, told young people gathered at the IEC2012 Chiara Luce Youth Space on 16th June 2012.

Bishop Caggiano said: As young people, I wish to give you a special task today. Your generation is the first to live comfortably in the virtual, electronic world. I ask you to be present in this virtual world as witnesses of the Lord Jesus. For it seems to me that many people, especially young people, are searching in the electronic world for a word of hope in their troubles, a word of consolation in their fears, a word of welcome in their loneliness.

He continued: “My brothers and sisters, you are the new heralds of the Word of God in the electronic world and missionaries of Christ. And I have every confidence that like the great missionary saints who lived before us, you can and will bring many people to faith!”

Reflecting on the hectic pace of our lives, he said: “Prayer is made easier if you and I can quiet our minds and sit in silence each day. Coming from New York City, the city that never sleeps, silence is not easy for me either. Given the hectic pace of our lives and our ability to communicate electronically every minute of every day, silence can even be frightening. But God needs a place where he can talk to us in our hearts. And in order to listen, we need to learn how to be still, to sit in silence and to wait with patience