Catholic teens reflect on drawing closer to Christ in 2020

The following are comments offered from the perspective of Catholic teens in the archdiocese.

“I will grow in my faith by staying close to Christ in the Eucharist and in the sacrament of Confession. By receiving Christ daily, He will make me more like Himself and give me the grace to respond to His cry from the cross – ‘I thirst.’ I've encountered Him, and I've fallen in love! By His grace, I hope to surrender myself to His will, so that He can use me to pour out His love on souls who do not return His love. I will also rely more on the Blessed Mother by consecrating myself to her.” – Elizabeth Trossbach, senior at St. Mary's Ryken High School in Leonardtown, Maryland and an Xaverian Brothers Sponsored School Steward

 “For the new year, I desire to grow closer to God and improve my relationship with Him. I will strive for this by attending daily Mass before school and making sure I have a time every day to pray. Creating a special time out of your busy life to pray is a necessity. Putting all worldly distractions aside and sitting in the serenity of God will help my relationship grow with Him.” – Genevieve Vavrus, senior at St. Mary's Ryken High School in Leonardtown and an Xaverian Brothers Sponsored School Steward

“This year, I will resolve to grow closer to Jesus Christ by committing myself to more prayer and to spend more time with Him, by increasing my gratitude and reverence in the holy sacrifice of the Mass, and by being patient and humble to those around me, to try and recognize my own shortcomings before judging anyone else’s.”  – Maggie Sullivan, senior at St. Mary's Ryken High School in Leonardtown and an Xaverian Brothers Sponsored School Steward

“We get so distracted in today's world with our busy lives. This new year, I aspire to put God in the number one spot in my life above other aspects of it, possibly by starting off with a weekly Holy Hour, hopefully increasing that to multiple times per week. Just being in the presence of Jesus in his most sacred form can allow one to grow in their relationship with Him.” – Gavin Willis, senior at St. Mary's Ryken High School in Leonardtown and an Xaverian Brothers Sponsored School Steward