Wednesday Afternoon & Evening

We had extended free time this afternoon, and started the night session with what is possibly our favorite HSM game: Priests of the Parish. I could try to describe how intense this game gets… but it’s really difficult to put into words. Each team plays as a row, and they have to be perfectly in sync to avoid getting out. Here are some photos to show how crazy it can be:

Deacon Alex Fry arrived Tuesday night, and many of our teens were thrilled to see him. Dcn. Alex has a real charism for working with the youth, and he has been such a gift and a huge presence to HSM this past year. He was tasked with speaking about what it means to belong to Jesus, and he didn’t waste any time getting us to understand what a decision point this Wednesday night is for us.

“The beauty of [Mission] Laredo is that when we’re working together and sweating together and under the sun together... and we come together at night and listen to these messages about the Lord — something happens.”

There’s something about this week that just feels… right. We get up, we eat together, we work, we pray, and we play. We are detached from our phones and not distracted by the noise of our usual busyness, and we are pulled out from our isolation and feelings of loneliness. We are together, living a simple but joyful life this week, and it is so good.

Deacon Alex encouraged us to reflect on what we have experienced this week. Maybe we are encountering this person they call “Jesus,” and we are asking ourselves who He is. Or maybe we know Him but He’s doing something new, and we are examining ourselves to ask what He is doing.

“The Lord is not just working through us this week, but in us. ”

In John 6:52-69, we find the disciples in the middle of their time with Jesus — their Wednesday. They’ve seen the Lord perform many miracles, then they hear him say to eat His flesh and drink His blood. It was hard to hear, and many of his disciples stopped following Him. They arrived at a decision point, because Jesus has the humility to offer a choice: “Will you also go away?” 

This is our choice, and we are at the midpoint as well.

This is our decision point this week. “Will you follow me? Will you say YES to me?” 

Following Jesus will not necessarily make us happy. That is not the promise. The promise is that if we eat His flesh and drink His blood, we will abide in Him — belong to Him. We don’t have to know everything to follow Him.

“Have you felt Him, have you seen Him? Just say yes.”

Jesus brings us into community, gives us purpose, frees us from sin, provides healing and restoration, and leads us in a life of adventure. It’s completely worth it. What He can do in our lives is better than anything we can imagine. 

We went to small groups to talk about what it means to belong to Jesus and what might hold us back from saying “yes” to Him. Afterwards, Father Edwin gave us a unique opportunity to dive deep into a greater understanding of the Mass by celebrating a “teaching Mass.” He paused every so often during the Mass to explain what was happening, and spoke a lot of the quiet or silent prayers out loud so we could hear them. It was really enlightening and a great way to celebrate Mass and end the night.

The invitation, ultimately, is to go to Mass with the intention of saying “yes” to Jesus over and over again.