Climbing the Mount Everest of Faith

By Andrew Perez

Young adults are leaving the Sacraments in exchange for community and real bonds. A recent study by The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life shows 79% of Catholics leave the Church by age twenty-three. This is alarming considering we are at war every day with the secular culture. If we lose most of our spiritual soldiers we will be left diminished, dismantled, and may lose even more.

Our young adults need to be personally welcomed to a base-level fellowship; a place to be. And through this fellowship, we can strengthen young adults in their faith leading them to other apostolates and bringing even non-Catholics to encounter the presence and reality of Christ in the Sacraments.

In the spiritual life not everyone is at the same altitude in their faith climb. Many young adults lack a place to be personally welcomed in the Church, even while they need it most when their faith hits rock bottom. During a recent convocation I attended, a speaker talked about how more often than not people are at different altitudes in their Faith journey. He explained there are some who are climbing Mount Everest and some who are still at sea level.

I believe there are more people on the spiritual beach at this very moment than climbing a spiritual Mount Everest. Often, they see ministry events and feel unwelcomed by the structure and formality they encounter. Metaphorically, the person at the beach seldom will get up from their comfortable and familiar chair to seek out a ‘spiritual climbing sherpa.’ They need a welcoming, basic fellowship; a place to be people and start the climb at low altitude.

Contrary to common belief, a low-altitude fellowship doesn’t have to be secular. While people at the beach may prefer a more comfortable setting, low-altitude fellowship events need not be absent of faith. Through these fellowships, a young adult Christian can begin to interact with the ‘person of Christ’ through fellow Christians, they can join in prayer, and often a little guided Scripture.

A friend I met at the Faith Olympics (at the beach), is now in our Christ’s Cohort group chat. He said, “Honestly, I wasn’t even serious about going to Mass every week before I met you guys. I never felt like I had a place in these groups.” That’s what it means to bring someone from the beach to the path towards Everest; giving him hope for the climb and brethren who are there climbing alongside. Sometimes people look at the Mount Everest of faith and holiness and see it unattainable; some never even look. However, when they are personally welcomed, hope and fellowship can overcome the fear.

On several occasions, I have asked young adults like me if they feel they have community; if they’re even aware of groups like Corazon Puro, Veritas, and Catholic Charities. Almost every time the answer is no. By inviting people to a personal fellowship or group chat, we can keep young adults engaged in several ministries in our dioceses and help them be strengthened in their Faith.

Since reaching out to people all over my diocese and staying well informed on local events, several members of our Christ’s Cohort group chat and I have attended just about every young adult ministry in the area. We are being fed, and we see that young adults are hungry. They need community. And they wouldn’t have it if they never received a personal invitation.

At Mass, you often see young adults coming and leaving by themselves. Young adults who need connection, who may leave the Church after not finding it, or it not finding them. But through a base-level fellowship where people can be personally invited, they can stay informed of peer groups, and realize there's support at every elevation of the climb. Through making them aware of the ample apostolates in the Church, we can strengthen their faith, and eventually help others on the climb.

Fire is strong and spreads fast, but it starts small. When you start a fire in Catholic young adults, it will inevitably spread. Even non-Catholics can become aware of Christ's presence in the Sacraments. A while ago, a spark flashed in the gym. I was talking to a friend about something a priest had said to me. He said, “Priest? Are you Catholic?” and so it began. After a light conversation about our Parishes, a gym buddy walked near us and overheard what we were talking about. “You guys are Christians? That’s awesome, me too! I knew there was something different about your aura.” This friend, Minsoo, asked me if he could come to Mass with me the next week. Without hesitation I said, “Of course brother!” While Minsoo was a protestant, his reality shifted once he was in the presence of Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist. He is now a self-proclaimed Catholic (yet to complete RCIA and the Sacraments). And he has an intense fire for our Lord.

Just like this, fire spreads. Base-level fellowship, non-structured personal connection with individuals, and connection to the Truth, this is how we gain back the Catholic young adults that we have lost. This is how we fight the forces of secularization in the world.

We have to meet young adults where they are. They need to be personally welcomed to a fellowship where they can just be people, where they can be pointed to other ministries, and where their fire can grow so it can spread to others. Where they can start the climb.

There are many who feel they don't belong. People who don’t know Christ in the Sacraments need to be brought to them. This way, our beautiful Faith will spread like a wildfire. We can regain the soldiers we have lost, and potentially bring new ones. This is how we win the spiritual war we have been losing. We must find and heal the wounded soldiers. And through base-level fellowship invite them to join in the climb to Mount Everest.